Chapter 13
Jace
I was still questioning if I should’ve played my cards more closely to my chest. Had I messed up by declaring my intentions so openly? Would she put up a wall again? My problem had always been acting before thinking, and I hadn’t stuck around long enough to gauge Shannon’s full reaction.
I’d gotten better at impulse control over the years, but when it came to Shannon, I was weaker. Some part of me needed her to know that I wanted her back. That I was serious about it, more serious than I’d ever been about anything.
I’d just checked on Zara when I walked out and immediately sensed tension. Elias, Roan, Kami, and Angus were all staring at my father. My aunt and uncle were there, too, plus Shannon, who was eyeing the gathering and worrying her lip in concern.
Okay, something had clearly happened.
“I can’t believe this,” Angus said, jaw ticking.
“What have you been up to, brother?” Uncle Jack demanded.
“Listen, when you’re looking into something like this, you need to explore every angle, even the ones that are unpleasant,” Dad said, and I stepped forward.
“What’s going on?”
“Your dad has been investigating us as possible catfishes,” Kami explained, motioning between herself, Angus, Elias, and Roan.
Ah, hell. I’d been hoping none of them would ever find out about that.
In fact, I’d tried convincing Dad to rule them out, but there’d been no talking to him.
My gaze met Shannon’s, and her brown eyes were etched with worry.
She’d known what Dad was doing, too, but like me, she probably hadn’t suspected it would come out like this. How exactly had they all found out?
“You knew, didn’t you,” Roan accused, noting my lack of shock. Guilt swept in. Of everyone present, he and Angus looked the most upset.
“I tried to talk him out of it.” Even as I said the words, they sounded weak. Perhaps like my dad, I’d subconsciously wondered if the catfish was someone close to me. Someone who knew things the public didn’t.
“Hey, is that why you suggested I get the band together for that street gig yesterday?” Elias questioned, frowning at Dad. “I knew there was something odd about that.”
Dad didn’t look nearly as apologetic as he should.
“Yeah, it was a shot in the dark, I’ll admit.
I had Alison message the catfish to say she was going to be there in the crowd.
I thought maybe I could lure them out, and they’d turn up and try to approach her or at least be watching her.
And if it were one of you, you’d have spotted her there and perhaps displayed a tell, messed up a song maybe. ”
“And did we?” Kami demanded, starting to look at the others like one of them could be guilty. This was the problem with these kinds of suspicions, it made everyone paranoid.
Dad shook his head. “No.”
“Did anyone else show up in the crowd?” I asked. “Was anyone watching Alison?”
He seemed uncharacteristically deflated. “That would also be a no.”
“So, it was all for nothing,” Elias griped. “Wonderful.”
“There’s more, though,” Roan said quietly and everyone turned his way. “He was testing us earlier with the emails.”
“What the hell?” Uncle Jack growled, staring at Dad accusingly.
Roan stepped forward and put his hand on Shannon’s shoulder.
“Shannon figured it out.” He shot her a small, affectionate smile.
“I overheard her confronting Uncle Jay. That’s how I found out.
” Okay, so that was how they knew. Also, I loved Roan, but I did not enjoy him smiling at Shannon like that, nor did I like him touching her.
Swallowing down the thick lump of jealousy, I asked, “What emails?”
“The ones with the tickets for Jay’s show,” Shannon explained softly.
“I saw Oliver Junior,” Dad said, looking to Uncle Jack.
“He was in town on business, so I asked him to do a little tracking for me. The catfish sent Alison money through his crypto exchange. He was able to locate the wallet but not the identity of the owner. Whoever they are, they’re extremely tech savvy. ”
“I wonder who matches that description,” Angus muttered, gazing narrowly at Shannon. “And who also just conveniently figured out what Jay was doing.”
“Don’t you dare,” I said. “I know you’re upset right now, but don’t you fucking dare start in on Shannon.”
Shannon’s eyes flicked up at me for a fraction of a second, and for that heartbeat, she gave me a tiny, grateful smile before looking away again.
My jaw clenched. How fucking dare Angus make her feel cornered?
I knew he was mad, but laying his frustrations on Shannon was completely uncalled for. She was innocent in all of this.
“So, you’re fine with us being suspects but not her?”
“No, I’m not fine with any of this, but—”
“Listen to me,” Dad interrupted. “You can all quit finger pointing because you’re in the clear.”
