Chapter 38 #2
Nessa… sorry, Laney, looked over her shoulder, eyebrow raised at all the guys whose heads were poking out of the bedroom. “Who are all these men, eavesdropping on our private convo?” she power-whispered.
“Oh, sorry.” I shook my head, trying to clear it. “This is actually my cousin Theo’s house.” I pointed. “He’s the one who gave you the drink.”
Theo offered her a grin and a wave, eyes glazed, still knocked sideways by her beauty.
“And that’s Bowen and James.”
They both waved.
“They’re my brothers. And that’s—”
“No.” Laney slapped both hands over her mouth. “That’s Cash Dupree.” She released an embarrassed laugh, shoulders curling in. “I wish I’d known he’d be here,” she whispered to me. “I would’ve at least put on a swipe of mascara. He was my crush in high school.”
“It’s okay. You look great. And he’s happily married now,” I said, because it was Laney.
“Right.” She fanned her face. “I knew that. To Charlie.” She turned to look at Cash. “Your wife is really beautiful, by the way.”
Cash beamed. “She totally is.”
But then, I wondered—if Cash had been her crush, why had she gone after me so hard? And immediately I understood. She’d used me to one-up Jules.
“Geez,” I muttered.
I’m sorry, she mouthed, looking shamefaced.
“It’s okay,” I mumbled, not sure if I meant it.
She glanced back at Cash, then at me. Then she kicked off her Birkenstocks, picked her feet up, and hugged her knees to her chest, trying to hide.
“This is so crazy,” she whispered to me. “No… surreal. I liked Cash, and Julie-Bean liked you.” She waved that away. “Liked is a complete understatement. She wanted to marry you. And she actually did it.” She made the mind-blown gesture. “Just… wow.”
“Wait.” My chest swelled with hope. “That was true. Because they said on TV that she wanted to marry Liam.”
“Seriously?” She burst out laughing again.
“You can’t keep making me laugh. My abs already hurt.
Come on, Griffin.” She threw a hand up. “You’re a Dupree.
You know how easily regular people twist the truth.
And the people at DayGlow are experts at making lies look real and the truth look like a joke.
” Then, as if she’d just remembered the paper in her hand, she held it out for me. “Here. See for yourself.”
I unfolded it and sucked in a breath.
It was just as Jules had described, and it was written in her unmistakably gorgeous cursive.
“Okay.” My mind was reeling. “But how do you explain her calling Liam multiple times and trying to get him to hook up with her? Because she did that, like ten times in one week.”
Laney stared at me like I was slow. “Didn’t you hear me?
DayGlow’s basically the mafia in better packaging.
They can do anything. If I had to guess, I’d say they hired a voice actress or used some kind of software to replicate Julie’s voice.
They’re using you to smoke her out.” She flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder. “They’ve done it before.”
Cash chuckled. “Sounds like something out of one of my parents’ movies.”
I dropped back against the cushions, heart pounding, feeling like an absolute idiot. Not only did I owe Ford a massive apology, but I also divorced Jules—and she hadn’t done a single thing wrong. I dragged my hands through my hair, my gaze ricocheting until it landed on Theo.
He looked as wrecked as I felt. “I’ve never hated saying ‘I told you so’ so much.”
Laney gave me a pointed look. “No offense to your cousin Liam, but I’ve never even heard Julie say she thought he was cute.”
“Wow,” Liam said.
“Just being truthful.” Laney looked over at him. “At least Sariah Morgandale thinks about you constantly. Granted, mostly to publicly dissect your failures, but still.”
Even I laughed at that.
“I don’t like this woman,” Liam declared.
“Nobody asked you to,” Laney said. “Besides, I’m used to not being liked.”
Theo grinned. “I knew Juliette was good people.”
“She is good people,” Laney agreed. “And you’re welcome.” She flicked me on the kneecap. “I risked my life to get that.”
“What do you mean?” I sat up. “And how do you know that Jules was being sex trafficked if she didn’t tell you?”
“She didn’t tell anyone.” Her face twisted with hurt.
“Which was completely reckless on her part. I mean, what did she think was going to happen when she disappeared and left a multi-million dollar hole? Did she think they would just end the Viewing parties?” She let out a bitter laugh.
“She had to know they’d fill the vacancy with someone else.
” Her face wrinkled, trying not to cry, giving away that she’d been next in line to fill the vacancy.
Liam walked over and stood in front of us, expression wary. “Are you certain she didn’t want to be a part of the Viewing parties?”
“Excuse me?” Laney recoiled like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Why would you say something like that about Julie, of all people?”
Liam’s gaze dropped to the floor.
“Ah. Got it.” She nodded, lips pursed. “You’re a terrible person, aren’t you? Shocker. You pro athletes really are the most despicable humans.”
“Hey!” Liam snapped. “I’m a fantastic—”
“Did you win her?” Laney asked, jaw clamped tight.
Liam looked side-swiped by that statement. “No. I didn’t even bid. My friend dragged me to a Viewing party without telling me what it was. And I’m sorry, but I have to say, Juliette looked perfectly happy to be up there, doing her seductive little dance.”
Laney shot to her feet, making Liam stumble back. “Her seductive little dance?” She poked him right in the middle of his forehead. “Think with your brain, you waste of oxygen. She. Was. Drugged.” She stabbed once on each word.
Liam glared at her.
“Julie was as pure as they come before DayGlow got their hands on her,” Laney said.
“And she was the perfect prey. She has no family, no one in her corner, and nowhere to turn. I’d venture to say she stayed as long as she could just to protect the rest of us.
” Her shoulders shook as hard as her voice.
