Page 29

Jess walked along the deserted sidewalk on the east side of campus, trapped in a waking nightmare. The cooing doves in the tupelo trees, bright afternoon sun, and gentle breeze all felt unreal. The hints of the coming spring and fresh life did not touch the cold, dark ruins in her heart.

Just over twenty-four hours ago, everything had seemed perfect. Savannah had finally signed the loan, the smuggling operation was humming along nicely, and Jess was headed to her favorite city for a quick trip to sell an artifact at a very good price. And to top it off, Hez’s Justice Chamber minions were doing a marvelous job of aggravating Pierre and chipping away at his sleazy trust fund. On their most recent call, Punisher had even complimented Jess on the flawless execution of her plan.

Then the avalanche began. It started small, like avalanches often did. As Jess was walking to Mad Dog for her meeting with the artifact buyer, Toni had texted to say the tires on Jess’s car—which Toni was still borrowing—had been slashed. She was very apologetic that she hadn’t returned the car earlier. She said she’d make sure the tires were replaced ASAP and that she’d talk to Hez about how to handle the repairs. Jess had taken it in stride. She didn’t drive much, and the more distractions Hez had on his plate, the better.

After that, the disasters cascaded one after another, crashing down on Jess like boulders. She still didn’t understand how Savannah came to be sitting where the buyer should have been. Then the raids hit every part of the smuggling operation, followed by the news that Little Joe and Tommy were dead. Jess was still reeling from the disastrous blow at the meeting with Hez, and now Savannah had walked in while Jess was planting the bottle in Hez’s trash.

The worst part was that Jess knew the avalanche would only grow more massive. Hez would probably tell Savannah the truth about the loan. He couldn’t do anything about it—the documents were airtight—but he would try. And the instant he tried, James Hornbrook would pull the trigger, which he’d been itching to do ever since the ink on Savannah’s signature was dry. Savannah’s career would be destroyed, and she wouldn’t understand why. She would look at Jess with uncomprehending pain and grief—and then cut her out of her life.

Jess’s eyes blurred and she stopped in the middle of an empty stretch of sidewalk. She took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and blew it out slowly, like her New York therapist had taught her. She found a green-patinaed bronze bench, sat down, and held her head in her hands.

The wine bottle had been her last-ditch gambit to save both Savannah and their relationship. Jess knew her sister was coming over to make dinner, so she would find the bottle just like she did before. Jess would comfort her sister again, putting a compassionate arm around her while she cried and worried. Then Jess would tactfully suggest that the demands on both Hez and Savannah were too much. They needed time to heal. The two of them should go someplace quiet and peaceful—and Jess would help. She’d make some calls and find the perfect spot for Savannah to take a relaxing research sabbatical and keep a closer eye on Hez. Jess could even be acting president while Savannah was gone. But then Savannah arrived half an hour earlier than Jess expected.

Jess could still feel Savannah’s eyes on her as she’d hurried out of Hez’s condo. Her sister’s face had held the same shock Jess saw in New York, but this time with undertones of suspicion and accusation. Once Savannah found the bottle, those undertones would harden and deepen—and become permanent.

Savannah’s eyes weren’t the only ones drilling into Jess’s soul. The dead eyes of Little Joe and Tommy stared at her too, silently blaming her for their deaths. And then there were those old, inescapable painted eyes of Jesus, of course.

The sensation of being watched got so strong that Jess lifted her head from her hands—and discovered that someone really was looking at her. A dove perched on the other end of the bench and stared at her with a single eye, as bright and perfect as a tiny black pearl.

Jess smiled. She was happy to have uncritical company, even if it was only a bird. The doves around campus had become semi-tame, though she’d never seen one this unafraid of humans. It must be very bold. Or hungry.

“I don’t have anything for you,”

she warned the bird.

The dove ruffled its feathers but didn’t fly away.

“You like this place?”

Jess swept her arm at the empty field of brilliant green grass around them. “It’ll be gone soon.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “Here I am, chatting with a bird like one of those crazy ladies in Central Park. I guess I don’t have anyone else I can talk to.”