“What do you mean?” Aunt Lille asked, speaking for the first time. She’d been quietly standing back, observing the confrontation. Mam was out back on a work call and had no idea of the drama that was unfolding in her front hallway.
“Under my instruction, Oliver sent money to the catfish’s crypto wallet.
It would’ve come with an email alert, and if any of you had seen the alert when you opened your inboxes, you would’ve displayed obvious shock or surprise.
Both are easily read, especially in an uncomfortable environment like, say, the cold. None of you did.”
“The cold? You had us outside on purpose?” Kami accused. “That’s so fucking sneaky and, sure, smart, but mostly sneaky.”
Dad shot her a mildly apologetic shrug.
“Why would they be shocked? How much did you send?” Uncle Jack asked.
“Ten grand worth of cryptocurrency.”
“What the actual fuck?” I demanded of my father, angry now. “This person has been scamming people using my identity, and you just sent them ten bloody grand.”
“Relax,” Dad said. “I needed it to be a large enough sum to solicit a visible reaction. Besides, we didn’t actually send them money. Oliver has some clever ways of making it look like we did. He’ll be sending another alert shortly informing them the transfer was a glitch in the system.”
“This is messed up. I think of you all as my family,” Angus gritted out, emotion catching in his throat. “I don’t care if I’m not a suspect any longer. The fact that you’d even—” His words fell off, his hurt clear as day.
“Son, please just let me explain,” Dad said, finally having the decency to sound guilty as he stepped towards Angus, but my bandmate, who I considered a brother, moved away.
“Don’t bother,” he said, then turned and walked out the door.
“Fuck,” Dad groaned and ran a hand down his face.
“You need to go after him,” Uncle Jack said, the gravel in his voice showing he was angry at Dad, not only for upsetting Angus but also for making both his sons suspects.
I expected he had a lot of apologies to make tonight.
I felt like crap about it because if someone wasn’t targeting me, then none of this drama would even be happening. It was tearing my family apart.
“Yeah, I know,” Dad replied before looking to Roan, Elias, and Kami. “I’m sorry I had you down as suspects, but it was necessary to rule you out. With a little more time, I think you’ll all come to understand that.”
He left then, following after Angus, and I sure hoped he had some good grovelling prepared.
Angus had been through a lot with his own parents, and my family had become a sanctuary for him.
My parents took him in, treated him as their own, and I knew he considered us his real family.
For Dad to suspect him of doing something like this, it must’ve hurt deep.
My father could be so committed to untangling mysteries that he didn’t realise who he was hurting along the way. It was his one big blind spot.
I was guilty of a similar flaw. When I was on drugs, I’d been so focused on blotting out my trauma that I’d lost sight of what was truly important above all else, my wife and child.
“I’m so sorry about all this,” I said, addressing everyone left.
Uncle Jack came and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t apologise for my brother’s fuck ups. It’s not your fault.”
“I still feel like shit about it. I knew what he was doing, but I couldn’t manage to talk him out of it.”
“I think everyone’s ignoring the worst part of all this,” Kami said, garnering our attention. “We still don’t know who the catfish is.”
“Actually, I might have a theory,” Shannon said, her gaze meeting mine, and I instantly knew who she was referring to. The dickhead from her work. “But I need to run it by Jay first.”
“Why not just tell us?” Kami said. “Since we’re supposedly in the clear. We deserve to know.”
“It’s not that simple. If I’m wrong, I could cause trouble in this person’s life, and I’d rather not do that until I have more concrete proof.”
“Maybe it’s time to get the authorities involved,” Aunt Lille suggested, and it was at that moment my mam finally appeared.
“The authorities?” she asked, peering around at everyone gathered in the hallway and quickly taking in the tense atmosphere. She sighed. “Okay, what did I miss? And why do I have a feeling my husband is at fault?”
***
Mam made tea and did her best to soothe everybody’s hurt feelings by patting shoulders and offering chocolate biscuits.
Dad had come back after trying to mend things with Angus.
I wasn’t sure what was said between them, but he wore the expression of a man who’d fucked up royally.
I decided I’d stop by Angus’ place later to see how he was doing.
I watched as Shannon drank the last sip from her teacup, then stood from the armchair she’d been sitting in.
She brushed down her outfit, swatting away a few stray biscuit crumbs, and my gaze followed her hands.
It was difficult not to focus on every little thing she did, tough to give her space when all I wanted to do was pull her close.
“Let me drive you home,” I offered.