Page 78 of Better Off Wed
The backpack’s zipper creaked as Gideon wrenched it apart with his strong hands. He reached inside and, without a word, pulled out a used can of blue spray paint.
Lola screamed, turned around, and ran…
Right into Jack’s chest, who’d snuck in the back door. He caught her around the waist and lifted her over his shoulder. Jennifer gasped. Gideon sighed.
I grimaced, disappointed that I’d been right. Recognizing the white sneakers had seemed like a long shot—so many people wore them—but it had been enough.
“Jennifer, you might want to sit down,” Gideon said, gesturing to a chair. The mother obstinately remained standing, caught between shock and the desire to protect her daughter.
“You tell me what the hell is going on,” she demanded. “Andyou.” She pointed at me. “You had something to do with this!”
“She sure did,” Gideon agreed. “She’s the one who figured out that Lola is Mr. Titty.”
“I’m not!”Lola screamed.
“One third of Mr. Titty,” Gideon corrected. “The other two thirds are waiting for us at headquarters.”
Lola suddenly went limp in Jack’s arms, her head drooping in defeat.
GIDEON
When the hubbub had died down, Jennifer agreed to drive to the Marswood Security headquarters with Lola so we could get to the bottom of things. The look in my aunt’s eyes told me that Lola would have a very unpleasant trip—worse than if Lola had ridden with me.
Beside me, Sadie was quiet as we drove up toward headquarters.
“You okay?” I asked, not liking the curve of her shoulders.
Her eyes were sad as she looked at me. “Don’t go too hard on them,” she requested. “They’re just kids.”
I couldn’t get the words out to answer. How could I, when I was choked with grief and betrayal?
My own family. My ownkin.
I’d done everything for my brothers. I’d sold half my business to give them their livelihoods. I’d hired Connor and nurtured his talents from the start. I’d given so much, and this was how they repaid me?
It was almost easier when my mother had left. When my father had died. When Lenore had turned her back on me at my lowest. Because this? This hurt, this knife in the back? It was so much worse.
I glanced at Sadie once more, wondering what she was thinking. If she still had dreams of a successful business in the city. If she’d be the next one to cut my legs out from under me.
TWENTY-FIVE
SADIE
When he spotted Lola being marched into Marswood Security, Connor folded like a cheap suit. The whole story came blubbering out of him—how he, Glenn, and Lola didn’t want to be subjected to arranged marriages. How they’d concocted a plan to make the town look unappealing. How they targeted family properties because they didn’t want to get other people involved, other than a select few who annoyed them. Ivan Popov had been rude to Lola, for example, and Glenn had tagged his shop in retaliation.
I watched Gideon bear the weight of the confession. He was quiet as we made our way up to his apartment on the top floor. I tried to reach him with soft touches and comments, but he remained closed off. I’d never seen him so withdrawn.
We ate dinner, watched TV, and got ready for bed in silence. Finally, when we’d lain beside each other for an hour, I couldn’t resist any longer. “Talk to me.”
Gideon pretended to sleep for a second, then gusted out abreath. “My own family,” he said. Grief threaded through his voice, and my heart ached for him.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You’re the only one who was able to figure it out. The rest of us were blind.”
“I wish I’d been wrong.”
“They’re not the kids I thought they were,” he said, voice dark.
