a white button-down, his tie long gone, the first few buttons undone, exposing his tan chest. I slam the paper in his chest, shoving him back with it.
“Mind telling me why your father got me a full ride to Nebraska my senior year?”
Something lights his eyes, and he sighs. “Fucking Jack.”
My heart stalls. Fear curdling on my tongue. “What did you do? How do you know Jack? You better not have hurt him. He’s innocent.”
He scoffs. “Your precious little boyfriend is fine.”
“Answer me, Sebastian.”
“He’s at home in one piece, if that’s what you’re asking.”
I grit my teeth. “Answer my goddamn question, Sebastian, or so help me God.”
“Because I told him to.”
“Why would you do that?”
He walks away from me, and I chase after him. “No, no, no. You don’t get to do that. You do not get to run away from this conversation. Tell me the truth right now!” I yell, my voice cracking, echoing around us in the luxurious space. He grips the ledge of the windowsill, dropping his head down. He’s suddenly tense, and I sense whatever it is that’s he’s going to tell me is going to change everything.
“Sit down.”
My lips thin. “No. I’m going to stand. Start talking.”
“Sit down!” he yells.
“No!”
He suddenly whirls around and throws his glass, and it shatters once it hits the wall. My heart stalls, and my breath lodges in my throat. I glance at him warily, taking note of the anger pouring off him in waves.
“I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t kill her, but I did something far worse.”
I fall into the chair at his words, just as he knew I would. “What did you do?”
My body is trembling, and my stomach is twisting in knots as my tears hang on the edge of my lashes, on the verge of slipping.
“We all have roles in our lives, and in my friendship with the guys, I was the person they came to when they needed something to be taken care of, and when I got back from Brazil, Vincent needed me to do something.”
He turns, facing me, and I see the guilt in his eyes. I clamp my back teeth together, pain lancing through my chest. “Just say it. Just fucking say it, you bastard.”
“They were at the kissing rock that night when they stumbled on…” He clears his throat, and my chest cracks. The entire earth shifts beneath my feet. “She was in the woods. Zach went to see if she was breathing, accidentally touched her, and got her blood on him. He freaked out, and they all made the decision to get rid of the evidence that they were ever there that night.”
My chin wobbles as I work to control my emotions. They touched my dead sister.
They stripped her of her clothes to protect themselves.
“They were scared you’d keep coming after them, so they asked me to take care of it.”
Slowly, I meet his gaze, and the tears slip free. He winces and looks visibly hurt. This is the first time I’ve ever seen so much emotion reflected on his face. He’s usually so closed off. So good at hiding what he’s feeling or what he’s thinking, but I feel like I can see it all right now, and it hurts. I feel like I can’t breathe.
“And did you?” I ask, my voice a mere whisper.
“Not in the way they wanted, but yes.” Remorse. It’s written all over his face, so I look away from him, waiting for him to go on. “I had my dad get you a full ride, so I could get you far away from Ferndale. From them. Told them I took care of it, and I let them believe whatever they wanted to believe.”
“So you lied to me?”
“I didn’t lie—”
“You lied!” I yell, my chest heaving. “You told me you had no idea who I was. You said I wasn’t even on your radar. You covered up my sister’s murder!”
“I didn’t know you then. Not like I know you now.”
“You still don’t know me!”
“Mackenzie.” He sighs, rubbing at his temples as though I’m the one who’s frustrating. “I never meant to hurt you.”
I bark out a sharp, humorless laugh. “You never meant to hurt me? You’re the reason my entire life fell apart! You’re the reason for all of this. Hell, I thought I hated you before, but now…you watched me suffer. And you expect me to believe you didn’t know who I was? I smell bullshit.” I shake my head, pushing out