His eyes meet mine and hold my heated stare. “Mr. Montgomery is dead. He committed suicide.”
29
Savannah
It’s a strange feeling, knowing both your parents are gone. When I was younger, and my dad told me that my mother had died in a car accident, I was beside myself. I don’t think I stopped crying for an entire week. All the happiness in my life had vanished completely, until Gray brightened everything up again. But now, lying in this bed while Grayson and Delaney break the news about my father, I don’t feel any of that.
“Baby, say something,” Grayson pleads.
I take another moment to let it sink in, waiting for the devastation to come, but it never does. When it comes down to it, I lost my father the day he decided to put gambling before his daughter. The man I’ve lived with for the past eight years was not my dad.
“Sucks for him. I’ve heard hell is a horrible place.”
Delaney’s jaw drops while Grayson snorts. He leans forward and places a kiss to my forehead, relieved by the fact that I’m okay. To be honest, I’m more than okay. I’m relieved.
Officer Jenson knocks on the door. “Is it okay to come in?” I nod, and his attention centers on Grayson. “We’re going to need someone to identify the body. Usually we prefer it to be family, but Savannah’s injuries prevent her from coming down to the morgue.”
“I can do it,” Grayson says, and then he turns to me. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”
“Okay.”
The two of them leave the room, and my head falls back against the bed. Suddenly, something important pops back into my mind.
“Laney.”
She looks at me with that same warm smile she always has. “Yeah?”
“Can you get my phone for me? I need it.”
It takes a few minutes, and asking a nurse, but she finally finds it and hands it to me. The screen is cracked, probably from when he threw me to the ground, but it still works. I open the voice memos app and smile brightly when I see it’s there. Pressing play, my father’s voice comes through the speaker.
“Where has your ass been for the last week?”
“At Brady’s.”
“Yeah? Are you sure you haven’t been hanging around that Hayworth kid?”
“What if I have?”
“Then you better cut that shit out right now. I don’t want you anywhere near that boy.”
“Why? Because you’re afraid I’ll find out about what you did to his father? Yeah, I know all about it. How you gambled away all our money. How you stole from the company you spent five years working for. And even how you set your best friend up to take the fall.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t try to be all noble now. Go ahead. Gloat. Getting away with something like that had to make you feel like a badass.”
“I did what I had to, and your little ass should be grateful for that.”
“What you had to? You made your best friend take the fall for a crime he didn’t commit! He died in there! Grayson’s dad is dead, and you did that.”
“You’re damn fucking right I did. And I’d do it again! I got more money out of that score than I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s not my fault the fragile little shit couldn’t handle himself in prison.”
I turn it off before it reaches the point where he attacked me, and Delaney’s eyes widen.
“Is that…?”
Grinning, I flip to my contacts and call the one person who can get me what I need. My father may be gone, but he doesn’t get to die without his sins being exposed.
“Hey, princess. What’s up?” A familiar voice comes through the phone.
“Hi, Carter. I need your dad’s number. I have something he’s going to want.”
A FEW DAYS LATER, I’m finally released from the hospital. It still hurts to do even the simplest of things, like move or breathe, but the doctor was okay with discharging me as long as I promised to rest. Grayson wheels me down to the car and helps me inside.
“I hope you like my bed. You’re going to be spending a lot of time in it.”
My brows furrow. “I’m staying with you?”
Glancing between me and the road, he gives me an incredulous look. “You think I’m going to let you out of my sight? Savannah, I almost lost you. My heart broke into a million pieces when I found you bleeding on that floor. The threat may be gone, but the memory is still very real. It’s going to be a while before I don’t panic at the thought of not being able to keep you safe. You’ll have to bear with me.”
A wide grin spreads across my face. “Such a caveman.”
He chuckles. “You know it, baby.”
When we pull up to Gray’s house, he comes around to the passenger side and lifts me out of the car. I tell him to put me down but he doesn’t listen, carrying me through the door and safely depositing me onto the couch.
“Stay right there. Don’t move,” he demands. “I’m going to get your meds from the car.”
He leaves, but I’m not alone for long before his mom comes in. Her eyes widen when she looks at me—stitches on my face, my wrist in a cast, bruises in multiple places. She comes over and sits down.
“Oh, honey. Are you all right?”
“I’ve been better, but I’ll live. That’s more than I can say for him.”
She frowns. “I was sorry to hear about your father.”
“Don’t be,” I tell her honestly. “The death of your husband and the death of my father are not the same. Mr. Hayworth was a good man who deserved to live a long, healthy, and free life. My father was not. Please don’t confuse the two.”
Knowing what I know now, about the key part I played in her husband’s wrongful conviction, the fact that she’s so warm and welcoming, shocks me even more than before. She would have every right to hate me, the same way Grayson did for a while, but she doesn’t. She treats me the same way she always has, with love and respect. I’m lucky to have her, and her son, in my life.
I STAND IN FRONT of the casket in my black dress, but not a single tear is shed from my eyes. He’s been gone for a week, and I’m yet to feel even the slightest bit of grief. The only reason he’s getting a funeral in the first place is because my grandparents insisted on it. Regardless of not hearing from their son for nearly a decade, they were devastated to hear about his death. I, however, just want to get this part of my day over with.
The priest talks about what a loving friend, son, and father he was, and it takes everything I have not to laugh. Grayson stands beside me, smirking when he sees the expression on my face. He’s my saving grace, my best friend, and my rock. No matter what I’ve been feeling lately, he’s there to listen to it. I don’t know what I would do without him.
The funeral ends, and my grandmother finally releases my hand. I hug her briefly before excusing myself. As we make our way toward Grayson’s car, people stop to give me their condolences. I fake a smile and thank each one of them. However, when we finally get through the large group, a familiar face catches me off guard.