A Whole New Crowd (A Whole New Crowd #1)(79)

“What sealed the deal for her to agree to move?”
“Jace threatened to kill Mandy.”
I felt as if a knife had been plunged into my gut. It was invisible, but it was there. I could imagine Jace being in the room, smiling as he twisted the knife to the side. Hearing the same threat he gave me from Kevin had me breaking out in a cold sweat. I had to ask the next question. “When?”
“They’re already gone.”
My eyes leapt to his. “What?”
His eyes grew guarded. “Shelly took Mandy to Austin’s tournament, but they aren’t coming back. Movers are coming tomorrow, and I’m bringing everything with us. I wanted to take you with us. Shelly was supposed to convince you to come, but I can’t make you go. I’m sorry, Taryn.”
They were gone. It was already done. The knife was yanked out and shoved back into me, but a part of me no longer felt the pain.
“I haven’t heard from Jace for a while, not since his brother was killed.” He paused. “I’m assuming that’s who that was? Your ex-boyfriend? Unless that was a lie as well.”
“No,” I whispered. “Brian died.”
“I’m sorry about that too. I am, but we can’t stay. I believe Jace. I know what he’s capable of. After I leave, none of us are ever coming back.”
I’d never see them again. Then I asked one last question, “Was the adoption real? Am I really your adopted daughter?”
“No.” He didn’t look away. There was no hesitation. There was no doubt. “It was faked for Shelly’s sake. None of the documents are real. There was no real background check. Shelly just thinks it went fast, but it was all a lie.”
I nodded.
I was the lie.


CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Knock, knock
Tray and I turned to each other. We shared a look.
Knock, knock
“Tray! You in there?”
He ignored him and asked me, “Are you ready?”
I nodded. We had gone to a hotel after I left Kevin. There’d been only one move we could do and Tray pulled out his phone. I watched as he pressed the numbers, and then heard him say, “Chance?”
He had called the DEA. It wasn’t a long conversation with his brother. Chance told us to go to a hotel as a precaution and Tray looked at me. I already knew where I wanted to stay. “We’ll go to the hotel on Sixth Street in Pedlam.”
Tray frowned, but relayed the information. He added, “I’ll text the room number.” Then he was silent for a moment before he murmured, “Got it. Okay.”
As he hung up, I asked, “What was that last part?”
“He told me a code to use in case someone intercepts the text.”
“Does he think that’s a real possibility?”
“I don’t know.” He put the phone down and turned the car towards Pedlam. “He said not to go back home, just to be safe. I think they’re operating under the ‘better safe than sorry’ theory.”
Knock, knock
I was pulled back from my thoughts as Tray’s brother tapped on the door again. Tray went to let his brother into the room, and I stayed by the window.
Chance Evans was an older version of Tray. They had the same hazel eyes, dirty blonde hair, and chiseled cheekbones, but Chance looked more weathered. He was slightly bigger in build as well. His shoulders were a tiny bit broader, but Tray was more defined. After they embraced, Chance gazed at me for a moment. It was direct, as if seeing right through me, with a hint of caution and suspicion at the same time. I felt like I was being interrogated without any questions asked, and I straightened to my fullest height because of it. My eyes narrowed and my chin lowered in a challenge. This was my life. Gray was my friend and I wasn’t going to let a stranger cast blame on me.
After a full minute of studying me, his hand clapped Tray’s shoulder and he gently shook him. “Are you two nuts?”
Tray frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“This is a Panther hotel.” Chance swung his suspicious eyes my way again. The caution was gone. He did blame me. “I know my little brother had no idea, but you did. He said you picked it.”
I turned and leaned my back against the wall. My arms crossed over my chest and one of my eyebrows arched. “Yeah?”
“Taryn?”
I ignored the soft undertone of betrayal from Tray’s voice. “Jace Lanser is missing. He’s the one I want.”
Chance narrowed his eyes, turning back to his brother. “You said a friend was kidnapped. You never said it was connected to Jace Lanser.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Jace Lanser is a big f*cking deal. He’s in a different league. Do you know what you’ve gotten yourself into?” He swung around to me. “What was your agenda coming here?”
“It’s a cheap hotel. No one will look here for us.” But that wasn’t the full truth. I didn’t want to look at Tray. When he asked, it had been a split second decision, but I knew I needed to follow it through. I could feel the hurt from him.
“Bullshit.”
I shrugged and turned back to the window. “It’s the closest hotel to Pedlam’s school.” Liar! My conscience knew I was still holding back.
He shook his head. “You two are going to explain everything, and I mean everything. I want to know when you wipe your ass to the real reason this hotel was picked.” He sent the last statement to me.
A good person would’ve flushed with guilt. I did nothing. There was a good goddamn reason I picked it. Tray gestured to me. “Do you want to start?”