Page 84 of Sinner's Storm

“Yeah.”

Shaking my head, I stood up and walked over to the window.

This was all so messed up.

I couldn’t take much more.

Rubbing my hands down my arms, I realized I was still in the dress that Jason bought me. But I guess that really didn’t matter.

My mind swirled with everything Dr. Lansing had just said. I didn’t understand how one man’s desire for more could cause so much destruction. Maybe I was naïve and too comfortable living in my own bubble, but I was okay with that, because understanding the world Jason and everyone else lived in was something I wanted no part of.

That didn’t make me weak. It made me smart.

Well, at least I thought it did.

My whole life, I never had to worry about anything. If I was hungry, my mom fed me. If I was scared, my dad protected me. If I wanted something, I worked hard to achieve it. I didn’t take from others. I never lied, stole, cheated my way to anything. Everything I was, everything I had, I did on my own, from hard work, all the while accepting that sometimes things just don’t work out the way they are supposed to.

Yet everyone around me lived in that dark, different world. Even my friends Robin and Finley. A world where lies, deception, intrigue, and murder were the norm. Neither of them batted an eyelash. It was like they didn’t care. Almost as if they accepted their fate.

I wasn’t like that. I don’t think I could be even if I tried. I didn’t lie when I said I wanted, needed to believe the good in people. There was nothing wrong with that. It’s just who I was. I even wanted to believe that the sole reason that Dr. Lansing brought me to his home was because he truly desired to help me. Not use me as a pawn to get back at the club, the brothers, or Montana.

Remi told me there was always another angle.

A more significant, more disturbing reason for doing things. If she was correct, then whatever was going on wasn’t over, and if I wanted to make it through to the other side, then I was going to have to think like them. While I wanted to be nothing like them, if I looked at everything like a business deal, maybe like a hostile takeover, then everything would fall in line, and I could get to the root of this mess.

I was always good with the facts.

Numbers never lied.

“You said that the woman Jason was with tonight was Gale’s daughter.”

“That’s right.”

“Don’t you find that odd?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at the good doctor. “That the very man who had my parents killed, the man who took everything from me, destroyed my life, is the father of the woman Jason had a prior relationship with? It’s rather convenient if you ask me.”

August frowned.

“I mean, and correct me if I’m wrong here, but Jason told me that once we married, the club would be honor bound to protect me.”

August leaned forward, nodding. “That’s right. No one in the club would dare risk Montana’s wrath by going up against a brother’s wife, let alone an innocent. The club may be many things, but it’s a brotherhood and they take that oath seriously.”

“Then who leaked the investigation about my father to the press?”

“I don’t know, Delany, but I know it wasn’t the club. Montana was very insistent that the information stay sealed. Jason wanted it buried. He knew if the investigation leaked, it would hurt you.”

Turning back to the window, I stared into the darkness. “The night my parents died, I’d snuck out of the house to see some friends. It was the only time I’d ever done anything so reckless. I was supposed to be in the house. Asleep in my bedroom.”

“What are you saying, Delany?” August asked carefully.

“I don’t know. I just find it odd that the daughter of the very man who had my parents killed was in a relationship with my husband and that she was there tonight at the ball. No one knew I would be attending. I didn’t even know until I stepped out of the car with Jason.”

“You think someone knew you survived the fire? You said it yourself. You should have died that night with your parents, but you didn’t. Then you moved back to the city.”

“It makes sense. I had no one other than my parents’ friends. I stayed to myself, finished school. Went to college. Got a decent job until my boss fired me. That very night, I met Jason and took him home. What if someone’s been watching me all this time, making sure I know nothing? What if Jason’s relationship with Stephanie wasn’t on the level? What if it was orchestrated to keep him busy? I’m best friends with his sister. We meet monthly at the Bar & Grill. Any time we could have bumped into each other but didn’t.”

August smirked, adding, “And the only reason they got suspicious was because Jason started coming around the hospital where Harlow was. Then, before they could figure anything out, you two are married and a few days later, the investigation is leaked to the press to silence you both.”

“It’s a little convoluted for my tastes, but it makes sense,” I agreed, sitting back down in the seat. “But what confuses me is why go through all this subterfuge?”