Page 66 of The Truths We Seek

I mean, I understand getting me out of the picture if she thinks she loves Meyer, but surely, if she knew him anywhere close to as well as she thinks she does, she’d have known that betraying him was the one thing he’d never get over.

Especially like this.

Maybe she thought she wouldn’t get caught. Trent has a way of convincing you that what he’s saying is entirely truth and that there’s no way in all of the worlds that anything he has planned could go wrong.

That charm and manipulation of his…

I fell for it. Hell, the entire population of Reddale fell for it, he’s practically worshiped as some kind of hero there.

The good guy.

Never in a million years would they believe who he truly is. What he’s capable of.

So I can see it.

But for her to betray Meyer... that’s the bit that leaves me reeling. I can’t even imagine how Meyer feels, but he’s been silent since we got in the car. His hand has stayed on mine, which he placed on his thigh, but his focus is razor sharp as he maneuvers the car, likely far faster than he should be, down the back roads toward wherever it is he’s taking me.

Where it is they have Harper.

The journey doesn’t take too long, likely because of the speed we were going, but the warehouse in the middle of butt fuck nowhere isn’t where I expected us to be.

Meyer shuts off the engine but remains sitting, so I wait for him to move or say something, but minutes pass and he doesn’t do either.

“Can’t one of the others do this?” I ask him, the conflict he’s battling internally is obviously intense. Surely the others can help. Rory has no love for Harper, at least not that I’ve noticed. Hunter might have, but he’s more team Yen of their merry band of helpers.

I snort inside my own head. I’m sure that Yen would love that title. But between Harper, Yen, and Elise—despite having never met her—they definitely have their own merry band of women obviously happy to help them.

At least, happy until recently in Harper’s case.

Meyer finally shakes his head and lets out a deep breath. “Rory tried. He’s the one who thought that me speaking to her would be a good idea. Don’t get me wrong, I have zero issues doing the dirty work, and betrayal isn’t something new to me, but—”

“But you thought she was your friend.” I smile at him tightly. “That’s the worst part about being stabbed in the back. It’s not the knife. It’s turning and seeing who brandished it.”

He nods, the agreement in his eyes shining back at me. “I brought Harper in after... well, what happened to her, I just didn’t imagine she’d betray us. I guess that will teach me for being so—”

“Absolutely not. Her decisions are no reflection on you. We’re human, we crave connection on a literal biological level. You trusted her, you guys were friends, but what she did is on her, not on you. If you can tell me that Trent is responsible for his actions, and that I’m not to blame for them, then the same applies here buddy.”

He cracks a smile as he turns to look at me. “You took that little standing-up-for-yourself speech of mine to heart I see.”

His teasing gives me hope, so I stick my tongue out at him. “Technically, this is standing up for you, and I’ve always been good at standing up for the people I love.”

“You love me, huh?”

My cheeks heat as he squeezes my hand.

“I love you too, Quinn.” Leaning over, he softly kisses me, leaving me craving more. “Now come on, let’s get this over with so I can go home and show you just how much I love you.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

It’s been four days since I went with Meyer to speak to Harper and I can still see the tears streaming down her face as we left.

“You mean nothing to me,” Meyer hisses and she writhes in her bindings. “You nearly cost me the woman I love, and Hunter nearly DIED!”

“I didn’t mean for Hunter—”

“I don’t give a fuck what you meant to happen,” Meyer roars as I stand in the doorway, watching the scene play out before me. Her hatred shines bright when she looks at me. I didn’t see it before; none of us did, I guess.

“This is your fault. If you’d have just stayed gone—”

---