Trials and Tiaras (Untouchable #7) - Heather Long Page 0,4
asking him to put together a list of the best labs with the speediest turnaround times.
I needed the answer in hand when we got off that plane and drove back to the apartment. I couldn’t take seeing that shocked and horrified look on her face again. Or how she’d recited what Edward had said in such a stunned and broken tone.
Ambushing her like that?
That alone made me want to kill him, but that whole story he’d dropped on her? The DNA tests made sense, but I still had more questions than answers.
“We’re going to figure this out,” Jake said quietly.
“I already figured it out,” I informed him. “I figured it out that first day of ninth grade and every day since. I just want the answer for her.”
“Yeah and for you. You need to know…”
“She’s not my sister,” I told him as I glared at him. “She’s not my sister. Even if Edward contributed to her DNA, that wouldn’t make her my sister. The only thing that affects is if we decided to have kids together or not. I can always pass on that. She’s got you three. But let’s be explicitly clear here—she’s not and never will be my sister.”
I didn’t care.
I should have hit Edward a hell of a lot harder.
“For what it’s worth,” Jake said quietly. “You know we’re on your side.”
“It’s worth a lot. Just tell me you’re still on my side no matter what we prove.”
He exhaled, and then he let out a grunt. “Arch, what’s between you two, that’s for you two to decide. We all made a commitment. Nothing’s changed for me…well, except I always thought I’d be the one going to jail for violence. But man, you want to just keep one-upping me.”
The silence stretched for a moment, and then a soft huff of laughter escaped from me. “I’m always the best, don’t you know?”
“Yeah,” Jake said easily, then knocked my foot with his. “Nothing’s changed.”
At the airport, we got out and headed straight in. We didn’t have suitcases or anything else, and as we breezed through security as we neared the gate, I said “Huh.”
“What?”
“I never thought you’d be the sappy one. That’s always been Coop.”
He laughed. “What can I say, I’m very in touch with my feelings these days.”
Another laugh escaped me, not a big one but definitely there.
My phone buzzed, and I turned it over to see the message from Frankie.
Frankie: If you need me, I’m here.
I let out a breath. How the hell did she always know?
Me: Always need you. Getting ready to board. Be home in a few hours.
Frankie: How did it go?
Me: We’re gonna need plan B.
Frankie: Fuck.
Me: Soon as I get there.
The corners of my lips twitched. I could picture her face. When another couple of seconds went by, I typed another message.
Me: Too soon?
The middle finger emoji appeared, and I grinned for real.
Me: Love you, babe. See you soon.
Frankie: I love you too.
That helped.
That really helped.
Valentine’s Day
It was raining by the time I exited the elevator and crossed the marble floor of the cold lobby to the main doors. I barely even saw it as I shoved my way outside. I couldn’t stay in the building another second.
No.
Edward Standish was my father?
Everything inside of me rejected that statement. It was a damn lie. Bag slung over one shoulder, I folded my arms tight against my chest and tucked my chin down against the wind. Not even sure which way to go, I turned north and followed the sidewalk. There was a coffee shop at the end of the row, I could go there.
No matter what I tried to do, that thought and his words kept circling back around my brain like we were stuck on some merry-go-round and I couldn’t get off. I was going to throw up.
A hand on my elbow stopped me, and I jerked around half-swinging before I found Coop’s worried eyes staring down at me. “Hey…”
Chapter Two
Denial Isn’t Just a River…
Ian
Leaning against the door jamb to the bedroom, I stared at where Frankie slept. Coop was all arms and legs wrapped around her. Before Archie and Jake had left to go to New York, Archie had been sleeping on her other side. We weren’t letting either of them out of our sight. She’d wanted to go with him to New York, but that wasn’t a good idea.
His mother couldn’t be trusted any more than hers. His words, not mine. Still…she’d wanted to at least take him to the airport, but