Page 27

Eleven Years Ago, August

The day was still but for the shrilling of the cicadas and the slight breeze that ruffled the palms in our backyard.

Mom had gotten so she was cold all the time, so we were outside in the heat, passing the afternoon on lounge chairs in the shade.

I finished a chapter of the detective novel I was reading and bookmarked the page, looking over to see she’d fallen asleep.

The past few weeks had been rough, with Tyson’s betrayal followed closely by the official news that the second round of treatments hadn’t taken, and a third was not recommended.

I knew how badly she didn’t want to see me suffer on her behalf, so I was strong for her when I was home, forcing positivity and tranquility, then collapsing in tears on Rosa’s shoulder the minute I walked into her apartment.

My phone buzzed beside me, and I checked the number. Tyson again. This was the third time he’d called within the hour, leaving only one message asking me to call him immediately.

But I wasn’t fooled.

In the two weeks since I’d found him with the blonde, Tyson had called and texted almost constantly, alternating between messages begging for my forgiveness and complaining about Ian, who was still asking for ever larger amounts of money.

A knocking roused me. “Audrey!” came Tyson’s voice.

I groaned. He was at my front door. I stood and charged in the back entrance, through the kitchen and into the living room, where I jerked open the door to find Tyson panting on the stoop, his eyes panicked. “What do you want?” I demanded.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“No, we don’t,” I hurled, slamming the door in his face.

But he blocked the door with his foot. “Not about us,” he said urgently. “It’s about Cody. He’s been arrested.”

I stared at him in shock. “Arrested?”

“This morning at work. His lawyer just called to let me know there’s a bail hearing set for tomorrow morning.”

I swung the door wide, allowing him to step inside. “Arrested for what?” I asked as I shut it behind him, hoping my assumption was wrong.

He frowned at me like I was an idiot. “The sales deflation program.”

My heart stopped. “How?”

“Ian must have turned him in.” He ran his fingers through his hair, distraught. “It’s my fault. He kept coming for more and more money. I couldn’t keep up.”

“Fuck. This is bad,” I said, the wheels in my brain spinning so fast I felt dizzy. “What do we do?”

“We can’t do anything now,” he said. “If we touch anything, they’ll know he’s not the only one involved.”

I gripped the back of a chair to steady myself. “Surely they’ve shut the program down already.”

“I assume so, but I don’t know. I tried to check but I was locked out of the website because his credentials didn’t work anymore.”

“Shit. The bank account,” I said, sinking into the chair.

“It’s a numbered Swiss account,” he said. “They shouldn’t be able to get into it.”

“Because it’s linked to a Swiss citizen—my dad,” I said, growing more upset as I began to grasp the gravity of the situation. “They’ll figure that one out pretty quickly, then they’ll come for me.”

He perched on the couch across from me. “You’re giving them too much credit.”

“Won’t they want the money back?” I asked.

“I doubt it’s often that anyone gets stolen money back,” he said. “And no one company lost enough for them to pursue it. We didn’t leave a digital trail, and I don’t think Cody will flip on you. Maybe on me, but not on you.”

“He wouldn’t do that to you,” I said. “You’re blood.”

“You didn’t see the fight we got in the other night,” he muttered, studying the discoloration on his knuckles. “My face is just now looking normal again.”

“I heard you beat him up pretty bad, too.”

Anger flared behind his eyes. “You’ve been talking to him?”

“To find out what was going on with Ian,” I returned. He opened his mouth to speak, but I went on before he could get a word out. “Don’t start with me. You’re the one who fucked things up between us, not Cody.”

“You’re saying he didn’t tell you to come over?” he asked pointedly. “Because why the hell else would you show up at two in the morning?”

“That is completely beside the point,” I snapped. “You shouldn’t have been fucking some girl behind my back.”

“It was a mistake,” he pleaded, changing his tone as he leaned forward and took my hand. “I fucked up, and I am sorry. But it was a one-time—”

“I’m done, Tyson.” I pulled my hand away, rising to my feet. “I hope you’ll use whatever you stole to pay for Cody’s defense.”

“My parents are paying for his defense,” he said, standing, “and they’ll put up the money for bail. He’ll maybe spend a few months in a fancy white-collar prison, then he’ll be out. He’ll be fine.”

“No, he won’t,” I snapped, incredulous. “This will follow him around for the rest of his life. Try getting the kind of job he’s qualified for as a felon.”

“He can work for me—”

I looked around. “Where?”

“I’m gonna take this money and start a company—”

“And here I’d thought it was for my education.”

“You said you didn’t want it!”

I glared at him, stewing in my indignation. “Fuck off, Tyson.”

“You’ll forgive me when you see what I can do,” he said.

I drew back. “You realize my problem with you has nothing to do with what you can or can’t do.”

Through the window, I could see my mom stirring, looking around for me. “You have to go,” I said. “Don’t come here again.”