Page 73 of Those Who Are Bound

“I found, I mean, it wasn’t locked. It was like Gage wanted me to find it.”

Jonah sat back, striving to control his temper. “Gage is dead; he isn’t asking you to find anything. You were snooping around.”

“I was tagging tables and saw another door. I had a key, so I went in. It looked like a place Gage had used before, sort of like your crash area above the shop. Only, weird, because his house is next door, right? But his footlocker was there, and it wasn’t locked.”

Jonah inhaled sharply. Did he even know her? Unfortunately, yes; sadly, this was typical Lucy behavior. “You went through his footlocker?”

“It wasn’t locked! And the police file was sitting there.”

“Police file?”

“I guess they investigated the suicide. Someone did, to make sure it wasn’t murder, maybe? I don’t know. It had pictures, her statement, a statement from someone else named Elliott—it was confusing, at first, until I remembered his will—and… there was a copy of his letter,” she was saying it in a rush as Jonah’s expression grew darker. “Jonah, don’t look at me like that.”

“Hiswill? You’ve invaded her privacy. The worst day of her life and you nose around in it?”

“I didn’t mean to,” she said. “But I had to know.”

He shook his head. “No, you didn’t. It’s not your story to tell, only hers.”

Lucy looked indignant. “Not just hers. It’s Gage’s, too.”

Jonah gave her a warning look. “You are not his spokesperson; she is.”

“No one seems to be,” Lucy countered. “There was a reason for why he did it, and it’s buried. How he ended is—buried. Don’t you want to know why?”

“No! Hell no!” Jonah lurched to his feet. “What the hell, Lucy? This is beyond any…” He shook his head. “You’ve bypassed decency.” He strode angrily toward the door.

Lucy ran after him, her heels making an almost comical sound on the floors as she baby-step ran after him. “Jonah, it’s something you needed to know.”

“Not like this,” he threw over his shoulder as he shoved the door open.

The sound of her heels changed as soon as she hit the wooden planking of the deck outside. Sunday morning patrons watched the spectacle briefly as she caught up to him and grabbed his arm. “Gage suffered, too.”

Jonah rounded on her. “Gage is her brother. Whatever he suffered, she felt. It’s not your place or your right to drag any of that out into the open; do you understand me? It’s unforgivable!”

“He was a person, too.”

“I didn’t say he wasn’t. But it’s not your story to share,” Jonah repeated. “This is her pain. And you’re treating it like aReal Housewivesepisode you get to star in.”

Lucy’s lower lip trembled. “I am not. That’s so mean.”

“Whatever you think you know, forget it. Leave their tragedy and their past alone. If Elliott wants you to know about it, she’ll be the one to tell you.”

“But I already know it.”

Jonah’s eyes narrowed. “Lucy,” he warned.

“Well, I wasn’t going to tell her what I found,” Lucy responded petulantly.

“I don’t want to hear it, either,” he snapped.Grasping her elbow, he hauled her beside him, heading toward the stairs that led to the sidewalk. “Let’s go. You have some soul-searching and conscience cleansing to do.”

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