His next stop was Alex’s office. It wasn’t as informal as dinner had been last night, but they had more privacy, which seemed more important at the moment.
“Before we begin, how is it you knew who I am and why I’m here?” Gareth asked.
Alex said, “I didn’t. But Bennett Stone, my brother-in-law, keeps a close eye on who travels to Tabiq. When your name crossed the roster, he suggested I return to Tabiq immediately.”
“He believes I’m a threat?”
Alex shook his head. “If that was the case, he’d be here as well as his team. But he makes a point of knowing more about our family than we’d like him to.”
“Meaning the reason I’m here,” Gareth said flatly.
“Exactly. I will have to admit, this has come as a shock to me as well. I’ve been one of the family members who didn’t want to learn anything more about our father or his parents. But that has changed.”
“Because of Audrey?”
“She has always been a concern, but now more than ever. Unfortunately both our families are part of a club we wish we weren’t in.”
He wasn’t sure what club that was. “What the hell does that mean?” Alex leaned back in his leather chair and stared at Gareth for what seemed like an eternity. He knew Alex wanted to tell him, but was holding back. So he pushed. “I could be out enjoying my day with—”
“Yes. One of my employees. So I’ve heard. We’ll talk about that later. Right now, I’m trying to figure out where to start or more importantly where to end.”
“Maybe it’d help if I told you what I know so far.” Alex agreed and Gareth spent the next hour sharing everything Brice had told them and then added more of what his family life had been. Alex didn’t seem shocked at all as Gareth talked about their great-granddad and what he did to Aunt Audrey. “What has me puzzled is what Tabiq has to do with it all. I know your father came here and participated in some very . . . disgusting things. But why are you all here? I would think the last thing you’d want would be to step foot on this soil. Hell, I wouldn’t think they’d want you here either.”
Alex said, “You know more than I expected. And actually, you’ve enlightened me to things I wasn’t aware of. Seems my brother Brice still tries to control shit.”
“He said it is to protect the family,” Gareth corrected. I know what he means. I’m doing the same thing.
“Who is he to determine what any of us have the right to know? I knew my grandmother was fucked up. Hell, it explains a lot about my father too. But no one informed me they believed she killed her husband’s first wife. Not that this should surprise me. From what I already knew about her, pure evil ran through her veins, not blood.”
“I’m sure what Great-granddad did to her didn’t help any. If anything, it probably magnified the problem. Hate and resentment are powerful tools and can be very destructive in the hands of someone . . . unstable.”
“And now we’re left with the cleanup,” Alex said with a heavy look on his face.
“What does New Hope have to do with what your father did?”
“Seems Brice left out a large piece. I get it. It’s personal and fucking ugly as hell. No one would want such things about their family exposed. But you’re family. And unfortunately, your family is involved. I hope you don’t have any plans for tonight, because it’s going to be a long evening. I let Ziva know I won’t be home till very late.”
Since it wasn’t even dinner time, what Alex was about to say might be more than Gareth was ready to hear. But would he ever be ready? He’d come this far for this information. Just because it wasn’t something pleasant, didn’t mean he should walk away. In his gut, he’d always known it wasn’t good. Nothing about Aunt Audrey has been.
“I want to know it all. If takes all week, I don’t care.”
“Before we start, I want to remind you, this information could destroy my family. I’m trusting you with it because how closely linked you are to it as well.”
“I’m here because I believe we can’t protect our families by turning a blind eye to the past. That is what got us all in this problem in the first place.” If Great-granddad hadn’t ignored what was going on with Aunt Audrey, their lives would all be different. Hell, we might not even exist.
“Okay. So let’s start with exactly what went on here in Tabiq. My father was a very sick and cruel man, but he wasn’t the only one. There were men willing to back him financially, so they could all achieve greater wealth. That includes a Lawson as well.”
“Brice had mentioned something about that. He didn’t go into any details. Probably because he didn’t want us to know what happened here.”
“My brother and I handle things differently. He holds it all in and tries to control it that way. I, on the other hand, think of my family history when I’m at my laptop writing a horrific scene. No matter how gruesome I make it, I know my father and grandmother did worse.”
Gareth nodded. “Unfortunately I understand that all too well. So tell me everything, and then maybe I’ll understand what I, I mean we Lawsons, need to do in order to fix it.”
“Fix it? That won’t happen. All we can do is try to build Tabiq back up to a place where it will be strong enough not to fall prey to assholes like—”
“Us. Damn it, Alex. That is the underlying fear, isn’t it? That one day we learn we’re just as fucked up as they were.” It was something he’d seen in Dylan’s eyes when he learned he was about to become a father. No one wanted to pass this legacy on to their children. Gareth wasn’t one who had to worry about that, but he hated knowing it weighed on his brothers’ minds.
“I think we all go through that, but as time goes by, we all have come to the understanding that we make our own paths. We’re not saying we can ever forget, but we refuse to let their actions define us as individuals. Since this is all fresh to you guys, you’ll need to go through that process just like we did.”