Page 116 of Exposed

“I didn’t just speak to him. I also talked to Poppy. Although that conversation was much more hostile than the one with your father…”

“Tanner, you could have been killed!”

He laughed. “No. Definitely not.”

“But if you only spoke to them…how do you know they’re telling the truth?”

“I have my ways.”

The way he said it made me believe him. “You didn’t like…torture them or something?”

He laughed but didn’t respond to my question. “Brooklyn, you can trust me when I tell you that your father doesn’t want you dead. I would never do anything to put you in harm’s way. And if anything, your father wants you very much alive. He told me he’s been trying to call you. Why haven’t you answered?”

“Because I thought he killed my husband.” Had he really not? Could I really believe this? I stared at Tanner. I trusted him. I knew I could.

“I swear he didn’t.”

“But he’s still dangerous. Matt told me he stepped down. But…that doesn’t just make his enemies disappear. I don’t want to be part of his world.”

Tanner nodded. “Sometimes we don’t choose our circumstances though. Just because he’s stuck doesn’t mean he wants to be. And if I learned anything over our dinner…”

“You had dinner with him?”

“I had a lot of questions. That’s not important. What’s important is that he’s not a patient man. And if you’re worried about your safety, I’d think it would be better to answer him when he requests an answer.”

“I’m not going to be at his beck and call after everything he did to me.”

“Trust me, I understand completely.” His eyes searched mine. “You know, you can just say the word and I’ll take care of him if you wish.”

I didn’t know what he meant by that. And I realized that I knew very little about Tanner. Not much at all really. Was he…was it possible that he was a mobster too?

Tanner cleared his throat. “Enough about this. It’s getting late. Put your dress on.” He turned around to give me my privacy.

Tanner’s words should have made the uneasy feeling in my stomach disappear. My father hadn’t ordered the hit. He didn’t kill Miller.

But my heart was still broken. Maybe when it was beating a little better, I’d be able to forgive him for everything. One day. But that day wasn’t today.

I just wanted to enjoy prom. I smiled at the thought.Prom.Matt was amazing.

I changed into the dress that looked like my mom’s. It was more sheer in places than the original. And a little tighter. But after Tanner’s assessment of me, I felt more confident in this one than the other two. I felt like me.

Tanner turned around and smiled. “Just right?”

I nodded and looked over at my friends. Bee was smiling ear to ear in a very sheer dress. Kennedy was wearing a short dress that was such a light pink it almost looked white. Her smile was just as big as Bee’s. Penny was wearing an emerald floor-length gown with a little ruching in the middle to hide what she didn’t need to hide. Daphne was wearing a tight midnight black dress that was the complete opposite of the burlap sack. And Hailey’s dress was dipped in diamonds and made her look like a million bucks.

It was all just right. Tanner was magical. He’d pushed them and they all looked amazing.

Justin whistled. “I’ve never been surrounded by such hotness.”

“See…” Tanner said. “Nailed it.”

“You really did. Thank you. For all of this.”

He winked. “The best is yet to come. Your big night has only just begun, Brooklyn. Speaking of which…” He glanced at his watch. “I must be going. My carriage will be arriving any second.”

“Right, you don’t want to turn into a pumpkin,” I said with a laugh.

“What?”

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