Page 74 of Sweet Lies

“Hm. Yes, they did. That’s odd, considering they’re normally joined at the hip at these functions,” Elijah says thoughtfully.

“Do you think she found out about his affair?” Claire asks.

“It’s possible. The only thing I can think is that he might have told her to get out from under my thumb. If she hasn’t found out after all this time, it’s reasonable to believe he was the one to tell her.”

“What does that mean for your deal with him?” I ask, leaning forward.Damnit. I shouldn’t be interested.

From the corner of my eye, I see Andre grin.

“It won’t affect it greatly. I have other things on him that are much worse, and he knows it. If he told her, there has to be more to the story. He must believe there’s something in it for him, and that’s worrying. I’ll look into it. Nice job, Bec.”

I hate the feeling of warmth that spreads through my body at his compliment. “Yeah, well, if I had to be there, I might as well learn something.”

Andre covers his laugh up with a cough.

“Do you have something to add?” I snap, glaring at him.

“I do. I did some digging into the governor’s son and found some interesting issues in his past that have been covered up over the years.”

Elijah’s eyes grow large, and I can see the light bulb appearing above his head. “Daniel Ferrari found out.”

“I believe so.”

Elijah nods. “It makes sense. Why else would the governor’s son want to marry a mobster’s daughter if he’s worked so hard to keep a clean reputation? It’s not as if Ferrari’s in the newspaper for saving kittens from trees.”

“You’re one to talk. It’s not like you’re a saint,” I shoot back without thinking.

“I’m sorry, Bec, did your childhood not have enough rainbows and butterflies in it, because if I remember correctly, you had a damn good life because we made it so. We did what we needed to do to keep the business running and our heads attached to our necks. Sorry there wasn’t enough kitten-saving for you,” Elijah spits.

Andre’s eyes shoot between us, and he moves a little closer to me, as if preparing to put himself between my brother and I. Elijah’s eye twitches, and I know he’s noticed.

“What’s going on between you two?” he demands, and Claire laughs, causing him to send his glare in her direction.

I’m happy the heat is off me for a moment, no matter how short that moment might be.

“What?” he asks her.

“Oh, come on, E. The same thing that’s been going on since we were kids. They’ve always been connected.”

“No, they have not, because I ordered you to stay the fuck away from my sister,” he barks at Andre.

“You did what?” I rush out in a rage. Where did he get off telling him to stay away from me? Logically, I’d known he must have, but to hear it first-hand pisses me off.

To Andre’s credit, he doesn’t back down from my brother’s stare.

The air in the car is thick with tension that’s rapidly approaching boiling point. They can’t find out the truth about what happened to me. Andre promised he wouldn’t say anything, but that thought doesn’t stop my heart from racing with anxiety.

“And I kept my promise. If you remember correctly, you ‘died,’ making that promise moot.”

For a split second, you could have heard a pin drop before Elijah flings himself across the small distance separating them, lunging for Andre’s throat.

Andre is prepared for the attack though and dodges it. “You left her alone and unprotected.”

“We thought she was dead!” Elijah rages as the pair become a tangle of limbs.

“You don’t know the hell she went through.”

“Why don’t you tell us? Since she doesn’t see fit to fill in the story,” Elijah screams, losing control for the first time I’ve seen since he was a child, and landing a punch to Andre’s side.

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