Page 28

Jules

W hy am I here? It’s a question I’ve asked myself every few minutes since I all but begged to be brought along to the hospital while Riley spoke to Odie.

I don’t doubt that I’m one of the last people Odie wants to visit him, but I just need him to see me.

Maybe, when all of this is over, there will be some shred of our family to save.

Maybe.

My heart is so heavy it might as well be full of lead as I step onto the elevator alongside Riley.

I imagine Odie’s furious about the fact that our grandfather deeded the house to me, and I’m hoping he’ll understand that I was just as surprised as he was.

That I never would have cut him out of it. It’s just a house. He’s family.

“Are you okay?” Riley asks.

“I’m all right.” It’s not even close to the truth though. I haven’t had the courage to ask him about earlier today when he met with the Dodgers, and thankfully, he hasn’t brought it up.

“It’s okay if you’re not.” Riley reaches down and gently squeezes my hand then releases it. I flex my fingers, trying to resist the urge to reach for him again. To hold on to him as I rip open old wounds to find the truth.

The hospital is buzzing with activity, though a few nurses definitely take a moment to pause and eye the man walking beside me. It would make me jealous if I wasn’t so amused by the fact that he’s so blissfully unaware of it.

How does he not see the effect his mere presence has on people? Or does he know and just chooses to ignore it?

Odie’s security guard is stationed outside his door, though he steps to the side when we approach. Riley pushes open the door, and Odie glares at us as we step into the room. He’s standing and dressed in slacks and a white button-down dress shirt, one arm in a sling.

“Unless you’re here to tell me you did your job and found the man who shot me, I’m not interested in having visitors. I’m actually on my way out.”

“You better get in the mood,” Riley replies, shutting the door behind us. “We have some questions for you.”

Odie eyes the manila folder in my hands. It’s copies of the ones I found in the theater room, but he doesn’t have to know that. “What’s that? My release paperwork?”

“No,” I answer before Riley can then cross over and set the folder down on the bedside tray.

Using his uninjured arm, he opens it, his expression remaining completely neutral as he flips through the images. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Explain to me why our grandfather kept them from you,” I say. “I’m assuming he was since I found them hidden in the theater room.”

Odie glares at me. “I have no idea what that old man was doing. He started to lose his mind toward the end. Something you would have seen if you’d been paying attention.”

“He was not . And the fact that you say that is an insult to his memory. He hid that from you; I want to know why. Did he have suspicions about Dodger? About what happened? Did he find out that you knew?”

“You know that I don’t like to repeat myself.”

“Then try telling the truth, and we won’t have to ask you again.

” Riley crosses his arms. “I’m good at what I do, Mr. Landers.

Which means, if there’s a thread to find, I’ll be the one tugging on it and bringing Dodger’s entire world crumbling down on top of him.

Just like you should have done ten years ago.

And if you know something? I’ll find that too.

” The subtext is there. He’ll bring Odie’s world down right alongside it.

“Is that a threat?” Odie demands.

“It’s a promise,” Riley growls. “Now, we already spoke to Glen Dodger. He told us that your grandfather was having money troubles and came to him to ask for help getting out of the publishing contract. Is that true?”

That gets his attention. He shifts his gaze to me. “What was it like? Seeing him again?” He doesn’t answer Riley’s question, and the one he directs at me is like a dagger to the gut all over again.

Riley lunges forward, but I grip his arm to keep him from ripping my brother apart right there. His muscles are tense beneath my fingers, his body hard and ready to attack. He’s trembling beneath my touch, a byproduct of the rage etched into his feral expression.

“Put your dog on a leash, Jules,” Odie says, obviously not threatened at all—a stupid move on his part. “I see my sister has managed to convince you—yet again—that she’s a victim.”

“I was a victim. And you know that.”

“And I told you to move on, didn’t I? There was no sense in trying to do anything about it because Glen Dodger is untouchable. Even more so now. Maybe if our grandfather had figured that out sooner, he’d still be alive.” He spits the words out then tosses the folder onto the bed.

The blood rushes away from my face, and I grow cold. It was my fault. All of this is because of what happened all those years ago. “Did you know he was looking into it?”

