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What if what he left for her was some grotesque calling card? A lead-in to what he had in store for her…
God, this is all just so fucked up.
“Listen, I know you’re a Forbes,” I say. “But if there’s anything, anything at all, that you can think of that might…I don’t know…help take your uncle down, I want to know.”
“What are you saying, Eden?”
“She’s saying she’ll do anything not to marry Keegan.”
The lie spills out of his mouth like butter. No one would suspect him of fibbing. Not a prince.
Devon nods slowly. “I wish I could help. You know I’m not actually a part of the Forbeses, though. They don’t tell me anything, especially not something of use.”
“Anything at all,” I question. “I’ll take anything.”
“I’ll think about it.”
And while we’re talking, his spine straightens; his gaze clears. Maybe we’ve just given Devon a purpose.
“If it’s any consolation, I’m sure Keegan doesn’t want to marry you either. Like I said, he’d finally gotten his head out of his ass. He loved her,” Devon says. “She knew it at the end, too. They’d reconciled.”
My stomach squeezes. It’s what I’d suspected after talking with Keegan. He’d looked like hell.
The backs of my eyes burn as I take in his information. I only wish I could’ve been there to see it. Dee must’ve been so happy. I wish she’d had enough faith in me to tell me herself, too.
That’s just another way I failed her.
“I’m glad,” I tell him, my smile wobbly and my gaze beginning to fracture under the tears waiting to let go. “She deserved to be happy.”
We spend the next few hours talking about old times. The more we sit and talk about Dee, the more alive Devon becomes. By the end of our visit, he’s on his feet, reenacting funny events from our childhood. The greasy hair, the sallow skin, all of that seems to melt away until I see the real Devon underneath.
The only thing that calls us away is a text from Leo making sure I’m okay.
I hold my breath and give Devon a hug, clinging to him. He just gave me the best gift…remembering what Dee was like not wrapped around a sick, twisted secret society or caught up in an arranged engagement over money. She was just a girl again. Just my sister.
“You should take a shower, dude,” I whisper in his ear. “Maybe shave.” He nods, and his beard scratches my skin, but I still don’t let go for another few seconds. “Keep in touch.” I pull away, then turn, attempting to compose myself as I head for the door.
Behind me, Oliver says his goodbyes and then follows me out to the car. I swear, as soon as the door shuts behind us, the brake lights come on in the car as if James has been waiting for our arrival from the moment we departed.
“Hey.” Oliver’s hand wraps around me from behind. He peers down into my eyes, and I take in a deep breath. “I think he’s going to be okay now.”
“I hope so,” I confess. “He’s one of the good ones.”
Oliver holds the door open for me. “Too bad he had no new information about Keegan or Forbes, though.”
Oliver’s right. The more we snoop, the more it looks like we’re going to have to get our hands dirty. Of course the Knights would never make things easy. They’re so secretive, most of them would rather die with their deceits buried in the casket with them.
“We’ll find something. We have to,” Oliver states.
Let’s just hope whatever Leo and Alaric were up to today yielded better results than a jaunt through memory lane.
“Will you be needing the ropes today, sir?”
I still, peeking up at James’ eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Not today, James,” Oliver states simply.
I glance at Oliver. “You were going to tie him up?”