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Conner shoots her a look and she shuts up. He gets up and paces over to the window to look out. “He was collaborating with the media the entire time, Vaughn. In addition to suddenly being the only guy with info on your Grace, he also has video of Sam.” Conner gives me a sidelong glance. “Incriminating video.”
“She told me she was a virgin.”
“Not sex tapes, you idiot. That…” He looks over at Felicity and I can practically read his mind and shake my head at him. “That other stuff.”
I shake my head again. “She doesn’t do that anymore.”
“She does, V. She does. And he’s got her on tape. And as horrible as it would be for her secret to get out, who really gives a fuck? Right? The world is not going to care. But Sam won’t be able to see it that way. She will not handle this well.”
I sigh. My poor sister has been afflicted with worry since she was small. She’s fragile and vulnerable. I thought I was doing the right thing when I got her away from Tray, but maybe that was the worst possible solution? Maybe I made things worse? Made Tray more vengeful and angry? “Did you know that her disorder was manifesting before Tray did?” My words are accusatory, but I don’t care because he’s nodding his head yes. “Why the fuck didn’t you say anything to me?”
“I only suspected,” he clarifies. “I saw her do something strange last Christmas. Right after she and Tray started dating. But none of that matters. What matters is that we pay this asshole and get those videos back and figure out what he knows about Grace.”
“What if he keeps copies of Sam?” Felicity asks, still chewing on her fingernails.
Conner shoots her a sneer. “We’re gonna get the copies, kid. Don’t you worry about that.”
Felicity stiffens, but says nothing back. She’s an expert at quitting while she’s ahead.
“So how did he get all this info on Grace?” I ask.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Well, the obvious guess is also the most dangerous,” Felicity says. “What if that person who abducted her and never got caught somehow got to Tray?”
“But why? And how would Tray know that Grace would be part of this deal? It just exploded on the media today. Meeting Grace on the island was a fluke. It wasn’t something you could predict.”
We stare at each other, unwilling to consider the alternative. That everything about Grace was a setup to get the two of us together. To put this all in front of the world again. To maybe… make another spectacle when she disappeared a second time. “Jesus Christ. We need to shake the fuck out of Tray.” I stand up and start towards the door, but Conner is on front of me, pushing me back to the living room.
“Calm down, Vaughn. We have to think this through. We’ve only got one chance to set it right. And we’re not even sure that the guy from her teens is even involved. It could be that Tray is an expert dickhead.”
Not likely.
Not fucking likely.
But that’s what we go with to ease our minds and keep ourselves on track because that’s all we can do right now. To put a voice to the most likely situation is a sure way to invite it to happen. I don’t know what really happened to Grace during those eight months she was missing with an abductor. And maybe I never need to know. If that’s what she decides, OK. I’ll respect that. But the media… the media does not respect boundaries. There will be no reprieve from them.
Chapter Four
#ThisIsHowYouMakeAnEntrance
THE FAMILY resort is spectacular, even though the three of us are by ourselves and the only food Kristi’s brother Jack is capable of offering is a few frozen dinners.
Kristi and I scarf them down like we are starving. She’s pregnant, so she’s always eating, and I don’t even remember the last time I ate—literally, I have no recollection of that dinner with Vaughn last night—so my mind doesn’t even count it as eating.
Jack fills Kristi in on various resort news while we eat. They built a new barn. They added a new hiking package to the list of services They hired a spa director who only speaks Swedish. And then he must run out of small talk, because he folds his hands, steeples two fingers against his chin, and just outright asks about the elephant in the room.
“So, you wanna tell me how you got into all this trouble or not?”
“Will you listen and not judge me?” Kristi asks, the tears threatening to roll down her cheeks.
“I’ve never judged you, sis. You know that.”
“You took their side.”
“You stole half a million dollars, for fuck’s sake!”
“It was my money!”
Holy shit. I have no idea what’s going on. “Maybe I should just excuse myself so you two can talk.”
“No, Grace,” Kristi pleads as she grabs my wrist. “Please don’t leave me alone.”
I settle back into my chair and nod. She’s been a good friend to me. Being here for her confession is the least I can do for her.
“I had a gambling problem,” she says to me and not her brother. So I guess this is not news to him. “I had a big debt. I own one fourth of this resort.” This she does direct to her brother.
“Yeah, but just because the bank account says there’s money in there doesn’t give you a right to take it, Kristi. It’s called embezzlement. We could’ve pressed charges.”
“It was still my share, Jack.” She turns her attention to me. “It was my money. They wanted me to reinvest it and I said no.” Again, her attention goes to Jack and then back to me. “I just needed to start again. I needed to wipe my debt, Grace. And leave Nevada to get away from my temptations.”
“But your wedding!” I exclaim.
“I know,” she says. “It was a big risk, and if I’m honest, that’s probably why I’m so freaked out about everything. I wanted my parents to come to my wedding. I wanted them to forgive me and tell me I’m still their daughter. I do have a problem with gambling. So after I paid off my debt I left and moved to Denver and got a job as a makeup artist at the local TV station. Taking that money and giving myself a second chance was the best thing that ever happened to me because…” She looks over at her brother for this part. “Because that job led me to Johnny.” She swallows hard. “His wife, actually. I met her first and she had a proposition for me—”
“She told me she was a virgin.”
