Chapter 35
thirty-five
EDEN
“We have to stop meeting like this,” Hudson says, as Autumn and I, followed closely by Bennett, walk into his office. Parker is in the corner, Asher is perched on the desk. I’m guessing Skyler and Francie are either working or haven’t had time to make it to the hotel yet.
I try to smile but I can’t. I’ve been calling West nonstop but he still hasn’t answered. Bennett’s tried calling Vin too, but he’s had no luck either. It’s all Autumn could do to stop me from running for the ferry and somehow making my way up to New York myself.
“You okay?” Asher asks me, concern etching his face.
“No, not really.” I look at them all, watching my every move. “Did West ever tell you about Leona?”
“Who’s Leona?” Hudson asks.
“That answers that one,” Autumn murmurs.
And for once my brothers are quiet while I quickly fill them in.
On Leona, on Bennett letting things slip to his uncle – I reach for his hand as I do that because I do not want them blaming him – and then finally on West’s business meeting that turns out to be with Vin.
Hudson’s face doesn’t show concern, but I see it in his eyes. The calculation. The protectiveness.
“Bennett,” he says, his voice low and even. “I need you to tell me exactly what your uncle said. Every word. Don’t leave anything out.”
Bennett shifts beside me, uncomfortable under the weight of Hudson’s gaze.
“I… I told him about Eden being upset in the Hamptons. Her telling me about the marriage. About how it started. He pushed until I did. And then he said it was good. He told me to keep watching them, to report back if anything changes. Because he was going to use this to both of our advantages.” Bennett looks at me, his eyes imploring.
“I didn’t tell him anything else. I promise. I’ll delete his number if I need to.”
“It’s okay,” I say softly. “It’s not your fault.”
Hudson nods once, but his eyes don’t leave Bennett’s face. “Good. Thank you for telling me. Anything else? Did he threaten you?”
Bennett shakes his head quickly. “No. But he said… he said that West isn’t a good person and doesn’t deserve to have nice things.” His eyes flick to me, then down to the floor.
I squeeze his hand tighter. My stomach twists so hard it hurts.
“Asher?” Hudson turns to him, and the air in the room sharpens like a blade being unsheathed.
“I’ve already messaged my office in New York,” Asher replies immediately. “I’ll get a location on Marchetti’s apartment and get eyes on the place. If West is there, I’ll know within the hour.” His gaze flicks to me. “Eden, I promise I’ll keep him safe.”
Safe. The word makes my throat burn. I want to believe it, but all I can picture is West alone in some glass-and-gold apartment with Vin breathing threats down his neck.
Hudson’s eyes soften as he looks back at me. “We’ll get him home, Eden. I promise.”
My voice cracks when I answer. “Thank you.” And then it hits me again. Just how much they all care about me. How they’ve put everything aside to help me – and West. How they’ve worked so hard to rebuild the family I’m responsible for tearing apart.
“There’s something else,” I say, my voice thin. “Not about West, but about me.”
“Please tell me you’re pregnant,” Autumn says, clasping her hands together.
I roll my eyes at her. “No. Definitely not that.”
The words start to stick in my throat, but I force them out anyway. “It’s about Dad. About the house. The island. About how we lost it.”
Hudson frowns. “Eden…”
“It was me,” I blurt. My chest is tight, my hands clammy.
“That night, when he was playing cards. He asked me to help. To count the cards. I told him I would, but I always planned to get it wrong. To teach him a lesson that he shouldn’t cheat.
” I look over, out of the window, to the hotel grounds.
“I didn’t know he was gambling everything he owned.
I didn’t know he was about to lose our home. ”
The silence that follows is deafening. I want to disappear into a hole.
“You were a kid,” Hudson says. “It wasn’t your fault. Is this really why you’ve stayed away for so long?”
“We lost everything because of me,” I whisper, the words scratching my throat. “I could have easily helped him. But I had to take the high road.”
“It isn’t your fault. It’s mine,” Asher says, letting out an annoyed grunt. “I knew what he was like. And I just let him do it to you, too.”
His eyes meet mine. They’re tired, shadowed, but steady. “He had me doing the same shit when I was barely a teenager. Counting cards, memorizing hands. I hated it, Eden. I hated him. But I still sat there like some good little soldier. I should’ve stopped him before he ever pulled you in.”
The air between us thickens, heavy with everything we never said. Asher and I were always the math geniuses. I used to be excited we had that in common. I guess Dad did, too, in a whole other way.
“You were a kid too,” I murmur.
“Doesn’t matter.” His jaw flexes. Then softer, “I carry it every day. But I’m done letting him win. Done letting his poison touch us.”
