bear it. “You’re saying this wasn’t random?”
“I’m afraid so,” Devlin says.
“But—but I don’t understand.”
I gently extricate my hand. “Let me get you some green tea, okay? Devlin can fill you in on everything.”
She nods and I move to the adjacent kitchen area. I need to do something if I’m going to survive hearing the whole thing all over again, and I put on water to boil for tea and coffee as I listen to Devlin fill her in on all the horrible, gory details.
We end, of course, back where we started, with Joseph Blackstone as the primary suspect. Only now she knows that I’m in the crosshairs, too.
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “No, this can’t be happening.” She scrubs her hands over her face. “I mean, it is happening. I get that. But going after you?” she says to me, “that’s sick.”
“That’s how my father trained him,” Devlin says, his voice flat.
“But it’s vile. He shouldn’t be going after anyone at all, but if it’s revenge for Anna he’s looking for, then it’s not Ellie he should be going after. Ellie didn’t do anything. It should be—”
She cuts her words off fast.
“Me,” Devlin says. “This is all happening because of me.”
“No, wait. No.” The words tumble from Brandy. “I didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t saying—”
“It’s okay.” He’s in a chair opposite hers, and he moves to perch on the table in front of her, then takes her hands. “I understand. And honestly, you’re not wrong.”
“But—”
“Brandy,” he says firmly. “It’s okay.”
Her eyes cut to me, and I nod. Slowly, she exhales. In his crate near the pantry, Jake whimpers. I open the door, and he licks my hand, then goes to Brandy and curls up on the sofa beside her, as if he knows she needs him.
“This is so fucked up,” she says as Jake rests his head on her thigh and she strokes his fur. She’s got that right, but hearing Brandy curse drives the truth home even more.
“It is,” Devlin agrees. “On so many levels.” He drags his fingers through his hair, looking so miserable I want to race around the kitchen island and wrap my arms around him. “I didn’t see it coming.” His voice is low and tinged with pain. “I’ve always believed myself to be a good judge of people. But I never saw Anna’s duplicity coming. And now we’re picking up the shards of my mistake.”
“You trusted her,” Brandy says. “She was close to you.”
He makes a scoffing sound. “Trust her? Yeah, I did. That was the mistake.”
“No,” I say, this time coming toward him. “You have to trust people.” I kneel in front of him, my hands on his knees, and look at his face, so dark now with misery. “You have to,” I repeat. “After all, without trust, we wouldn’t be back together.”
For a moment, he doesn’t react. Then he nods slowly and strokes my hair, his eyes hard on mine.
“It’s not your fault,” Brandy says softly. “She really did love you. It just all went sideways for her. She was messed up, but that’s not on you.”
“No,” he agrees. “It’s not. But it still hurts.”
“I get that,” she says as I stand. The electric kettle is beeping, and I go back to get her water and the coffees for me and Devlin.
“I should probably call Christopher,” Brandy says. “He was a mess about the murder in general, and he probably knows about Joseph by now—he’s got his research sources in the LCPD. I hate that he’s alone.”
“You should tell him to come back,” I say, setting down a tray with our drinks before taking a seat on the arm of Devlin’s chair.
“Yes,” Devlin says. “Let him know that there’s no blowback on him. We’re not painting him with the same brush as his brother. Believe me, I know what it’s like to be judged by the actions of a family member.”
“I guess you do,” Brandy says. “I’m really sorry about that. I saw the coverage.” She makes a face. “Hard to avoid since it’s all over social media. And to have that tossed at you on what was supposed to be such an amazing day. It sucks.”
“I’ll survive,” Devlin says. “So will Christopher.”
She pulls her feet up and hugs her knees to her chest. “Yeah. I hope so.” I’m trying to think what to say, when she continues. “How’s Lamar?”
“It’s hard,” I say as Devlin puts an arm around my shoulder. “But he’s hanging in there.”
“And he’s really coming