Page 154 of Bang


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The gas leak hadn't been his fault, but the flame from the lighter?Oh yeah, that had been Brody's doing.

The explosion had happened on a Saturday afternoon, and Brody hadn't been alone. He'd been with his lab partner – the same girl who happened to be sitting in my living room right now.

I told her, "You're wrong. I keptBrodyout of trouble."

After the explosion, Brody and Arden had been suspended, but there'd been talk of more serious ramifications – maybe a lawsuit, maybe criminal charges.Maybe both.

The whole thing was utter bullshit – which is why I'd applied pressure here and there to anyone who thought it was a good idea to railroad two minors for a freak accident.

In the living room, Arden said, "But it wasn'tonlyhim, was it? You keptmeout of trouble, too."

Without confirming or denying, I said, "And where'd you hear this?"

"At the grocery store, just yesterday. I ran into an old teacher when I was picking up baking supplies. But that's not important. The point is, I know exactly what you did."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"Threats, bribery, intimidation – whatever it took to keep us out of trouble."

"You mean to keepBrodyout of trouble."

She gave me a dubious look. "Right."

"Don't be flattered," I said. "It was strategic."

"Oh, I’m not flattered," she laughed. "Sure, I'm grateful, but you're missing the point."

"Which is…?"

"You're not as heartless as you look."

"My heart's got nothing to do with it," I said. "It would've looked funny if he got off and you didn't."

"Uh-huh."

"Call it a twofer."

She gave me a long, penetrating look. "And the thing with Cami yesterday?"

"What about it?"

"It was for Willow, not Cami? That's your story?"

"More or less."

"So that makes Cami what?" Arden lifted her hands and made exaggerated air quotes. "Another 'twofer'?"

No.Cami wasn't the second half of anything. She was the sweetest – and yeah, the sexiest – person I'd ever known. She was the one who made me smile. She was the one who gave as good as she got. She was the one who made me think of things I'd never thought before.

She filled the house with something I'd never had, even as a kid.

God, I missed her.

And now she was the reason I couldn’t eat or sleep, the reason I'd been kicking myself for doing what needed to be done –andthe reason I'd resisted calling her, although God knows I wanted to.

I didn't even know if she'd be back.

In the living room, Arden persisted. "Sothat'swhat you want me to believe? That if it weren't for Cami being Willow's nanny, you wouldn't have cared enough to go after her?"