“Of course I did,” Odie spits out. “I told him the same thing I told you—to drop it. That Dodger was untouchable and going after him—especially with his candidacy announcement coming up—was a mistake.”

“Dodger killed him?”

Odie’s disapproving glare is one I’m quite used to. “Grow up, Jules. There’s no proof Dodger killed him.”

“Then who else? Who else would have wanted him dead?”

“Who knows. It’s just as likely you made enemies who decided to collect. It’s not as though you’ve been an upstanding citizen your entire life.”

His accusation is a slap to the face. I may have been an alcoholic. But I never hurt anyone. Enemies? Aside from Dodger, I have none. “That is not true, and you know it.”

“Do I?” he questions, crossing his arms.

“What about the contract?” Riley asks, seemingly back in control of his temper. “Why was he trying to get out of it?”

Odie rolls his eyes. “Because Jules negotiated a ridiculous contract on his behalf. And once again, I had to go in and fix her mess. Our grandfather didn’t care much for the terms of the new contract, and when I explained to him it was better all the way around, he was furious.”

“You’re the one who altered the contract?”

“The original one was for less than the advance I got him. He was one of the most prolific actors of his generation; he deserved more than a measly $200,000.”

“He didn’t want that much of an advance because he didn’t need it!” Anger and betrayal burn through me. “He was adamant that he wanted to keep the advance low. It wasn’t about the money for him.”

“It should have been about the money. Especially after everything you cost the family.”

I take a step closer, my hands balling into fists. “You buried him with that contract. And it wasn’t even just the money. You renegotiated terms that were unreachable even for someone who’d been writing novels for years. This was his first one, and he wanted to be cautious.”

“Cautious isn’t what makes money,” he sneers.

I stare back at him, finally seeing him as the greedy man he is. How did I miss it all these years? Why did I fight so hard to get him to see me when I couldn’t even truly see him? “You buried him, Odie. He raised you—gave you everything—and you betrayed him.”

“I was helping him,” Odie replies. “And he would have seen it.”

“Where did the money for the advance go?” I ask.

Odie glares at me. “That’s none of your business.”

“Actually, it is. I’m his grandchild too. So where is it?”

“Moved to somewhere you can’t touch it. I moved it the second it hit his account. Just to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid and gift it to you too.”

“Is that why he went to Dodger?” I ask, tears burning in the corners of my eyes as the pieces start fitting together. “He went to him for help because you made his money inaccessible?”

“Yes.”

“What did he find there?” Riley demands. “He found something that made him suspect something happened to Jules. What was it?”

The look Odie gives Riley is furious, but Riley doesn’t cower. Instead, his own gaze turns murderous once again.

“A pair of earrings. The same ones you went to the mall to buy that night,” Odie replies. “They were apparently in a shallow tray on his desk, and when our grandfather asked about them, Dodger told him that you’d left them in his car that night after he’d dropped you off.”

The pain hits me so hard and fast it might as well be a lightning bolt straight through my soul. I can’t help but picture my grandfather the moment he saw those earrings. He was a smart man—a determined man.

How much did he know?

“Did you tell him that you knew?”

Odie’s expression answers what he chooses not to.

“Of course not. Why would you have confessed to that? Our grandfather would have written you out of everything. Is that why he deeded the house to me? Because you were taking everything else?”

“I worked myself to death for that man. I organized every moment of his life and got him opportunities others would have killed for. Yet, every time I turned around, he was saving you. ”

“He loved you,” I say, tears slipping down my cheeks.

Odie snorts. “The moment my mother died, I knew I had to fight for my place in the Landers family. Otherwise, you’d push me out.”

“I never would have done that. You were family. My brother—blood or not.”

“No,” he replies. “I wasn’t. As far as I’m concerned, you never should have come back.”

Once again, Riley charges for him, but I tighten my grip on his arm.

“You’d better watch your mouth, Landers,” Riley growls.

“Did you know? What kind of man he was?” I ask, my throat burning with emotion. “Dodger. When you invited him to my birthday that night, did you already know?” Was that part of the plan? To get me out of the way?

Odie barely even reacts. “He was a man who had a fondness for younger women. Everyone at the club—including our grandfather—knew that.”

“I was not a woman!” I scream at him.