Page 70 of The Scarab's Game

He was out there. Noah.

And Scarlett was five thousand miles away, not answering my questions.

“Why did you lie about it?” What I really didn’t understand, though, was how she could have left him behind. Scarlett was a strong, intelligent woman. Her company found things—that’s what they did. Why couldn’t she find him?

“Listen…” Her voice turned serious. “I need you to trust me until you come home. When we’re in the same room, I’ll tell you everything.”

What other choice did I have?

I turned toward Emmett. He’d kept the secret, too. All of them had.

“For now,” said Scarlett, “do whatever you feel is right. Except, don’t go anywhere near Noah. You can’t trust him.”

My stomach roiled. Did I still trust Scarlett and Emmett? They’d both lied to me about something so big for two years. I’d been defending Scarlett to my father since we first became friends.

And now?

My father was right. Both Scarlett and Emmett were more like their father than either of them thought.

Don’t think that way. She’ll explain when you get home.

Their father had sold secrets to the Russians. Hiding something—even something like this whole cover-up with Noah’s death—wasn’t the same thing. But still, Dad had been right about them, at least a bit.

“I’ll keep this secret from Heather and Kelley,” I said, barely believing my own words. “But when I’m home again?—”

“We’ll talk, I promise,” Scarlett said. “Can you pass the phone to Emmett?”

“Yeah.” I held out the phone, and Emmett approached, accepting it.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “It’s a lot to absorb.”

I held up a hand, cutting him off. The last thing I wanted was another Reynolds apologizing to me. “She wants to talk toyounow.”

He nodded, stepping away to take the call.

Everything had changed in a few short hours. My best friend’s dead fiancé was alive and working with criminals. The painting I’d been working on was a fake. And the man I’d wanted for half my life?—

What was I supposed to think about Emmett now?

The sun felt too hot. The breeze too strong. “I’m going back to the hotel. I have more work to do on the painting. It only needs to be reframed tomorrow, but?—”

Rav held out a hand to stop me. “Wait until Emmett’s done with Scarlett. We’ll need to make some decisions.”

Chapter 25

Emmett

I paced awayfrom Jenn and my team toward a bend in the park’s walkway. I pressed the phone to my ear. “What’s up, Scar?”

“You should have given me some warning,” Scarlett said, her voice tighter than usual. “I knew you were going to tell her things, but I wasn’t ready to talk to her myself.”

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “You’re ready for everything.”

“What are we supposed to do now?”

I frowned. This was unlike my sister. She rarely asked for anyone else’s opinion. A lot had changed since she met Malcolm. She got along better with our mother, occasionally let people catch a hint of her emotions, and apparently was asking for my advice.

“When I heard Enzo…” I trailed off, swallowing hard against the bile rising in my throat.