Push

62. She Discovered the Truth

She Discovered the Truth

Gwen

The limo pulled up outside the last place in the universe I wanted to spend my Wednesday night.

The casino.

“Fancy digs,” Toby said, peering out the tinted window. “When we drove into Pyrmont, I was worried Liam was sending us to his usual haunt.”

I tapped an annoyed finger on the seat. Honestly, I would’ve preferred a night at the The Red Room.

Sure, boobs and the odd flash of a bare ass were unavoidable at the club—unless you were Toby—but at least The Red Room had yummy snacks, and there wasn’t the never-ending bleep of poker machines screeching in the background.

After we wriggled out of the limo, I stood up tall and straightened my dress. I could’ve lived without stuffing myself into a cocktail frock at least a size too small and tottering around on heels with my bad knee. Yet here we were.

“Smokin’ hot, doll,” Toby said with a wink.

“Right back at ya, big guy.”

“Aw, shucks.” Toby’s joking around didn’t hide his blush. He’d always been a sucker for a compliment. “Shall we?” He presented his elbow, and I hooked my arm around his.

We followed Liam’s directions to find a stuffy man in a suit behind a glass-paneled reception desk.

The twinkle of chandeliers bounced off the crystal walls to light up his bald head.

The Platinum Lounge was invitation only—or so the man sniffed at us before Toby interrupted to explain who’d invited us.

“Oh, I, uh… Yes. Mr. Crawford has already arrived,” the man said, flustered, dashing out from behind the reception desk. “If you’ll follow me. He’s arranged a seat for you with the best view.”

Toby was unimpressed on our journey across the marble floors and through the people dotted around different gaming tables. “How is this the best view?” he whispered to me. “You can’t even see the harbor from back here!”

“Liam does love lurking in darkened corners,” I said.

Toby grunted in agreement. “Him and his brooding. ”

The balding man stopped. He stretched out his hand, motioning for us to continue on our own.

“This way. I trust I don’t need to remind you that phones are not permitted at the gaming tables.

Mr. Crawford has instructed me not to, well…

” He stammered to a stop. “This is as far as I’m permitted to go. ”

“That dude seems nervous,” Toby whispered as the man scurried off.

“Liam must be in one of his moods.”

“Who stole his KitKat this time?”

“If the staff-wide email is anything to go by, the fridge thief helped themselves to his raspberry macaron.”

“Naughty, Gwen. No work emails. You’re supposed to be on vacation, remember?”

I cocked an eyebrow. “What are you gonna do about it?”

“I’ll teach you a lesson by defiling you later.” Toby grinned.

Feeling ten years younger, I giggled and snuggled closer to him. We approached the velvet lounges on the back wall in perfect step together.

Impeccably dressed in a suit as always, Liam sat with one leg crossed over the other, his burgundy socks with cats on full display, busy tapping away on his phone.

A pretty brunette with pouty red lips sat beside him with her chin in her hand.

She blinked wistfully at the gaming tables.

The click of our shoes hadn’t quite reached the table when Liam whispered something into the crook of her neck, and she rose, smiling when he dropped some casino chips in her outstretched hand. She breezed past us without a glance.

“Sweetheart,” Liam’s eyes lifted to Toby with one of his fake smiles. “Don’t you polish up nicely?”

“Sure do.” Toby tugged on his jacket lapels. “I’m drop-dead gorgeous. Hey, was that the chick from that reality show?” he asked, motioning for me to sit on the lounge first. “She’s British, right?”

“I have no idea,” Liam muttered absently as he tapped on his phone.

Toby sat beside me. His arm slung around my shoulders. “You don’t know where your girlfriend’s from?”

“She’s most certainly not my”—Liam winced—“girlfriend.”

“Er, lady…companion?”

“I don’t know her. I have no interest in getting to know her.” Liam tucked his phone inside his jacket. “The paparazzi took some nice photos when we arrived, and she gets an evening here among the riffraff of high society. That’s the extent of the arrangement.”

“Right. Okay.” Toby still looked confused. “And what do you get out of it?”

“I can’t exactly be a womanizer if I’m never seen with a woman, can I?”

“You want people to think you’re a womanizer?” Toby asked incredulously.

Liam’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“Tobes,” I said, resting a hand on his arm. “Leave Liam alone.”

Both heads whipped around to stare at me, and I cringed back into the expensive velvet. Rushing to Liam’s defense was a misstep. The last thing I wanted was to draw more attention to his discomfort around women.

Not that Toby was bothered.

He shrugged and went back to scanning the crowd. Nothing much happened in Liam’s lonely corner of the casino, and I’d already distracted myself by picking up the drink menu. I almost choked on air when I glanced over the prices—one hundred dollars, and not for a bottle, for a glass of wine.

Toby’s hand shot out and grabbed my good knee. “Gwen.” His voice was a hurried whisper. “You’ll never believe who’s here.” He jerked his head toward the gaming area. “Ian!”

“What a coincidence,” Liam drawled.

Coincidence, my ass.

Sure enough, when I followed Toby’s gaze, Ian sat at one of the gaming tables, playing cards. He pushed a pile of chips, and his finger tapped the emerald green felt. There was a gravity to him I hadn’t seen before.

Frowning, I gave Liam a sideways glance. “What’s Ian playing?”

“Blackjack,” he answered. “Sometimes, he plays one of the dice games, but I’m told he’s got a soft spot for cards. Mr. Cooper has good days…and bad.”

Toby turned to Liam with a matching frown. “How bad?”

The undisguised contempt in his voice hinted that he’d drawn the same conclusion as me. I’d bet the whole pile of chips sitting in front of Ian that his bad days lined up with the dodgy transactions recorded in the clinic books.

