Page 11 of Forever Golden

A few heart-pounding seconds go by and we’re silent, facing an impasse. Mostly because I know it won’t be easy getting her to confess the whole truth, but she has to. The only wayanyof this works is if we bring each other in. Oneverything.

Another sigh from her means she’s done talking, done letting me drag more out of her than she’s willing to share.

“That night I came by to air out all our shit, I explained why I targeted you when we first met. You said something that’s stuck with me to this day. Do you remember what you asked?”

The only sound in the room are her angry breaths as they puff from her flared nostrils. However, after a few seconds, I at least get some form of a response when she shakes her head.

“You said that one simple conversation is all it would’ve taken. Just one moment of trust and transparency. That stuck with me, and it’s the reason I’ve been honest with you about everything since,” I add. “You, my brothers, and Joss are the only people on this planet I trust one-hundred percent. I know you’ve seen a lot of shit, have beenthrougha lot of shit, but I need you to know you can trustmelike that.”

She doesn’t speak right away, but I notice something I’m not even suresherealizes yet. She’s trembling. Sure, it’s slight, but I notice it right off the bat.

“You’re safe with me, Southside. Always.”

Again, she gives me nothing, but I think she’s softening. So, I keep talking.

“Asking if Vin made you sign something wasn’t random. I asked because he’d already been to visit Casey before I got there. He made her sign an NDA because of what happened between us. Then come to find out, he did the same to Parker, which means he’s on the warpath, covering his tracksandmine, but I have no idea why. Seeing her was already a little weird, but even more so knowing she’d seen my dad recently. Made matters worse that she was being super cagey, checking over her shoulder every few minutes.”

Southside blinks at me and I can only hope I’m making some sort of progress.

“He added a bribe to sweeten the pot for Casey. My best guess is he did the same for Parker, which explains her recent shopping spree. There is a bright side to all this, though. If you want to call it that.”

Southside’s brow quirks—the first real sign of life I’ve seen in a while.

“With her signing the NDA, agreeing not to ever tell what she knows about Casey, we’re free to go to Dr. Pryor. We can tell her about the video without Parker being able to retaliate.”

Southside’s still quiet, but her softening expression gives me a small flare of hope. Maybe she’s coming around.

“I thought you only told a handful of people,” she says. “So… how’d your dad find out?”

“That’s the same thingI’vebeen wondering. My first thought was that Casey may have let something slip to someone other than Parker, and it somehow circled back to Vin. That seems like too big a coincidence, though. He definitely knows shit he shouldn’t, but—”

“The phones.”

I glance toward Southside when she sort of mumbles that to herself, slipping into a thought she has yet to share aloud.

“Meaning?”

“It’s something Hunter said the last time I visited. He told me not to trust the phones and I… I hadn’t put two and two together at the time, but it’s the only thing that makes sense. It would explain how your dad knows about you and Casey. It would explain how he got that picture I only shared with Ricky. I…”

She falls silent, staring at the floor as the weight of this revelation hits her. Hits usboth.

Would Vin really go that far? Tracking phone calls and text messages?

No sooner than I ask myself that question, I’m reminded of all the other shady shit he’s done lately, and it isn’t hard to believe. The bastard’smorethan capable, even if the bigger question still remains in play—why?

What does he stand to gain by keeping tabs on us? Or what does he stand to lose if he doesn’t and something slips past him?

My mind’s already made up; I’m confronting his ass. He knows I’ve seen Pandora’s post, knows I’m aware that he’s had words with Southside tonight, so he’s likely expecting it. I won’t reveal all my cards, but he needs to know whose side I’m on.

Hers.

It’ll always be hers.

I glance at Southside’s hands again and they’re trembling a little more than before. It’s the only sign she’s not as tough as that look on her face suggests. When I lace her fingers with mine, her watery stare shifts toward me.

“He… threatened me.”

Those words are like a bullet, breaking skin, ripping straight through my heart.