53. Ford
FORD
“Be nice,” Violet warns as soon as we walk through the front door.
“I’m always nice,” Jagger argues.
She jabs at his chest. “I’m serious—”
Grabbing her wrist, Jagger gives his girl a pointed look. “So am I.”
Her eyes narrow like she doesn’t believe him. To be fair, she probably shouldn’t. One, he’s not always nice. He’s actually kind of a dick. And two, after being blindsided the way we were, he has every right to be frustrated. If I hadn’t spoken with Cobie over the phone, I’d feel the same way.
“She’s been through enough, all right?” Violet warns.
“And how would you know what she’s been through?” Jagger challenges.
She presses her lips into a thin line. “Cobie may or may not have told me everything after she finished her call with Ford.”
“So you know?” Jagger pushes
“Yup.” She stands an inch taller. “And I gotta say, your dad’s an ass, so be nice,” she repeats. “You hear me?”
Jagger glances around his girlfriend and into the family room.
Cobie sits on the couch in a pair of leggings and a white tank top, her head in her hands, and earbuds peeking through her long honey-brown hair.
Either she didn’t hear us come in, or she’s pretending she didn’t. Neither would surprise me.
Cobie has always been one to use music to help her disappear.
Okay, disappear is a bit of a stretch. More like, disassociate.
Now that I know what she’s been up to, I guess I don’t blame her.
The girl’s been busy as fuck right under our noses, and none of us knew a thing. Gotta admit, I’m almost impressed.
Jagger dips his chin and lets his girl go. “I promise, I’ll go easy on her.”
Satisfied, Violet replies, “Thank you.” She rises onto her tiptoes and gives him a quick kiss. “I’ll be upstairs.” Then, she heads to Jagger’s room so we can have some privacy.
After our conversation with Daddy Dearest, we left his office, and my brothers cornered me in the parking lot, demanding an explanation.
Instead of giving it to them, I figured it’d be best if they heard it straight from the culprit.
Now, here we are. In the family room of Harden Estate after the contractor confirmed the renovations were complete, and we could move back yesterday afternoon.
I lift my nose an inch and breathe in deep.
The smell of smoke and ash is missing, and I have to hand it to Cobie.
Whoever she hired knew what they were doing.
Even so, it feels a little strange being here. At the scene of the crime, if you will. I cross my arms and look around the family room before my gaze falls on Cobie’s bare feet propped on the edge of the coffee table.
Impatient, Jagger slaps his hand against it. So much for him playing nice.
Cobie jumps in response. Reaching for her earbud, she pulls it out and glares at him. “Seriously?”
“Oh, you don’t like surprises?” Hawke interjects from behind Jagger. He crosses his arms and leans against the wall, his gaze pinned to our baby sister.
She purses her lips. “Okay, so I guess you guys probably deserve an explanation—”
“No, shit,” Roman growls from the edge of the room.
My eyes widen. Damn. Rome isn’t known for treating Cobie with anything but kid gloves.
The fact that he just snapped at her is…
damn. He strides to the back of the room, refusing to give her another look as he collapses into one of the wingback chairs near the window.
All the while, Cobie’s neck cranes, following his movements and noting firsthand how quickly he shuts down when someone lies to him.
Gulping, Cobie scoots back on the leather couch and tucks her hands beneath her skinny thighs. “Okay, well, uh. I’m not really sure where to begin—”
“The torched dorm feels like a good place to start,” I offer.
Her head bobs. “Right. Uh. So, I kind of left the candle lit on purpose in my dorm.” She grimaces. “I also may have tipped it over on a magazine doused in nail polish remover.”
“You serious?” Jagger pushes.
“As ED,” I confirm. “And the only people who knew were the dean and Daddy Dearest. Am I right?”
Cobie nods. “He wouldn’t let it go. I mean, obviously.
Who doesn’t love a little blackmail, right?
” She shakes her head, attempting to focus.
“Anyway, after I moved back, he kept saying weird stuff. Suggesting I eavesdrop on you guys, tell him where you were, when you got home. Kept reminding me how much I owe him, and how lucky I am to be his daughter. And then, he started asking about the fire. At first, it was little things. If I wished I hadn’t gotten caught.
Duh.” A quiet scoff escapes her. “What I would’ve done differently.
How grateful I should be that he paid off the dean, so I wouldn’t go to prison for arson. It was all very…dad-esque.”
She goes quiet as if relieving the interactions one by one while the rest of us wait for her to continue.
“Yeah, he’s a peach,” I mutter. “Go on.”
