eyes.”
She blinks at me in surprise.
I nod. “Months ago, when I learned his identity…I had plotted to murder him.”
“Oh wow,” she mutters in dismay, but leans toward me to hear more.
“I had a gun in my purse and walked into a Sugar Bowl Mixer. I was going to entrance him and get him alone, then I was going to kill him. Simple as that.”
“But nothing is ever that simple,” she hypothesizes.
I give a short laugh. “Exactly. Beck North intercepted me and then sidetracked me, and then eventually made me realize it wasn’t the way.”
“Well, I’m his sister, so you don’t need to convince me how great he is,” she chuckles.
“No, I think I do,” I say urgently as I bend in closer and whisper. “He’s out right now, disposing of murder evidence to protect me. I can’t let this go on, Caroline. I need to go to the cops and confess what I did. Beck has been protecting me from the moment we met, but this is too much. Too dangerous. Risky. I can’t let him put himself out there for me like that.”
Caroline leans back, crosses her arms over her stomach, and examines me in a shrewd manner. “You love my brother?”
“More than anything,” I breathe out in affirmation.
“Then you should trust in him,” she says simply, and then winks at me.
Before I can respond, Caroline’s attention is caught by the waiter walking up to us. “Are you ladies ready to order?”
“I’m going to have the lobster roll with a side of fruit,” she says, and hands her menu over.
“I’ll have the same,” I say, also giving up my menu, not having bothered to even open it. Food isn’t high on my priority list.
Once the waiter turns to leave us, Caroline continues. “He’s a smart guy, Sela. He’s doing what’s best, and yeah…while my initial gut instinct was to go to the cops, in hindsight I think this is right. You went to your rapist’s house with a gun.”
“Because he invited me there,” I point out.
“And JT’s going to confirm that to the police how?” she asks sarcastically, and then ignores my narrowed gaze because she’s not playing along with me. While I wanted to come here and solidify the bond Caroline and I have as rape victims, my number-one priority is getting her on board with me to convince Beck I need to go to the police and put an end to all of this.
But she’s not playing nicely.
“This is your brother we are talking about, Caroline,” I tell her harshly. “He could get in serious trouble. He as much as told me that they’ll be looking closely at him because they always look to those closest to the victim.”
“But he didn’t do it,” she points out. “There’s no evidence tying him to the murder.”
“But—”
“Just let it go, Sela,” Caroline says softly. “I get why you feel the way you do. Trust me…Beck does too. But this is stressful enough without you constantly worrying about the correct course of action to take or second-guessing Beck. I’m telling you…let it ride. Give Beck this one and stand by his side now that the decision has been made.”
I want to argue. I want to argue until I’m blue in the face, until she agrees with me. Hell, just last night she thought we should go to the police. But now she’s firmly in support of what’s going down, and that was clearly evidenced by the way she jumped into action to help conceal the crime because her brother—her savior—asked her to. She’s not going to change now.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out and try to pour out all of my anxiety about the situation with it. It totally doesn’t work, as I still feel the telltale cramp of worry deep in my chest. But I smile for Caroline’s benefit and nod my head. “Okay. I’ll let it ride.”
“Good,” she says with a curt smile, then turns serious. “Now…how is Beck doing?”
How is Beck doing?
You mean after I told him that JT raped you? After he realized that JT was Ally’s father? After it became painfully clear he could do
She blinks at me in surprise.
I nod. “Months ago, when I learned his identity…I had plotted to murder him.”
“Oh wow,” she mutters in dismay, but leans toward me to hear more.
“I had a gun in my purse and walked into a Sugar Bowl Mixer. I was going to entrance him and get him alone, then I was going to kill him. Simple as that.”
“But nothing is ever that simple,” she hypothesizes.
I give a short laugh. “Exactly. Beck North intercepted me and then sidetracked me, and then eventually made me realize it wasn’t the way.”
“Well, I’m his sister, so you don’t need to convince me how great he is,” she chuckles.
“No, I think I do,” I say urgently as I bend in closer and whisper. “He’s out right now, disposing of murder evidence to protect me. I can’t let this go on, Caroline. I need to go to the cops and confess what I did. Beck has been protecting me from the moment we met, but this is too much. Too dangerous. Risky. I can’t let him put himself out there for me like that.”
Caroline leans back, crosses her arms over her stomach, and examines me in a shrewd manner. “You love my brother?”
“More than anything,” I breathe out in affirmation.
“Then you should trust in him,” she says simply, and then winks at me.
Before I can respond, Caroline’s attention is caught by the waiter walking up to us. “Are you ladies ready to order?”
“I’m going to have the lobster roll with a side of fruit,” she says, and hands her menu over.
“I’ll have the same,” I say, also giving up my menu, not having bothered to even open it. Food isn’t high on my priority list.
Once the waiter turns to leave us, Caroline continues. “He’s a smart guy, Sela. He’s doing what’s best, and yeah…while my initial gut instinct was to go to the cops, in hindsight I think this is right. You went to your rapist’s house with a gun.”
“Because he invited me there,” I point out.
“And JT’s going to confirm that to the police how?” she asks sarcastically, and then ignores my narrowed gaze because she’s not playing along with me. While I wanted to come here and solidify the bond Caroline and I have as rape victims, my number-one priority is getting her on board with me to convince Beck I need to go to the police and put an end to all of this.
But she’s not playing nicely.
“This is your brother we are talking about, Caroline,” I tell her harshly. “He could get in serious trouble. He as much as told me that they’ll be looking closely at him because they always look to those closest to the victim.”
“But he didn’t do it,” she points out. “There’s no evidence tying him to the murder.”
“But—”
“Just let it go, Sela,” Caroline says softly. “I get why you feel the way you do. Trust me…Beck does too. But this is stressful enough without you constantly worrying about the correct course of action to take or second-guessing Beck. I’m telling you…let it ride. Give Beck this one and stand by his side now that the decision has been made.”
I want to argue. I want to argue until I’m blue in the face, until she agrees with me. Hell, just last night she thought we should go to the police. But now she’s firmly in support of what’s going down, and that was clearly evidenced by the way she jumped into action to help conceal the crime because her brother—her savior—asked her to. She’s not going to change now.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out and try to pour out all of my anxiety about the situation with it. It totally doesn’t work, as I still feel the telltale cramp of worry deep in my chest. But I smile for Caroline’s benefit and nod my head. “Okay. I’ll let it ride.”
“Good,” she says with a curt smile, then turns serious. “Now…how is Beck doing?”
How is Beck doing?
You mean after I told him that JT raped you? After he realized that JT was Ally’s father? After it became painfully clear he could do
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