Page 67 of Buried Betrayal

“We refused to take the drugs,” West spoke up. “All hell broke loose. The guys we met with refused to take the drugs back, saying we had been paid. We demanded the money. They pulled guns on us—”

“And Noah comes racing out of the fucking car, shooting his gun like he knew what the fuck he was doing,” Eli cut in, anger lining his face. “We told him not to move. We didn’t even know he had a gun.”

Noah hadn’t told me that part of the story.

“He shot three guys,” West said. “One of them being Eli.”

My eyes darted to Eli. “You were shot?”

“It was a graze. I was fine.”

“The police were coming. We could hear their sirens.” West lowered the gun a bit as he spoke, but River stayed in the chair, listening to their story. “We weren’t anywhere near Braidwood. We couldn’t be there when the cops showed up.”

“You left him there,” I choked out, tears burning my eyes. “You two ran and left Noah behind.”

“The car we’d driven wasn’t tied to us, but there was so much cash, and the drugs were in a bag on the sidewalk. We couldn’t be anywhere near it.” Eli stared at me as he spoke. “We tried getting Noah to come with us. But he was screaming about needing the money, that he couldn’t leave without it.”

“There were two of you. You could have dragged him out of there.” My head was spinning at their side of the story, but it didn’t change the ending. They’d left him behind.

“There wasn’t time, Kat,” West said gently. “We tried getting him to leave for as long as we could before we bailed.”

“He was arrested for voluntary manslaughter and holding an illegal firearm,” I mumbled, remembering the news articles I read about it. And what William and Noah had told me.

“He’s lucky it wasn’t murder,” Eli shot back. “And that they couldn’t tie the money or drugs to him. Or he would have gotten more than twenty years.”

I was in front of him in a few steps. “He was seventeen, Eli. Why was he even there?”

West’s voice came from behind me. “William. He wanted Noah involved. We told him it wasn’t a good idea. They didn’t listen.”

“You made our lives miserable with your little blog when it wasn’t our fault,” Eli muttered, his eyes staying on me as I shifted so I could see the three of them again.

“Why didn’t the family lawyers help?” I asked, still not understanding how they’d let this happen when they were with him. “If it was one of you, you wouldn’t have gone to prison.”

“They didn’t want it connected to the families at all. The drugs. The cash. It looked bad,” West answered.

“He’s still my mom’s son,” I yelled as I threw my arms up. “He’s part of our family. He should have had the same protection as you. Is that it? Or is there more I don’t know?” I asked, watching West glance at Eli.

“That’s it,” Eli spoke up before West could. “Yes, we left him like you’ve known all along. With the way it went down, it was unavoidable. If you hate us for that, then hate us. But I doubt Noah told you the full version.”

“And how do I know this version is true? What if you’re just saying this to try and make nice since we have to deal with each other?”

Eli pushed himself off the counter, his face full of fury as he stepped into my personal space. I raised my hand and hit my palm against his chest to stop him.

“You think I’m lying because I don’t want to fight with you anymore?” With each word, he backed me up toward the wall, my hand doing nothing to slow him down. “Or I’m lying because of your new skills we just learned about?”

My back hit the wall, and his fingers gripped my chin. I didn’t fight him as he tilted my face up, curious about what his next words were going to be.

“I love fighting with you, Kat. No matter how infuriating you are,” he murmured, his eyes studying my face. “It makes me feel things I haven’t felt in years. And your new knife skills? They only make it more interesting.”

“I know more than just knives,” I stated as my heart pounded in my ears.

“I figured you did.”

“It’s the truth?” I whispered. “That’s what happened that night?”

He paused for half a second. “Yes. I’m sick of seeing you stare at me with hate for something we didn’t do. At least not to the extent you think.”

“And if I hate you for the things you have done? Like dragging me back here?”

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