Page 142 of Brutal Kingdom

He can see I have no idea what he’s talking about. “Your friends with Graham Holt. He’s the person I need you to negotiate with on my behalf.”

* * *

I breeze past Noel, who’s waiting for me outside my studio. It’s been a long day and I’m still trying to process everything that’s happened since my first visit to see Penn.

Graham, for whatever reason, agreed to Penn’s request for protection. After the deal was done, I got an earful about how things really work in Kingsley Hollow. I didn’t trust anything he said, so I called Noel and found out just how big a fool I was for ever thinking he was my friend.

“Jordanna, I know you’re mad.”

“Mad? Mad was two days ago when I called you. Mad was what I felt when my lawyer sent me a draft document of a marriage contract your father drew up after I told him I wasn’t interested. Then I had to listen to you defend him. I’ve blown past mad, Noel. I’m disgusted.”

“He’s my dad, Jordanna. I had to be on his side.”

“And I thought I was your friend. I cared about you and I trusted you.”

“As soon as I found out what my dad did, I confronted him and I told him he was wrong.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“And what else? Did you write him off? Tell him you’re Team Felding? Or will I be listening to your statement as a character witness on behalf of Isabelle Lance?”

“You don’t understand. It’s complicated and as much as I don’t like it, there are things going on in this town you don’t know about.”

“Because nobody will tell me. But it’s okay. I’m done being reactive to news around here. I found out what Penn was up to. I tracked down my family tree, and I’ll find out what the hell is really going on and why this whole fucked up town is against me.”

“You’ve done enough Jordanna. You don’t wanna go turning over any more rocks.”

He says it almost like it’s an order. He’s never spoken so rudely to me before. How did I ever think he was my friend? I stare at him, seeing him in a new light. “You’ve known about me since the beginning, haven’t you?” His silence says he did. “So what was befriending me all about? Some sort of a side deal with Bella? Or was it all just to get back at Logan for what he did to you?”

“I didn’t know anything at first. Then when my dad mentioned it, last fall, I was supposed to watch you. Report back to the council about anything you said about the inheritance. But you never brought it up. Not even when you were going after Logan and his friends. So I convinced myself and my dad that you didn’t know anything about who you are. But that turned out to be a lie. I felt like a fool and had to deal with his disappointing speeches, so yes, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.”

“It was true until it wasn’t anymore. But you blame me because daddy said he was disappointed in you?” This twisted town is so fucking petty. “What else were you supposed to do?”

“Nothing. That’s it. I thought it was all over, and then my dad said he knew about you being trapped in the car on the drag strip. Then that thing in the lawyer’s office went down. He felt bad about it all and realized how much danger you’re in. He really wanted to help.”

“By backstabbing Ruttledge.”

His face falls. I’m guessing I wasn’t ever supposed to find out about Donald Ruttledge’s involvement in all this. “He thought this was the easiest way to help you. He knew how I felt about you. It wouldn’t have been a hard stretch for us to be together. But I told him it was a long shot, because Logan had his hooks too far into you.”

“And lemme guess. He brought up your history with Logan, and your need for revenge resurfaced all over again.”

“It did. Just for a little while. I swear Jordanna, I couldn’t do it to you. I know what it must’ve taken out of you to go through with your plan last year. The one thing you kept telling me was how much you hated not having a choice. Logan trashed your relationship with your ex and pursued you under false pretenses. Getting you to fall for me because my father told me to would have been the same thing. I wanted you to want me because it’s a natural progression of our friendship. Not because I used what I know and manipulated you to do it.”

“I appreciate your apology, Noel, but it doesn’t fix anything. You hurt me.”

“I know, and I want to make it up to you.”

“Why does everyone think saying, ‘I wanna make it up to you’, has some magical power to make things go back to the way they were?”

“Let me show you. I’m on your side.”

“Fine, you want to help? Then I have questions that I need answers to.”

His face crumbles as if that was the worst thing I could say. “I’ll tell you whatever I know.”

FIFTY-SIX

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