Page 120 of Impulse

“Now that she’s found you,theywill too,” he said.

He spoke so softly she wasn’t sure she’d heard him right.“What?They who?”

“The bluebloods from New York.That’s what your mother called the people who killed your father.She saw them.You”—he nodded toward Jillian—“saw them too.”

Jillian blinked.“Me?”

“What?”Lex snapped, tensing.

“She knows the person who killed Jivan?”Mrs.Petrosian asked at the same time.

Jillian’s father glared at her.“No, she doesn’t.Jillian might have witnessed it, but she didn’t remember afterwards and her mother wanted it kept that way.”

“It is inside her head,” Mrs.Petrosian said.

Jillian’s father glared at her.“No, it’s not, but your queries could have easily alerted them if they’re still alive.That’s why I wanted you to believe Jillian was dead.There was no way of knowing who you’d talked to.”

Jillian shivered.The knowledge of her father’s killer was buried inside her head?

Lex studied her face.She saw the concern in his eyes.“You okay?”

She started to nod, then changed her mind and shook her head.“All this… It’s too much.”

“Do you want her to stop?We can go home right now and put this behind us.”

Could she?Somehow she doubted it.She tried to remember the events before she and her mother left New York, but she came up blank.“I wish I could remember.I was only seven and can barely remember my own father let alone something that traumatic.”

“Maybe you blocked it,” Lex said.“Or your mother assumed you’d seen it when you really hadn’t.”

Her mother had always been very protective of her, so that was possible.The thought that she had witnessed her father’s death left her queasy.It also explained their crazy trek across the country.The states they’d lived in didn’t exactly line up.Her mother had kept looping, probably making sure no one found their trail.

Jillian glanced at her father.“Is that why she wore a mask while performing?”It was where she’d gotten the idea to wear one as the Phantom Rider.

Her father nodded.“I got suspicious when she asked me for a job.With her looks and talent, she could have gotten a job anywhere, especially in L.A., yet she’d chosen the circus.I knew she had to be running from something.She told me her story, and I believed her.Her worst fear was that someone would recognize her.”

They were married right away.Maybe they’d done it so he could protect them.

“I’m sorry I said I never adopted you,” her father continued.“It was cruel and not true.You are a Finnegan, just like your brothers.”Her father glanced at Mrs.Petrosian.“Her sudden appearance, the heart attack… I had to do something to keep you safe, so I got rid of your pictures and pushed you away with lies.You are my daughter.No matter what blood flows in your veins, you’ll always be a Finnegan.”

Cian and Ricky grinned and gave her thumbs-up.Jillian glared at them.They frowned.Even knowing that she was truly a Finnegan didn’t eclipse the betrayal.

“You knew?”

“He told usafteryou dropped off the money and stormed off,” Ricky said quickly.“Not before.”

“We tried to find you and tell you, but you disappeared,” Cian added.

“Perhaps I should have told you the truth, but I just wanted her,” he said, shooting a glare at Mrs.Petrosian, “gone.”He focused on Jillian once more.“You should keep the money.I don’t need it.”

She didn’t need it either.Maybe Cian and Ricky could split it.“We’ll talk about it later.”Jillian glanced at Lex.“The money in that bag”—she slanted her head to indicate the duffel bag she’d dropped on the floor—“is Rod’s.It was his apology for the pictures.”Lex didn’t seem surprised.Mrs.Petrosian wore a bewildered expression.“I guess the three-fifty belongs to your, uh, nephew?”

“Three-fifty what?”Mrs.Petrosian asked.

Jillian opened her mouth, but Lex gripped her arm to get her attention.“Your father doesn’t owe anyone money, Jillian.”His eyes flickered to her father.“Do you, Mr.Finnegan?”

Her father shook his head.“No, I had to explain the men’s presence.They kept coming to the house and scaring my granddaughter and daughter-in-law.I was hoping that if the troupe was gone and I disappeared, they’d never trace Mira or Jillian to us again.”

Jillian’s mouth dropped.“You were disbanding the troop to protect me?”