Page 63 of Won't Back Down
“How much has she told you about her time off-island?”
That prompted me to tip my own glass back for a deeper swallow. “Enough. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in the past few weeks imagining creative ways to kill your parents. Your dad, in particular.”
“Get in line.” He shook his head, grief and guilt carving lines around his mouth and eyes. “I should’ve gotten to her sooner. I should have asked questions and pushed when I didn’t hear from her. Mom and Dad told me she was at boarding school, and I just thought she was pissed that I’d left for college and essentially abandoned her. I never in a million years dreamed that they’d do what they did. If she hadn’t gotten that letter out, I don’t know what might have happened.”
Remembering the exhaustion in Willa’s voice as she’d told me her harrowing tale, I could well imagine the worst. We could all be grateful she’d managed to get that letter out.
“Don’t beat yourself up, man. Nobody imagines their parents would do something like that. Nobody would imagine they’d do exactly what they’re trying to do to her now.”
“After what they pulled on her before, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. That’s on me for letting my guard down and assuming everything was fine while I’m off serving Uncle Sam. But it does seem like O’Shea’s got a handle on everything. That he’s managed to shut everything down.”
“So far. I’m less worried about that than I am about the body we found.” We’d given Jace the overview at dinner, but otherwise steered clear of the topic.
“Is Willa having a hard time with it?”
“Had a total breakdown when we found it, which seemed perfectly reasonable considering she basically landed on the thing. But the body was found less than fifty yards from where I pulled her out of the water.”
Jace paused, his glass dangling from his fingers. “You think this might have something to do with how she got there?”
I glanced up toward the ceiling, as if that would tell me Willa was safely ensconced in our room. The sound of clanking pipes told me she was in the bathroom. Maybe getting that bath, finally. Assured she wasn’t lurking outside the room, eavesdropping, I admitted what had been circling around my brain. “I don’t know. Maybe. I attributed the panic attack to finding the body, but what if it had something to do with where we were? Did you know she’s never been back to Osprey Beach or that side of the island in all the years she’s been back here?”
“No. Really?”
“I started to drive home that way one day, and it almost set her off. In some ways, she’s so incredibly strong. In others, she’s fragile. And I don’t know how much of it is leftover trauma from what she went through, and how much is added trauma from her time off-island. That hospital fucked with her head, man. In ways I don’t think we fully understand.”
His expression hardened. “They said it was for her own good. That the facility specialized in retrieving lost memories. Best I can tell, they just traumatized her further.” He dropped his head. “I didn’t do right by her. I should’ve protected her.”
“We can both beat ourselves up for the things we should’ve done. But none of that helps now. All we can do is protect her. And I will, man. I’ll do anything I have to in order to keep her safe.”
“I appreciate that more than I can say.”
I drained the last of my glass. “We can debate theories some other time. I’m headed up to bed, too.” I paused as I shoved to my feet. “I have no idea where you’re sleeping. We didn’t have a room made up for you, since we didn’t know you were coming.”
“It’s fine. I know where the linens are, and I’ll take the room I’ve always had when I was here. Which is far, far down the hall from yours. On the opposite side. Just so you know.”
At his meaningful look, I laughed. “Good to know.”
Still chuckling, I climbed the stairs to go join my wife.
CHAPTER 29
WILLA
Ichecked over the contents of the cooler for the third time.
Sawyer’s arms slid around my waist from behind, and he settled his chin on my shoulder. “I promise, we’ve got everything.”
“I just want to make sure we didn’t forget anything.” More, I needed something to do while we waited for our friends to arrive. This was our first official party as a married couple—a really married couple—and I was excited. This was something normal. I was desperate for some normal.
Sawyer turned me in his arms, his fingers sliding beneath the fall of my hair to rub tiny circles on my nape. “Are you up to this party tonight?”
In truth, my skin felt stretched too tight over my body, and a jittery energy pulsed inside me as I waited for the other shoe to drop. All the legal attacks had amplified my normal anxiety until I was looking for threats from every corner. I’d been even more on edge since we’d found the body—which I figured was a perfectly reasonable anxiety as opposed to my often unreasonable personal anxiety. But I didn’t want anyone to know how rattled I was. I didn’t want to be rattled. I wanted to enjoy the opportunity to truly be newlyweds and figure out what that would look like for our future. Right now, that meant a cookout with the friends who were more family to us than our own blood.
“I’m okay. Promise. I just want this party to go well. It’s Jace’s last night in town, so tonight is for celebrating.”
“That eager to get rid of me, baby sis?”
I shot my brother an impish grin as he wandered into the kitchen. “I mean, you’re putting a serious crimp in my love life.”