“Not sex tapes, you idiot. That…” He looks over at Felicity and I can practically read his mind and shake my head at him. “That other stuff.”
I shake my head again. “She doesn’t do that anymore.”
“She does, V. She does. And he’s got her on tape. And as horrible as it would be for her secret to get out, who really gives a fuck? Right? The world is not going to care. But Sam won’t be able to see it that way. She will not handle this well.”
I sigh. My poor sister has been afflicted with worry since she was small. She’s fragile and vulnerable. I thought I was doing the right thing when I got her away from Tray, but maybe that was the worst possible solution? Maybe I made things worse? Made Tray more vengeful and angry? “Did you know that her disorder was manifesting before Tray did?” My words are accusatory, but I don’t care because he’s nodding his head yes. “Why the fuck didn’t you say anything to me?”
“I only suspected,” he clarifies. “I saw her do something strange last Christmas. Right after she and Tray started dating. But none of that matters. What matters is that we pay this asshole and get those videos back and figure out what he knows about Grace.”
“What if he keeps copies of Sam?” Felicity asks, still chewing on her fingernails.
Conner shoots her a sneer. “We’re gonna get the copies, kid. Don’t you worry about that.”
Felicity stiffens, but says nothing back. She’s an expert at quitting while she’s ahead.
“So how did he get all this info on Grace?” I ask.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Well, the obvious guess is also the most dangerous,” Felicity says. “What if that person who abducted her and never got caught somehow got to Tray?”
“But why? And how would Tray know that Grace would be part of this deal? It just exploded on the media today. Meeting Grace on the island was a fluke. It wasn’t something you could predict.”
We stare at each other, unwilling to consider the alternative. That everything about Grace was a setup to get the two of us together. To put this all in front of the world again. To maybe… make another spectacle when she disappeared a second time. “Jesus Christ. We need to shake the fuck out of Tray.” I stand up and start towards the door, but Conner is on front of me, pushing me back to the living room.
“Calm down, Vaughn. We have to think this through. We’ve only got one chance to set it right. And we’re not even sure that the guy from her teens is even involved. It could be that Tray is an expert dickhead.”
Not likely.
Not fucking likely.
But that’s what we go with to ease our minds and keep ourselves on track because that’s all we can do right now. To put a voice to the most likely situation is a sure way to invite it to happen. I don’t know what really happened to Grace during those eight months she was missing with an abductor. And maybe I never need to know. If that’s what she decides, OK. I’ll respect that. But the media… the media does not respect boundaries. There will be no reprieve from them.
Chapter Four
#ThisIsHowYouMakeAnEntrance
THE FAMILY resort is spectacular, even though the three of us are by ourselves and the only food Kristi’s brother Jack is capable of offering is a few frozen dinners.
Kristi and I scarf them down like we are starving. She’s pregnant, so she’s always eating, and I don’t even remember the last time I ate—literally, I have no recollection of that dinner with Vaughn last night—so my mind doesn’t even count it as eating.
Jack fills Kristi in on various resort news while we eat. They built a new barn. They added a new hiking package to the list of services They hired a spa director who only speaks Swedish. And then he must run out of small talk, because he folds his hands, steeples two fingers against his chin, and just outright asks about the elephant in the room.
“So, you wanna tell me how you got into all this trouble or not?”
“Will you listen and not judge me?” Kristi asks, the tears threatening to roll down her cheeks.
“I’ve never judged you, sis. You know that.”
“You took their side.”
“You stole half a million dollars, for fuck’s sake!”
“It was my money!”
Holy shit. I have no idea what’s going on. “Maybe I should just excuse myself so you two can talk.”
“No, Grace,” Kristi pleads as she grabs my wrist. “Please don’t leave me alone.”
I settle back into my chair and nod. She’s been a good friend to me. Being here for her confession is the least I can do for her.
“I had a gambling problem,” she says to me and not her brother. So I guess this is not news to him. “I had a big debt. I own one fourth of this resort.” This she does direct to her brother.
“Yeah, but just because the bank account says there’s money in there doesn’t give you a right to take it, Kristi. It’s called embezzlement. We could’ve pressed charges.”
“It was still my share, Jack.” She turns her attention to me. “It was my money. They wanted me to reinvest it and I said no.” Again, her attention goes to Jack and then back to me. “I just needed to start again. I needed to wipe my debt, Grace. And leave Nevada to get away from my temptations.”
“But your wedding!” I exclaim.
“I know,” she says. “It was a big risk, and if I’m honest, that’s probably why I’m so freaked out about everything. I wanted my parents to come to my wedding. I wanted them to forgive me and tell me I’m still their daughter. I do have a problem with gambling. So after I paid off my debt I left and moved to Denver and got a job as a makeup artist at the local TV station. Taking that money and giving myself a second chance was the best thing that ever happened to me because…” She looks over at her brother for this part. “Because that job led me to Johnny.” She swallows hard. “His wife, actually. I met her first and she had a proposition for me—”
