Page 79 of Wayward

“I’ve been playing it over and over,” Zane says.

My head bobs because there’s a whole ton of shit that I’ve been playing over and over for a while now.

“I’ll let you keep reading.” The bedroom door bounces closed behind him.

But fuck, now I’m looking out the window. Zane’s more of a Hercule Poirot than I am. It sends my head spiraling. How did we get here . . . more like why? Who benefits from Easton, Rocky, and Emily being dead? Is this about the diamond or them? The more time that goes on and the more Ed wants us dead, the more I think it’s not about the diamond. The diamond is expensive, but theRock Candywas worth more. And if Rocky and Emily are living their merry fucking lives, it’s just Easton.

Like a damn witch, Easton comes into the room. “You want lunch? Zane said to leave you alone.”

“I could eat.” I put down my book and follow Easton to the dining room. Zane’s hidden behind the newspaper. “Yeah, I want lunch.” I pull down the paper and flip him off.

“You were reading.” Zane picks up the paper and straightens it. “And you were a bit pissy.”

I glare at him. But he’s not wrong. I’ve been shit for company lately.

“What the hell?” Easton takes the crumpled paper from Zane.

“Hey, I was reading that.” Zane reaches for it back, but Easton angles his body like a point guard.

“I’ll give it to you in a second. The Futures of Markets Forum is taking place in London. It starts soon.”

“And?” I reach for the pitcher of water.

“And my Dad goes most years. He’s virtual sometimes, but he likes London. I was supposed to go with him this year.” Easton hands the paper back to Zane.

Dante hands me a platter of roast beef. “You want some?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Haley, do you want some roast beef?” He wiggles his eyebrows at her.

“No.” I say for her and take the platter. The last thing I want to watch while I eat lunch is Dante’s face while Haley goes searching for her napkin under the table.

Haley’s blinking at me. I know she’s holding back the are-you-okay question.

“Yes, I’m pissy. I’ve been thinking . . .” I turn to Easton. “How much is Rockwell Tire worth?”

Easton opens his mouth.

I cut him off. “It doesn’t matter. Is it publicly traded?”

“No.” He takes a rabid bite of his sandwich and chews with vigor. I’ve pissed him off.

“Sorry, what I’m getting at is if you, your sister, Rocky, and Candy are dead, who gets the company?”

Easton puts his sandwich on his plate. “I own the tire company. It’s worth around nine hundred million last time it was evaluated. Dad had it switched over to me. He knew I wasn’t happy about him marrying Candy.”

Zane stands and paces near the window. “What the hell, Rockwell? Why didn’t you tell us that before?”

“We were on an island. And I could ask you the same thing, but I’m not going to because it’s in the past.”

“Fair enough. Right, okay, so if someone wanted to kill you to get the tire company, that would explain why they aren’t going after Rocky.” Zane bounces on his heels.

Haley puts her hand on Easton’s arm. “Who gets it if you’re dead?”

Easton laughs. “That’s the thing I wasn’t big on. My lawyer wanted me to update my will after the transfer happened. Fuck. But with the training and then making the decision to retire . . . I never did. Everything I have was to be transferred back to my parents. Rocky and?—”

“Your stepmom, Susan.” Haley covers her mouth.