Jaden (Jaded #3)(13)

I was sitting outside on the patio lounger, watching both of them in deep conversation with Neil and Beth. Bryce was sitting under the shade, nodding at whatever my dad was saying and using his arms to make gestures. I heard the word ‘soccer’ a couple of times and ‘football’ the rest of the time so it didn’t take a genius to figure out what they were talking about, but then I turned to the grilling area. Beth and Corrigan had their heads bent over a mixing bowl. He was wearing the apron she handed him, both in matching pink frilly aprons, and when she pointed to a garnish, he picked it up and broke it into pieces into the large bowl. After giving him an approving grin, she handed it over, and he resumed whisking it, smirking a little to himself. He glanced up, caught my gaze, and his eyes widened. He looked like he got caught at something.

I frowned.

They’d both been up their asses the whole month—then it hit me, smack in the forehead, and I felt like an idiot.

Bryce and Corrigan were working Neil and Beth. I didn’t know why, but I knew they were. It made more sense. Bryce was always polite to my dad, but never this congenial, and Corrigan, well, he loved his mother so much that baking wasn’t too far of a stretch, but his banter with Beth was flirtatious, not adoringly like he was with his mom.

Things made more sense. The world was right again. I could relax, not worried I woke up in an alternate universe.

I didn’t get a chance to ask them their plan until after dinner. Beth made meatloaf—yes, meatloaf—but she topped it off with three glasses of Moscato wine. Neil joined in, and the two were as drunk as skunks. It didn’t take long for the adults to giggle their way down the hallway and up to their room. That was when I shoved back from the table and stood up.

Both Bryce and Corrigan looked up.

I jerked my head toward the back door. “Outside. Now.”

Each wore a guilty expression.

I snorted. I wasn’t mad. I was just out of ‘the know,’ and that didn’t sit well with me. As I sat in one of the loungers and they took the other two seats, I folded my arms over my chest. “I know you’re doing something. Fill me in. Now.”

They shared a look.

Bryce shook his head. “Fine.”

Corrigan nodded. “Okay.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows onto the table. “We’ve been out here too long. It’s been three weeks and nothing. We need to get you into the city, and we need to do what you always do.”

My eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

Corrigan’s mouth flattened, and Bryce sighed. “Cut it out, Sheldon. You wreak havoc. It’s what you do. We need that again. We need to figure out who’s framing you.” He glanced to Corrigan and seemed to hesitate for a moment. “I can’t speak for Corrigan, but I’ve tried calling Officer Patterson. She won’t return my calls, and she’s never done that. I know Denton’s tried, too.”

“You’re in contact with Denton?”

Bryce nodded. “Yeah. He tried to send his lawyers in, but your dad beat him to it.”

I shook my head. “I thought it was his too, but they were my dad’s lawyers.”

“Yeah.” Bryce scratched at his head. “I think he said something about that. He wasn’t given a choice, just told to back off or something.”

Corrigan’s arms dropped and landed on the table with a thud. His eyebrows furrowed together. “Can we skip these pleasantries? Sheldon, Bryce is buttering up to your dad, and I’m kissing your new stepmom’s arse.”

I winced. “Please don’t say that word.”

He waved that off. “Whatever. We’re doing what we have to do.”

I pursed my lips together.

He rolled his eyes at that. “You can be annoyed all you want, but we didn’t tell you because you couldn’t act any different. If we’d told you, you would’ve been a lot nicer.”

He had a point. Bryce finished for him, “And if you’re nice, they would’ve been suspicious.”

“I’m not that bad.”

Nothing. Total silence. They both gave me pointed looks.

“Fine,” I relinquished. “I’m nice to you guys.”

They shared another look, but this time both wore small grins. Bryce turned, including me in on that look. “And we love you for it.”

“So, what’s the plan? Kiss their ass and hope they’ll let you take me to the city?”

“No. Kiss their ass in the hopes they’ll trust us.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

Corrigan answered, “Hope they trust us . . . enough so they might leave . . .”

“Your plan sucks.” Bryce held up a hand. “Just wait. There’s more.” I waited. He tilted his head to the side, searching for more. Then his head jerked back, and he slapped a hand to the table. “Like for a date night. We all saw how they were tonight. Maybe they’d go to a hotel for a weekend alone. You know. To get away from all of this?” He turned to both of us. “It’s worth a shot? Right?”

I snorted, shaking my head. “That plan sucks. My dad’s been on lockdown for years. He’s not going to be talked into leaving for an orgy. No. We need to make them leave.” I frowned, thinking over the possibilities. “I don’t think he’d leave if the lawyers made him go. He’d demand for them to come here. No, the only people he’d leave for would be the police.” I shuddered. “And let’s not re-enact that scenario. The less I step foot into a police station, the better off I am.” No, no, no. Wait. I snapped my fingers. “Explosives.”