Page 87 of Dangerous Love

“B2 to the rescue,” I crooned. “I guess he didn’t take too well to Rob—Michael, or whatever the fuck his real name is—playing his sister either.”

Riley shook his head. “Nope. None of us did. The fuckwit made the right choice in not showing his face around here after that.”

“Exactly. So, are we ready to tell B1’s tip-top lawyer what we’re doing?”

Riley took a breath, his body tensing despite the nod rocking his pale face. “Thank you.”

As soon as Eddie was on board, a sense of peace filled me. Not that I specifically wanted to go back in, but at least I knew the lay of the land. Riley? He wouldn’t come out the same person, and after years of condoning my father’s wrongdoings, it was time for me to redeem myself. But in all honesty, based on the terrible things I’d done in my shady past, it would take more than spending a few months behind the Club Med walls of Dalton Correctional Centre to wash away my sins.

Guilt punched me, my mind screaming for Seth over and over again, like a demonic possession on replay. It had been six months since our brother died, and not one day went by where I didn’t think about him or blame myself for waking up too late. A couple of months wearing khaki sweats was a small price to pay to protect the one sibling I had left.

Seth would definitely approve.

“All right, so any last-minute confessions about where your father might be?” Eddie asked as he fiddled with his Waterman pen.

“Nope, but my bet? In some strip club in Vegas. He always had a soft spot for all the showboating.”

Riley chuckled, his head shaking back and forth like he’d given up on keeping me on the straight and narrow. Eddie rolled his eyes. “It’s like dealing with Jarryd all over again.”

“Jesus, man. Don’t compare me to the pretty-boy doctor. I’m way ballsier.” I grimaced, while both of them laughed at my expense.

“Yeah, but there was a time when I sat in this exact office, telling the man in question to pick between his career and a teenager he was adamant to protect at all costs,” Eddie said, before he glanced at Riley. “I’m no stranger to the kind of people willing to go to jail to protect someone they care about.”

Riley paled between us. “I never asked either of them to do it.”

Eddie gave him a smile that spoke the words he didn’t. “All right, let me throw a few scenarios out there, just for the fun of it.”

I leaned back on my chair, the wood creaking as I pushed it as far as it would go. “Entertain us, Eddie.”

“Let’s say that the drugs were yours, Trey. The plea deal I procured is probably the best we’ll get. Six months tops.”

I laced my fingers behind my head. This was a walk in the park compared to the eight years Dad had earned me in the last stint. How I got out after five was either a testament to my angelic ways, or my father bribing the board just so he’d have his free manpower back. “Okay.”

“Now, if we wanted to argue that the drugs weren’t yours, we could appeal and say you were made to act under duress. But we’d have to come up with a good story, something that doesn’t involve you being pissed at Cooper, or we’re back to square one.”

Riley sighed. “Motive for his convenient disappearance.”

“Now you’re catching on, little brother,” I joked.

He rolled his eyes. I ignored it. To him, this was painful. It triggered his eternal saviour complex. To me, this was my lot in life. I’d been born to a bastard, been raised a bastard, would die a bastard. Protecting Riley was all the purpose left in my shitty existence. No other family. No friends. No money. No career.

I scoffed.Not even a one-night stand.My pathetic realisation smacked my resolve into place. There was no point dragging this out and hurting my brother in the process. It wasn’t like I had anything else to live for. I jerked myself forward, my feet hitting the floor with a thud. Both Riley and Eddie jumped. They stared at me; Riley with wide eyes, Eddie with acceptance written all over his forehead.

“Let’s get this show over with,” I said.

The lawyer slapped his folder closed. “All right. I’ll call the prosecutor now and tell him we’ll take the deal.”

Riley’s lips tightened. As soon as Eddie left the room, I turned towards my brother. “Riley?” He glanced up. In silence. “It’s not your fault.”

He shrugged. “I blew Hal’s brains out. It sort of is.”

I chuckled, a sad bid to lift his mood. “It’ll be okay, bro. Dalton Park’s a fine resort. All I’ll miss is the beach and a babe rubbing sunscreen on my back.”

He laughed, the gloom lifting from his face. “Six months and this is all over for good.”

I bumped his fist. All I had to do was survive this last term and stay away from any residual trouble left over from my past.

How hard could it really be?

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