Page 173 of Sugarloaf Ridge Lies

She presses a soft kiss to my lips. “I’m lucky to have you too.” Liv reaches for the bedside table and disconnects her phone from charge. “Do you want to see what my aunt found?”

My heart stalls.A warning?Do I want to open this pandora’s box?

As much as it might be another hope quashed, it’s something. I’ll need to share this with Daynah too.

I nod.

She settles beside me and shows me the photos.

Pride followed by hurt burns in my chest as I gloss over the photo of Skylah holding a microphone as if she was born to sing. It’s like staring at my sister. The long hair, the eyes, even the goddamn freckles dotted on her face.

Then there’shim. It’s as if I’m back on the school playground that day, listening to his false promises, moments from getting in his car. Who knows what would’ve become of me if I did? Was he planning to make a life with me, or was he plotting to rid the Earth of me, as he claimed he did to my mother?

“I ’ppreciate what you were tryin’ to do, but I don’t want anythin’ to do with him.”

“I overstepped. I’m sorry.”

“Again, don’t be.”

But I can’t just leave it at that. I need to give her more. I owe her that much. “The last time he was seen, he brought violence into our home and left scars on our family that we’re still healing from.”

Her mouth forms an“O”.“That’s awful.”

“He said some horrific things. We don’t know if he was bullshitting or if he was tellin’ the truth.” My chest tightens. “He said he’d taken care of Skylah.”

Her face pales. “W-what?”

“We don’t know if she’s alive.”

She shakes her head and screws her eyes shut for a beat. “Surely the Police would want to know all this?”

“Between you and me, they do. He’s a bad person. Rotten to the core. And the way he treated women...” I huff out a breath. “I know I have issues. I have a temper and throw a fist first and ask questions later, but there’s only one reason for that. To protect others. Like that night with you at the Royal Mail. Anytime I’ve had a scuffle at a pub.”

“Jerry, I’ve never doubted that your heart’s in the right place.”

Where have you been all my life...

“I ’ppreciate that.” I rub at my brow. “You know, when I found out I was adopted, it messed me up. I thought there was something wrong with me. I already felt like the black sheep of the family. It’s taken me a long time to work out I’m my own man. I get to choose how I treat others, how I live my life. The way my biological father was, it’s not me. I’d never lift a finger to a woman, a child. I have the best father figure in the world in Mick, a brother I admire, and a sister who, despite only knowing me for a short time, would do anything for me.”

“You have me, too,” she whispers.

I wink. “Don’t I know it.”

“I know it’s not the same, but when it comes to my father and the way he treated me and my mum, he might be a part of me, but we’re nothing alike. He doesn’t get a say in how I live my life.”

“His loss.” I sweep my thumb over her cheek. “People can change, I know that, but you won’t locate my real father. That door was closed a long time ago.”

“But what if by finding him, he could lead us to Skylah?”

“He won’t.” That trail went cold many years ago. “If she’s not already dead, he’d make sure of it. The risk ain’t worth the reward.”

Silence stretches between us like an out of control weed in soft ground.

“Len’s gonna drop the Missing Person on Nate.”

“Of course.”

“Even though a part of me believes we’ll never find Skylah, I’m gonna give it a try. I just need to tread carefully where my family’s concerned.”

The muscles in her jaw clench, no doubt mulling over how Penny might react.

Digging up the past is something I’m not sure I’m mentally prepared for.

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