Page 94 of Liar
We slow to a stop in front of the cemetery, ironically, the same one Savannah where she confessed her dark secret to me. I think of the baby there, laying in ashes behind Julie as she emerges from the cover of a mausoleum and delicately makes her way to us. Another one of Damion’s victims.
Malcolm flies out of the car, jolting me out of my reverie. He meets Julie halfway, lifting her at the waist and burying his face in her neck.
I hear their sobs through the car. Unable to pull my attention away, I watch them murmur assurances to each other. Malcolm cups her face as if he’s handling delicate glass, then lays his lips on hers. Julie wraps her hands around his neck, feels the wound, then jerks back, concern and worry crossing her expression as she fights his hold to get a better look.
He grabs her hand and leads her to our car. As they get closer, I can better hear him say, “Yes, I’ll clean it as soon as I can. I know—it’s a massive scar, and even though I despise it, I still have to take care of it so it doesn’t get infected.”
“If you die from this, I’ll kill you,” she adds.
My lips twitch into a smile. I knew I’d like her.
I come out of the vehicle as they approach. Julie hesitates in her steps, regarding me with a mixture of regret, curiosity, and affection. It’s the most alert I’ve ever seen her.
“Hi,” I say quietly, fidgeting with my hands.
“I can’t believe it’s really you.” She comes closer, tilting her head up slightly. Without her heels, I have a whole head on her. “I know we’ve met before, but I … it’s all in a fog. Malcolm’s been helping me detox, as well as Thorne.”
My brows come crashing down. “I didn’t think Thorne cared enough to help you.”
Julie responds with a slight pull of her lips. “Thorne likes to consider himself a lot of things, but at his core, he wants to be the opposite of his father. He did what he could for me. I’ll never blame that boy for his father’s sins.”
That makes one of us.
But, her statement does something to me. It helps solidify what I want to do.
“We should get going. There’s only so much time before Damion considers I’ve chartered a jet and tries to intercept it.”
“I won’t give him the chance,” I say.
Malcolm cuts his eyes to me. Julie regards me as if she knew what I was going to do all along.
“There’s something I have to do,” I say to Malcolm. “I hope you’ll forgive me, but…”
“You’re not coming with us,” he surmises. Disappointment ripples across his face. Julie reaches over and wraps an arm around his waist.
“I can’t. Not while Damion’s still after my family. Because you’re my family.” I swallow. Meet his eyes. “Dad.”
Malcolm’s expression loses all muscle. Dash clears his throat like he’s fighting back emotion.
“Jesus, there’s nothing else you could’ve said that would bring me to my knees so damned fast,” Malcolm says hoarsely. “Come here.”
He wraps me in a hug, saying into my hair, “I don’t want to let you go. I don’t. But you’ve proven to me again and again how strong you are and how stubborn you can be. I will leave a phone with Dash. You call me if you change your mind. I’ll find a way to get to you.”
I’m trembling in his grip, wavering between seeking the comfort of this newly reunited family or my family of the past. Of forgetting the people I’m leaving behind—Aiko, Savannah, Thorne, Mom, Dad—and going with Malcolm to start a new, untainted life. Safe. Loved. Accepted.
I peel out of his hold before I second-guess everything. “Go. I’ll be fine. I know how to get to the manor from here. You’ve endured enough. Dad. It’s my turn to try.”
“I love you, sweetheart.” Malcolm squeezes my arms hard, then lets me go.
Julie takes him by the hand, and they slip into the car as silent as ghosts.
Dash drives them into the mist, and they disappear like ghosts, too.
Chapter 28
Ember
Thorne had a ballsy plan to steal his father’s cryptocurrency and bankrupt him.