Page 22

Thomas stood on the crest of the hill and watched the car disappear around a far-off bend. He stared until his eyes blurred. Until the trees lost their shape.

Let me do this , she’d said. As one last kindness.

What a fucking joke. He’d wanted to laugh right in her face. To call her a coward. To push at her, until she snapped and pushed back. Instead, he’d let her go. What kind of idiot was he?

The sound of a footfall brought his head snapping up.

“Thomas?” Delaney’s hand landed, feather light, on his shoulder. “Are you all right?”

He wrenched away from her, anger annihilating every last thought in his head. “Don’t touch me.”

“He looks like he’s going to pass out,” said the female pledge, from somewhere behind him.

He ignored them both and began walking down the lane, heading for the grassy culvert where they’d parked the car. The sound of jogging feet thudded behind him, and then Colton and Eric fell in at either side.

“Hey,” said Eric. “You’ve got a real scary vibe going on.”

Thomas ignored him, fishing in his back pocket for his keys.

“Where are we going?” asked Colton, with infuriating calm.

“Greenwich,” gritted out Thomas.

“Thought so,” said Colton. “Do you really think that’s the best idea?”

Thomas kept going, his speed full tilt, his blood rising to a boil. A hand landed in the middle of his chest and he swung out blindly, seeing red. The feel of a spine cracking against the car’s passenger door jarred him into awareness. Colton stood pinned beneath his palms, his hands thrown up in an open gesture of goodwill. Thomas wrenched back, too furious to cobble together an apology.

“Maybe you should cool off for a bit,” said Colton, sounding nonplussed.

“You look like you’re about to kill someone,” added Eric.

Thomas fumbled for his key fob. “I am about to kill someone.”

“Premeditated murder is a felony,” said Colton evenly. “So is kidnapping, for that matter, since I assume you’re not planning on sticking around in Connecticut after you get her back, and crossing state lines puts you firmly in federal crime territory.”

“Stop spouting facts at me,” snapped Thomas, whose head was beginning to throb.

“Come on, Walsh,” said Colton. “ Think. You’re smarter than this. You can’t just go charging in there like a bull. That was Philip Farrow, right? He’s one of the top-paid lawyers in New England.”

“How do you know that?” asked Eric.

“Irrevelant,” said Colton. “My point is, he’s got resources coming out of his ears. Plus, he’s her father.”

“He’s not her father,” spat Thomas.

Colton faltered. “What do you mean?”

“He’s her stepdad.”

“Huh.” There was a beat as Colton considered this, his dark eyes scanning the far-off trees. “Who’s her biological father?”

“I don’t see how that’s important.”

“Just answer the question.”

“I don’t know, I think he was one of Philip’s old managing partners. Can you move?”

Some of the color had gone out of Colton’s face. “That’s not possible.”

“Get out of my way, Price.” Thomas’s voice tilted into a shout. “Jesus, look at the day we just had. What the hell does it matter who her father is?”

“Because,” said Colton, as though Thomas was slow, “ my father was Philip Farrow’s old managing partner.”