Page 86 of Pretty Vengeance

I shrug. “He didn’t call.”

“Did you want him to?” When I don’t answer, she speeds up. “I think we’ll stop by his place. Just for a couple of minutes.” Her tone is light and casual.

I want to see him. So badly. But I force myself to say, “There’s no point. Just tell him I’m okay.”

“You sure it’s pointless? He’s called me twice, wanting to know whether you’re all right. And when you would be back on campus.”

My insides twist in knots. There’s pleasure and pain in hearing he’s been worried.

“Jamie doesn’t want me…” My jaws clench and release. “Because of something my mom did. And that, to me, is so unfair that I don’t want him, either. Not anymore.”

Ash’s brows wrinkle. “Something your mom did?”

“She’s in jail.” I can’t believe I blurt it out. My admission, more than anything, shows how off kilter I am.

“I thought your mom passed away?”

“That’s my adopted mom. My bio mom is in prison in Tennessee.”

“And Jamie told you he didn’t want to be with you because of your former mom being in jail?” Her tone is so skeptical it almost makes me question what I heard.

“Yes.”

She wrinkles her nose, looks over at me, and then shakes her head. “There’s no way that’s right.”

“You weren’t there, Ash. He was furious, too, because I didn’t tell him.”

“No way. There’s some kind of disconnect.” She blows out a breath. “Look up the name Scott Patrick on your phone.”

“Your brother?”

She nods and points. “Do it.”

I type the name into the search bar and click. Several articles surface related to him and his business partners renovating areas of Coynston, Massachusetts where they live. As I scroll, I find posts and columns about his wedding.

And then there areothers. About him being arrested.

When I search by the arrests and click on images, there are two mugshots. In them, he’s younger and, except for his short brown hair, he looks so much like Ash and Jamie, my brows rise.

“Find him?”

“Yes,” I say softly. I’m so confused I’m at a loss.

“My brother’s never been to prison, but he’s been arrested a bunch of times. He’s no angel. And Jamie and Scotty are close. We all are.”

My mind reels, trying to remember exactly what Jamie said.

Ash shrugs, and her tone is certain. “There is zero chance Jamie broke up with you because your mom got sent to prison.Zero.”

39

JAMIE

My phone buzzes with an incoming text from Sawyer.

I’m sitting in the upstairs living room facing the windows but glance over my shoulder in the direction of the bathroom. War’s in the shower after returning from the gym, and when he comes out, I’d rather he didn’t hear me talking with her.

Switching seats so I can keep an eye on the hall, I unlock my phone.