Page 26 of Twisted Truths (The Sunburnt Hearts #4)

Chapter Twenty

NASH

I ’m staring out the window lost in thought when Levi’s mother pushes a plate of sandwiches into my hand.

The low hum of mourners gathered throughout Levi’s kitchen and living room, and spilling outside into the backyard, is distant background noise.

No one has approached me in the last hour or so, and I’m counting down the minutes until they all leave. I want this day to be over.

“How are you holding up, love?” Katerina asks, giving my back a gentle rub which is so similar to the comfort Mum used to offer me that my knees nearly crumble on the spot.

I glance at her with glassy eyes, and her returning smile is filled with sympathy and sorrow. “I’m sorry,” I mumble, bowing my head. Shame curdles through me.

“Whatever are you apologising to me for?” she asks, a surprised lilt to her tone.

“I’m sorry about the way Dalton treated you, and I’m sorry I was such an arsehole to Levi in high school. Neither of you deserved it.” I exhale out a shaky breath. “Mum roasted me good for what I did to him, and I hate thinking I’m the reason Lev gave up playing.”

Katerina chuckles and pats me on the cheek.

“You’re a good man, Nash. Thank you for your apology, however unnecessary it might be.

You’re not to blame for what your father did.

The only person responsible for that man’s actions is himself.

As for Levi, well, I’ll leave that between the two of you, but I don’t think your actions caused him to give up playing.

Not entirely.” She sighs. “Basketball was his connection to Kaleb, and he really struggled after the mining accident. I think what happened with you only gave him the excuse he was looking for.”

I swallow thickly. “Does it get easier?”

She squeezes my arm, knowing exactly what I’m asking.

“Time doesn’t erase the loss, but it softens the edges.

It won’t always feel this raw.” Pain flashes in her eyes.

“The circumstances surrounding the loss of your family are tragic, and I know you’re still seeking answers.

I wish I could relieve the burden for you, but no one can. All I hope is you find peace.”

My chest constricts. The only way I’ll get peace is when I find out who really killed my family.

“Thanks, Kat,” I say, pulling her in for a tight embrace.

Someone clears their throat behind us, and we turn to find Levi standing there wearing an unreadable expression. “Phil’s looking for you,” he tells his mother.

Katerina smiles, and wipes at her eyes before moving towards her son and kissing him on the cheek. “Look after each other.”

He gives her a tired smile and then joins me at the bench.

“Who was the girl I saw you with at the church earlier?”

“No one.”

Pain lances through my chest at the thought of Hadley being no one, but it has to be my truth. I can’t let myself be pulled into something I don’t understand, and I can’t be with a member of the same cult I suspect murdered my family.

When I saw her earlier, sitting in the back of the church, something inside me cracked wide open. Somehow, seeing her there made getting through the day a little more bearable.

I don’t know why.

I don’t know where this pull comes from, but it’s there, buried under my grief and rage, humming like a low current every time she’s near.

It’s dangerous, and I hate that I can’t explain it.

“Hey,” Levi’s voice breaks through my thoughts, and I glance at him, noting the exhaustion lining his face. “What now?”

My brows knit. “What do you mean?”

“Now we’ve laid Zara to rest…” He runs a hand over his face before meeting my eyes. “Are we going to keep looking for answers?”

I stare at him like he’s grown a second head. “Are you seriously asking me that?”

His gaze drops. Guilt flickers across his face, but mostly he just looks tired. “I just think maybe … maybe it’s time to let it go. We haven’t found anything. There’s no proof anyone else was involved.”

My body vibrates with anger, and I open my mouth to say something I’m sure I’ll regret when my phone rings. We both look down at the screen.

It’s Grimshaw.

“Are you sure you can trust him?” Levi asks warily.

I snatch up my phone and accept the call as I push through the throng of people paying their respects.

“What did you find?” I ask, a little harsher than I’d intended. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice .

“A couple of interesting things,” the private investigator says without formalities.

I step outside onto the front porch, the fresh air rushing into my lungs like I’ve been underwater.

The sun is almost gone, the sky stained with fading light.

I move over to the large tree in the corner of Paige and Levi’s front yard for some privacy while trying to calm the storm still spinning inside of me.

“Such as?”

“I’ve been digging into your stepdad’s financials,” he says. “Something is off. There are patterns to suggest he might have been … under pressure of some kind.”