Something in my chest cracks open. “Asher…”
He shakes his head and closes the distance, pulling me into his arms. His hug is fierce, almost too tight, but I melt into it anyway. And all I can think is that I wish West was here to see this. He’d be proud of me, I think.
No, he will be proud of me. When I tell him. Tonight.
“You’re my sister,” Asher murmurs, his arms still keeping me close. “And I love you. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Even if that means helping West.”
My breath stutters. “You mean it?”
He leans back enough to look me in the eye. “I don’t like this whole situation. But I can see you love him. And I do too.” He takes a breath. “I was wrong the other day. I need him to know that.”
Hudson nods from the desk, his voice gruff. “Then it’s settled. Whatever’s coming, we face it together.”
Something swells in my chest. For so long I told myself I was on the outside looking in.
That my brothers and Autumn were united and I was the odd one out.
But right now, standing here with their voices solid around me, I feel it.
The pull of belonging. The fierce, messy love of a family that refuses to let each other fall.
“Group hug?” Bennett pipes up. His attempt at lightness makes Autumn laugh through her tears, and even Hudson’s mouth twitches before he straightens it back into a scowl.
“You’re not off the hook yet,” Hudson mutters at him. “But… thanks for being honest.”
Bennett ducks his head, sheepish. “I’m trying.”
I let out a shaky laugh. God, how did this become my life? Protective older siblings, a found family, strays who want to be part of us. And in the middle of it all, West.
The moment fractures when Asher’s phone buzzes on the desk. He snatches it up, his posture shifting, sharpening. “I’ve got eyes,” he says, his voice low and taut. “He’s at Marchetti’s apartment. He was seen going in but he hasn’t come out.”
The room stills. My stomach drops like I’ve been hurled off a cliff. Hudson quickly picks up his phone. “Can you arrange a helicopter to pick us up at the hotel,” he murmurs into it. “We need to get to Manhattan.”
“Oh come on,” Autumn says. “Aren’t you being a bit over the top here?”
I open my mouth to say, no, we’re definitely not, when my phone starts to vibrate. West’s name is on the screen.
“It’s him,” I say, looking at Hudson.
“Confirmation he’s out of the building,” Asher says, nodding like a soldier getting a report.
My hand is shaking as I swipe to accept the call, lifting the phone to my ear. “Are you okay? Did you get my messages?”
“Hi.” His voice is flat. Tired. “Sorry, I missed them.”
“Did you see Vin?” My pulse is pounding so hard I can barely hear myself speak.
There’s a pause. Too long. “Yeah. We talked.”
“And?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.” His voice is tight, like he’s trying to keep the words short so I won’t hear the cracks in them.
I close my eyes, pressing the phone tighter to my ear. “West, don’t do that. Don’t shut me out. I need to know what happened.”
Across the room, Asher gestures sharply at me. “Ask him where he is right now,” he hisses.
Hudson leans in too. “Put him on speaker.”
I turn away, cupping my hand over the phone. “Stop it,” I whisper fiercely. “You’re making it worse.”
“Eden.” West’s voice is in my ear again, low and tired. “I’m fine. I’ll be in New York for a few days. I’ve got some things I need to take care of.”
My chest aches. “When are you coming back?”
A long breath. Too long. “I’ll call you later, okay?” He pauses. “We’ll talk then.”
I hate the way he says that. Not like he’s offering himself up to me. Not that he’s ready to be truly open.
It feels way too ominous for that.
“West—” My throat is closing up, the tears too close. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s wrong. Please come home. I know about Leona. I know she was Vin’s sister. Please talk to me.”
“I can’t.”
The line clicks dead.
Silence crushes the room as I crumble.
“Motherfucker,” Asher mutters.
“Honey, are you okay?” Autumn asks me.
I shake my head, because no, I’m really not. My heart is splintering, my body shaking, but underneath it all a new heat is rising in my chest. Not sadness this time. Not fear. Something sharper. Stronger.
Fury.
At him for shutting me out. For Vin for hurting the man I love. But most of all for myself.
How many times am I going to break for a man who won’t open up to me?
WEST
I’ve been holding this glass of whiskey for the last half hour, but I haven’t managed to swallow a drop. Instead it’s clutched in my hand, my knuckles bleached, because it might be the only thing stopping me from picking up the cellphone that’s on the coffee table in front of me and calling Eden.
To tell her everything that Vin threw in my face. The dossier – a copy of which he gave me as a parting gift. The proof of the kind of man I’ve always been when nobody’s looking.