Sweet Reckoning (The Sweet Trilogy, #3)(28)

I stopped shoving stuff into my bag and faced him.

“She was upset about that, but it’s not what sent her over the edge.”

“So, what did?”

It felt like a boulder was weighing down my chest. I’d been selfishly avoiding this moment. I saw the tick of nervousness in Kaidan’s jaw. It was going to break his heart to lose one of his oldest and dearest friends.

“The twins had a . . . disagreement.”

“About?”

I swallowed, barely able to get the words out. “Marna’s pregnant.”

Kai stared at me with big eyes and a slow shake of his head like he wanted to argue the possibility. And then his eyes glassed over.

“I sensed it,” I said. “And it’s Jay’s.”

“Bloody hell.” He fell back to a sitting position on the bed, raking a hand through his hair as his body tensed from the shock of the news. He searched around the room as if lost before putting his elbows on his knees and letting his face fall into his hands. I knew the helplessness he was experiencing.

For one horrified moment I thought I’d see him cry for the first time, which would have obliterated my heart, but when he looked up, his eyes were red and dry. I felt horrible bearing this news to everyone. In a way, this whole thing was my fault. If I hadn’t taken the twins to Jay’s club that night . . .

“Come here,” Kaidan said, reaching out a hand.

I took it and let him pull me to his lap. I hugged him around the neck.

“It’s not your fault.”

I choked up. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

“You have that sad, guilty look on your face, but you’re guilty of nothing. It’s better to know these things sooner rather than later.”

It was true that Jay’d been able to start preparing right away, which was good, but every other aspect was tragic. I couldn’t imagine a world without Marna’s smile. And it was horribly unfair that they’d fallen in love, only to be soon torn apart. And the baby left without its mother, just like we’d all been. I couldn’t help but feel guilty.

I wondered if Jay and Patti were in Virginia now, staying safe.

“It’s my fault they got together. I didn’t think they’d move so fast, and if I’d known she could get pregnant—”

“Sh, Anna. Those two always fancied each other, yeah? This whole thing is horrid, but you can’t stop the inevitable.”

Even in his heartbroken state over Marna, Kaidan sounded reassuring and strong. I let myself hold him while I got my emotions in check. So much was happening, and everything was at stake. We needed to get to Santa Barbara as soon as possible.

“We better go,” I whispered. I promised to tell him everything on the plane. And then we’d both have plenty to worry about.





The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.

—Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray





CHAPTER ELEVEN—





GINGER AND BLAKE



A distraught Marna met us inside the Santa Barbara airport. It was the roughest I’d ever seen her look—an off-center ponytail and flats instead of heels.

We rented a sedan with the darkest windows possible and drove to Blake’s cliffside mansion. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see a news van outside of his closed gates, considering this was major local-celebrity gossip. Blake’s father, a billionaire, had just died, leaving his massive fortune to the city’s extreme-sports star, who just last week had got engaged to a gorgeous girl from a prosperous family. Speaking of Michelle . . .

“Pull the car over,” I whispered.

There wasn’t much of a shoulder, but Kai squeezed to the side and we stopped to watch. We were half a mile away, so I had to push my sights out to take in the scene clearly.

“Just what we need,” Kai mumbled.

Parked in front of the news van was a sporty red car and a beautiful, pacing blonde.

“Whoa,” I said when I focused on her aura—an ugly mix of thick forest green envy and dark swirls of gray.

“Is that her?” Marna asked.

I nodded and we eyed each other. Michelle was stuck outside, clearly not being allowed entrance, which could only mean one thing. Ginger was definitely in there, and judging by the overwhelming jealousy in Michelle’s aura, she knew it.

“Can you get us a little closer?” I asked. “I’ll try and persuade them to leave.”

Kai drove closer, stopping in the driveway of Blake’s neighbor. It always felt wrong using the power of persuasion I’d gained from my double angel parentage, but sometimes it was necessary. I honed my sights on the driver of the news van and silently repeated, “Nothing is happening here. There’s no story. Leave now….” He started looking around, nervous-like. Finally after a minute of my nudging, he started the van and drove away.

The three of us grinned. Now for Michelle. When I started chanting the words to her, she slowly walked to her car, reached for the handle, and then grabbed her temples. She let out a mournful wail and began bawling.

“It’s not working,” Kai said. “We’ve got to go in. Hope the git hasn’t changed the code.”

We drove up to the gate, and Michelle ran to the car.