Page 181 of Burning Daylight

I shrug again. “A lot of people stare at me.”

He nods, gazing out over the space again. “Maybe I’ll tell Lance, then. He’d fuck him up so he couldn’t stare atanythingagain.”

“Even he’s notthatoverprotective.” I watch Tyler carefully and then ask, “Why do you hate him so much? You don’t even know him.”

“He’s aMontgomery.”

“He can’t help that any more than you can,” I say.

Tyler’s lips twist, and he crosses his arms with a grunt. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“And whose fault is that?” I snap. “Maybe if all of you dropped the brutish ‘I’m strong man, she’s weak woman’ act, you’d realize letting me know things is better than keeping me in the dark.”

He grunts, his jaw tensing.

I lean in, hopeful that maybe I’m getting through to him, just a little. Because if I can get through to Tyler, then maybe I can get through to everyone else, and I reallywillbe able to come back here one day. “Tyler. It’sme. Be honest. Do you only hate them because my father tells you to?”

He slams his hand on the bench, the metal rattling beneath us. “I hate them because they’re responsible formyparents’ deaths.”

“Roman didn’t do that.”

He lets out a humorless laugh. “He’s the whole fucking reason it happened, Juliette. Take off those rose-colored glasses and look around. You want to know who the bad guys are? We’reit. Killing my parents was retaliation for your father trying to kill Roman and his sister.”

I rear back like he slapped me. “What are you talking about?”

He tilts his head, a pained smile crossing his face. “Don’t act surprised. I thought you wanted to know.”

“I don’t?—”

“I’m on the city council because your father gives us all kickbacks to vote accordingly. HefundedArt’s father’s campaign because Mayor Penngrove makes sure the Calloways come out on top with building codes and property taxes. The judges have their wallets lined so they’ll look the other way when our land agents suddenly threaten a business owner within an inch of their life to give up their property.”

My brows furrow. “I know they do things that aren’t necessarily aboveboard, but Art’s dad wouldn’t…”

He laughs under his breath. “He’sinon it, Jules. All of them are. The police. The mayor. The governor. The criminal organizations you don’t even know exist because they don’t have to step foot in town to make people do their bidding.” He throws his hand out toward the building. “There are things going on underground, underneath these very buildings, that would make your skin crawl.”

My mind whirls.How could I not have known?

“Okay, fine.” I try to make my voice sound strong. “That doesn’t explain why you hate Roman; it sounds like we should hate ourselves. Hate his dad, hate everyone who has lived here. But he’s a victim of circumstance, Ty. Surely you can see that.”

Tyler lets out a sardonic laugh. “Roman Montgomery should have stayed dead.”

There’s fire in his gaze, and I know that no matter what I say, it won’t change a thing.

Tyler has had serious anger issues ever since he lost his family, and I grew up ignorant to the truth.

Civil blood stains civil hands.

I’m sick.

“My parents didn’t deserve to die. And for a long time, the only peace I had was knowing once Marcus was in the ground, it was over. I wasthisclose to breathing again, Juliette. But now that piece of shit is here, and he’s got you twisted around his finger.”

I swallow, feeling ten inches tall from his glare. Tyler’s never looked at me like this before, like he’s seconds away from snapping and I’m seconds away from being dead to him.

“He’s taking another family member from me, and he doesn’t even have to try. It’s notfair.”

“It’s not like that.” I force the words out.

“Bullshit. He’s manipulating you the same way our families have played the game for generations. You’re just too innocent to see it.”