Page 19 of Seal My Fate

“I love Tessa. I’ll do anything to protect her, anything she wants,” I emphasize fiercely. “And she loves you. Which is why I’m letting you sit here in my house and imply that I’m involved with this whole plot. That I would support lies and fraud, and even murder.”

“Saint—” Tessa tries to protest. “She doesn’t mean—”

“Yes, I do.” Wren narrows her eyes at me, assessing. I stare back, not flinching for a moment. And whatever she sees in my face must pass some kind of test, because finally, she exhales. “Fine. Maybe you are totally oblivious to what’s been going on right under your nose.”

“My, thank you,” I answer dryly.

“Guys,” Tessa speaks up. “We don’t have time for this.”

She’s right. “Fine. You organize a meet with this Phillip man, and I’ll work on keeping Wren hidden,” I say.

I take my phone, and step outside the back door, dragging in a long breath of the chilled November air.

I need to think clearly. I’m not sure Wren and Tessa realize the stakes of what we’re discussing here, but I do.

Which means I have to keep them safe.

I call my cousin, Imogen. “I need a favor,” I say, as soon as she picks up the phone.

“What happened to all the pleasantries?” she teases me. “How have you been? How’s work? Did your date with the man from the tennis club go well?”

“No man who plays tennis on the weekends could ever keep up with you,” I reply shortly. “This is serious, Immie. I need to borrow your place in the country for a little while.”

“Of course,” she says, sounding surprised. “I need to be here in town for work the next few weeks, anyway.”

“Good.” I take another breath, thinking fast. “What’s the security like?”

Imogen pauses. “Nothing fancy. I have Ring cameras, and a remote app for the alarms. Why?” she asks, and then clearly thinks the better of it. “You know what? I don’t need to know. I’ll email you the security codes and a link to share the videos.”

“I knew you were my favorite St. Clair,” I tell her gratefully.

She laughs. “There’s not much competition. It’s either me, or Cousin Miles, or your brother in the running.”

She hangs up, but I stand there a moment longer, realizing what she said.

My brother.Robert. Fuck. He’s been running around at Ashford, trying his best to make this rollout a success. He’ll be devastated to learn the truth about what’s been going on. My mother, too.

But I can’t think about that right now. I have to stay focused on the most important thing: Protecting Tessa, and keeping her sister safe. I don’t know who was behind Wren’s attack or the threats, but they’ve made it clear, they’re willing to hurt Tessa to get to her.

I won’t let that happen. Not at long as I’m alive to draw breath.

The door opens, and Tessa steps outside. She doesn’t say anything at first, just moves straight to me and wraps her arms around me, burying her face against my chest.

I hold her tightly. As much as I’m reeling right now, I can’t imagine the rollercoaster of emotions she must have experienced over the past few days.

“I’m so sorry,” she says finally, lifting her face.

“You’re sorry?” I echo. “What do you have to be sorry for? This is my family. Our crimes. My father…”

I trail off, not able to say it out loud just yet.

Tessa’s face clouds with tender sympathy. “Do you really think he’s capable of being behind all of this?” she asks softly. “Falsifying the trial data is one thing, but going after Wren… Valerie’s ‘accident’…?”

Fraud. Violence. Murder.

The accusations hang, heavy in the air. I search my heart for excuses or explanations, but in the end, I have to give a slow, resigned nod. “He’s not a criminal mastermind,” I say, thinking of the man who raised me. Judgmental, sure. Absent, and single-minded, of course. But a cold-blooded killer?

No.

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