Page 41 of A Game of Deception
“Please,” he interrupted, with a note of genuine urgency in his voice. “It’s important. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t.”
Something in his tone made me hesitate. This wasn’t just about last night. This was something more serious.
“Fine,” I conceded. “There’s a coffee shop called Cafecito on 8th Street. I can meet you there in an hour.”
“Thank you,” Leo said, relieved. “I appreciate it, Dr. Swanson.”
Cafecito wasn’t too busy.The Saturday afternoon lull was perfect for a conversation that required privacy. I spotted Leo at a corner table, hunched over a mug, his expression pensive.
He looked up as I approached, rising slightly in his seat. “Dr. Swanson. Thank you for coming.”
I slid into the chair across from him, setting my purse on the table like a barrier between us. “Mr. Martin.”
“Please call me Leo.”
I nodded but didn’t reciprocate the invitation to use my first name. Whatever this was about, I wanted to maintain as much professional distance as possible.
A barista appeared at my elbow, and I ordered a cortadito, needing the jolt of Cuban coffee to steady my nerves. Leo waited until the server had departed before speaking again.
“I’m not here to interfere,” he began, his voice low. “What happens between you and Xander is... well, it’s not my business.”
I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “Then why are we here?”
Leo sighed. Up close, I could see the strain around his eyes. He looked like a man carrying a heavy burden.
“I’ve been with Xander for a long time,” he said. “Since he came to Glasgow. I’ve seen him at his worst—drunk, self-destructive, drowning in guilt. I’ve picked up the pieces more times than I can count.”
I remained silent, unsure where this was going but unwilling to give anything away.
“He’s not who you think he is,” Leo continued. “He’s not the callous playboy the tabloids make him out to be. He’s... he’s haunted. By what happened to your brother. And what happened between the two of you.”
The mention of Jimmy sent a rush through my chest. “Mr. Martin…Leo…I appreciate your concern for Xander, but I don’t see how this?—”
“I don’t know what game you and your father are playing,” he interrupted, leaning forward so his forearms rested on his knees. “Revenge, closure, whatever it is. But I can’t let you hurt him. Not when he’s already spent twelve years punishing himself.”
A flare of pure fury went through me. “Punishing himself? For getting drunk and killing my brother? Or for disappearing without a word afterward?”
Leo’s expression hardened. “Is that what you really think happened? That hekilledJimmy?”
“It’s exactly what happened,” I snapped, my voice rising. “He was driving drunk, he crashed the car, and my brother died. The end.”
“He was drunk, yes,” Leo acknowledged, his voice low and serious. “But I’ve held his hair while he puked his guts out from guilt. I’ve heard the nightmares. I’ve seen a man torture himselffor more than a decade.” He leaned even closer, his eyes boring into mine. “I don’t know everything that happened in that car, but I would bet my life on one thing… Xander wasn’t driving.”
The words slammed into me, knocking the air from my lungs. The entire foundation of my life—the grief, the rage, the vengeance—cracked beneath me.
“That’s not possible,” I whispered. “Jimmy didn’t have a license. And Xander confessed. Hesaidit was his fault.”
“He blamed himself,” Leo corrected, his gaze unwavering. “That’s not the same thing. And just because Jimmy didn’t have a license doesn’t mean he couldn’t drive.”
The coffee cup trembled in my hand, hot liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim. I set it down before I could spill it, my fingers suddenly numb.
“You’re lying,” I said, but there was no conviction in my voice. “Why would you…why would he?—”
Leo’s expression softened. “Trust me. I’ve known him for almost half my life. Whatever happened in that car, whatever role Xander played in your brother’s death, he wasn’t behind the wheel.”
My mind raced, trying to reconcile this new information with everything I’d believed. With the narrative that had shaped my life.
Xander and Jimmy were at the party. Xander had been drinking. He’d gotten into the car with Jimmy, and they crashed into a tree.
