My mom wasn’t a murderer.
She loved me more than anything.
Just thinking about those two things made my whole body feel warm.
By the time we reached my place, it was already late.
Hunter told me to get some rest, then said that in a few days he could go to Canada with me. He had businesses there too, so I didn’t need to be afraid.
I smiled and said I wasn’t a kid anymore.
He glanced at me and said quietly, “A young woman is going abroad alone… How could I not worry?”
The porch light came on just as he finished speaking.
Tucker’s car pulled up. He walked in with Kelsey.
When he saw Hunter and me standing together talking, his expression darkened immediately.
“What are you two doing?”
Hunter never held his tongue. He glanced at him and sneered.
“Mr. Afton, what’s with that ‘caught you cheating’ look? You’re the one who brought Kelsey home.”
Tucker’s face darkened further. He pressed down his temper and explained, “We’re just siblings. Nothing improper. Kelsey was scared at the hospital, so I brought her home to rest.”
Hunter put on an exaggerated look of realization and casually wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
“Oh—siblings,” he repeated. “What a coincidence. Verity and I grew up together, too. Real close. Brother. Sister.”
Tucker’s face went completely dark. He instinctively reached for me, but Kelsey suddenly said softly, “Tucker, I’m a little hungry.”
He pressed his lips together, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me into the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him and leaving Hunter outside.
He’d never liked Hunter. Always said he was frivolous and unreliable.
“Stay away from him from now on,” Tucker said coldly.
I looked at him and asked quietly, “Why?”
“He’s like a brother to me,” I said. “We’re completely innocent.”
I returned his own words to him exactly as he’d said them.
He clearly froze, like something had gotten stuck in his throat and he couldn’t respond.
I didn’t wait for him. I pulled my hand free and went back to my room.
He seemed distracted after that. He didn’t even hear Kelsey calling him.
After she moved in, she never once mentioned leaving.
She always had a reason.
She said my family’s house was too big and unfamiliar, that it scared her.
She said San Antonio made her feel unsafe.
She said she could only sleep if she stayed by Tucker’s side.
Our two brothers felt sorry for her and indulged her in everything.
For days in a row, gifts kept arriving at the door.