Page 21 of Ruthless Riches
“Yeah, a totally fucked up idea!” I shouted, jabbing a finger at his chest. My hands were shaking with anger, and heat was flushing through my body. “It’s already bad enough that my father was demonized by everyone for ten years. Now, after we’ve finally proven his innocence, you’re saying he might be a murderer after all?”
Nate scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “You’re right,” he muttered. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even thought about it.”
“So why the hell didyou?”
“I’m just trying to think of every single possibility. That’s all.”
“And you really thought my father was a possibility?” I said, eyes widening.
“I don’t know. I guess I’m just used to being betrayed by family, so it actually seemed like an option,” he said in a low voice, dropping his hand. “I really wasn’t trying to upset you, Lex.”
My face softened as I caught sight of his tormented expression.
I was being too hard on him. The family he was raised by turned out to be neck-deep in corruption, depravity, and lies, and the people he was supposed to trust the most had betrayed him the worst. It made sense that he barely trusted anyone now—even those who were supposed to be closest to him.
Also, if I were being totally honest with myself… I was just like him.
I’d recently started to suspect people who I never would’ve dreamed of questioning before all of this stuff started happening. It would only last for a few seconds, a tiny sliver of time, but the thoughts would still occur to me. Could it be Ruby? Laurel? Harry? One of my old professors? That barista who always smiles at me at my favorite coffee shop? Then, as soon as the spark was lit, it was snuffed out again. No. Impossible. It can’t be them. I still felt guilty for thinking about it in the first place, though.
That was what Nate was feeling right at this very second.
I swallowed my anger and took a deep breath. “Sorry for yelling,” I mumbled, taking a step back.
Nate shook his head. “You don’t need to apologize. I was being a dick.”
I let out a heavy sigh and lifted a palm. “No, I get it. You’re just trying to help. And you’re right—we need to consider every possibility. Even the ones we might not like.”
He took one of my hands and squeezed it for a second. “I don’t actually think it’s your father,” he said. “It was just something I thought we could consider. Just so we know we’ve covered everything.”
“Yeah, I know.” I took another deep breath. “So… let’s talk about it. Do you think there’s any way it could actually be him? Do you really think he could be alive?”
His lips tightened. “I’m not sure.”
“They found a lot of blood at the scene. Enough for them to determine incompatibility with life,” I said softly, looking down at the ground. It was littered with pine needles and dead leaves. “Let’s say he did manage to survive, though. Greg said he cut his throat, right?”
Nate dipped his head in a brief nod. “Yes.”
My stomach lurched as I pictured the grisly scene. “Okay. So, let’s imagine the scenario. He’s lying there with his throat cut. Losing a ton of blood. He’s lost a couple of teeth as well, from a beating Greg gave him when they first arrived in the area. He manages to get something like a scarf or belt and tie it around the wound on his throat as tightly as possible to stop himself from losing any more blood. Then what?”
“He leaves the area. Gets himself somewhere safe.”
I cocked my head. “How? Greg took him up to a national park, remember?” I said. “So even if he did survive the injuries, how would he get out of there? He’d have to hike for miles and miles in mountainous terrain, and he’d be severely weakened from the blood loss.”
“It was snowing, too,” Nate said, scratching the back of his neck. “I guess that probably makes it even less likely that he survived.”
I nodded slowly. “Even if he did make it out of the park, where would he go?” I asked. “He couldn’t have showed up at the nearest house and asked for help. Everyone on the island knew who he was at that point, and they all thought he was a killer. So why would anyone help him?”
“Good point. He would’ve been on his own. No help. No medical attention.”
“Yeah. Also, why would he wait ten years to get revenge, if that’s what he wanted? Why would he target strangers? And why would he stab me to warn me off looking for him? I just can’t imagine him doing that,” I said. Another shiver went down my spine, and I rubbed my forearms. “I really don’t think it’s possible.”
Nate took one of my hands in his and squeezed it. “You’re right. It doesn’t make sense. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
I bit my lip and looked down at the ground again. “It’s okay,” I murmured. “I know you were just trying to help.”
Nate dipped his head toward the car. “Should we go?”
I nodded and let him open the door for me. When we were on the road, I grabbed my cell phone and called my sister. She answered right away.
