“No one is knocking anyone out,” Camille said, standing behind her husband. “Back off, Taylor.”
Falyn took a step forward. “Taylor? Tell your husband to calm down. This isn’t solving anything.”
Camille narrowed her eyes at her sister-in-law. “You know what didn’t solve anything? Putting us all in danger and lying about it. I think Trent has a right to be upset.”
“Really?” Falyn said, crossing her arms. “Really, Cami? You’re going to pretend you weren’t on Team Thomas twenty-four hours ago?”
“Oh, shut the fuck up, Falyn,” Camille said, disgusted.
“Hey!” Taylor boomed. “Don’t talk to her like that. Ever.”
“Then she needs to watch her tone,” Trenton said.
“She’s my wife!” Taylor said. “No one talks to her like that.”
“Weren’t you just yelling at Cami yesterday for the same thing?” Falyn asked. “That she was keeping secrets? Now, you’re blaming Liis when she’s sitting there trying to mourn her husband? Liis doesn’t owe you anything, Trent.”
“She owes me the truth!” he yelled.
Jim was still turning pages, trying to ignore that his family was falling apart a few feet away. It was too much for him, and too much for Liis, who couldn’t find words or the will to stop them.
“Are you finished?” Travis asked.
The front door opened, and Shepley’s boys barreled down the hall, barely waving to us just before they shot up the stairs. When Shepley and America came to the end of the hall to see almost everyone standing, and me backed against the wall, they froze.
“What’s going on?” Shepley asked, his eyes bouncing from one person to the next.
“Why don’t you ask Travis?” Trenton said, jerking his hand out and upward in Travis’s general direction.
Shepley looked to Travis, seeming uncomfortable. “What’s going on?”
Travis sighed, relaxing a bit. “Trenton’s having another one of his outbursts.”
Trenton shot Travis a dirty look.
Travis shrugged. “You told him to ask me.”
America walked up to the table and pulled up a chair, unfazed by the fact that a war was about to break out. “What now? Is he pissed about Cami again?”
Camille narrowed her eyes. “Really?”
“Really,” America said, picking at her thumbnail.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone,” Camille seethed. “And if every single one of you judging me would have known from the beginning, it wouldn’t have changed anything. Not a damn thing. So put away your pitchforks. I was respecting Thomas’s wishes. That’s all.”
“America didn’t mean that, Cami,” Shepley said.
“Yes, I did,” America deadpanned.
“Mare,” Shepley chided.
America rolled her eyes and sat up. “Five people have been lying to us about a safety concern involving our entire family. Thomas, Liis, Travis, Abby, and Cami.” She looked at Camille. “So don’t try to snake out of the blame, Cami. Just because your husband is angry about the lies and you want to be on his side doesn’t excuse you from the truth.”
Camille’s cheeks flushed red, and her eyes glossed over. “I didn’t ask to be put in this position.”
“You still had a choice.”
Liis finally chimed in. “Abby only knew because I told her. And I asked her to be discreet about the information she had.”
Travis looked down at Liis, surprised. “You told her?”
Several seconds passed before Liis could look Travis in the eyes. “Years ago.”
His shoulders sagged. “So every time I left town and lied straight to her face about where I was going … the elaborations … she knew?”
“She was in a dark place,” Liis said. “She was sure you were having an affair. She knew you were lying, she just didn’t know about what. Telling her saved your marriage.”
“Then why not tell me?” Travis said, fidgeting. “You let me continue lying to her?”
“If you told her, the FBI would have rescinded the agreement. She had to have a valid reason for coming up with it on her own. The information she gave you on Mick was more than a satisfactory explanation, and the Bureau knows Abby is an extremely intelligent individual.”
“Don’t speak analytics to me, Liis.” He closed his eyes and shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “She’s being released from the hospital today. I need to get back there.”
The twins sat down, whispering about the new development. They had been lying, too, and had agonized over it for years, but Thomas and Travis’s had overshadowed their secret, giving them an unexpected easy out. It reminded me of the time my sister Finley had snuck out and stole our parents’ car. She had no plans. She just wanted them to notice her for once instead of catering to my cries for attention. When they realized what she’d done, they were too busy hiring an attorney to get me out of trouble for setting fire to my father’s partner’s vacation home to be angry with her. She didn’t even get grounded. My antics made anything less than arson seem trivial.
Trenton noticed the twins were occupied and used the opportunity to rush Travis, slamming him against the wall. Seconds before their collision, Liis scooted her chair into the corner, pulling Jim and Mr. Baird with her. She had quick reflexes, just like I imagined an FBI agent to have. The other agents rushed into the room, but Travis held up one hand, signaling for them to back off.
Trenton’s face was wet with tears. “Why did you have to kill Benny, Travis? Why didn’t you stay with Thomas and protect him if you knew he was in danger?”
“I didn’t know, Trent,” Travis said, staring into his brother’s eyes. “I didn’t know. And even if I did, I would have stayed here to protect my family.”
Trenton gripped Travis’s collar and shoved him against the wall. Travis didn’t even attempt to fight back, and I wondered why. “He was your family. He helped raise you, Travis. You just let him face that alone?”
“I’m sorry,” Travis said sincerely. “I’m so fucking sorry, Trent. You have no idea how bad I feel about this, or how much worse I’ll feel later when … It’s not fair. Maybe it should’ve been me.”