Page 72 of The Best of Us

Fuck.That pain in my chest doubled in size, and I tightened my grip on the phone even more.

“There. Are you happy now?” he snapped out. “We met because of you. So, feel free to blame yourself.” He immediately spun away from me, his shoulders hunching forward as he tore his hands through his hair.

He couldn’t make me feel any worse than I already did. If he needed to be mad at me, I could take it.

I shoved my phone in my pocket, deciding I’d update Izzy later to give Colin my undivided attention like he deserved.

I was tempted to attempt a hug, but something told me he’d blow a fuse if I did. It felt like he’d placed me squarely in enemy territory.

“Lennon hasn’t seen her father in a decade. She doesn’t know where he is, and her mom has an addiction problem,” he said in a more somber, less angry tone. “She’s in rehab in Dublin.”

“You realize how messed up it is that her brother’s selling drugs, and yet their mom?—”

“I know.” He whipped around to face me. “Trust me, she knows, too. What’s she supposed to do about her brother’s choices? She’s only sixteen.”

Like you. Too young to be living this type of life. My fault.

“Her mom lost custody of her last year, and her uncle stepped in to take care of her, bringing her over to the U.S. But like I said, he’s as MIA as her dad. Jamie was already bunking at Dylan’s before she moved here,” he said without me prompting, which I appreciated. “A few other random guys live there too whenever Dylan’s gone, which is like ninety percent of the time. I’ve never been to their pad, but Lennon says it’s become like a dormitory. And trust me, I’m not a fan of Lennon sleeping in a house with randos.”

Don’t blame ya.“Daniel O’Brien one of them?”

He visibly cringed, then nodded.

Everything was finally clicking in place. I had a feeling that, unlike Dylan, Jamie and Daniel came to visit from Dublin at some point and never went back. It would explain why they weren’t in any American database.

“I didn’t know Daniel was the type to hit a woman. I’m not down with that. Like fuck no.” He slashed his arms in the air. “I’m suspended because I swung at that asshole for hitting his girlfriend.”

The attorney’s son.Yeah, about him.“You really are like me,” I muttered, probably too low to hear.

But when he angled his head, pointing his attention straight at me, I realized maybe he had. “Are we done now?”

“Not even close.” I tore a hand through my hair. “What kind of favors did Jamie force you to do so you could stay in Lennon’s life?” I tried to offer him patience, even if I had none left. “Yeah, I didn’t forget about that.”

He scrunched up his face in obvious disapproval of my question. “Fine, fine,” he relented.

Smart choice.

“I’m good at lifting things.” He held out his hand to silence me, obviously expecting a lecture. “I’ve never stolen anything from someone who didn’t have it coming.”

“Including me, huh?” I bit out, then shook my head, angry at myself for snapping. “Just so I’m clear,” I said, tempering my tone, “I’m glad you did.” But before he could respond, I let my emotions get to me again. “You lied to me this morning. You said you didn’t work for Jamie.”

“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell the truth.” His outstretched arm flopped to his side.

“Be sure to use that excuse in court because the next time you?—”

“There won’t be a next time.”

I wanted to believe him, but I had to face the fact that I didn’t know him well enough to trust his word.

“I didn’t lie. I was never paid. Favors and blackmail aren’t exactly work.”

I supposed he had a point. As I processed that, another thought slammed into me. “Was the fight at the rave staged? Did anyone bother Lennon, or did you provoke that guy and swing first? Did Jamie need you in that room upstairs with him? He knew he couldn’t get you an invite, so he devised a more creative way.”

Those three steps he walked back, bumping into the coffee table, sent me five forward.

“Fine, yes, you’re right,” he rushed out as if playing defense. “It was all planned. I hit that dude so I could go up there. Lennon accused him of grabbing her ass on the dance floor, which didn’t actually happen, giving me a reason to fight.”

The last thing I wanted was to be right. “What’d Jamie want you to steal?”

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