Page 25 of Broken Halo

“You haven’t seen the package your sister offered me. Not all of us have a trust fund.”

She shakes her head and reaches for the door. Looking up at me through the darkness, her blue eyes are lifeless and flat. “You should go back to ignoring me—that worked better.”

I slide the photobook into my back pocket. She’s right—I’m done. I turn for my car and mutter, “Good luck finding an attorney.”

“I’m a Montgomery, Trig.” She emphasizes her last name before I turn around just in time to catch her last words. “Have you forgotten how much power and influence that brings?”

With a look I won’t soon forget, haunted and full of hurt and resentment, she pins me to my spot in her driveway.

Right before she slams the door in my face.

And with pictures of my mom, Ellie, and her baby in my back pocket, I leave her McMansion. I hope for the last time.

7

Love Makes You Stupid

I love you, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t days I don’t want to slap the silly outta you.

Trig

“Excuse me, Ms. Montgomery. He’s on the phone—”

“I don’t care if he’s talking to Jesus himself.”

Working for Jen Montgomery has been good so far, until her baby sister’s run-ins with the law began. She appears in my doorway, coming to a halt, and for some reason, I have a feeling this visit has nothing to do with oil, mergers, or to invite me to lunch.

It always amazed me how different the two Montgomery girls are. Jen is nothing like Ellie. She’s taller, curvier, and in control of every emotion she owns.

“Get off the phone,” she demands.

Until now, apparently.

I don’t move from where I’m leaning back in my chair while being brought up to date on the whereabouts of my fucking father. “Charlie, I need to call you back. How does two o’clock sound?”

Jen doesn’t wait for an invitation and marches her high-heeled feet through my office, stopping right in front of my desk. She’s gripping a piece of paper in her hand to the point it’s mangled.

“Great. Talk to you then.” I end my call and lean up.

Her hands land on her hips. “You’re not only an asshole, but you’re also an idiot.”

“What did I do now?”

“I wasn’t going to butt in, but after the last two days and my sister and nephew hanging in the balance, I’m going to address the elephant in the room. It’s been ten years, Trig. Ten long fucking years. I had hoped by now you either would’ve gotten past it or, maybe, I don’t know,” she widens her eyes in frustration, “used the skills you’ve gained in your career to see that just because something appears one way, it may very well be something entirely different.”

It’s all I can do to hold my ground. “What are you talking about?”

“Ellie is spinning her wheels, interviewing new attorneys today when she doesn’t have the time nor the energy to waste doing it. You’re supposed to be taking care of everything for her.”

“She doesn’t want me, she told me herself.” I don’t add the fact Ellie did it while standing in almost nothing on her doorstep in the middle of the night.

“I don’t give a shit what Ellie wants. Start with this.” She tosses the crinkled paper and it flutters like a feather, landing on my desk. The way Jen is looking at me, I bet she wishes it were a brick and it had landed against my skull. “Eli just sent this to me. It’s what he has so far on Robert’s shithead parents. They have it out for Ellie and have hired their own PI. They don’t know it, but by targeting my sister and nephew, they entered into a battle with the Montgomerys. They might have surprised us this week, but it’s a war I intend to win. You work for me, which means you’re working this case. Eli will be calling you with more information, but for now, get started with this.”

I sigh and lean forward to smooth out the paper. Jen’s halfway out the door when I call after her, “What did you mean, something entirely different?”

She shuts my office door and takes two steps toward me, holding her hand out low. “Ten years ago, you never saw the inside of a prison—hell, you weren’t even charged. It’s not like the local sheriff was on my father’s payroll but there are other ways to be in someone’s back pocket. He grew up with my dad, hunted on our land, and was entertained at our house when we were young. My dad hated you after everything went down—that’s no secret—so if you think his best friend wasn’t going to do everything he could to do his bidding, you’re crazy and stupid.”

I stand and my chair goes rolling behind me. “What the fuck are you saying?”

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