Page 125 of Heresy

Everybody is on edge as the guys now study the message written in spray paint, and the girls huddle close to each other, the fire a dance of light and shadow across their faces.

When Emily cries, one of the twins finds her and tugs her close, burying her face against his chest and resting his chin on her head. His hands softly rub her back, consoling her.

I find it odd that she’s snuggling up to him when supposedly she’s engaged to Mason. But I leave that mystery alone. Now is definitely not the time to ask about it.

Gabe wanders over to Ivy, his drink still in hand.

Leaning down, he whispers something to her that makes her smile. She shakes her head then wraps an arm around him just as the emergency vehicles arrive and begin their efforts to extinguish the flames.

It takes an hour for the last flame to be put out and for the emergency responders to leave. They interviewed Tanner, took pictures of the scene, claimed to be sorry about the destruction and asked for any surveillance footage Tanner might have from his cameras. Tanner promises to send it along to them after he reviews it.

Once the flames are out and all that lingers is smoke and the hollowed-out shells of what was once an impressive grouping of luxury cars and a motorcycle, we stand here as a group surveying the damage.

Shane won’t come anywhere near me.

I notice that.

So I’m off to the side on my own, wishing I had someone to at least keep me company, even if by just standing close.

“I need to check my cameras,” Tanner finally says with a tight voice, his eyes refusing to meet ours when he walks back into the house.

Gabe, Luca and Ivy follow Tanner, four of the other guys also following after staring at the cars for a few more seconds.

Once all is said and done, only Shane and the twins remain outside, Emily still clinging to one of them, her cheek pressed against his chest.

“Who do you think did this?” the other twin finally asks.

I wish I knew who was who, but telling them apart is damn near impossible.

Shane runs a hand through his hair, his eyes studying the damage as he spins a slow circle to survey the destruction.

“The governor?” he guesses. “Our dads? Who the fuck knows?”

One thing the firemen and cops were able to tell us was that this scene wasn’t caused by accident. It was very much a deliberate act of arson.

Somehow, I find my voice to disrupt the charged tension and ask a question.

“Why would your dads do this? Or for that matter, the governor?”

Shane glances at me, his jaw tight. “It’s like we’ve been trying to tell you. We’re not the bad guys.”

I open my mouth to argue, but he cuts me off.

“Yes, despite my list of transgressions, I’m actually a decent person. What I did to you was fucked-up. We’re all fucked-up. But we have our reasons.”

“Yeah, but you also have really shitty methods,” I add.

He scrubs a hand down his face, exhaustion evident in his voice. “Yeah. That’s probably true.”

Then again, there weren’t many options. Sure, he could have simply talked to me. Told me his suspicions about my dad, Luca’s dad, the governor and everything else involved, but would I have listened?

Or would I have asked the governor regardless and been given the same information?

Scanning the scene in front of me now, I realize that whatever it is these guys are involved in is serious.

It makes me worry more for my father.

Where could he be?

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