Page 66 of The Complete Truth Duet
A blast of adrenaline hit me so hard that it blurred my vision. Luckily, he was only inches away, so it wasn’t like I needed a roadmap.
Rearing back, I slammed my fist into the side of his face. Drew followed it up with a punch of his own, both of us falling to the floor. We rolled around, exchanging blows, knocking shit over as we went. He put a gash in my left eyebrow, and I split both of his lips open.
It was not rare for Drew and me to have a brawl. When we were in college and I told my best friend I was in love with his twin sister, they actually became quite common. But this was one of the worst.
For the first time in all four years since we’d sat down and planned this whole kamikaze mission of revenge, we were standing on different sides of the fence.
Countless punches were thrown.
Head.
Body.
And since the rules of professional boxing didn’t apply to bedroom brawls…
Back of the head and below the belt too.
We were both sweaty, bleeding, and out of breath by the time the last punch was thrown.
“Fuck, man. I think you broke my rib,” he groaned, settling beside me on his back.
“Good,” I mumbled, not mentioning my own aching side.
We lay on that floor side by side, staring up at the ceiling, panting and moaning as we discovered new injuries.
“Well, that was therapeutic. Look at us handling things all responsibly and shit. My probation officer would be thrilled.”
I shook my head, wincing when I found a goose egg on the back of it. “How did this happen?” I asked around the lump of reality in my throat. “How are we here right now?”
“You don’t have to be.” He turned his head to face me, but I didn’t look at him. “What if you go home, Penn?”
“No,” I replied immediately.
“Come on. Hear me out. You take Cora and the girls back to the beach. I know you still have the house. And I’ll stay here and finish this once and for all.”
My blood pressure rose. “No way. That wasn’t the plan. You did your part. You stole the car and got to Manuel.”
“Hey hey hey. I stole two cars, thank you very much.”
I laughed sadly, remembering the first time I’d picked him up from jail. He’d climbed into my Audi, cussing and screaming. He was quite possibly the first man in history to be mad about being released with a slap on the wrist. He remedied that by stealing car number two and earning himself two years in prison.
“Yeah, you did. And, now, it’s my turn.” I finally gave him my eyes. “That was the plan, Drew. You sacrificed whatever time you were in jail. And I’d sacrifice the rest of my life. Whether it be in a cell or in a coffin. That was the plan.”
“But that was before Cora.”
“No.” I shook my head adamantly. “I’m not the man for Cora. This isn’t my last stop. I can’t drag her into this. She’s incredible, and I want her out of here. But I can’t offer her any more than that and you know it.”
He huffed a laugh. “You’re full of shit. You know that, right? You’ve been more alive since we got here than you’ve ever been. And that includes with Lisa.”
My face got tight, my chest aching with bone-crushing agony. “Don’t do that.”
“You loved her. No one here is doubting that. But Cora’s more your speed. You love taking care of that woman. Every time she giggles, you light up like a pussy-whipped Christmas tree.”
I laughed as he kept talking.
“Lisa was something else though. She was independent to a fault. Trust me, I spent nine months in the womb with her. I don’t care what the doctors tell me—I distinctly remember her trying to off me at least once with her umbilical cord.”
We both smiled. It wouldn’t have shocked me if he was right.
Drew wasn’t ready to step off his soapbox. “She loved you. But she loved the adventure of life more. You weren’t cracked up for that. You created an empire tearing down beach houses and building overpriced hurricane-proof mansions in their place. Last I checked, that did not leave a lot of time for travel or gumshoe-detective work. Which was all Lisa had ever wanted. I could have told you that before your first date.” He reached over and slugged my arm, hitting a spot that was already bruising. “That is if you had actually asked me before jumping into bed with her behind my back. I’d like it noted on the record—you did not.”
I dabbed at my brow to see if I’d stopped bleeding. I hadn’t, so I sat up and peeled the shirt over my head and then pressed it to my eye before reclining back down. “It’s been fifteen years, Drew. It’s time to let that shit go.”
