Page 38 of No More Secrets

What George left was exactly what Lucas needed. He told Ivy to leave it.

Back home, he kept his apartment neat. His belongings were sparse, but what he did own—bikes, canoes, electronics, a couple of antique trucks—were top of the line and kept in fine working condition. He treated his things well.

Here, he just doesn’t care. Hence the dirty bathroom.

He saw the room in a new light when he used it this morning.

“Is it true Jenna’s your sister?” Shiloh asks, bringing his attention back to the nuclear bomb she set off. “Because if she is, that’s wicked cool. Can you introduce me?”

“Who says I know her?” He drags the coffeepot off the hot pad and pours out yesterday’s brew.

“I figured it out last night. TMZ did this piece on her months ago about how she ran away as a kid because she thought she’d murdered her best friend, but what really happened is she killed him in self-defense. He came at her, choking her and all that, but she thinks he did it because he thought she was her dad, who’d tried to shoot them both with his gun. Jenna said Wes, that was his name, hit his head and was out of it. He never would have hurt her otherwise. But what’s crazy is that her dad died last September. Car accident or something, so they can’t ask him what happened. I’m sure he would have been arrested and spent the rest of his life in prison. But—” She pauses dramatically, inhales deeply, and Lucas is immobile, a prisoner to her story. “Jenna Mason isn’t her real name, not the one she was born with. It’s Lily Carson. And this guy Ryder, Wes’s older brother, stalked her for years thinking she murdered Wes. Isn’t that wild? Anyway, I’m a huge fan, as if you can’t tell. I want to be an animator just like her. I have all sorts of ideas, that’s why I’m moving to Hollywood. She’s super successful and has been uploading videos to YouTube forever. I’ve read everything I can on her. That’s how I know she has a brother named Lucas Carson. Hey, don’t you think that’s enough water?”

Lucas looks at the coffeepot clutched under the running faucet. Water spills over the rim. His back to Shiloh, he couldn’t move once she started talking about Lily. He should be asking how she’s coping after last night, but what she told him about Lily left him speechless. Since Lily’s return and Olivia’s text about their sister’s name change, he’s intentionally avoided searching for news on Jenna Mason, afraid what he’d read would be too upsetting. That the life she’d led had been racked with hardships and threats. A life he could have prevented.

He smacks off the water and angles his head toward Shiloh without meeting her eyes. “What happened to Ryder?”

“Who?” she asks.

“Ryder, the guy stalking her.” He remembers Ryder Jensen. He was the same year as him in high school. They had a few classes together.Ryder used to mow the Carsons’ lawn when he was a kid. He was also an annoying shit, that kid who drew dicks with Sharpies on girls’ lockers. He served a four-year prison term after beating up his girlfriend to within an inch of her life.

Worry clouds his vision. Is Lily still at risk? What about Josh, her son.Hisnephew?

“He was arrested when he attacked Jenna. He tried to kill her.”

“The fuck?” Lucas almost drops the pot in the sink. He slams it into the coffeemaker.

Shiloh looks surprised. “Where’ve you been? Don’t you know any of this? You’re her brother.”

“I’m not—” He stops. Arguing with her is pointless. Telling her there’s more than one Lucas Carson is useless, especially given his reaction. “When did this happen?”

“With Ryder? Seven or eight months ago.”

Around the time he ditched the Cove. For a brief second, he regrets leaving Olivia behind. She and Lily might have needed him. He should have been there for them. He needs to read those articles. Now that he knows about Lily, he must know more.

He dumps grounds in the filter and turns to Shiloh. “Go get ready. You’re coming with me.” He wants to get through the day so he can look all this up.

She blinks, startled at the change of subject. Or maybe his order. “Wh-where?”

“Downstairs. Store opens in an hour.”

“Can’t I stay here?” Face on him, her eyes swing to the window and back.

“They don’t know you’re here.” He understands her fear.

“What am I supposed to do all day?”

She has a point. She can’t stare at the walls.

“I have a question for you.” He folds his arms. “What are your plans? You mentioned a boyfriend.”

“Finn. He’s a musician in a band. I was on my way to his place when my ride didn’t work out.” She tugs at her shirt hem, and he suspects there’s a story in there somewhere.

“Where does he live?”

“Hollywood.”

She lived in a homeless encampment with her boyfriend only three hours away? He’s more of a douche than Lucas thought. “Why hasn’t he come to get you?”

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