She tucked the iPad back into her bag and regarded me from across the table.
“Now, that’s something I ought to go straight to Jason with. But April, you don’t really strike me as the type to easily fuck someone over like that. So, I’m going to give you a chance to come clean. And I’ll promise you this—whatever you say, stays between me and you.”
I was fucked. Shauna had me up against the wall.
“Listen,” I said, panic in my voice. “I…I’m in a really bad spot.”
Shauna nodded. Then she reached across the table and put her hands on mine.
“It’s OK. Like I said, I know you’re not the type to do something like this. But why? You can tell me.”
There was nothing else to do. I took a long, slow sip of my wine and went into it.
I told her everything, about Anton, about Michael, about what I’d been forced to do. When I was done I let out a long sigh, feeling the weight lifting off my shoulders.
“Holy shit,” she said. “Anton’s behind it?”
“He wants the information about Jason’s connection to the illegal part of the company.”
“Because he wants to blackmail him. Of course.”
“But…I don’t want to do it.”
Shauna raised an eyebrow. “You don’t?”
“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live a lie, I can’t stab Jason in the back.”
“Sounds like you’re in a hell of a spot,” she said.
“I need to come clean. I need to tell Jason.”
“You’re going to tell him what you did? Why?”
“Because if I don’t, then I’ll be responsible for whatever happens to him, whatever happens to Willa.”
She pursed her lips and nodded slowly. “You really love that little girl, huh?”
“I do. And I know what it’s like to lose your parents. I can’t see her go through it again.”
Shauna squeezed my hand hard. “I need to think about this,” she said. “You have the information now?”
I nodded. “It’s on a hard drive in my room under the mattress.”
“Then keep it there.”
“You mean…you’re not going to tell Jason what I did?”
“Not yet. You’re in a shitty position, and if I were to tell Jason, it’d mean you’d lose your brother. Whatever happens, we need to work through this together. But no more lies, OK?”
“OK.”
I wasn’t sure whether or not to feel relieved. If Shauna were to tell him…
But she said she wouldn’t. For now, I was safe—or so she wanted me to believe. Could I trust her?
I hoped so. But I really had no idea.