Page 110 of The Complete Truth Duet
“Save it, okay?” I picked my phone up again, but my mind was spinning in too many different directions to remember what I’d programmed Catalina’s number under. Not like I could call her in front of Drew anyway.
Or did it even matter anymore?
I hadn’t meant to explode on him, though I didn’t exactly feel bad about it, either. Between Thomas’s new shit, River being gone, my inability to find Savannah, the gaping hole in my heart because of Penn’s death… I couldn’t take much more. Everything on my body hurt—inside and out. I was beyond exhausted. And, worst of all, I missed the comfort of my hell in that apartment building. I just wanted to go home, where something—anything—felt normal again.
“I’m done, Drew. I’m so done.”
“Don’t say that.” He sighed. “You don’t understand.”
“No. I really don’t,” I told the windshield. “Because you haven’t given me a chance.”
“Jesus Christ.” He said it like a curse, but it was filled with resignation. “Didn’t you and Penn used to play that game? Truth or Lies or something.”
My throat got tight and I swung my head in his direction. “I don’t want any more lies.”
For a split second, headlights from oncoming traffic lit up the cab of the truck, enabling me to see his wince. “I need an out, Cora. Some of this shit, you do not need to know. And that is not because it’s some great secret that will unlock the mysteries of the universe. It’s because I don’t want to know some of this shit. I’ll give you what I can, but if there’s something that you don’t need to know, I’m not going to answer.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. It wasn’t ideal. But any light was better than staying in the dark. “Fine. Truth or Lie.”
“All right. Lay it on me.”
“Where’d he get a million dollars?”
“Lie. I don’t know.”
I shot him a glare. “Did he steal it? Rob a bank? What? The girls have it now. Are they going to get arrested for using it?”
“Truth. No. They’ll be fine. Next question.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, why’d he go to the building that night?”
He groaned and then lifted a pack of cigarettes into the air. “You mind if I smoke while we talk?”
I didn’t care if he knitted a sweater while flying on the trapeze if he was actually going to tell me the truth.
“Go for it,” I replied.
He rolled his window down before sparking the tip. Then he pulled in a few deep tobacco-filled inhales and blew them out of the truck. “He was pissed about what Dante did to Savannah, and he knew it wasn’t going to stop at that. After everything he went through with Lisa, the idea of those assholes hurting you or River next… Well, it was more than he could take. I turned our cell phone records over to the cops. I didn’t want to tell you because I thought it would only hurt you more, but he called Marcos and Dante that night. Couple times. I don’t know what was said, but I can only imagine it was pretty colorful.”
I screwed my eyes shut. Yeah, that hurt. Knowing that I was Penn’s motive crashed into me like a sledgehammer.
Though finally having the truth made catching my breath a fraction easier.
“So he poked the beast and they actually showed up?” I asked.
“From what I’ve gathered, yeah, that’s exactly what he did.”
I spoke around the lump in my throat. “And he started the fire, didn’t he? Was that his plan all along—to kill Marcos and Dante?”
He took another drag of his cigarette but never gave me his eyes. “Yes.”
“And he did that for me too, didn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
It was a simple answer that needed no explanation.
I closed my eyes when they started to sting. I was so sick of crying all the damn time. “I knew it,” I mumbled. “I fucking knew it.”
Drew’s hand landed on the side of my neck, where he gave me a gentle squeeze. “The truth is, Cora, he loved you, and he was going to do whatever it took to make you safe.”
“Yeah, well. If you want my truth, I’d rather them still be alive than him be dead.”
“I know. But you gotta understand that I’m here, taking care of you, doing the best I can in a way that I know he would want. I’m on your team. And I’m sick of watching you cry, so if I can prevent that, sometimes, I might tell you a lie. But it’s only to protect you. Not all lies are bad.”
That little blast from the past made me stammer, “Y…you sound just like him. He used to tell me that too.”
“Oh, come on, Penn isn’t that smart.”
I laughed, but it ended on a sob. “I miss him, Drew. So damn much. And I’m really mad at him. I didn’t think I’d ever find someone after I lost Nic. And I don’t even want to try after losing Penn. It’s not worth it. In my life, nothing is permanent but pain. It’s always one sprint after another. I haven’t even caught my breath after losing Penn, and now, Thomas is trying to take River from me?”
