Chapter 43
Genevieve
The manor itself is old-money architecture softened by overgrown ivy. The gate is already open, so I drive through, park, and walk to the front door before I can talk myself out of it.
I don’t know what I’m going to say. I haven’t rehearsed this. I haven’t planned it. I just know that Juliette loves her brother with the kind of ferocity that doesn’t ask questions before it acts, and right now, that’s exactly what I need.
The massive front door opens before I can ring the bell, Juliette standing on the other side with her hands on her hips. She’s in an oversized T-shirt, her dark hair piled on her head, and she looks like she just woke up, but her eyes are already sharp.
She takes one look at me, the wild hair, the days-old clothes, the mascara probably smeared down my face, and her expression shifts.
“Ginny.”
“Hi,” I choke out.
She opens the door wider. “Get inside. Now.”
I follow her into a sitting room that smells like books, and she doesn’t offer me a place to sit, she just spins around and crosses her arms.
“Where’s my brother?”
“I don’t know. Not exactly.”
“Well, theRaghas been posting stories for the past two days straight with tips that were sent in bystrangerspretending to know more about my brother and you than I do, so you better start talking.”
And then I tell her.
I tell her about Cassandra Troy, the woman they called Beverly, and who she really is. I tell her about the Lye, and the fights, and the cage, and what Lance has been doing for six years to protect them. I tell her about Art and how deep he’s in it. I tell her about my father and the FBI and the footage that could end all of it.
At some point, Roman walks in. He sits on the edge of a chair and pulls Juliette back against him like he’s there to be her anchor. He shows surprise at some of the things I say, but others, it’s as if he already knew.
When I’m done, Juliette is very still.
“That fucking idiot,” she breathes.
“So you really didn’t know?” I ask. “About what he was doing? About everything?”
“I knew something was wrong.” She shakes her head. “But he wouldn’t let me in. Every time I got close, he’d shut me out. I told you I tried, but…”
“He shut me out, too.” My voice splinters. “He made me believe we were in this together, and then he walked out of myfather’s kitchen, and I just stood there and watched him go because there were guns pointed at the only parent I have left.”
“I’m going to kill him,” she says.
“Get in line.”
“Paxton’s been building a case against Brutus Myrddin and Badon Hill for months,” Roman cuts in. “Federal contracts, evidence from Calloway Enterprises that his dad was sloppy with covering.”
My heart stutters. “How do you know that?”
“We’re going into business together. When he forced his dad out, he wanted to clean house. Craig was in bed with Brutus, using Badon Hill to force land seizures frommyfather as a way to usurp the WayMont family compact they founded the town with.”
“So… Paxton’s working with the Feds, and so is my dad. What does that mean for us right now?”
He lifts a shoulder. “That means Lance is family, and if he loves you, then so are you. And we’ll get him out. This is our town, not our parents’, and we take it back and end this once and for all.”
Juliette spins to Roman and narrows her eyes. “You didn’t tell me all this.”
“No offense, Little Rose, but your brother’s fucking terrifying. He swore me to secrecy.”