34
EMERSYN
“It’s not what you think,” I rushed to say. Gabe’s look of confusion was slowly changing; there was the knowledge of betrayal in his expression, and then the coldness started to creep in.
“You said you were a writer.” Gabe’s words were void of emotion. Empty.
“I was. I am,” I corrected, ignoring the rapid pulse of panic in my bloodstream. “But—”
“So you didn’t write this article?” The anger began to seep in.
“No!” I insisted. “Maybe. I don’t know.” Dread sliced through my chest. It was my article. I knew it. But I’d deleted it. I’d deleted every copy of it.
“How could you fucking not know, Syn? You either wrote it or you didn’t!”
“You wrote this?” Tyler shoved his phone in my face, and I snatched it from him, my eyes scanning the article, searching for unfamiliar words, images, anything that would tell me it had nothing to do with me.
“Were you and Conrad in on this together all this time?” Gabe accused. My eyes flicked to him and then back to Tyler’s screen before it was yanked from me. My brain was muddled and confused. I started shaking my head as though the mere act of it could wipe everything away.
“You wrote it?” Amelia’s quiet voice was now high-pitched, desperation leaking into her tone. “You didn’t—You wouldn’t—How would you even know about…” She fell silent.
“Syn?” Gabe was just staring at me. His expression was still cold, but there was hurt in his eyes. Hurt that I’d placed there.
How did the article get out? Maybe it wasn’t mine. Maybe someone else had been looking into it at the same time. Someone who went by the same name as me. Someone who teamed up with my ex-husband.
Conrad. It had to be Conrad. Maybe he’d hacked into my computer? Maybe he’d followed me, tracked my movements. It sounded crazy, but I couldn’t think of any other explanation. I didn’t know what to say to Gabe. How could I explain when I had no idea what had happened?
“I swear it wasn’t me,” I started to say, knowing it was partly a lie. “I didn’t publish this. I would never—”
“But you wrote it, didn’t you?” Tyler stated coldly.
“I don’t know!”
Gabe got to his feet, hands coming down to slam on the table. “How can you not know?”
Billie popped her head around the corner. Ollie started crying again.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and began searching frantically. I found it quickly. It had garnered a lot of views.
Fuck.
The wording was mine. Mostly. But Conrad had gone back to all my sources, gathered quotes, and fact-checked their claims. He’d published screenshots of the footage I’d seen. He’d done everything I would have if I’d wanted to publish the article.
But I didn’t. Because Gabe was worth more to me than the article ever did.
“E. Blaire. E. Blaire,” Tyler chanted. “Why does that name sound so familiar?”
“Because it’s fucking Syn. Or should I say Emersyn?” Gabe said coldly. He glared at me, anger in his eyes. “Is this what you were after from the start? Has any of this been real?”
“Yes!” I stood and clutched his arm, but he ripped it away, recoiling.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” he practically screamed.
“E. Blaire,” Tyler said again, but this time with certainty. “You’ve been writing articles about us for ages,” he said coldly. His voice was calm and controlled, and somehow that was even scarier than if he’d been yelling. His eyes were glued to the screen, undoubtedly scrolling through article after article I’d posted. Even though I’d deleted my website, versions of my stories were still out there.
“How could you bring her into our lives, Gabe?” Tyler accused. “You should have known better. What exactly did you know about this woman before you invited her here, or were you only thinking with your dick?”
“Tyler,” Lauren warned, her eyes flicking between Tyler and Gabe.
“You spoke to Bran?” Amelia’s voice was quiet again. “You spoke to him and never once bothered to speak to any of us?”
“I never meant—”
Hamish spoke over me. “What exactly does this mean? How much trouble could Jake be facing?”
“A whole fucking shit-ton of trouble,” Tyler said. “If the police or Brandon decide to press charges, he could face serious jail time. The training he’s had makes him…” Tyler let out a long breath and ran his hand through his hair. “It’s not good,” he finally finished.
“How could you do this?” Amelia was staring at me, her face ashen.
My head started shaking before the words even came out of my mouth. “I didn’t. It wasn’t me. It was Con—”
“Your name is right here!” Gabe exploded. “Stop fucking lying to us!”
“Lauren, Gabe, and I could all get in trouble too.” Tyler’s shoulders slumped. He looked defeated, something I hadn’t thought possible. “I need to make some phone calls.” He walked away from the table, and Lauren hurried to follow.
“Jake?” Amelia shook his arm. “Jake?”
Jake was sitting so still it looked as though he were frozen. His eyes were glued to the floor, his hands clasped between his knees. “It’s what I deserve,” he said.
“If I could explain—” I started to say, but Jake spoke over me.
“There’s no need. I’m the one who did this, not you. This is no one’s fault but my own.”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the panic welling inside. “I wrote the article, but not in the way you think—”
“Get out,” Gabe said, his words a low rumble.
“Gabe, please. I—”
“You need to leave,” he said more firmly.
“But I just need—”
“Leave!” he roared.
I almost stumbled backward at the force of his voice. The panic I’d been trying so hard to quell rose violently, making my heart race and my vision blur with tears. Knots of nausea began to twist in my stomach.
