Page 73 of Joy Ride

Jordan nodded.He took the device from his pocket, set it on the table, and pressed record like he’d done earlier when she’d relayed juicy details about Angus and what he’d been up to lately.

“I’m sorry, Walker.”She bit her lip, then said in a rush, “But I think your father is evil.”

“That makes two of us.”He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, but she knew it had to hurt.

“I hate him because he murdered my mother.”Sevan dug her fake fingernails into her palms, glad for the stabbing pain that distracted her from the tears welling when she finally, after all this time, said it out loud.

“Oh no.I’m so sorry, Sevan.”Joy leaned forward and Arden began to fuss as if she could sense her mother’s distress.Hell, she probably could.

“Son of a bitch!”Walker stared up at the ceiling for at least five seconds and Dane simply watched her, waiting for her to continue, but the pity in his gaze hit her hard.

“How?”Jordan winced.“I’m sorry to be so crude, but it’ll be best if you give me as many details as you have.”

Sevan drew a deep breath, fully aware that what she was about to say would damn her too.Especially in Joy’s eyes.She might no longer be welcome in this sanctuary she’d stumbled across.If she didn’t do it, Sevan would be equally as bad as the rest of people who’d tried to obscure the truth.“Her husband, my stepfather, found out that she’d cheated on him.They got in a huge fight, and she took off in the rain on his motorcycle.They said it was an accident, when she wrapped it around a tree, but it wasn’t.”

Joy sat ramrod straight.Dane clutched her free hand and Walker cursed.

“What aren’t you saying?”Jordan asked, tipping his head.

Joy answered for her.“Mymother died in a freak motorcycle accident.She wrapped Angus’s motorcycle around a tree.They said she didn’t know how to ride and that she never should have taken such a big bike when she was so petite.Especially not in the rain—”

Her face crumpled and she turned to Dane, burying her face against his chest as the memories overwhelmed her.

Walker, however, was still staring at Sevan.“Does that mean that you and Joy…”

Rivet nodded tightly.“We’re sisters.Half-sisters, actually.I have no idea who my father is since our maternal grandparents raised me.Our mother was only with him for a short time, when she broke up with Angus in some kind of power play to try to convince him to leave Walker’s mother.She’d already had Joy, so he knew about her.And when he rose to power at Wildfire, he lured my mother back.Joy was six then.He thought she’d been faithful, so she left me behind and pretended I didn’t exist.He toyed with her for nearly ten years after that, keeping her as his mistress before Walker’s mom disappeared.They finally got married shortly after that, and she moved in to Walker’s house with Joy.I think it was after our grandmother died, when our grandfather got sick that he sent our mom a letter—because I was only fourteen and there was no one else to look after me.Of course Angus read it.That’s how he found out about me.And what he saw as a betrayal.If she could lie to him about something so important for so long, he knew he couldn’t trust her.”

“So he got rid of her.”Walker looked like he might be sick.

Sevan nodded, her guts twisting.“It’s my fault that our mother is gone.If Angus hadn’t found out that she’d had me…shit… I’m so sorry, Joy.”

For a moment, no one responded.And when they did, it wasn’t with the vile denouncements she’d expected.

“No wonder you’re so beautiful, Sevan,” Dane said softly as he stroked Joy’s hair.It was clear that he loved her as much as he ever had.No, more.Because he was glued to her side and Sevan couldn’t imagine them ever leaving her behind again.Must be nice.

Joy sniffled and rose up.She handed her baby to Dane, then approached Sevan.

She fully expected a slap across the face or a tirade that ended with being ordered to leave immediately.Instead, Joy bent down and wrapped her in the warmest hug she’d ever received.“You’re not responsible for anything Mom did.I loved her, of course I did, but she didn’t always make the best decisions.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”Walker frowned.“She got mixed up with my father, got hooked on his money and power, and look what happened to you both—not to mention her—because of it.”

“So you don’t hate me?”Sevan hadn’t even allowed herself to consider that possibility.

“Of course not.”Joy hugged her again.“I wish you’d told me sooner.I never would have gone without you.Family means everything to me.We need to stick together.”

“I wasn’t ready to leave.And I’m not staying away now either.”Rivet shook her head and stared at Jordan, begging him not to rescind his offer.

“Now you’re sounding more like your mom.”Walker looked at her as if she’d said the wildest thing yet, and considering they’d recently found out she didn’t actually have a dick and that she and Joy were long-lost siblings, that was saying a lot.

“Why?”Joy took both of Sevan’s hands in hers and squeezed.“Why would you do that?”

“Simple.”Sevan’s spine stiffened as she vowed again to follow through on what she’d resolved to do so long ago.Now that there was an easy out, a cushy life waiting on the other side, that didn’t mean she could give up.Not until Angus paid.She finally had a real chance at bringing him to justice.“Revenge.”

“That’s no reason to risk your safety.”Joy murmured to her, “Putting yourself in danger won’t bring her back.They have Clive in custody.If they can pin the murder on him, he’ll roll, you know he will.He’s a slimy bastard.He’ll rat on Angus in exchange for a deal.”

“I agree with you to some extent,” Jordan came to her rescue.“If we could get Clive to testify, that would be a major win.But building this case could take years, and let’s be honest, the odds of him making it to a court date alive are slim to none.”

Walker cursed, Dane looked away.Joy put her face in her hands.

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