Page 120 of Perfect Liar
“How is Mary this morning?” I asked.
Steam and the woody scent of Will’s soap rushed out from the bathroom with him. He wore only a towel wrapped around his hips.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he snapped.
I covered Lissie’s ears in case he cursed more about the growing number of people in his room.
He didn’t. He went into his closet and got dressed, and then when he came back out, he stood there for a minute, staring at the four of us.
I glanced between him and Lissie and his brothers.
No one said anything.
Will sat on the sofa, pulled me down with him, making John move, and then tucked me under his arm. Our eyes met, and I touched his cheek.
We had just shared a glance at our future.
His shoulders relaxed as he exhaled.
“We need to tell her, Elle.”
I had hoped Lissie’s next serious talk would be when we told her Ethan was her father, but instead, she would learn Uncle Ethan was gone.
“Lissie,” I started…
As she often did when her little heart ached, she hid her face, and that was okay. She was only seven, and already she’d lost far more than most people.
She hadn’t spent any time with Ethan, but he’d planned to make that happen after our trip to London. She still felt his loss all the same because it impacted her new family.
I held her and stroked her messy brown hair, waiting for her to come back to us.
Will’s eyes filled with pain again.
He kissed the side of my face and rubbed Lissie’s back. When she reached out for him, surprising us both, he pulled her onto his lap and kissed the top of her head.
“Mum,” Thomas said.
And there, in the open doorway, stood Mary with both hands over her heart as she admired the gentle strength of her three remaining sons.
She met my gaze, and I marveled at the strength in her own eyes. She smiled briefly, but then grief struck her again and washed away her joy.
“Come down, Ellie, and have breakfast today with Mrs. Bates and me.”
Then, as if she’d been an illusion, Mary turned and floated away, the train of her long black robe following behind her.
The men were still in the gym three hours later.
Will trained with both of his brothers at the same time, taking them on and beating them in hand-to-hand combat fighting. His strength was insane.
I’d never seen such power flow from one man.
Ben came up beside me.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“He’s teaching his brothers to respect his authority. Establishing boundaries.”
Will landed a punishing blow to Thomas’s stomach, and I flinched.