Page 14 of Beneath The Truth
He frowned.“What’s so funny?I stood up for you all the time when we were in school.I think our history entitles me to a littleleewayhere.”
When I was fifteen and a boy from my class broke into my locker and jammed it full of Nerds, rumor had it that Rhett clotheslined him during football practice and almost broke his collarbone.So he wasn’twrong.
I didn’t want to tell him the truth, but since Rhett was a human lie detector where I was concerned, it was the least complicated solution.“Let’s just say that once upon a time, someone I fired thought it would be fun to pose as a cab driver and kidnap me when I got inthecar.”
Heat flared in Rhett’s eyes, flame-hot and furious.“Are you fuckingkiddingme?”
I shookmyhead.
“Why didn’t I hearaboutthis?”
“Because I didn’t tellanyone.”
His nostrils flared.“What didyousay?”
“I.Didn’t.Tell.Anyone.”
“Are youinsane?”
I shook my head, starting to get pissed.“No.I made a calculated decision that the drama it would evoke wouldn’t be worth the hassle, so I told Heath I was hiring security out of a generalized concern, and he bought it.No one gives me the third degree about my decisions anymore, and no one else can tell when I’mlying.”
“You need to be morecareful.”
My gaze darted to the mirror to find Carver splitting his attention between us andtheroad.
I jerked my head in his direction.“I’m being careful, hence the driver with a gun and hand-to-hand combatskills.”
“Who the hell are you, and what happened toAriel?”
I laughed in disbelief.“She grew up and made a boatload of money when no one was payingattention.”
Apparently, I didn’t regulate my tone appropriately because Heath jerked againstmyside.
“What?What’s going on?What’dImiss?”
“Nothing.We’re takingyouhome.”
I rattled off his address to Carver, who had cleared the traffic in the Quarter.Gentilly wasn’t all that far geographically from the estate I was renting on Lake Pontchartrain, but it was light years away in economic terms.The middle-class families in the neighborhood where I grew up would go for a Sunday drive by posh weekend places like mine and wonder what it was like to livethatlife.
But I didn’t have to wonder anymore.It wasmylife.
As we closed in on Heath’s house, only a half mile or so away from where Rhett’s parents’ home exploded days before, Heath shook off some of his drunken stupor and spoke toRhett.
“Dude, I’m sorry.My dad took the pullout in the den.I don’t have a spare bedforyou.”
Rhett cursed under his breath.“My shit’s at my hotel anyway.I can grab a cab overthere.”
Heath leaned on me, shoving me tighter against Rhett’s side.“Nah, dude.That’s too big of a pain.Go stay with Flounder.She’s probably got like seventeen bedrooms in that mansion she’s staying in.If Dad wasn’t so against change, I would’ve insisted he staywithher.”
Rhett stiffened.“It’s fine.I’ll take a cab back downtown to thehotel.”
“Ari, tell him you don’t mind, or this stubborn asshole is going to be standing in front of my house waiting for a cab for ahalfhour.”
What could I say except, “You can stay at my place.I have plenty ofextraroom.”
I took Rhett’s grunt for an affirmative answer, but he remained stiff for the rest of the ride, even after we dropped Heath off at his place and I slid over to the spot he’dvacated.
Carver checked the backseat, and for the first time, I wondered why I didn’t insist on sitting in the front instead of being squashed between Rhett andHeath.
