Fallen Crest Home (Fallen Crest High #6)(68)

“Something’s not right,” I told Heather.

“What?”

I was across the room before Malinda had finished gushing over the couple. She had an arm around Becky’s waist and beamed at me.

“One of these days, this will be you and Mason, Sam. I can’t wait.”

“Yeah.” My cheeks were hurting, my smile was so forced. I reached for Becky’s hand. “Can I have a minute?”

An emotion flickered in Malinda’s eyes, and she glanced down. I know she saw how tightly Becky held onto my hand, but she continued to exude warmth. She turned, pulling Adam over to where Cass and some other girls were helping put up the decorations. “Come on, Adam. I need your opinion about where we should put the cake.”

Becky overheard. “There’s a cake?”

I pulled her past everyone, motioning for Heather to follow, and tugged her downstairs.

We found Mark on the couch playing video games.

“Hey, wha—” he started to say, but I cut him off.

“Get out. This is girl time.”

He paused his game. “Where am I supposed to go?”

“Logan’s determined to create a new drink. Go over and be his guinea pig.”

He groaned, but turned the game off. “I’m going to get wasted off my ass, aren’t I?”

Heather patted him on the back as he moved past us, going upstairs. “Just have fun doing it. That’s the trick.”

He muttered something under his breath, but then the door shut behind him.

Becky bit her lip, hugging herself. She eyed Heather.

“Heather’s fine.”

“She’s your friend, not mine,” Becky said.

Heather snorted, sitting where Mark had just left. “If you want to start a fight, keep reminding me of that.”

“Heather’s loyal to me, and as long as I’m loyal to you, so is she.”

Becky continued to stare at Heather, doubt evident in her gaze. Then she turned to me. “You pulled me down here. What’s going on?”

“Something’s wrong.”

“I know. What’s up?”

“No.” I shook my head, sitting on the couch next to Heather. “With you and Adam. What’s going on?”

Becky seemed to shrink as she sat on the couch across from us. “You noticed that, huh?” She rubbed her hands together, sticking them between her knees. “I thought I’d perfected the plastic look.”

Heather laughed. “The fact that I know exactly what you mean makes me think Sam’s not all that crazy for liking you again.”

Becky looked up, warily, and shrugged. “Plastic and shiny. It’s the fake look we rich people offer, isn’t it?”

Heather lifted a shoulder. “It’s the equivalent to the tough, I-don’t-give-a-fuck look we not-rich people have.”

A cloud came over Becky’s features. “Adam might not be able to go to law school. We might have to stay here after we graduate. He’s going to have to take over his dad’s business.”

This.

This was the moment—I could feel it—what Mason had been searching for since James had sicced him on Adam. I tried to quell my adrenaline.

I leaned forward, keeping my voice casual and steady, “What do you mean?”

Heather sent me a look.

Becky shook her head. “It’s so messed up. I don’t even know what to say.” She looked at the ceiling. “It’s nothing Adam’s done. It’s what’s being done to him. His dad’s fucked up in a major way.”

Heather leaned forward slowly. She softened her voice. “What’s he doing?”

“He’s breaking the law.”

“How?”

“He broke down and told Adam this morning. It’s all complicated, but from what I understood, when he has to get permits to develop land somewhere, he bribes whoever gives him the permits. He found a copy of the emails on a computer somewhere. He doesn’t know who made the copy, but he knows it’s out there and everything could blow up in our faces. He’d go to jail.”

“Bullshit.” Heather leaned back. “Rich people pay fines. Poor people go to jail. That’s a fact.”

“Not with this.” Becky suddenly looked so tired, like a slight wind could knock her over. “It’s been going on for years, and there’s enough to worry about that even I’m in the know.” She shook her head, getting up and beginning to pace the room. “You guys can’t say anything. I mean it. Adam would break off the engagement if he knew I was telling you guys this. No one can know.”

“Yeah, of course.” I nodded.

Becky sighed. “I mean, in the long run, it’s not that bad. Adam could take over the company and run it until he finds someone else to step in for him.”

“What would he do then?” Heather asked.

“He’d go to law school as he’s planning. And then he’d go into politics after that. This would just be a speed bump along the way.”

Heather shared a look with me. It sounded like a doable plan, but anything could be planned out on paper. Only sometimes life didn’t turn out that way. I stood up and went over to Becky, pulling her in for a hug. Then I lied to her because that was what she wanted to hear at the moment.