I stiffen. “You think he was being blackmailed?”

“Could be,” Grimshaw replies. “There are numerous withdrawals over the past six months leading up to the murders. Some odd transfers. Like he was paying someone off. I’ve got someone looking into it further to see if we can find where the money was going, but that’s not what I was calling for.”

I wait him out, my stomach knotting.

“We got information on the partial print off the weapon. It took some coercion, but we got a name—Anthony Robinson. Does that name mean anything to you?”

“Anthony Robinson?” I repeat. The name hits like static—familiar, but out of focus. Barrenridge is a small town, but I haven’t lived here for six years. “I don’t know. It sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. Have you run it against any of Solomon’s flock?”

“No matches,” is his gruff response. But I’m not sold. Those people could be going by any name. Before I can voice my concerns, though, Grimshaw continues. “Keep thinking on it, and I’ll keep digging on my end.”

He hangs up and I stare down at my phone, cold seeping into my spine. Anthony Robinson. Something about the name rubs wrong, like a word you mispronounce but can’t figure out why.

“Nash?” A soft hand lands on my shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts.

I lift my head and see Sadie standing beside me. “Hey, Sades. Thanks for coming. Didn’t think I’d see you back in Barrenridge, though. You here for good?”

She smiles sadly. “I am now.”

“I’m really happy for you. Rowan’s a good man.”

“Yeah, he is.” She glances over her shoulder, to where Rowan’s standing beside his bike smoking a cigarette, before turning back to me, a pained expression on her face. “Listen, I—I didn’t mean to overhear your conversation.”

I lift a brow in question.

“Anthony Robinson.” She chews on her thumbnail. “What are you getting yourself into?”

My jaw tightens. “Wait—you know him?”

She nods. “You could say that. So do you. He was a few years ahead of us in school, but he doesn’t go by that name anymore.”

My face must portray my confusion, because she continues.

“He goes by Snake now.”

I glance over at where Rowan’s waiting for her. “He’s a Ridge Rider?”

She nods. “Yeah, the dangerous kind. He tried to have Rowan killed—almost succeeded—then he vanished. No one can find him.”

“Jesus,” I mutter, rubbing the back of my neck with a frown. “Does he have any connection to the Sunfire Circle?” I’m desperately trying to put all the pieces together in my head.

“I don’t know.” Sadie sighs and looks over at Rowan again before bringing her attention back to me. “But I know about the print—so does Rowan. He said he saw Snake at the clubhouse the night of the murders. Look, whatever his actual involvement is, just be careful, okay?”

“Sure,” I mumble, but I’m only half paying attention as she walks over to Rowan and climbs onto the back of his bike.

Anthony Robinson— Snake —had something to do with the murder weapon. His partial print was found on it. So the question is, how was he involved in the murders? Did he just provide the weapon to the person responsible? Is he involved with the Sunfire Circle somehow? Either way, he knows something.

I pull the keys to the farm from my pocket, the ones Shane gave me earlier, and stare at them. The police have cleared the crime scene, coming up empty, but what if they weren’t searching for the right thing? What if the answers are still out there, waiting to be found?

My stomach knots.

They’re gone.

I’m still here.

And somewhere in the tangled mess of loss, rage, and confusion … is her .

Hadley.

I don’t know what to do with my feelings for her.

But I can’t figure it out here. Levi wouldn’t understand my involvement with someone from the Circle.

Hell, I don’t even understand it.

As much as it’s going to hurt, I know, deep down, that in order to find the answers I’m searching for, I have to go home. Back to the farm.

Back to where it all happened.

After everyone’s gone, Paige puts Sawyer to bed, and Levi finds me in his spare room, packing my bags.

“Where are you going?” he asks from his position in the doorway.

I hold up the keys to the farm. “Shane gave these to me today. I need to sort some stuff out at the farm before I head back to the States.”

Surprise flickers across his face. “You’re going back?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Contracts are signed, and the Shamrocks are waiting for me to join them for preseason.”

He stares at me. “Does this mean you’re giving up on Zara?”

“Why?” I fling back at him. “Seems to me like you already have.”

Levi grimaces. “You know that’s not true. Fuck, Nash. It’s not what I meant. I’m just … it’s been an emotional couple of weeks, and I’m exhausted.”

“You and me both,” I mutter, tossing a couple of shirts into my bag.

