Page 102 of Everyone’s a Liar

“I told her to let it go, but she thought she was impervious to our father’s rage.” Helene’s lips twisted into a humorless smile. “After all, she managed to run wild her whole life. She even had a baby with no condemnation from the family.”

Livia resisted the urge to demand to know the identity of her father. The confession time was about her mother and what had happened after Manny had been murdered.

“She called the FBI. That’s the note I found with the date and time she was supposed to meet with the agent.”

“So foolish,” Helene muttered.

Livia shook her head, her stomach still heaving with a sick sense of disbelief. She’d known her family were a bunch of arrogant asses, but now she realized they were genuine monsters.

“What did you do to her?” she demanded, stepping close enough to glare into Helene’s wide blue eyes.

The woman flinched back. “Nothing.”

“Helene?”

“It wasn’t my fault.”

Fury blasted through Livia and, without giving herself time to think of the danger, she reached to wrestle the weapon from Helene’s hand. The older woman stumbled back, her tangled hair half hiding her flushed face. She looked like a wild animal. As if the civilized behavior she’d once possessed had been stripped away to expose a raw, savage bitterness.

With a shake of her head, Livia dismissed the ugly knowledge that her mother had been murdered. Probably by her own father. Eventually the truth would be revealed.

Right now, nothing mattered but getting to the phone and calling for help.

Launching toward the desk, Livia had managed to grab the receiver of the phone when a sharp voice froze her in place.

“Drop the gun, Livia, and turn around.”

CHAPTER 24

Bryce forced open her heavy lids, briefly assuming she was in the middle of a nightmare. What else could explain the slimy, stinky mud beneath her face and the weird buzzing in her ears?

Only the throbbing headache and searing pain on the side of her neck assured her that this was horrifyingly real. With a groan, she managed to roll onto her back, gazing up at the clouds that hung low enough she felt she could touch them.

She knew she was in the swamps. She even had a foggy memory of walking through the darkness with Livia. And then what? Oh yeah, they’d found the boxes under the tarp. And there’d been another tarp that was covering a rusty old limo. After that it was blank …

No. She remembered. Someone had hunted them through the swamps and started shooting at them. With a hiss, Bryce shoved herself off the muddy ground, ignoring the dizziness that threatened to send her toppling back on her ass.

“Argh.” She pressed a hand against her neck. It hurt like hell, but there was no blood pouring out. That had to mean she was going to survive, right? Sucking in deep breaths, Bryce glanced around the clearing, her gaze frantically searching for some sign of her friend. “Livia?” she at last called out, her voice soft.

Bryce cursed as there was the sound of heavy boots snapping the rotting branches buried beneath the slime. Pulling out her phone, she held it in her hand like a weapon. It was dark enough she might fool someone into believing she had a gun.

“Show yourself or I’ll shoot,” she called in a loud, commanding tone.

The footsteps halted and a male voice floated on the air from behind a clump of swamp grass.

“Bryce, it’s Finn.”

A strangled sob escaped Bryce’s throat before she could squash it. She’d never been so happy to see anyone in her entire life.

“Thank goodness.” She struggled to remain upright. Her knees were annoyingly weak. Just like some ridiculous damsel in distress. “What are you doing here?”

Finn cautiously stepped forward, his gaze sweeping the area for any signs of trouble. In the murky light it was hard to make out more than the fact that he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt and his dark hair was left loose to brush his shoulders. If she wasn’t terrified for Livia, she might have taken a moment to simply appreciate the sight of his raw male beauty as he walked toward her.

“Looking for you,” Finn said. “I got your text and I was worried. Why are you out here at this time of night?”

“It’s a long story.” Bryce glanced toward the spot where she’d pushed her friend, not sure whether to be relieved or alarmed that she was missing. Without a body she could still hope that she was alive. “Right now we have to find Livia.”

“Is she lost? Is that why you came out here?”