her tone made my throat ache with emotion. Once upon a time, he’d been my hero too. “He was a great actor,” I managed.
She shot me a withering glare. “I was a little kid, Brandon. I didn’t care that he could act. What I cared about was that he stood up to Daddy.”
Her cheeks flushed, and that little bit of color made her look like she was coming back to life. The spark in her eyes put to rest some of the lingering fear I had that she’d be scarred for life by all that had happened tonight.
“He was the only person I’d ever see stand up to him.” She looked to me. “Don’t you remember?”
My brow furrowed in concentration as I thought back to my time on the set. “I remember shooting scenes with my dad. I remember how he’d tease me and play pranks on me in between takes to make the time pass faster. I remember… laughing.”
“Was he funny?” She looked so curious, and I realized that she must have had a million questions about what Frank MacMillan was like as a father.
“He could be,” I said slowly. “He could be charming and funny, always the life of the party. But at home, he was much quieter. He liked to hole up and read.” Although, I suspected now that he’d been hiding from my mother. Hiding rather than fighting.
Coward.
This time, I shook off the thought. Maybe he hadn’t been the hero I’d thought he was, but maybe he wasn’t a coward either.
Lila placed a hand over mine. “Lots of people have demons, Brandon. It doesn’t make them weak or cowardly.”
I nodded. Maybe the truth was somewhere in the middle. Something inside of me shifted as my perspective of my father and the whole situation shifted. Maybe he hadn’t been a white knight, but he hadn’t been the villain of the story either. “He really stood up to your—er, Devereaux?”
She nodded. “He really did. And when he came to the house, he was always nice to me. And Tess. Most of the stars who came over either didn’t notice we were alive or were fake nice to us because they thought it was expected.” She smiled. “But your dad was nice. Genuinely kind. Sometimes, he even left my father to come play with us.” Her eyes grew distant as she got lost in memories.
Her expression softened, and suddenly she looked so sweet, so vulnerable. It was like night and day from the hardened Hollywood cynic she played at school. I supposed this was the girl Jack saw. The reason he’d fallen head over heels for a girl he’d claimed to despise.
She was an enigma, this sister of mine. And I could totally see how Jack would adore the hell out of her. The thought of him… how he was likely on his way as we spoke. Oh crap. “Hey, Lila, Jack was really worried, so I—”
“I wonder how we never met back then,” she interrupted. Tilting her head to the side, she studied me closely. “I think I would have remembered if we’d met.”
She looked so confused that I grinned. “I’m almost positive we didn’t. My dad wasn’t the only one on that set,” I reminded her. “My mom always went with me when I was filming. She stayed in my trailer during filming and made me stay there too when I wasn’t needed on set.”
She arched a brow. “So you wouldn’t be tainted by the evil Hollywood people?”
I laughed. “Something like that. She was overprotective.”
Lila clapped a hand over her heart in fake shock. “No.”
“It’s true,” I played along. “The woman is just a smidge overbearing like that.”
She started to laugh until the sound of a key in the lock had us both looking over.
“Speaking of overprotective,” I started.
“You told him I was here.” Her tone was flat. Unreadable. Her face had gone deathly pale.
I winced. “Sorry. He was really worried and—”
The door flew open, and Jack’s wide frantic eyes darted around until they locked on Lila.
Tension filled the room in a heartbeat. The connection linking the two of them was so clear I could practically see it, even from across the room.
I held my breath until Jack broke the silence. “Lila… what the—” His eyes narrowed dangerously as they fixed on the bruises at her throat. “What the hell happened to you?”
Fifteen
Jack
Murder. I was going to commit murder.
I was going to kill whoever laid his hands on my girl.
That was the only thing I could think