Page 123 of Heresy

Looking up at him, Brinley’s expression goes neutral again. I’ll hand it to her… she’s damn good at hiding what she’s thinking.

“Then that’s exactly why I can’t, and won’t, help you.”

“Why?” Luca pleads.

“Because from what I know, their fathers are criminals.”

“They are,” Luca admits. “And every person in this room hates them. We want to know what’s on those servers so we can do something to stop them.”

Brinley chews her bottom lip. Stealing a look at me, she then studies Tanner, Ivy, Luca and Gabe.

“The governor told me—”

“Brin, stop,” Ivy says, cutting her off. “Trust me, I’m sure my dad has filled your head with all sorts of information, but he is involved in this somehow. For one, he’s the one who stole the flash drive from Luca.”

There’s another odd something that rolls across Brinley’s expression. Nobody else notices it, but they haven’t spent the entire day with her like I have. They haven’t watched her as closely to know something about her is off.

“And on top of that, you obviously know Scott. You wouldn’t have practically wrenched your neck to look at Taylor when he mentioned the name. He was my personal driver for years. Supposedly, he quit working for my dad, but he picked you up at Priest’s shop. His sister was Luca’s roommate at Yale, and I overheard my dad saying she was put there on purpose. So whatever my dad has going on, it involves Luca’s dad, Luca herself, your dad and now, apparently, Scott and his sister—”

“Everly,” Brinley finishes.

Ivy nods. “So I need you to tone it down a little with thisthe governor told mecrap. He’s as tied up in this as everybody else.”

There’s a protracted silence in the room punctuated by the ice clinking in Gabe’s drink, the sound of Sawyer taking another deep hit of his joint, and the grandfather clock in the hallway ticking each second.

Brinley looks around and clears her throat, her long brown hair falling down on one side of her face. She can’t hide that way, not with everyone standing around the room, but she’s making the attempt.

“I don’t know where my dad is. The governor…”

She catches herself, glances at Ivy then shrugs and finishes the thought.

“He said my dad’s fine but wouldn’t give me more information than that. I haven’t spoken to my dad in a little over two months. I think the entire thing is sketchy.”

It’s my turn to add more information to this discussion, make another connection.

“I saw you at the governor’s house the night of Emily and Mason’s engagement party. Why were you there? Were you invited?”

Brinley shakes her head. “No. I was dropping something off. I don’t even know who Emily and Mason are.”

From where Mason is sitting on a side love seat next to Ava, he lifts a hand. “I’m Mason.”

Emily does the same from where she’s leaned up against Ezra. “I’m Emily.”

Confusion crinkles the skin between Brinley’s eyes.

Before she can ask, I explain, “It’s a long story and not the point. What were you dropping off?”

Her eyes meet mine, panic filtering into the blue. With Brinley, I’m starting to recognize the signs. When she’s worried, it’s like her eyes dim, darkening into a deep grey color.

“I’m not sure I should say.”

“We’re not trying to hurt you or your dad,” Luca assures her, but Brinley is obviously stuck between two sides, unsure of where her loyalty is supposed to lie.

She looks to me again as if for help, and isn’t that odd? I should be the person in the room she can’t stand the most.

Her attention returns to Luca.

“How do I know that? So far, my car has been stolen, I’ve been forced off the road and abducted. I still don’t know if Ames is okay—”

---