“Copy that. Take care, man.”
“You too.” I ended the call, walked over to the airfield’s bar, and ordered a shot, a beer, and another shot, knowing I’d need that and a whole lot more to get through the next couple of days with Nick.
17
Sloane
I heard my brother say Tackle’s name when he answered his phone. As much as I wanted to ask about their conversation after the call ended, I couldn’t without Knox getting suspicious.
“I’ve been thinking about you saying you don’t really want to go back to Mom and Dad’s right now, but how long can you realistically stay here?” he asked.
“Bex wi
ll be gone another three weeks at least. Maybe longer.”
“Okay, well, that buys us some time to figure out what to do next.” When Knox sat beside me on the sofa and put his arm around me, I rested my head on his shoulder.
“Thanks for all you’re doing. I really appreciate it.”
He laughed and kissed my forehead. “I haven’t done much of anything yet, peanut.”
“Just having you here is huge, but if you have to leave, I’ll understand.” I said the words but prayed he wouldn’t have to.
“I’m not going anywhere. I told you that.” He patted the sofa’s cushion. “Except maybe to an apartment with more than one bedroom. I know you just said you could stay here another three weeks, but I’m thinking we start looking for another place tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to live with me, Knox.”
“Sure, I do. It’s not like I have anywhere else to live. We might as well share a place for the time being.”
I yawned. “You’re the best brother a girl could have.”
“Making up for lost time, peanut. Now, get to bed.”
I was so tired I didn’t have the energy to argue that it was only seven o’clock.
As I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep when only minutes ago, I couldn’t keep my eyes open, I thought about the story my brother had told me about his time in Italy.
“I fell in love with her, Sloane,” he’d said. “I know it sounds crazy, but I did.”
He talked more about how he’d gotten to know Tara while undercover at a winery in Tuscany. “Things were so good between us, and then I fucked it all up by accusing her of being a criminal.”
I wanted to ask Knox how he could believe he loved her and yet get it that wrong, but I knew he was struggling with that question all on his own.
I also wanted to ask him a number of questions about when Tackle arrived in Italy, why he went, and what he was doing now that he was back. Instead, I rolled to my side and cried myself to sleep.
After spending over a week looking for a place for my brother and me to live, I sat Knox down and told him I didn’t think it would work. He looked relieved.
“I have another idea, though.”
I raised a brow, skeptical at his tone of voice.
“You know Tackle’s dad owns a lot of investment property—”
“No!” I said before I could stop the word from flying out of my mouth.
Knox raised a brow like I had.
“They’ll tell Mom and Dad.”