It was her turn to eye him. “You’re obviously feeling better, smart-ass. Anything I need to know?”
He shook his head. “The pills started to work. I had to go back and get some more, didn’t get back here till late. You were passed out in the bed.”
“It was a long day. Meghan did a search online and found some news about Derek Allen. Did you ever see the guy you overheard talking about Josh?”
“Yeah, though I don’t think he saw me. Dark, Mediterranean dark. Greek or Italian like. My height. Probably fifty-five, sixty. Silver hair.”
“That sounds like the guy who was at the hospital. That’s Derek Allen.”
And then Aubrey remembered where she’d seen him before. The accident. She couldn’t believe the penny hadn’t dropped before now. It was the hair: he’d gone completely gray over the past five years.
“What is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Uh, maybe I have. I just now realized Derek Allen is the man we rear-ended the day Josh went missing.”
Tyler’s eyes went to the table. “I don’t know about you, Aubrey, but I don’t believe in coincidences.”
She touched his hand. “Neither do I.”
“There’s something I have to tell you.”
She pulled back, shoved her hands in her pockets. Something in his voice . . .
“What is it?”
He hesitated, then the words poured out of him. “Josh. His death. It’s my fault.”
Aubrey took a deep breath and sat down. “What do you mean?”
“Dude who gave me info on Derek Allen? He was a guy I knew years ago, back when I ran with the G2 crew. We were looking for alternate revenue streams. I mentioned Josh worked at Vandy and had access to all kinds of great drugs. I didn’t know he was going to tell anyone, especially not this Allen dude. I was just bragging. I got popped the next week, hadn’t talked to him again until now. That’s why I slipped, I had to use to make him trust me. At first, he thought I was a narc.”
Aubrey shut her eyes. There it was. The key. The link. What she’d been missing all along. The how behind Josh’s downfall.
A coldness filled her. How simple and cavalier he’d been with Josh’s life. Tyler, her brother, her helper, had betrayed her savior.
Something in her felt like it was going to burst.
Pull it together. Don’t do something you’ll regret.
Tyler reached over and grabbed her hand. “Aubrey, I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. I’d do anything to go back and redo that conversation. I had no idea it was going to end up this way.”
“You’re the link. You’re the reason he’s dead,” she said softly, and his face went ashen. Tears came to his eyes.
“Aubrey, forgive me, please. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was so fucked up back then.”
She nodded once, removed her hand from his. Stood up. “Thank you for telling me. I’m glad the methadone is working. I’m glad you’re feeling better. I have to go, Meghan is waiting for me.”
His face collapsed into a grimace. “I will never understand what you see in her.”
Her voice was steady. “She was there for me when I had no one. I will never understand why you don’t like her. She’s never been anything but nice to you.”
“Something about her I don’t trust. You be careful around her. I’m going to go lie down. That is, if it’s cool that I crash here for a while? I completely understand if you want me to leave, and never see me again. If I were you, I’d want me dead.”
She did. God, she did.
She was fighting hard against the fear, the worry, the pain. The overwhelming desire to grab her kitchen knife and slice her foster brother’s throat. But she didn’t. It took all her effort, but she found the calm inside. At least she knew now how this had happened. Knowing made it easier.
And with everything that was going on, Tyler and his very -loaded weapon couldn’t hurt. Tyler had been her bodyguard before. It was his turn to watch her back again.
“Clean up after yourself, and let Winston out, would you?”
“When will you be back?”
“Soon.”
He scrutinized her, his dark blue eyes running over her face, making her flush.
“Are you really okay, Aubrey? I know you’re upset. You have every right to kick me out.”
She patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll be fine. If you find anything else out about Allen, let me know immediately. I’ll be back in a bit.”
He hesitated, then gave her a hauntingly familiar half smile. “Bring some food, yeah? You eat like a single white girl.”
“Shocking, Tyler. I am a single white girl.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Just bring home some meat or something. Lean Cuisines and cereal can’t sustain a growing boy.”