The dove eyed her expectantly.

“Are you asking why I did this? It really is about family. Family and justice. If I wanted more money, I really would have stayed on Wall Street.”

She did some quick mental math. “I gave up at least three million in salary and bonuses so I could come down here and right old wrongs. And money isn’t all I sacrificed. I got my hands dirty with smuggling to help grease the wheels of the operation. I went to jail for crimes I didn’t commit—and I may go there again for things I did do. I even killed a man.”

She paused and shook her head again. “Was it worth it?”

Her movement made the rickety bench wobble slightly, and the dove spread its wings. Jess suddenly realized she didn’t want it to leave. “Hold on a sec!”

She opened her purse and fished out a protein bar. She unwrapped it, broke off a piece, and tossed it on the sidewalk in front of the bench. “Here you go.”

The dove hopped down and pecked at the food.

“The family part hasn’t worked out so well, has it? Mimi is burying two more boys and dealing with another stain on the Willard name. And Savannah . . .”

Jess’s voice trailed off. “Well, at least I still have Simon.”

Her heart froze, and she caught a glimpse of another boulder hurtling down to crush her. How long would she have her son? Simon was intelligent and inquisitive. How long before he figured out the truth? And how would he react? He loved TGU, Savannah, and Hez, and he was so proud to be part of the Justice Chamber. Would he understand and accept his mother’s explanation for why she destroyed the university and betrayed his aunt and uncle? Or would he stare at her with that stunned, who-are-you expression she saw in Savannah’s face half an hour ago? “Secrets never lie buried, do they? They always rise to the surface like stones in a New England field.”

She sighed and tossed another crumb to the dove. “This place was stolen by Legares, you know.”

She gestured to the distant brick-and-stone buildings, their hues warmed by the rich yellow of the afternoon sun. “All of it. And a Legare destroyed my mother. She’s buried on that hill. They’re parasites, sucking the life out of everything they touch. Especially Pierre. Thanks to him, TGU is just a sick shell of what it once was—what it should still be. Destroying it will be a mercy killing. And taking him down at the same time will be long-overdue justice. And yet . . . and yet . . .”

The dove watched her with that piercing obsidian eye, waiting for her to go on. Or for another piece of her protein bar.

She broke off another hunk and dropped it in front of the hungry bird. Laughter from a distant group of students drifted on the breeze. “Will they think what’s about to happen is mercy and justice? Will anyone? And will they ever be able to forgive me?”

She tossed the last bit of protein bar to the dove. It ignored the offering and continued to watch her. In its gaze she felt the weight of all the other eyes on her. “Justice and mercy,”

she whispered. “And forgiveness. That’s all I want.”

The dove cocked its head, then spread its wings and flew away into the bright blue sky.

* * *

The aromas of andouille sausage, shrimp, Cajun spices, and peppers from the gumbo festival mingled with the sweet scent of beignets frying in Petit Charms below Hez’s balcony. But Savannah could barely choke down any of the catfish, hush puppies, or mac and cheese she’d spent hours preparing. Not with the questions swirling inside.

How did she tell the man she loved that her sister was so determined to keep them apart that she had sabotaged their relationship?

Savannah couldn’t get the memory of Jess standing in the kitchen out of her head. Had she planted any other kind of bomb in the condo that would eventually show up? What else had she done in the past seven months to try to keep them apart?

Hez speared a piece of fish. “Jesse’s Restaurant called to confirm tomorrow’s engagement party. They had a cancellation for the Café Room. I nabbed it.”

The noise of a band down by the water escalated and he glanced over the balcony.

He’d been as distracted tonight as she was. She mustered a smile. “That’s great news! It’s my favorite.”

She cleared her throat. “Jess is helping plan the party. I’ll let her know.”

“It should be perfect. Have you heard whether Nora is coming?”

Savannah’s smile wilted, and she shook her head. “She’s not even answering my texts.”

