Page 117 of Cruel Debts
"Should we call Mother and Father and tell them the news?"
Keehn, along with every other man in the car, froze on the spot. His eyes narrowed, and he frowned at his sister like she'd suggested he start a metal band and dye his hair magenta.
"What have our mother and father been doing this whole time?" He waited for an answer, but he wasn't going to get the one he wanted. We all knew it.
Apparently, Trinity did, too, though she had no qualms throwing them under the bus. "They filed a missing persons report when you didn't come home."
"How long was I gone before they did that?"
I could hear the betrayal in his tone. Could sense the hatred he'd had for his parents for years before now, years before he went missing. He'd always harbored resentment of them, evenin high school, when the pressure was put on him to be the next heir apparent and take over the business.
Trinity cocked her head to the side. "A week? Maybe two. They just assumed your work took you out of town and that you'd forgotten to call them and let them know."
"They didn't think that," he decided, his chest sagging. "They didn't care enough to look." His eyes cut to mine in the mirror, and the guilt raced through me as we came to a silent understanding. "Nobody looked for me. Not like you did." He tugged her against his chest, and she went willingly, wrapping her arms around her long-lost brother. "You shouldn't have had to do that on your own."
"I wanted to," she whispered. "I knew you were still out there."
His glare at me intensified. "Why didn't you ask for help?"
"From who?" Her sigh was heavy, filled with regret. "I didn't have anyone. I came here on a pipe dream, a hope that I was right, that you hadn't died, or been kidnapped. A hope that you were still alive, like I thought you were." She pulled back to thump her chest, smiling proudly. "I could feel in my heart that you just needed to be found."
"You did good, kid," he told her, giving her the only genuine smile he'd put on from the moment we spotted him following her. "Thank you, Tee."
"I'd do anything for you, Keehn. You're my family." I could hear the tears clogging her throat, and a pang of guilt ran through me and chilled my blood. "I never stopped looking for you. Never stopped hoping."
"I'm glad someone kept the light on for me." His eyes cut away from the mirror, but not before he made it clear what he thought of our lack of effort, one last time.
"This is a nightmare."
St. Clair marched around her office in four-inch heels, staring down not only her ex-husband, but us, and Keehn as well. Though what he did to deserve the glare was beyond my comprehension. He just dared to exist, and that was enough for her, apparently.
Trinity stood before him with her arms crossed, a scowl on her pretty face. "He's an innocent party in all this. As am I, frankly. If you want to find fault, that's fine, but find it with the men responsible."
Ouch. Harsh. But fair.
"I never said itwashis fault." She blinked slowly, regarding Trinity like she was a bug on the sidewalk. "Or yours, for that matter."
"You didn't have to say it. The looks tell the story your lips hide."
That sounded like downright poetry.
"Tee," Keehn said quietly, reaching out to tug her hand back toward himself. "Don't start a fight."
She took the seat next to him but made it clear in her body language that she wasn't happy about it. She stayed seated for only ten seconds before she was back up again, marching back and forth behind our seats.
"So, how do we fix this little problem presented to us?" Her eyes rounded on Mistwood, who refused to meet her stare. "You, I knew about. Your story, your secrets, your fake identity, I knew all that. That's no surprise to me. But to learn you didn't have a backup or contingency plan in place for if someone else ever figured you out? That's a disappointment. Because I know youknow better than that." She leaned against the corner of her desk, a frown marring her classically elegant features. "You've spent so much time making sure to clean up after my messes, you forgot to clean up your own."
"I had my priorities," he growled, staring anywhere but at her. "It's not your concern how I spent my time or energy."
"But it is when it affects my organization. When it affectsme."Her words were filled with a new kind of hurt, the kind that was born of betrayal and broken love.
I knew all about that.
I had the feeling we were about to be unwilling witnesses to a divorced couple's fallout. And I wasn't interested in that—not in the least bit. But there was no opportunity to open my mouth and speak—not yet.
"And now that you've magically regained your memories?—"
The second her finger swiveled in Keehn's direction, Asher growled in warning.
