Page 156 of What's Left of Us

He looks down at the call log with the number on the top of the paper. “If this is more than you think it is, it can be a hard wake-up call. Do you want to risk that? I’ve had people regret ever asking me to help them because of the shit my guys have dug up.”

“I can handle it.”

He rubs the back of his neck. “I still think you should talk to her about this first. If she finds out—”

“If she finds out, it’ll be my problem,” I cut him off. “Are you going to do this for me or not?”

There’s a moment of hesitation before he dips his head and tucks the money in his pocket. “I’ll see what we can find.”

I dip my head. “Thank you.”

Knight scans over the call history that I requested from my phone provider and lowers the paper onto his desk. “I’m only doing this because your gut is usually never wrong. I just hope it’s worth it to you. Because I’ve seen people torn apart over the shit they’ve asked me to find.”

“Then that’ll be my mess to clean up.”

His silence says a lot as he leans back in his chair. When I walk out of his building, there’s a twinge of doubt in the back of my mind that nips at my conscience.

I want you to trust me.

I remind myself that trust works two ways.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Georgia/ Two Years Ago

Leani’s voice wasshaky when she called to tell me to come over, leaving a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach as I drove up the long, windy driveway. As much as I wish I didn’t care about the frail woman, I know she has very few people in her corner. I know how that isolation feels, so I’m willing to be the bigger person despite the consequences.

Fingers tighten around the steering wheel when I see an unfamiliar car parked next to my father’s; I take a deep breath as I stop beside it.

“Be the bigger person,” I remind myself, stepping out of the car to see the front door cracked open and Leani standing there with a wary expression on her face.

As I walk up to her, I ask, “Whose car is—”

“Shh.” She cuts me off, pulling me inside and quietly closing the door. When she turns to me, I gape at her discolored face.

“Oh my God,” I whisper, studying the blues and purples that makeup clearly couldn’t cover.

Leani guides us into the kitchen. “It doesn’t matter,” is the first thing she tells me.

I shake my head, swallowing the shock down when I get a better look at her in the light. “How can this not matter? Look at you, Leani!”

She won’t meet my eyes for the longest moment, but when she does, there’s something I’ve never seen in them before. Defiance. “What matters is ending this.”

Ending what? “What are you—”

“He’s with his lawyer.” She gestures toward the study. “They’ve been having a lot of meetings lately, mostly away. But his lawyer showed up this morning looking intimidated, and Nikolas hasn’t been right since.”

What does this have to do with me? “Leani, why am I here? Why areyouhere? If he’s done this before, why stay?”

“For the same reason you came back,” she tells me firmly, grabbing my hand. “Because we’re trying to protect the people we care about. I have sacrificed so much, beenpunishedfor so much. It all needs to end. The lies. The betrayal. Everything.”

Her grip is stronger than I expect, causing me to wince when her nails dig in until crescent indents are left behind. “I have given up my life for love, and it was a love I was never able to have.”

All I can do is blink at her. Did she actually love my father?

“So what I want to know is this. How much areyouwilling to sacrifice for love?”

For love.

---