Lies We Tell (Thistle Cove 3)

“No,” Ezra says. “I’m not sure, but the waitress was.”

“All of this is tied up to the SugarBabies account. I’m sure of it,” she says.

I tug at my cap, covering my ears. “What do you want to get out of this, Kenley?”

“Just the truth. That’s all.” She looks between us. “She came to me that day and said she needed help. Was it just from Monica? Or was it whoever called her when Ezra saw her on the bridge.”

“Daddy.”

“Rose got under a lot of people’s skin. I want to know who. I want to know why.”

“You’re not giving up on this, are you?” I ask, already knowing the answer. Kenley is stubborn and determined. Like a dog with a bone.

“No.”

“Then we talk about it before acting,” Finn says, looking a little pale. I don’t blame him. The police were on his ass about Rose. If the case is reopened, they could loop back around to him again. “You can’t keep us in the dark, Ken.”

She swallows and nods. “Fine.”

The bell rings and we walk back toward the building. At the door, Kenley walks in and Finn places his arm across the entrance.

“How did you get involved in this?” he asks Ezra.

“She called and started asking some questions. I had a feeling she was up to something and went to her house.”

“And you just let her go. To a bar.”

“Did you want me to let her go alone? Because if you think any of us can stop KK from doing whatever the hell she wants, you’re fooling yourself."

“You did the right thing,” I say. “Thanks for watching out for her.”

“Yeah, well, you’re right about one thing,” he says to Finn. “We need to be involved in this because she’s determined, and the last thing we need is for her to go down the same rabbit hole of destruction as Rose.”

The three of us look at one another, an agreement passing through us. Kenley may be stubborn and determined, but she’s got three protective men behind her that have no plans of letting her shut us out.

10

Kenley

If today taught me anything, the boys would lose their minds if they found out about the SugarBabies account. I can’t imagine what they’d do if they knew BD sent me those flowers. Or really, how betrayed they’d feel that I’d communicated with him in the first place.

I’ve really fucked this one up.

“Kenley—see you at the meeting, right?” Juliette calls from her locker down the hall.

“Yeah, right.”

I felt like crap. We didn’t get home that late—but I couldn’t sleep once I got in bed. The pleading voice of that man lingered in my mind. Even grown men wanted a piece of Rose Waller.

I walk down the hall to the library and find the group in the back. It’s mostly girls, plus a boy named Caden Wilson who is Juliette’s vice president. I ease into my seat and pull out a notepad.

Sylvie McCrae eyes me from across the table. And Carlie Simpson pretends to doodle on a sheet of paper while her eyes dart between me and Juliette. Oh, right. The big, fat elephant in the room. Juliette’s mom tried to kill me. Juliette saved me. Monica is in jail.

If people thought my feud with Rose was hot gossip, we have that beat.

“I invited Kenley to join the committee,” Juliette says, cutting through the tension. “Does anyone have a problem with that?”

“She’s the one that sent your mom to jail,” Caden says slyly. “If you’re okay with it, then we are.”