Page 58 of Liar
I crumple the napkin shreds into a ball. “That’s okay. I know what I’ve said is … a lot.”
“Understatement.” She hacks up a few more coughs, waving me away when I offer to go get water. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just processing. That’s … oh, my god. Savvy? With Damion?”
“Shh!” I glance around wildly, clocking the handful of patrons in the coffee shop. They’re all strangers to me, but who knows who Damion has in his pocket. Half of Raven’s Bluff storefronts contribute to his drug trade. I haven’t yet figured out if the owners are aware of it or not.
When I’m satisfied no one shows any interest in the two schoolgirls cutting class at the window, I turn back to her. “Does that mean you believe me?”
Aiko falls back in her seat. “Honestly, with the way she’s been acting, if you told me Savvy unzipped her skin in front of you and an alien popped out, I’d ask you what color it was.”
“I take that as a yes.”
“Unfortunately.” Aiko reaches up to rub the back of her neck. With her head bent at that angle, the purple shadows under her eyes are more pronounced. “I wasn’t stupid, you know. I assumed she’d return different if she came back to us at all. No one endures that amount of time against their will and stays the same person. That’s what I thought, anyway.” Aiko returns my stare, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion. “The last thing I considered was that she disappeared willingly.”
“This is so hard to hear. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. This isn’t your fault. You’re the only one who wanted to help me figure out what happened to her.” Aiko’s shoulders shake with silent laughs. “I completely cut you off in anger, and you still uncovered the truth.”
“It was kind of by accident. I had a feeling Savannah was hiding something, but … a baby? With Thorne’s father? Nope, I didn’t think of that, either.”
Aiko’s head moves in a disbelieving arc. “Is it wrong? I wish she’d told me and not you? I would’ve been there for her. Given her a shoulder to lean on. She didn’t have to run away. She had me. Her mom and dad. My dad.” Aiko lifts her head with an agonizing sheen to her eyes. “Why would she leave all that behind and go to him? He creeps me out on a good day.”
“Probably because she was scared,” I answer quietly. Savannah’s miscarriage wasn’t my story to tell, yet I spilled all to Aiko. If it weren’t for Savannah’s threat hanging over my head or the danger Malcolm’s playing with by becoming a mole for the FBI, I would’ve held off telling Aiko and waited for Savannah to talk to her, if she ever chose to.
We’re not living through normal times, though. Savannah had an affair with the leader of a secret society and a man who is willing to kill to protect his drug dynasty. I have my suspicions that Damion orchestrated the miscarriage. But just as I’m keeping the secret of Savannah offering up Aiko for the Virtues’ beating, I’ve kept that theory from Savannah.
A small part of me still wants to protect these women from the terrible truths of the people they love the most.
“What are you going to do with this information?” Aiko asks.
I reach for my coffee, drinking down half despite it becoming cold, grainy swill. “That’s my dilemma. I wanted to be honest with you—please know that. But I also need help.”
“I’m listening.”
I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “The right thing to do is to take this to Malcolm. He can leak the information to the FBI. Damion having sex with a minor is a good start toward a warrant. She says she was held by him willingly, but she was sixteen at the time. According to my research, she can’t consent.”
Aiko’s lips flutter with a hard exhale. “If they find the room, that will break Savvy’s case wide open, whether she cooperates or not. The press will descend like vultures. Raven’s Bluff will never be the same again.”
I nod. “If the agents keep only the most essential personnel in the know, Damion won’t see it coming and won’t have time to wipe his computer or destroy incriminating evidence.” My vision lowers to the table. “I’d make sure of it.”
“That solves it, then.” I watch Aiko’s hands lift from the laminate. “It’s what you should do. If you’re worried about me and how my family will handle it, don’t be. Savvy’s deliberately lied and put a lot of people through absolute, utter hell. I’m convinced a lot of it comes from Mr. Briar’s manipulations, but this affair started long before she left. I’m sure of it. Remember when I told you how she acted strange for our entire sophomore year? I blamed Thorne, but now I see the truth. It was Damion. I wish she admitted it to me, Ember.” Aiko’s voice breaks. “I would’ve—I would’ve convinced her to break it off. Shown her how messed up it is that a grown man wants to have sex with a fifteen-year-old!”
I don’t try to shush her this time. Agony laces her voice and lines her face. I reach across the table and catch one flailing hand, offering a soothing squeeze. “There’s not much you can do when someone is blinded by love.”
“Is that what you think it was between them?” Aiko blinks back tears.
I pull my hand back, my forehead tight while I think how best to explain this to her. “I’m not saying how she felt about him is right. It’s just that when the wrong person hooks you by the heart, it’s so hard to untangle yourself. They become the air you need, the blood that keeps you alive. You spend your nights alone in bed, obsessing over the fast and fervent moments you spent together. It’s not something you’re proud of. You don’t like who you become when you’re with them, but … you hate how you feel when you’re without them.”
Aiko stares at me over the table, unmoving. “We’re not talking about Savannah anymore, are we?”
I peer at her through the corner of my eye. “Um, that’s exactly who I’m talking about.”
“Are you in love with Thorne?”
I rear back as if slapped. “What? No.”
“Ember, we’re in our safe place. You’ve told me literally everything terrible that’s going on under my nose. Admitting you have feelings for the crooked prince of Winthorpe shouldn’t be that much of a reach.”
“I can’t admit to something that’s not true.”