Page 35 of Laurels and Liquor

“Yeah, Mom blackmailed me into going to the wedding. She said that she’d cut you off and have you disavowed from the pack if I didn’t show up,” I finish when he trails off.

I’ve been waiting for this. I’d known going to the wedding would be dangerous, and I’d even decided not to go at one point. But when my mother threatened to have Jason kicked out and disowned, there was no way I would let that happen. Jason has a place in the family, and I couldn’t let myself be the one to take that away from him. I’d thought about everything leading up to that day, and I’d do a lot of things differently if I had the chance, but I wouldn’t change this part. I would protect my little brother every time, period.

“Lydia, that’s—why didn’t you tell me? We could have talked about it, made plans—”

“You would tell me not to go, and I’m not going to make you an outcast to protect myself. That’s not—”

“You’re not hearing me. If I’d known in advance that Mom was threatening to kick me out, then I could have—”

“No, Jason!” I’m nearly shouting, my vision blurry as I clutch my phone hard. “I would never, could never, ask you to do that for me. You aren’t like me. I was already gone mentally before I ran. You still want to be there, and I’m not—”

“Will you please stop and listen to me for a minute?” Jason shouts over me.

I blink in surprise, too stunned by the sudden heat in his voice to speak. He presses his advantage in my silence, words falling out in a tumble like he can’t get them out fast enough.

“I’ve been planning to leave for months, since before you even knew about the wedding. I don’t want to talk too much about it over the phone, but I found some stuff and I can’t—I won’t let myself be a pawn in this family’s bullshit anymore. If you’d told me that Mom was planning to kick me out, we could have worked it out, staged everything to make it look like she won. I could have…”

He trails off again, but this time, I have no idea how that sentence could possibly end. What does Jason know that’s so bad he’s willing to give up his pack standing to get away from it? Why can’t he tell me over the phone? More questions swirl in my head, and I can’t get any of them to slow down long enough to be vocalized.

“Listen, I’m still getting things together, but it won’t be long. I’ll give you as much warning as I can, but expect the retaliation to come through fast. Dad’s already sent three letters, and I think he’s got the police on speed dial for the moment that clock runs out.”

“That’s been solved, Jace. I have the proper paperwork. He can’t touch me now.”

“Oh, thank God. That was my biggest worry, that they’d use you to make me come back once I leave.” Jason exhales, relief dripping from every word.

“Jason, why can’t you tell me what’s going on?” I push, worry creeping forward.

“I will as soon as I can. But listen, I’ve been gone for too long and someone’s going to get suspicious. I have to go. We’ll talk again soon, okay?” Jason says, words rushing out.

“Wait, no. Jason, please, talk to me—”

“I’ll explain everything as soon as I can. But for now, please, just stay safe and don’t worry about me,” he replies emphatically.

“It’s a bit too late for that,” I throw back with sarcasm.

Jason chuckles warmly. “I know. But I really do have to go. Love you so much, Lydi.”

I sigh, defeated. I know when I’ve been shut down, and it’s not worth it to pick this fight now. I’ll try again another time. “Love you too, Jace. Stay safe.”

We say our goodbyes and I lower my phone to my lap. I know he thinks he can handle himself, but I’m his older sister. I’m always going to worry about my baby brother. I have to stop my mind from running away from me, imagining the worst of the worst-case scenarios.

I turn back to Gabby, opening my mouth to ask her what she thinks, or if he’s said anything to her, but stop short. She’s sitting straight up, eyes wide and mouth agape, as she stares at her phone in horror. I move closer, heart already pounding. I don’t think I could handle any more bad news right now. But the headline on her screen launches me into an entirely new tangle of confused feelings.

SETH DOUGLAS MEETS HIS DRUNKEN DEMISE

Chapter seventeen

Lucas

Irereadthewordsover and over again, still in shock. Seth is dead. He got drunk and crashed his car into a tree. And now he’s dead. I look away from my phone and rub my mouth in shock. When Rhett sent me the link a few minutes ago, I didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t this.

I’m sitting in my office in Alice’s Kitchen, the restaurant Rhett owns and I manage. It’s still early in the day, a few hours away from the Friday night dinner rush. Not that I’d had plans to stick around for it. Lex and Mateo are in Savannah for the weekend, looking at a potential expansion opportunity, leaving me alone with Lydia, which will be nice. Three days of uninterrupted quality time. I’ve even cleared my work schedule for it, which made my assistant manager, Steph, question my sanity. I haven’t taken this much voluntary time off since she was hired. I might take a few hours here and there, but not three whole days, and on a weekend, no less.

But my priorities are different now. I don’t feel the need to fill my every waking hour with activity, at least not when I’m with Lydia. I can slow down, just be in the moment with her. It took Steph pointing it out for me to realize how much Lydia has changed me, and my pack.

My phone buzzes in my hand with another message, this time from Lydia.

Lydi-bug: Did you see? About Seth???

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