“So, what’s the plan?” he presses. “Are you going to stay out at the farm? You don’t have to do that. You can stay here.”

“I appreciate everything you and Paige have done for me, but I need the closure. The farm was my home, and I’ve got to do this myself. For them.”

“And Zara?”

I shrug, zipping up my bag. “Maybe I’ll find something when I’m packing up her stuff. Maybe I won’t. Who knows? ”

Levi sighs. “This is dangerous. What are you going to do if you find something?”

“Tell Shane.” I swing my overnight bag over my shoulder and grip the handle of my suitcase.

He fixes me with a look. “Are you sure you won’t go off half-cocked and get yourself into trouble? Come on, Nash. Be smart about this. Stay here. I’ll help you clean out their house. We’ll do it together. Zara was my sister, too.”

“I’ll let you know when I’m ready to go through her room,” I tell him. “I have to do the rest myself.”

His shoulders slump. “Yeah, okay, if you’re sure. Let me grab my keys.”

I follow him out to his car, and we sit in silence as he drives out to the farm. The closer we get, the tighter my chest constricts. My knee bounces restlessly, and I rub my palms against my suit pants, pressing them against my thighs like I can pin the panic in place. It doesn’t help.

At the gate, I climb out and unlock it, pushing it open before getting back in the car. Levi remains quiet as he drives towards the house.

“Do you want me to come in?” he asks when he pulls to a stop.

“I’m good,” I say, not taking my eyes off the front porch, where Paul lost his life in the most brutal way. The crime scene tape is gone, but the memory of it still plagues my waking nightmares. “I just want to get some sleep.”

“Yeah, of course.”

I grab my bags and climb out of the car, then lean down to talk to him. “Seriously, Lev. Thanks for everything you’ve done. Tell Paige I’ll come over tomorrow night for dinner.”

“Will do.”

I watch the lights of his car as they drive away, then release a heavy exhale and switch on my phone light so I don’t trip as I make my way up to the front door.

Skirting around the brownish stain on the wooden boards, I swallow the bile rising up the back of my throat. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

My hand shakes as I insert the key and turn the handle.

The door creaks open like something from a horror movie.

I half expect someone to jump out at me.

They don’t, but I also wasn’t expecting light spilling from underneath the door to the sitting room.

The window to the sitting room is at the back of the house, which explains why Levi and I didn’t notice when we pulled up.

The low murmur of voices coming from the room is almost drowned out by my heart hammering in my chest.

Who the fuck is in the house?

My phone burns in my back pocket.

I should call Shane.

Or Levi.

But my curiosity gets the better of me. Whoever it is has the balls not to hide. Could it be kids? A dare?

Spend a night in the murder house of Barrenridge.

Yeah, I’ve heard the rumours going around town from some of the high school kids.

Leaving my bags at the front door, I creep down the hallway, avoiding the floorboards that always creak.

These kids are going to get the scare of their life. It’s in pretty poor taste to be breaking in here the night of the funerals. I’m not in the fucking mood.

When I reach the sitting room without having given away my presence, I take a deep breath before shoving open the door.

A small shriek causes my heart to fucking stop when I spot the two people sitting on the settee, finishing what looks like a bowl of pasta.

Hadley’ s green eyes go wide, her face pale in the dim light coming from the lamp in the corner.

Gabriel freezes mid-bite, the fork hovering awkwardly near his mouth.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask, my voice sharper than I intended.

Hadley flinches, but Gabriel meets my gaze head on. “My parents kicked us out.”

“So, you broke into this house? On this night? Fuck me, Gabriel, I only buried my fucking family today.” My eyes narrow, a chilling realisation hitting me. “How do you even know about this place?”

He hears the accusation in my tone. “I picked Zara up from here before she moved to the Circle.”

My hands fist at my sides. “Oh, yeah? And did you follow her back here when she left?”

Pain twists his features, and I’m reminded of the images Grimshaw sent me. The ones that showed there was something between Gabriel and my sister. I don’t want to admit it, but he cared about her.

I can’t bring myself to look at Hadley because I’m worried that if I do, I’ll want to cross the room and lose myself in her. But I can’t do that in front of him. So, I keep my eyes locked on Gabriel.

“I didn’t kill them.” His voice is low but firm. “I’ve been trying to help you figure out who did.”

A scoff slips from my lips before I can stop it. “How have you been doing that?”

“I’m paying Hayden Grimshaw.”