Flawless River (Grizzly Bear Lake #2) - Ruby Shae Page 0,38

ring,” Kevin said. “I’m talking about the business. I worked hard to get that money hidden, including dating your fat ass for six long months, and I won’t let you get away with taking it from me. All you have to do is transfer the money to my account before noon tomorrow, and your dad doesn’t have to know anything. Don’t transfer it, and everyone will find out how you fleeced him out of millions of dollars before you ran off to hide in the middle of nowhere. It all looks very guilty—even without proof—but I can trace everything back to you. I’m sure you’ll end up in jail for a very long time.”

The entire room was silent as Stacey thought about everything that Kevin just said. She couldn’t believe that he had been stealing from her father, but even more bizarre was the fact that he thought she’d stolen his—her dad’s—money. She wasn’t a hacker, and if he had paid attention to her for even a little bit during their relationship then he would know that. He apparently didn’t pay that much attention to her sister, either, because Amber excelled at hacking.

“I’m not a hacker,” she started. “I know the programs, but I had no idea about the money you were stealing, and even if I did, I wouldn’t know how to take it from you. But, Amber has been stealing from my dad for years.”

“Shut up, Anastasia,” Amber hissed.

Stacey just rolled her eyes and kept on talking.

“Once she took over my job, I’m sure it was very easy for her to not only find the money, but to hide it from you. She actually has fleeced my dad out of thousands of dollars over the years, and I’m pretty sure she just became a millionaire.”

“You have my money?” Kevin barked at Amber.

“Yes, but I’m not keeping it from you, snookums,” Amber cooed. “I just wanted to see if I could take that much and not leave a trace.”

“Get in the car,” Kevin sneered. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“Fine,” Amber said. She started walking toward the lobby with Kevin on her heels, but she turned back right before leaving the cafe. “You’re a bitch, Anastasia, and I hope you have fun rotting out here for the rest of your life. Don’t worry, I won’t ever tell mom and dad where you are. It would kill them.”

Without another word, her sister turned and walked out of the building—and out of her life—forever.

Stacey took a step toward the window, and she immediately felt Lael at her back, along with his brother and sisters. They all watched as the expensive car peeled out of the parking lot on the side of the building, and then sped away toward the main road that would take them back to town.

“Whoa,” Levi said. “Those two are definitely made for each other.”

“Right?” Elle added. “What jerks.”

“You okay?” Lael asked.

“I’m perfect,” Stacey said, looking over at him. Now that they’d met her sister, and her ex, there really wasn’t much to hide about her past. She didn’t mind telling everyone exactly how shitty her life had been, but she wanted to tell Lael first.

“Good,” he said. “Let’s take a walk.”

She nodded, and then turned toward the group.

“Thank you guys, for having my back. I’m sorry they showed up here, but I’m glad I wasn’t alone. You all were amazing.”

“Well, if that’s what you left behind,” Lacey laughed, “it’s no wonder you came looking for us. You were the one who was amazing, though. I hope you know that. But if you don’t, I’m sure Lael will convince you.”

Stacey rolled her eyes as everyone laughed, and she didn’t even care that her warm cheeks where probably a deep shade of red. Their teasing was done out of love—it wasn’t meant to be hurtful—and she loved being part of their group.

“Okay, we’re going,” Lael said. “Elle, can you ask Liam to shut down the shack? We’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Stacey echoed, and everyone laughed again.

Lael grabbed her hand, and pulled her through the kitchen and out the back door, and then they jumped into one of the golf carts and he drove them to his cabin. She had already been to the dwelling several times over the last few weeks, but this time felt different, and she wasn’t sure why.

He wasn’t saying much, which made her a little bit nervous, but she refused to dwell on negatives. Instead, she silently followed him into the house, sat next to him