Page 20 of Vengeful

I picked my pen back up and rolled it in my hands. "I could have, but I didn't see any point. If it involves the family, it involves you. I assume you'll tell Zachary?"

"I suppose so," she said uncertainly.

"You two still haven't quite made up?" I guessed. "The twins admitted they were the ones who drugged you."

That was all their idea, but I didn't bother to point that out. If she didn't realise that already, she wouldn't believe me now anyway.

"Not that you care, but no," she replied. "I mean, we have but…it's difficult to know who to trust. He does have a vested interest in the outcome of all of this."

"So does Dane," I pointed out. "For that matter, so do Hunter, Parker and to a lesser extent, Slade. I'm sure the Brantley family would be ecstatic if we imploded."

"And yet, you seem to trust them," she said. "Are you sure they're on your side?"

"I've thought about that a ton of times," I said slowly, honestly. "Maybe I shouldn't be certain of them, but I am. I trustall three of them with my life. For what it's worth, I think you can trust Dane."

"But not Zachary?" Her brow creased slightly.

I took a moment to respond. If she was going to ask me questions like that, I was going to do my best to answer in a way that was to my advantage.

"I think he genuinely cares about you, but like you said, he has a vested interest. If Dad looked at him the right way, he may decide his allegiance is only with himself."

I didn'tnecessarilybelieve that, but it didn't hurt to nurture the seeds of doubt that were clearly in her mind already. A little bit of paranoia could go a long way.

"Exactly," she said softly. "He's ambitious, but I'm not sure if it's for me or for himself."

"Do I need to suggest you don't turn your back on him?" I asked.

"I can't turn my back on anyone," she replied. "Including myself, apparently. I want to smack myself for getting into that car without having it checked first."

"I can smack you if you like," I offered. I placed the pen down and raised my hand as if I was about to do just that. "How hard do you want it?"

She raised her hands in front of her face and laughed slightly. "That's okay. If I want to be smacked, I have Dane for that."

"TMI." I lowered my hand. "Let me know if you change your mind."

She shook her head at me then stood to leave. Before she did she said, "Sometimes I wish it didn't have to be like this."

I didn't respond until she walked away. Under my breath I said, "Sometimes I wish that too."

CHAPTER 8

LILA

My sombre mood continued until after Slade stopped the SUV beside the forest road.

The trees and bush were dense on either side. Thick enough to block out a lot of the sun. A flock of birds startled and took off out of the canopy. Fuck only knew what else we'd scare off before we were done. Snakes, spiders, kangaroos, wombats…

I reminded myself I had to focus on the next few hours. I had to push Chloe, Zachary and any other interruptions out of my mind.

My father was the only one I couldn't put aside. Him and the trials. Specifically, what he might pull before, during, or after the trials.

"Remember to look out for anything different from the last time we were here." Slade killed the engine.

"That could be difficult, considering how dense the bush is." I opened the door and slipped out. "If he's done anything out here already, they would have erased the tracks."

"Erasing them completely is difficult," Hunter said. "It hasn't been that long since we were out here, and it's only rained a handful of times. A bent branch here, or footprint there might still be visible. Keep your eyes peeled."

"That's a strange expression," Parker remarked. "Who wants to peel their own eyes?"

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