“Gabe, please,” I sobbed. “Please just listen to—”
He stalked over, towering over me. “Fucking leave now.” His voice was back to a low growl that sent shudders through my body.
I shook my head. “If you’d just let me—”
“How can I believe a word that comes from your mouth, Syn? You’ve betrayed me, betrayed my family. There is nothing you can say to make any of this better. Get your bags and leave this house and my life right now.”
“I haven’t got a car,” I said feebly, because it was the only thought that came to my mind amidst the trembling, nausea, and jumbled emotions.
“I’ll drive her,” Lauren said. She stood in the doorway behind me, arms crossed over her chest and shooting daggers with her eyes. “Get your stuff.”
“Gabe.” I reached out to him again, needing to feel him, needing to make him understand that I didn’t intend for any of this to happen. But again, he jerked away from me as though I were poison.
I waited, hoping he’d turn back.
Hoping he’d look at me just once.
He didn’t.
Walking into the bedroom, I threw my belongings into my bag and went back into the hallway, where Lauren was waiting, amazed that my legs worked without collapsing under my weight.
“Thanks for—”
Lauren held up a hand. “I’m only doing this because I’m afraid you might not make it home if one of the boys had to take you.”
I hung my head and followed her to the car. Each time I tried to talk during the drive, Lauren would just give me a look, and I’d fall silent.
It was a six-hour journey. I went over and over things in my mind, wondering how Conrad had gotten hold of my article. I’d changed all my passwords and revoked his permissions to our shared files. Unless he’d physically stolen it from my laptop, there was no way he could access it.
And then my heart stopped for a moment.
I’d stormed out and left Conrad in my room the day he visited—with my laptop. I hung my head in my hands. How could I have been so foolish?
The guilt ate away at me. Even though I hadn’t been the one to publish it, it was still my words. I was the one who’d investigated it, who’d considered publishing it. And I was still the one who’d already published so many things about their family.
Gabe would never forgive me.
I was foolish to think, even for a moment, that we could be happy together. I didn’t deserve him. I didn’t deserve happiness. I was someone who’d profited from others' downfall.
“It was you who wrote that article about me, wasn’t it?” Lauren’s voice startled me. It had been hours since she’d said anything.
I nodded. I couldn’t look at her. I didn’t want to see the accusation in her eyes. The anger. The sadness. And I didn’t want her to see the tears in mine.
“How could you do that? How could you do that to Jake? To Gabe? The least you could have done was talk to us first and get the full story.”
“I didn’t intend to publish it,” I said quietly. “I was going to, but then I got to know Gabe, Jake, Amelia, and all of you, and I knew it wasn’t something I wanted to do anymore.” I took a deep breath and dared to look at her. “I didn’t do it because I didn’t want to hurt Gabe. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I love him.”
Lauren darted her gaze my way before fixing it back on the road. “Well, you’ve fucked that up, haven’t you?”
Her words hit me hard. She was right. I had fucked it up. Gabe would probably never talk to me again. And I didn’t blame him.
“Would you tell me the full story now?” I asked.
Lauren made a scoffing sound. “No doubt you’ll read about it soon. Heck, maybe you’ll be the one who writes about it.”
We’d pulled up outside my house. I didn’t ask Lauren how she knew where I lived. She’d probably checked in with Gabe, not wanting to engage in conversation with me any more than she had to. She looked at me as I opened my door.
“You know, ever since Sadie and I started our business together, I’ve learned a lot.”
I merely nodded, not knowing where she was heading.
“Sadie taught me about marketing and controlling the narrative, something I’m sure you’re familiar with.” She looked at me pointedly. “It’s been helpful.”
“Okay,” I said, unsure what she wanted me to take from the conversation. I pushed the door open wider and went to get out, but Lauren reached across and placed her hand on my arm.
“If you come after my family again, I’ll fucking destroy you.”
Her eyes bore into mine. I blinked away tears as I pushed my way out of the car, and then she sped away, flicking stones from the driveway into the air.
I stalked inside, not answering when Brittney inquired why I was home so early, and grabbed a bottle from the fridge. I didn’t know whose it was or what it was. I didn’t care. After dumping my bag on the floor, I climbed the ladder to the roof and took a swig of the liquid.
It was vodka. Dirty, cheap vodka that made me shudder. But it would do the trick. After enough swigs to dull my mind a little, I rolled a joint and held it between my lips. I wanted to numb my senses, drown out my thoughts. But instead of doing its job, it was as though my mind was stuck in an endless loop from the first moment I met Gabe to the moment he yelled at me to leave.
I’d been so determined not to fall for him, not to melt at the sight of his smile, or linger on the softness of his lips. I’d turned away every time I felt my heart race at the sight of his slow smile and golden skin. But still, he’d gotten to me. He’d burrowed his way inside until I no longer wanted to fight it. I wanted to embrace it.
And I had.
And now I’d fucked it all up.
Lying back, I stared up at the stars. The longer I looked, the more stars appeared. I started to shiver. It was freezing. But instead of grabbing more clothes, a blanket, or even going back inside, I merely grabbed the bottle of vodka by the neck and drank some more.
* * *
The series continues with
Tragic - Book Eight of the Thornton Brothers