“Bad enough to have a revolving line of credit with the Morellis,” Liam said.

“One he hasn’t been efficient in repaying since Daddy Sullivan stopped bankrolling him.

And if he doesn’t owe them for the steady stream of coke he burns through, he’s on the back foot with the gambling.

” Liam fluttered his eyelashes. “Or so I’m told. ”

A whoop of excitement erupted on the other side of the room. My eyes snapped to Ian. His grin was tight but satisfied as the dealer pushed a pile of chips his way. He raised his hand in a silent salute to the men around him, accepting their congratulations with a stiff nod. He’d needed that win.

My fist clenched. How dare he? That was our money, our life , that he gambled away.

Toby’s big hand curled around my fist.

“I’m okay,” I reassured him softly.

“I’m not,” he said, matching my low tone. “But if my hands are on you, it means they aren’t wringing Ian’s damn neck . ” Toby’s frown turned to Liam. “How long have you known?”

“Not long,” Liam admitted. “We have shared acquaintances, but the events of the other morning sent me burrowing down this particular rabbit hole.”

Toby raked a hand through his hair. “What a shitshow.” Defeated, his head lolled back on the lounge, his glance turning sideways. “What do we do now?” he asked me.

“Well,” I said. “I think we count on the money from the clinic being as good as gone.”

“I don’t care about the money. I do care about him running up debts with bad dudes and adding your name to the mix. That selfish fucking bastard . This shit has to stop.” Toby lurched forward, but I pressed my palm into his chest to stall him. “Gwen.” His voice was a warning.

“Don’t you ‘Gwen’ me. You’re not charging over there and getting yourself thrown in jail. Nothing changes, okay?” Toby turned away, nose in the air, so I forced him to look at me by touching his cheek. “Okay? We keep moving forward with the police.”

“Gwen, that’s not enough—”

“Ian’s playing a dangerous game, Tobes. We need to keep out of it. Completely. No contact. We keep our noses clean and try to live as normally as possible. Trust me.”

Trust was the trump card. Toby threw his hands up and flopped back against the lounge. “I hate this.”

“I hate feeling powerless, too,” I admitted.

“Ian’s responsible for some of the hardest days of my life, but we can’t focus on the pain.

We need to focus on our family and what’s best for all of us.

I know in my heart this is the right thing to do.

Ian’s doing a fantastic job blowing himself up without our help. ”

Toby wasn’t satisfied with my plan… at all. His eyes slid to Liam. “You sure you won’t reconsider setting me up with the guy who can speed up this blowing-up process?”

“Toby!” I hissed. “Tell me you didn’t!”

“Can’t,” he grumbled. “I promised to be honest.”

I whipped a frantic look at Liam. “You better not have agreed to anything.”

My brother scoffed an indignant huff in response. “Of course I didn’t. Our innocent little buttercup isn’t ready for a black mark like that on his soul.”

“I’m no buttercup,” Toby grumbled.

“It’s a compliment.”

“It didn’t sound like much of a compliment.” Toby sat up and, with an annoyed tug, straightened his jacket to look presentable again. “No offense, bro, but hanging out with you sucks. I don’t know what’s worse—your outings or storytime in your brooding corner.”

“Give me a chance, sweetheart. I can up the ante. You haven’t spent a Christmas with me yet.”

“Get into the holiday spirit, do you?”

“Oh yes.” Liam’s grin was smug. “Eli complains that I’m even more overbearing and disagreeable around the holidays.”

“Ruin my kid’s first Christmas, and I’ll sic the Widowmaker onto you for real, mate.”

Liam’s brow rose. “Noted.”

I almost laughed at their silly banter, but a yawn escaped instead—I was exhausted. Toby noticed instantly. His eyes met mine with quiet concern, and even when I forced a smile, the worry didn’t leave his face.

“My girl’s had a big day. A big damn year . We’re blowing this popsicle stand.” He saluted Liam. “Thanks for ruining my life with more facts I needed to know but really didn’t want to know.” He scooted off the lounge. “Until the next time we brood.”

Before I could follow him off the lounge, Liam’s hand snagged mine, and he tugged me closer. His blue eyes weren’t as icy as usual, but they were full of uncertainty before they dropped away.

“Gwen.” His voice barely rose above a whisper. “No matter how much money Ian wins here tonight, he can’t repay his debt. Do you understand?”

“With Morelli?” I whispered back.

“He’s on the list.” Liam’s hand squeezed tighter. “Now’s the time to speak up, little Gwen. I could—”

“No.”

“He won’t be spared.”

“Ian made his choices, Liam. He chose this path…wherever it leads. Please don’t get involved with these men.”

“What if…” His throat bobbed on a swallow. “I’m already one of the very bad men?” When his thumb soothed over my knuckles—achingly gentle—a fierce protectiveness surged in me.

It was the same feeling that had always locked the two of us together.

We’d woken up too many mornings with nothing to eat, taken too many trips to school wondering if our mother would still be breathing by the time we got home, and spent too many nights cowered behind a barricaded door, hoping her rage wouldn’t find a way in. Had she ever wanted us? Loved us?

And he’d been trapped in that apartment first… On his own… The angelic little boy with golden hair who wore a permanent frown had been dragged into a grown-up world well before his time. If he were the devil, our mother made him that way.

I leaned over and pecked my brother’s cheek, and when I pulled back to see him scowling at me, I only smiled. “I would still love you even if you were the very worst of them all.”

Liam jerked his chin in a nod, but he refused to look at me. “You honor me.” He released my hand.

With Toby’s arm snug around my waist and his kiss warm on my temple, I walked through the casino, stealing one last look at the two people who had changed everything.

Toby’s half-brother had torn our family apart.

My brother, as broken as he was, had threaded us back together.