Chapter Sixty-Seven Aubrey
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Aubrey
“I have to apologize, Hanna. I never thought your lame plan would work.”
At the sound of my voice, Lukas spun around and faced the doorway. The official one, not the hidden entrance he used to lurk
about.
He didn’t show an ounce of fear or surprise when his gaze met mine. Maybe he wasn’t nearly as smart as he insisted he was.
A wise man would run and keep running. Not this guy.
“I was worried about you being here. Alone, in this house,” he said to Hanna as he nodded in my direction. “With her slithering
around town.”
“What’s amazing is that he thinks he’s still in charge,” I said.
Hanna shook her head. “The cluelessness is staggering.”
He acted as if he didn’t hear the comments. His confidence didn’t diminish one bit. “I’m not sure what Aubrey told you, but—”
“The truth,” I said.
“Do you know the truth?” He shot me a look that said you poor deluded thing.
His ego had expanded in the last fifteen years. It was a wonder his head didn’t explode. Maybe before the night was over it
would.
A woman could hope.
“Were you always this tiresome? I guess I was too young to see it.” Young and conned. Never again.
He shook his head. “We barely knew each other back then.”
“I have evidence that suggests otherwise.” I didn’t, unfortunately. He’d been too worried about his precious reputation all
those years ago to let that happen. But if he could make idle threats, so could I.
He scoffed. “We didn’t even speak at family events.”
He was trying this? Really? “I guess we’ve reached the outright-lying portion of the evening. Interesting.”
Hanna’s maternal instincts kicked in, if that was even a thing. Her jaw tightened to the point of snapping. “It sounds like
you have something to hide.” Her gaze wandered up and down Lukas. “That outfit doesn’t exactly say innocent.”
No one ever rode into danger to save me before. It was an odd sensation.
“That’s why you did all of this, right? Daniela. The fire. Roped deluded Isabel into helping. Kidnapped Jeremy. To cover your
slimy little tracks.” I probably missed some of his sins, but I’d spell out the biggest one soon enough. “The last attack
was a mistake, by the way. You managed to piss Hanna off. Look at her. I would not mess with Hanna.”
“This is insane.” He did that thing with his voice where he talked softly, encouragingly, as if he was the good guy in this scenario. The savior sent to rescue the confused and sad damsels. “You know how dangerous she is, Hanna. You can’t believe a thing she says.”
“But I can believe my son. He was quite clear that Aubrey wasn’t at the café. She didn’t touch him.” Hanna leaned back in
her chair, looking like a woman who enjoyed doling out revenge.
Lukas kept fighting. “You have the wrong person. It’s that guy who keeps showing up all over town. I’m sure Aubrey convinced
him to help her.”
He was treading water. Not panicked enough but it was a good start. I’d love to see him actually drown. All the splashing.
“Because men fall in line and do my bidding. Right?”
Hanna pushed the conversation in a different direction. “If you wanted to visit me, why didn’t you come to the front door?
And why would you need to see me? We haven’t said fifty words to each other in a decade.”
Lukas didn’t miss a beat. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I’ve been following Aubrey.”
“That’s not new.” He had no shame. I didn’t either but then, I didn’t pretend to. That was him. Mr. Professional Attorney.
Always yapping to avoid responsibility.
He kept his focus on Hanna. No doubt he thought he could win her over. Continue to use that smooth lawyer voice and pummel
her with reassuring arguments. She wouldn’t be the first woman to fall for his bullshit. But I would make sure she was the
last.
I crossed my arms in front of me. It was either that or strangle him. “Tell Hanna how you know about the secret passageways
in this house.”
Lukas looked at me with pity. “Hanna’s too smart to let you fool her. Everyone knows these old houses have hidden halls. Xavier bragged about the winding hallways and how they were used to run illegal booze in the 1920s.”
“Very convenient storytelling.” My father would drone on about the history of the place. I ignored him, too. “Lukas is skipping
over the part about how we used to run around in those secret hallways. Together.”
Part of the fun is sneaking around, Aubrey.
“That’s ridiculous. Stop talking.” His hand clenched the flashlight even tighter. I could see his fingers move through his
black gloves. His other hand stayed in his pocket.
That promised trouble.
Hanna sat up straighter. Her gaze telegraphed a mix of hate and alarm. “Why were you with a fifteen-year-old girl in a secret
passageway?”
“Fourteen. We started when I was fourteen.” Probably not relevant but still. Accuracy and all that.
It’s a number, Aubrey. I don’t care if you don’t. What matters is how we feel about each other. I have all this pressure,
and it builds up. I get tired of doing the right thing all the time.
Hanna’s warm eyes turned stark and cold. “Started what?”
“No, that’s enough.” Lukas’s fierce control slipped a bit. He waved the flashlight around like a bat he intended to wield.
“Don’t encourage Aubrey and her tales. She’s a liar. Xavier knew it. Her parents knew it. Hell, the police knew it.”
Now he was ticking me off. “They knew the lie you fed them. After. Once you realized I could talk about you, about us, and you would lose everything. You talked about how unstable I was. How I couldn’t be trusted.”
He nodded. “You still can’t.”
No. He couldn’t talk his way out of this. “You sold this idea of me as a Lolita-like creature. Did you read the book, Lukas?
Lolita was innocent. She was preyed on by an older man who should have known better. Sound familiar?”