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The sky outside was bright and cloudless, but Jess could feel the storm coming. It had been building ever since she left Hez’s condo yesterday. The air felt more charged and breathless with every hour that passed. Everything was coming to a head.

Savannah and Hez had hardly spoken to Jess, but their body language was eloquent. Neither of them made eye contact when they passed her in the hall. They stopped talking whenever she was near. The few times today she had to go into one of their offices, they wore tight little smiles and practically held their breath until she left.

When would the storm break? Jess half expected to be called into Savannah’s office at any moment and summarily fired, with that old security guard escorting her out. Or maybe Savannah would have Hez do the dirty work for her. And what would happen tonight? Would Savannah still introduce Jess as her maid of honor? Or would she pull her aside before dinner started to tell her there had been a change of plans?

Not knowing was agony. Jess couldn’t even be sure Savannah had found the bottle and realized that her sister planted it or that Hez had told her about the loan. Hez also hadn’t given any hint of whether he would listen to Jess about taking Savannah away and not fighting Hornbrook. If he didn’t, wedding plans would be the least of their concerns.

By four o’clock, Jess couldn’t take it anymore. She needed to leave soon to get herself and Simon ready for the dinner, and she wasn’t going to walk into that engagement party at Jesse’s Restaurant with no idea what was going on. Hez wasn’t in his office, so she walked over to the Justice Chamber in Connor Hall.

Fortunately, he was there and he was alone. He sat behind that ancient little desk with the plaque hanging on the wall behind him: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”

She shivered, probably from the draft leaking through the Gothic window.

She shut the door. “Are you going to take my advice about the loan and Savannah?”

His eyes were hard. “I don’t see why I should. You don’t exactly have the university’s best interests at heart.”

“But I do have Savannah’s.”

He raised his brows and folded his arms, but he said nothing.

She kept her voice even. “Did you tell her about the loan?”

“Yes, and she told me about the bottles.”

His voice was stony and grim.

The blow made her close her eyes. It had to have seemed like the ultimate betrayal to Savannah. “What are you going to do?”

“The three of us need to have a long talk, Jess. But not tonight. This evening is a celebration, and I don’t want you ruining it.”

“Of course not. I want Savannah to be happy—you must know that.”

“Must I?”

“Absolutely!”

Heat rose in her chest. “I love my sister!”

He leaned forward. “Then act like it!”

She put her hands on her hips. “What do you want me to do?”

“For starters, help us get out of this loan. Savannah’s not going on some cushy research sabbatical while the university implodes. You know her better than that. She’ll stay here and fight. And I’ll be by her side. If you love her, you will be too.”

It was true. Savannah never backed down from a battle if she was convinced she was right. She would stay at TGU until the bitter end. Something deep in Jess refused to abandon her sister, no matter what the cost. She licked her lips. “If . . . if you wind up meeting with Hornbrook, be careful what you say. He has hidden cameras and microphones all over his office.”

Surprise crept into his face and his voice softened just a little. “Thanks for the tip. Is there anything else I should know?”

She sighed. “Just that it really will be impossible to get out of that loan. Hornbrook had LeBoeuf & Bingham draft the documents. You’re familiar with them?”

Hez made a face like he’d just bitten a lemon. “They’re very good at what they do.”

He looked at his watch. “I’ve got some paperwork I have to send out before I leave to get ready for tonight. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

He paused. “You’ve got some big decisions to make.”

She nodded. “We all do. See you tonight.”

She left the Justice Chamber and walked to the parking lot, the late-afternoon sun warming the back of her black leather jacket. She almost looked forward to the conversation with Savannah and Hez tomorrow. The truth was finally out and they could talk about it. No more lies and evasions. They knew what she did, and now she could tell them why. It wouldn’t be an easy conversation, but it would be honest.

How would the conversation end? Jess still wanted justice, of course. She wasn’t going to give up on airing all the Legare dirty laundry and making Pierre pay for his crimes, but did that have to mean destroying TGU? She used to detest the place, but she was beginning to see it through the eyes of her sister and son. They adored the traditions, the crumbling ivy-covered buildings, the students, the greedy doves, and even Boo Radley. On cue, the fat old bull gator roared from Tupelo Pond.

Jess smiled—and in that instant she knew what she needed to do. She couldn’t keep fighting this war, not with Savannah on the other side. She couldn’t just quit either. Her place was with her sister, but how could she get there? She was about to cross some very powerful and dangerous men. What would they do to her? To Simon?

She felt the eyes of the wooden Messiah on her again as she reached Hez’s Audi. This time, though, the eyes held hope rather than accusation. Maybe there was a way to make things right, even if she couldn’t see it. Maybe he could.

