Page 54 of The Temptation
Rome snorted. “More like three-quarters.”
“Pierce was never big on lots of flings and one-night stands,” Sebastian continued. “If he’s sleeping with you, this is more than sex to him.”
My hopes soared from the jagged pit they had fallen into, but they immediately crashed into a ceiling as Declan opened his mouth.
“Except Pierce is the type of person to sabotage his own happiness over guilt or a sense of duty.”
I groaned and dropped my face into my hands, my elbows resting on my knees. “Sawyer,” I snarled, my voice muffled.
“Yes, your brother,” Rome murmured.
“The asshole has been dead for more than a decade, and he’s still finding ways to fuck with me.” My head popped up, and I looked closely at Sebastian, Declan, and Rome. “Is there anything you can tell me about that day? Please, anything. No matter how bad it might be.”
I held my breath, waiting as the trio of men exchanged silent glances. I was worried they were trying to protect me or preserve some perfect image of Sawyer, but the secrets weren’t helping me or Pierce.
“No,” Declan stated.
Before I could beg him, Sebastian sighed. “Truly, Simon, we don’t know anything that might help. It was the middle of the day, and we decided to go swimming.”
“It had been fucking hot,” Rome added. “We were going to swim for a while. At sunset, we were going to toss some steaks on the grill and start drinking. It was the last day of freedom prior to the arrival of you and your parents. None of us had drunk alcohol yet.”
I nodded. I remembered overhearing a conversation between my parents that the coroner had found zero alcohol or drugs in Sawyer’s system. My father had even sounded surprised. Sawyer had been twenty-one and reckless. My parents had likely assumed he’d been drunk when he dove off those rocks.
“Rome, Dec, and I went down to the lake first. Sawyer and Pierce stayed behind to pack the cooler with ice and drinks.”
“They took a long time. Longer than you would have expected.” Declan turned to stare at Rome. “You even said you were going to check on them.”
Rome grunted. “Yeah, but Sawyer appeared a second later with the cooler. We teased him, and he muttered something about Pierce being a slow-ass.”
“What about Pierce? Where was he?” I demanded.
Sebastian shifted on the couch to gaze at me. “He followed Sawyer, but it was several minutes later, and even then he didn’t get in the water. He sat on the end of the dock with a bottle of water.”
“Did they seem off? Upset? Worried?” I pressed. Most of this I’d heard years ago, but I was sure I’d missed something since I’d been consumed with grief over losing my brother.
“Sawyer seemed pissed, or maybe annoyed,” Sebastian answered. “I asked him about it, but he brushed me off. Pierce was…” His voice trailed off, but I couldn’t tell whether it was due to being unable to remember or unwilling to say.
“Pale,” Declan cut in. “I remember thinking he looked pale, like he was sick.”
“Honestly, I thought he looked upset,” Rome admitted. “I just figured he and Sawyer had just had another argument. They were always bickering about something. Sawyer would blow up about something stupid, and Pierce would sulk, giving Sawyer the cold shoulder until Sawyer apologized. It was their thing.”
“Except that time, Sawyer didn’t have the chance to apologize.”
Because he had died diving off the rocks into the lake.
“Do you think Pierce feels guilty about having an argument with Sawyer right before he died?” Byron asked.
“Maybe he blames himself for Sawyer’s death,” Parker suggested.
“That’s insane,” Rome gasped. “Sawyer’s death was an accident. He jumped off the rocks in the wrong spot and hit his head. End of story.” He winced and looked at me. “Sorry.” I waved him off, and Rome continued. “Pierce wasn’t even inthe water at the time. He was sitting on the boat dock. Said something like his head hurt. How could he blame himself?”
With Pierce, I had a feeling he would find a way.
“Maybe he feels guilty about their last argument and never having the chance to make up,” Liam offered.
That made sense to me.
The only problem was that no one besides Pierce could tell us what they’d talked about.
