Page 73 of Unlocked Dive
“I realize that now. I’m sorry. I should have pushed harder to make you talk.” He shrugs, the apology lacking his usual lawyerly aplomb. Helookssorry—older and more defeated than I’ve ever seen him—but I’m too upset to mourn the crumbling pedestal he’s falling from.I guess neither of us is as perfect as we thought, Dad.
“You should have told me the truth. If Gabe hadn’t called, if I hadn’t wanted to see him, would you even have said anything today? Or would you have kept letting me think I had a brother?”
“I’m trying to protect you, Jericho. That’s why I’m telling you all of this now. I will handle Gabriel, and in another month, you’ll be at school where he can’t touch you.”
Where Byrd can’t touch me either.
Is this what loneliness feels like?
His phone vibrates again, and I lunge for it, but he slides it from my reach and brings it to his ear with a warning shake of his head.
“Gabriel. I’m with your brother. You and I will speak later.” He disconnects before I can shout accusations across the table, probably knowing as well as I do that his cool dismissal will hurt Gabe far more than anything I could throw at him.
“Lying doesn’t protect me, Dad. And Byrd would’ve told me tonight anyway.”
“Perhaps.”
“Hedoesn’t keep secrets,” I spit, going for blood. “He’sa good man.”
My dad studies me, but I don’t look away.
“If I had said something last winter, would it have changed anything?”
“It would have pissed me off,” I cry, startling the blue-haired ladies at the next table. “Angry is better than broken. Maybe it would have given me a reason to fight back.”
But maybe if I wasn’t broken, Byrd wouldn’t have fallen for me.
I shove that thought away. “Take me back to the hotel.”
“Finish your lunch. Please. You worked hard today, and you need the calories.”
His concern only infuriates me further, and I push away from the table, wrapping my arms around my chest as I stand like I can hold the rage inside with muscle and grip.
“I needByrd,” I tell him. “Take me back, or I’m calling a ride.”
Fuck my pathetic brother and my too-late protective dad.
Byrd is the only family I want now.
The heavy door to our hotel room slams with a satisfying crash when I enter, and Byrd gives me a quick scan, searching for the crisis. He’s already half-dressed in his tux for the evening, and all thoughts of Gabe’s assholery fade to the background at the sight of Byrd’s perfect ass in the tailored pants and his tan skin against the starched white of his dress shirt.
Home. I lean against the door with a low whistle.
“You clean up nice, Mr. Baardwijk.”
Gold glints at his wrist as he fastens a cufflink with deft fingers, heat and amusement lighting his hazel eyes. This is so much better than arguing with my dad or reliving the tragedy of my fall.
I’m okay. I’m better than ever. Gabe didn’t break me more than the man in front of me could fix. I lean against the door and take deep breaths, willing the tension from my muscles as I appreciate the view.
“How was your errand?” I ask.
“How was your lunch with Graham?” he counters with a hint of a smirk. Ooooh, mischievous Byrd. I push off the door and drift toward him.
“Eventful,” I admit. His hands go still on the second cufflink, and his eyes turn serious as he watches me approach.
“Echo,” he says, “I need to tell you something.”
Relief settles over my skin like one of those Mendocino mists, easing the hectic jitter of my dad’s revelations and sapping the last of my lingering rage.No secrets. Not with us.I shake my head.