She got in and pressed the ignition. Brilliant light and overwhelming sound enveloped her.

* * *

Though she was nearly out of time, Savannah paused in her rush to finish her day to admire her engagement ring glowing in the late-afternoon sunlight. Tonight should have been as perfect as her ring, but she wasn’t sure what to say to Jess after the discovery of everything her sister had done to ruin TGU and Pierre. The depth of her sister’s desire for revenge was impossible for Savannah to understand, but she had no choice but to deal with it. How did she even begin to unravel what had been done?

A deep boom sounded from somewhere outside, and she turned that way in time to see several panes of glass hurtle from their window grilles.

She instinctively cowered back as the flying glass knocked over her family pictures and broke into dozens of pieces on her desk. Her ears still rang from the blast or whatever it was, and she rushed to the window. The parking lot was on the other side of her little garden, and she nearly cried out.

Hez’s car was in flames.

Some kind of explosion had left it a twisted carcass that was almost unrecognizable.

She was barely aware of turning and running out the door for the exit. Please, God echoed over and over in a silent prayer that Hez was all right. But how could he have survived that kind of devastating blast? She couldn’t think beyond the fear compressing her chest. This couldn’t be happening.

She had to get to Hez, but though she ran as fast as she could, it felt like her feet moved through mud with the seconds ticking by like minutes. Maybe he’d been blown clear. They could deal with a broken bone or two. Surely that was all it was. But as she neared the car, her breath caught in her throat.

No one could have walked away from that inferno unscathed.

She peered through the flames but didn’t see anyone in the burning wreckage. A flash of blue on the green grass caught her eye, and she turned to see a figure there. It was a female in a skirt, and Savannah slammed her eyes shut. The woman had lost most of one leg and blood was everywhere, flowing out onto the grass and staining the mud and the skirt with red.

Savannah’s first instinct was to drop to her knees to help, but the certainty settled in her chest that the woman would be beyond human assistance. She sank to her knees amid a strong coppery stench but wasn’t sure where to apply pressure to stop the massive amount of bleeding. But she could pray, so she did.

“Savannah, help me.”

Savannah’s head swiveled toward the woman’s blonde hair.

Her brain refused to believe it was her sister’s hazel eyes peering at her through tangled, singed blonde hair.

“Jess.”

Her sister’s name felt wrenched from her. “Oh, Jess.”

A massive amount of blood poured from everywhere. Savannah needed a tourniquet for the badly damaged leg, but she had nothing, not even a belt.

She grasped both hands around Jess’s thigh and tried to apply enough pressure to stop the hemorrhaging, but the flow didn’t falter.

Jess grabbed Savannah’s arm. “I’m s-sorry. F-for everything.”

Her teeth chattered and she struggled to speak.

Her sister was going into shock, and Savannah had no help to offer. The wail of a siren came from somewhere. “The ambulance is on its way. Hang on, Jess. You’ll be okay.”

It was a lie. The paramedics would never arrive in time, not with the way the color was gone from Jess’s face. This couldn’t be happening.

“Liar,”

Jess whispered. “Sorry, so sorry. Forgive.”

“I forgive you, Jess.”

Savannah gripped her sister’s hands with both of her bloody ones. “Of course I forgive you. Hang on, help is coming.”

“Simon. Promise.”

“I’ll take care of him until you’re better. You know I will. Hang on, Jess. Don’t leave me, please don’t leave me.”

When Jess’s lips moved with no sound, Savannah slipped her arm under Jess’s head. “Save your strength. The ambulance is nearly here.”

Jess gasped as she looked at something past Savannah’s shoulder. “He’s here. He came.”

She coughed, blood bubbling from her blue lips. “I don’t deserve, but . . . he forgives.”

Savannah turned to look behind her, but no one was there.

“His eyes . . . they’ve always watched.”

Wonder crept across Jess’s face.

“Who, Jess?”

But Savannah knew Jess was glimpsing someone not of this world.

“His eyes . . . his eyes.”

The expression of wonder still on her face, Jess expelled a long breath, her lids closing partially. Then her body fell slack and lifeless.

“Jess?”

Savannah clutched her tighter as no more breaths came from her sister. “No! Jess, please, no.”

The siren’s wail was a shriek, but it was late, too late. Savannah clutched her sister’s body to her chest and keened, rocking her sister back and forth in her arms. “Oh, Jess.”

Then Hez was there on the grass beside her, murmuring her name and enfolding her in his arms. “I’ve got you, babe.”

“She’s dead. Jess is dead.”

She finally released her sister to turn and bury her face in Hez’s chest. “Jesus came for her.”