“He, uh, he always made it clear that just because he paid off the dean, it didn’t mean I didn’t need to pay him back. So, I came up with an auction to pay for it.” Her gaze falls to her lap.
“You mean, the auction we participated in,” Jagger says with a coldness I can feel in my bones.
Damn, Cobes. You managed to piss off Jagger, too.
Eyes glassy, she tears her attention from her lap to her big brother.
“I know it wasn’t okay to swindle people, let alone you guys,” she rushes out, “but I didn’t know what else to do, you know?
I didn’t know if I could handle Dad holding this one mistake over my head for the rest of my life.
The problem was, handing over your money felt wrong, so I decided to sit on it until I couldn’t anymore.
Until Dad pushed me too far, and the pros of paying him off would outweigh the cons of breaking your trust.” She nibbles her bottom lip. “And then, he called in another favor.”
“The fire,” Hawke murmurs from beside the fireplace.
She nods. “Yeah. He promised this would be the last time. If I went through with it, I wouldn’t have to pay him back, my debt would be wiped clean, and…
I don’t know. I wanted to tell him he could shove his request up his ass, but the way he said it?
I think he was going to find someone to do his dirty work no matter what.
Even if I said no. Even if I paid him the money for my mistake, so he couldn’t blackmail me into helping him.
He’d find another lackey. So, I went with it.
I said, I’d do it.” She squeezes her eyes shut.
“And I felt terrible. Trust me, you guys, I couldn’t eat or sleep. I’ve been a mess.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you were really broken up about it,” Roman mutters.
It isn’t much, but it’s still enough to make Cobie look like she’s been slapped. Her lips part and her eyes well as she brings her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around her shins.
Ignoring him, Jagger urges, “Go on, Cobes.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“Go on,” Jagger pushes.
“Dad.” She swallows. “He, uh, he said he spoke with someone. Someone who had delicate information about how to get away with arson. Said they’d be on the scene that night to help me cover my tracks, but only just,” she clarifies.
Nibbling the edge of her thumb, she hesitates as if replaying the moment.
“It was like, he wanted to hedge his bets, you know? So I did some research on what that could mean. With insurance fraud and criminal charges and, you know, just…the whole enchilada.” She sniffles.
“And so, I, uh, I did it. I helped him. And then, I said I’d contact the insurance company for everyone. ”
“But instead you used the auction money to pay cash,” I finish for her. Yeah, it’s official. I’m impressed as hell. She thought of everything except coming to us and being honest. I’d say she was stupid for it, but the truth is, if the roles were reversed, I don’t know what I would’ve done.
“Yes,” she whispers. “I used the auction money and paid cash.” Her chest heaves a sigh. “I didn’t want to betray any of you, I promise.”
Moving forward, Jagger sits beside our baby sister on the couch. He wraps his arms around her shoulders. Clearly, he came to the same conclusion I did at the entrance of Mercer Consulting. She isn’t the villain. Our father is. “We know, Cobes,” he murmurs.
Another shuddered breath escapes her. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what?” I argue. “You played your hand the best way you could. Considered every outcome, and who would be caught in the crosshairs.”
“We’re just sorry you felt like you had to do it alone instead of talking to us,” Jagger adds.
“I know,” she whispers. “I know I should’ve said something, but how do you do that, you know? How do you come clean on so many terrible things?” Her bottom lip wobbles. “You guys all put me on a pedestal. You act like I’m perfect, and most days it feels like I’m falling apart at the seams.”
“Hey.” Hawke moves closer and sits on Cobie’s opposite side. “Hey, it’s okay.”
“It’s not okay. I’m so sorry—”
“You don’t need to apologize,” I interject.
Her finger brushes against her cheek, gathering the fallen tears painted across her blotchy skin. “Yes, I do. I’m going to pay you back, I swear. Every penny—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jagger consoles.
“Of course, I’m going to worry about it. I stole like fifty grand from people in this town—”
“Does Tight Ass know about that?” Hawke questions.
She shakes her head. “I don’t, uh, I don’t think so. I made up a fake organization—”
“I thought it was Mom’s organization,” I counter.
“I lied.” She grimaces. “If you look at the actual paperwork, there’s a typo. Not that it matters,” she mumbles. “It was pretty easy. I made up the fake organization. Filed some paperwork. Forged an ID or two. It’s not…it’s not a big deal.”
My brows lift. Not that big of a deal? The woman’s a fucking mastermind and she isn’t even enrolled in college yet. “Damn, Cobes. Maybe you’re a true Harden after all.”