them seemed surprised by my question—even Four, who thought I’d hold out on forgiving Vaughn a little while longer. I wasn’t sure I had just yet, but I was finding it harder and harder to say no to him.
“Do you want to be with him?” There was no judgment in Four’s gaze though she’d barely spoken two words to Vaughn since I caught him with my sister.
“No.”
Lou tapped Four on her arm with the back of her hand. “Ask her again, and maybe this time, she’ll tell the truth.”
I felt myself growing annoyed, not with my friends, but with myself. “He fooled around with my sister, Lou. I’ll never forget that.”
“No one is saying you have to. Look, I don’t condone cheating for any reason, but at least Vaughn’s were noble if not misguided by like ten thousand miles.”
“Noble?” I frowned at that. “What are you talking about?” How could anyone think that what Vaughn did was even remotely okay?
Lou’s eyes widened in shock, and for once, she had nothing to say as she tucked her lips inside of her mouth.
“Nice going,” Four snapped. She then turned to me. “Have you and Vaughn not talked about what happened?”
“Sort of.”
“And did he tell you why he and Selena…”
I took a deep breath, and it shuddered out of me. “Yeah. He told me the night of the party that he was bored.”
“And since then?”
I shrugged. “We’ve argued, but really, what is there to talk about?”
“Sweet baby Jesus.” Lou rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. Apparently, she’d found her voice again. “I don’t know who’s dumber, but maybe you both deserve to be alone.”
“Lou!” Four barked.
Lou blinked in surprise before covering her mouth. “Oh, shit? Did I say that out loud?”
“Yup.” Surprisingly, I hadn’t taken offense. Lou was that friend everyone needed. She always told the truth even when you didn’t want to hear it.
Taking my hands, Lou got this vulnerable look in her eyes that no one, except Wren, got to see very often. “We can’t tell you what’s in your heart. We can only tell you to follow it, but before you can do that, you need all the facts. Talk to Vaughn and get them. If you have to tie him down and torture it out of him, so be it.”
“Are you saying there’s another reason Vaughn messed with Selena? How do you know that?” I demanded before she could respond to my first question.
Lou shrugged, looking smug. “We figured that out right around the time he kidnapped and killed his father. I figured if he’d go through all of that trouble just to be with you, he has to love you, and a man in love doesn’t desire other women.”
Heart stopping in my chest, I pulled my hands from hers before shooting to my feet. Four had her face in her hand as she shook her head, so she was no help. “I’m sorry…what?”
I found Vaughn in the kitchen, where he was devouring a turkey sandwich. Lou had refused to talk after dropping one too many bombs, and Four had advised me to find Vaughn. So I did.
“Your father’s dead?”
Vaughn’s head swiveled toward the entrance where I stood. He seemed to be debating what to say before nodding and turning back to his sandwich. “He died a week ago.”
Even knowing the less than stellar relationship he had with his father, I was still startled by his composure. Figuring he was giving into some macho need to hold his emotions back, I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his muscled torso. I felt his abs contract, the only reaction he gave. “I’m so sorry. When is the funeral? I’ll go with you if you like.”
“There’s not going to be a funeral.”
“What do you mean?”
“I had him cremated and dumped his ashes three days ago.”
I let him go and stepped back. Vaughn turned his head, watching me carefully. There was no grief in his green gaze. Suddenly, I remembered Lou’s words. She’d spoken them minutes ago, yet I’d already forgotten them. “We figured that out right around the time he kidnapped and killed his father.”
“You?” I had to grip the island for support. My legs felt like they’d give out at any moment now. “How? Why?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does if you’re going to prison. What about River?”
“I did it for River,” he snapped. Tossing his sandwich down, he stood and yanked me into him. “And you.”
I shook my head as guilt turned my stomach and heart until I