Page 10 of Harmless Secrets

Devon’s face turned into a mask of anger. He opened his mouth, but his sister interrupted him again.

“Let’s worry about that later on, okay? Why don’t we start with something easy? Are you Francine or Ali?”

Alicia hesitated. Over the last few years, she had become good at avoiding direct questions, only skimming the surface of who she really was. Most people didn’t really want to know the truth, just the version that made them most comfortable.

She studied Devon, gauging how much she should tell him. It seemed stupid to deny who she was with a man who had biblical knowledge of her body. Instantly, she was thrown back into that night, the sights, the sounds, the way it felt to have his body crush her body into the mattress.

“Alicia. Alicia Hughes.”

Devon grunted. “At least you didn’t lie about that.”

She might have invited him into her house, but she would not put up with that attitude. If he knew her better, he would probably have kept his mouth shut.

“And you were truthful? Running off and leaving me in the bed with a bloody note?”

He opened his mouth to fire off a retort of some sort, but his sister stopped him. Dee groaned and covered her face, then she dropped her hands and scowled at her brother.

“Oh, Devon, you didn’t leave her like that, did you? That’s horrible. No wonder she doesn’t like you. If I had been in the same situation, you would definitely be talking at a higher octave.”

Devon scowled right back. “Dee, you don’t know the whole story.”

“No, I don’t. And you left out the part of leaving a note. Have you broken up with women in a text?” She closed her eyes. “No, don’t tell me. You probably have. I share DNA with a jerk.”

Alicia tried not to smile, but seeing Dee berate Devon was kind of nice. It had been a long time since anyone had stood up for her.

“Yes, he did. Just a note saying he had an emergency. No number, nothing.”

She opened her eyes and looked at Alicia. She saw the twinkle in Dee’s eyes. “Oh, wait until I tell Micah.”

“Stop, Dee. That’s water under the bridge.”

Alicia snorted and crossed her arms beneath her breasts.

Devon narrowed his eyes. “What I want to know is when she found out she was pregnant, why didn’t she find me?”

She could lie, but she didn’t. She did look for him. “You are not an easy man to find.”

“That’s true,” Dee said. “Especially then, when our father wanted to kill us. But that’s another story.”

Alicia blinked. “Okay.”

Devon wasn’t happy with that answer. “That doesn’t explain why you ran away when I saw you two days ago.”

The question brought her back to reality. This wasn’t a pleasant exchange between friends. This was a man who had caused her world to dissolve into a pile of crap. Anger wrapped in a thick coat of fear balled up in her stomach.

“Why did I run away?” Alicia asked. Even she heard the slight edge of panic in her tone.

He nodded, acting like he had no idea why she would want to be as far away from him as she could.

“Because you had my father killed and tried to kill me, that’s why.”

Four

“Why don’t I help you make some coffee?” Dee asked after a long silence.

Alicia really didn’t know what she would have done without Devon’s sister there. She looked at the woman and smiled, but she was frowning at Alicia.

“Oh, wait, you probably drink tea.”