Heart Thief - Ker Dukey Page 0,24
in unison. “I brought her there myself,” Cash states.
“So, she left a second time?”
“What are you talking about?” Cash asks, confused.
“Judith? Eli’s mother left the island a long time before Clara and was forbidden to return. She never came back.”
What the fuck?
Fourteen
Cash
I look to my brother, who has the same confused look as me.
“You’re saying you haven’t seen Judith on the island since she left before Clara?”
“Correct. Eli has always felt like he had to make it up to my father. He was ashamed of his mother, wouldn’t speak about her.”
“That makes no sense. I took her back myself. It’s how I met Clara. She was down by the water. I knew I couldn’t dock, so my mother showed me a place to drop her. Your sister was there playing in the water.”
“She never told me any of this.” Mona inhales, her hands clutching the necklace I gave back to her.
“What did she tell you?” Colt asks, sitting on the arm of the couch.
“That there’s a whole world out there, that when a boy you love kisses you, you get butterflies in your stomach and shivers in your spine,” she says dreamily, lost to the memory. “She only told me fairytales.”
“They’re not just stories, islander.” Colt reaches over, brushing her hair over her shoulder. Her eyes dart to his, a bloom of red coloring her neck.
“If your mother returned but was caught, she’d be in the dungeon.” Mona turns to look at me, lines creasing her brow.
“She chose to go back. It’s her own fault where she ended up,” Colt grinds out, folding his arms.
“Colt,” I admonish, “she’s still our mother.”
“No, fuck that, she made her choice and it wasn’t us. Let her precious Eli save her.”
“Eli thinks she never came home.” Mona hugs herself, the information becoming too much.
“Not our problem,” Colt says again, and I think back to the night she asked me to take her home. I begged her to stay, to choose us, but she wouldn’t.
“You’re right. Let her live by the rules of the place she chose to be,” I tell them.
“We still haven’t identified who hurt my sister,” Mona murmurs.
My father flickers into my head, the media and fucking mess the whole thing made. “They did make an arrest for her murder, Mona,” I tell her, getting narrowed eyes from Colt. I hate the fact that I have to inform her of these details, but she needs to know.
“Who was it?” She stands.
Colt groans, running his hands through his hair. “Our father.”
“What?” she looks between us.
“He denied it,” I add.
“But you said he hates our kind…and hated her.” She nods, the cogs of her brain turning.
“That doesn’t mean he’s capable of killing someone in such a brutal way,” I defend. Fuck, I want to believe that, but on the other hand I understand he’s a ruthless monster.
“Take me to his dungeon,” she demands.
Colt’s eyes cut to me. “He’s not in a dungeon. He didn’t go to prison. He’s rich, powerful. His lawyers got him off.”
I can tell she doesn’t understand,
Colt goes to her, taking her hands in his, lowering himself so he’s within her eye line.
“There wasn’t enough evidence to get him a prison sentence. He is free in the world living his life.”
“So he could have brought the gift, the necklace?” she asks.
He wouldn’t have the knowledge of when Mona’s birthday was, would he?
“It doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t have the motive, not really. Unless…” I ponder.
“Unless what?” she asks.
“Unless he’s still bitter over our mother and is getting back at your father.”
Why wait five years?
“There’s only one way to find out,” Colt announces.
“And what’s that?” I ask.
“We go see him, bring Mona with us.”
“No.” I jump up. “We shouldn’t give him the chance to see she’s here. If he did it, he would have access to hurt her.”
“He can’t hurt her with us there, and we’ll take her to his club so there’s an audience. He wouldn’t risk trying anything.”
“And…what? Just ask him straight out?” I mock.
“Why the fuck not? Let’s just put her in front of him. If he recognizes her, we’ll detect—we’ll see it in his fucking eyes.”
“And if he doesn’t?” I ask. “What then?”
“Then we know it wasn’t him who sent the necklace.”
“It sounds fucking risky.”
“Don’t be a pussy, Cash. He has no power over us anymore. We own everything but that club. And if he shows signs of recognition, I’ll take that too and more.”
“What more can you take?” I ask.
“His fucking pulse.”
Fifteen
Mona
Things are so different here. Sound,