He gave her his full attention at that news. “I’m sorry, babe. As more of the truth comes out, I hope she’ll come around.”

“Me too.”

She slipped a piece of fish to Cody, who had been watching her hopefully, and he gobbled it down. Should she just jump into what she’d found out this afternoon? She set her fork on her plate and reached across the table to take his hand. “Hez, I-I’m sorry for doubting you about the drinking. I should have known you wouldn’t lie to me. We’ve had our problems, but lack of truthfulness was never one of them.”

A questioning frown settled on his forehead, but she rushed on before he could say anything. “This afternoon I found Jess in your kitchen, and there was another wine bottle in your trash bin. The cabinet door was open. I’m pretty sure she planted it.”

His eyes widened. “Wow. I . . . I didn’t even consider the possibility that she could be the culprit—though I should have.”

“I know her better than anyone, and I never dreamed she might do something like this.”

His hand tightened around hers, and his expression sharpened. “Jess has had her own agenda all this time, Savannah. She’s duped us both. I did something I should have done in the first place and read the fine print on that loan more closely. I couldn’t believe what it contained.”

Savannah listened to what her sister had done. “Are you sure, Hez? I can’t believe she would do something that would hurt me. Anything Jess has done has been because she thought she knew best.”

He hesitated and his eyes filled with compassion. “She admitted it.”

Savannah bit back a gasp. “But why? I don’t understand. I need to talk to her.”

Hez ran his thumb over her hand in a soothing motion. “Don’t do anything until I can figure out a strategy that has a chance of success. She said this was about family.”

That could only mean one thing—Jess’s deep-seated hatred of Pierre Legare.

“She hates Dad so much she’s willing to destroy the Legare name and legacy? And what about me? If TGU is gone, so is my job. I can’t believe she would be willing to hurt me in the process of taking down Dad.”

Her voice wobbled, and she swallowed down the pain before her eyes welled up with tears.

“We’ve never talked about her parentage, and maybe we should.”

Savannah exhaled and clung tighter to Hez’s hand. “It’s an ugly story, Hez, very ugly. I can barely stand to think about it, which is why I’ve never told you. Michael Willard is Jess’s biological father. I was a child, so I may not have all the details right, but the way I heard it was that Dad stole money from Michael’s mother, Helen. Michael decided if Dad took something from his family, he’d take something from Dad. So he took Mom.”

Hez’s thumb stopped its soothing rhythm. “He took her? Kidnapped her, you mean?”

“No, no. He seduced her, and she left Dad. She took me with her, but I was just a baby so I don’t remember anything until later. I always sort of knew Mom was miserable and Dad never let her forget something she’d done, but I didn’t really understand until I got older. Mom never talked about it, but I put the pieces together from what Dad had said and rumors I’d heard. When Jess was born, Dad knew she wasn’t his daughter and Michael knew too. He sent Jess gifts for birthdays and Christmases, but he didn’t have visitation rights and kept his distance.”

“And all this time Jess never felt like she belonged anywhere.”

“Exactly. I felt so sorry for her—the only true innocent in the whole sordid saga. None of this was her fault, but she suffered so much.”

Savannah bit down hard on her lower lip. “Maybe my pity blinded me to some hard truths about Jess.”

“I don’t want to ruin our special night, but once the dinner is over tomorrow, we need to have a hard conversation with Jess. I know how much you love your sister, so I’ll take the lead on this.”

Savannah sat up straighter and lifted her chin. “I love you for trying to spare me the pain, but I’ve avoided dealing with difficult family situations all my life. They’re layered and convoluted, and it always seemed impossible to navigate them, but this is my problem, Hez. My avoidance of facing this kind of thing was one of the reasons our marriage failed the first time. Jess is my sister. I’ll make her tell me to my face what she’s done and why.”

Until today she’d assumed Jess reciprocated her fierce love, but Savannah had clearly been wrong. And that opened a wound inside so deep that she didn’t know if it would ever heal.