Page 95 of No More Words

“Back off.” He shuts off the waterworks and downs more wine.

She scoots back to the opposite wall and glares at him. “You’re an asshole.”

Tell him something he doesn’t already know.

“What happened to your face?”

“What’s up with you and Mom?”

“I was asking about Dad and Lily.”

“Work altercation.” He grimaces.

Her lips pinch and he looks at the bottle between his legs. She knows he’s lying.

“Dad isn’t Lily’s dad. Benton St.John is.”

His head snaps up and jaw drops. Holy shit. That explained so much. No wonder Dwight couldn’t tolerate Lily.

“Mom tell you that?”

She nods. “She also told me Dad killed St.John.”

“Fuck me.” Charlotte alluded to the idea that Dwight had offed St.John, but she didn’t come right out and say it. His dad’s a murderer.

So is he apparently. Fucking depressing.

A tear drops off Olivia’s chin. “Did you know?”

“About Lily?” He shakes his head, shifting his gaze to the floor. He considers chugging the rest of the wine.

“What about St.John?”

His thumb picks at the label. “Mom might have mentioned something.”

“When?”

“A few days ago?”

She nudges his leg. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I’ve been busy,” he says tightly.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. Painting. Your baby sister is missing. Your dad is a murderer. Your mom is falling apart. Your big sis is about to have a breakdown. And what do you do? Bail. Good on you, Lucas. Always the dependable one.”

“Fuck you.” He hated when she held up her glossy mirror. He despised the sight of himself and everything he didn’t do. Or, as of two nights ago, did do. If she only knew he hadn’t bailed. He’ll never tell what he’d been up to. But nothing was more important these past few days than righting the wrong he’d committed. He had to do something for Lily where before he’d done nothing.

“Your vocabulary is stellar, Luc. Give me that.” She snags the bottle and guzzles the wine. Red lines leak from the corners of her mouth. She wipes them off with her sweater sleeve, staining the wool, and starts crying.

“I loved him,” she whispers.

“I know,” he says as gently as he can muster, fighting off his own tears.

“Where is he?”

Lucas shakes his head, praying she doesn’t learn the secret he’s hiding.

“We need to report him.”

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