“Okay, okay.” Liam stepped back, hands up, looking sufficiently humbled.
I couldn’t even enjoy the relief of knowing Jules hadn’t purposely sold herself and that she really did love me and not Liam. I was too sick. Sick for her and… “Laney? Did they sex traffic you?”
“No.” She turned to me. “But they sure tried. Luckily…” She gulped and dropped onto the couch again.
“I have parents who love me, even if I have treated them abominably. Parents who put me in self-defense classes and karate. So when I told Cecil and the board that I’d rather rot in jail for murder—and I swore to do just that if they put their hands on me—and they still kept coming toward me with that needle anyway?
I went full Sydney Bristow and used my black belt skills to educate them real quick. ”
I swear I heard Theo let out a soft sigh.
“Freaking Kiton-wearing pansies didn’t know what to do.
” Laney laughed through her tears. But as fast as the laughter came, it faded.
She nodded at the paper in my hands. “On my way out, I saw Julie’s list on the boardroom table, and it just ticked me off even more.
How dare they go after the dreams of a girl who’s only ever had dreams?
” Her hands shook, but then she looked at me and lost it again.
“But then I realized I’m no better. Because I tried to steal her dreams too. ”
I held her gaze, a silent why hanging between us.
“It’s complicated,” she whispered.
“Tell me?”
“My parents loved her more than me,” she said so quietly I had to strain to hear.
“At least that’s how it felt. And I couldn’t blame them.
When they came to me and said they were thinking of…
adopting her…” She swallowed. “I couldn’t handle it.
They thought I’d be so happy—and I should’ve been.
But I knew I’d never measure up to her, and having her in the house every day would just prove it.
But it didn’t mean I didn’t love her. So when she left without saying goodbye, it was just another confirmation that I was a terrible person. And it ate me up inside.”
Jules could’ve had a family, and Laney prevented it.
I messed up, she mouthed, her entire body sagging with the weight of regret.
Haven’t we all? I replied.
“What’s with all the whispering?” James asked. “Are you going to finish telling us how you got Juliette’s list?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Laney sniffed and fanned her face. “Where was I?”
“You saw Juliette’s list on the boardroom table, and it made you mad,” Theo offered.
“Right.” Laney straightened. “So anyway. While Cecil and the board all moaned and rolled around on the floor, holding their crotches—” she spat, “—I grabbed the paper and ran.” Her eyes held mine, so sad.
“But DayGlow won’t stop. Fallon will be next.
Or Briar or Riley. I’m not as strong as Julie.
I couldn’t sacrifice myself for them, and now DayGlow will ruin them too. ”
I wasn’t sure how to begin to fix this. Should we find Jules first? Or take down DayGlow? Or go extract Jules’s friends? I had no idea.
“What are you gonna do?” Theo asked Laney, now standing next to Liam. Somewhere during her story, they’d all filed out of the bedroom to listen. “Are you going to the police?”
“Me?” she asked, like the idea was ludicrous. “I’m nobody, and it’s my word against DayGlow’s. They would destroy my family. Or worse.” She shook her head. “No, I’m going home to beg my parents for forgiveness, plead to move into their basement, and probably never leave the house ever again.”
“Where’s home?” Bowen asked.
Laney squeezed her eyes shut. “Henderson, Nevada.” She groaned like it was a curse. “A whole eighteen minutes from DayGlow’s headquarters.” Her head was in her hands again.
“You could stay here,” Theo suggested brightly. “A whole two thousand miles from DayGlow’s headquarters.”
Laney looked up at him, like she wasn’t sure she’d heard him right.
I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. Theo knew nothing about how hard Laney had tried to break me down.
But the woman in front of me seemed nothing like the woman I’d worked with last summer, and everything like someone who’d been broken herself and needed a fresh start.
“Yeah.” James rubbed his chin. “You should definitely do that.”
“There’s an apartment above my parents’ garage,” Liam said. “My parents would let you stay there. They love loaning it to people. It gives them a reason to tell my mom’s terrible family they can’t come for a visit.”
Everyone laughed, including Laney.
“And your parents could come for a little while to be with you,” Cash said. “Or a long while even. Holden and Christy’s apartment isn’t big, but my parents would let them stay in their bonus room. It’s really nice. They kind of live in a mansion.”
“Kind of?” I chuckled. “It’s a mansion. Period.”
“One hundred percent.” James backed me up.
Laney looked like her world had been rocked. “You want me to tell my parents they can come stay in Ford Dupree’s mansion?”
“Yes,” Cash said decisively.
She laughed—really laughed—her whole body shaking with it. Which made us all laugh too.
“Okay.” She smiled. “I will. If you’re all serious.”
“We are,” we said at the same time.
I slapped the top of my thigh. “We love volunteering our parents without their permission. It’s payback for all the chores and farmwork they volunteered us for as kids.”
“Facts.” Liam grinned.
“We’ll pay rent,” Laney said.
“Nah.” Cash waved that away.
“Definitely not,” Liam said. “They wouldn’t take it anyway.”
I gripped Laney’s shoulder. “How about we let you castrate cows as payment?”
“Please no.” She smiled. Then she chewed her lip, thinking. “I wouldn’t mind… maybe… I need to get right with God.” Her cheeks flushed. “Do you all know of a good church around here?”
“We do.” I clicked my tongue. “You definitely came to the right place.”
She turned to face me. “You honestly don’t know where Julie is?”
I shook my head, chest tight. “No, and I really need to find her. Fast.” I glanced at Cash. “I think we should talk to Ford and Jeff.”
He rubbed his hands together. “Let’s do it.”