Dalton got up from the bed. Refusing to look at her, he tugged his jeans on. She flung out words, desperate for him to understand. “Dalton, please listen to me. At first, I was in shock and angry when I found out who you were. I was going to tell you to never come back. For years I’ve been bitter and resentful over how my father died. I was young when I lost him, and I blamed your mother. I never knew what really happened and why he would’ve left.”
“And you thought I had more information,” he said tonelessly. “That’s why you started finally talking to me. That’s why you allowed me to do the work on the bar.”
She nodded, miserable. “Yes, I’m not going to lie about that. You kept asking me out, and I thought I might be able to learn some crucial pieces to this puzzle that’s haunted me for the last eight years.”
He shook his head and laughed humorlessly. “And you think I know more about the accident than you? You don’t think I’ve had my own shit storm to get through, knowing my mother was manipulated by your father to run off with him?”
“It wasn’t like that,” she said hotly. “This whole time, I thought your mother seduced him! But I think we’re both terribly wrong, Dalton. This was more than a casual hookup or impulsive decision. I also know my father never would’ve left me for good. From what you’ve told me about your mother, it’s the same way. I think there’s much more to this story that we haven’t figured out.”
He rubbed his hands over his forehead, cursing viciously under his breath. “That would be convenient for you, wouldn’t it? You’d feel better about lying to me and realizing your father broke up a marriage and a family.”
“I’m not going to start trading insults about our parents,” she said softly. “Aren’t you tired of living your life blaming someone who won’t ever be able to give you answers? I’m tired. Tired of the nightmares, and anger, and hate. Don’t you realize you taught me there’s so much more for us? We don’t have to let our parents’ past dictate our future. Yes, I started off wanting more information, but every day I spent with you, I fell deeper and deeper. Nothing between us was a lie, Dalton. I fell in love with you.”
He just stared at her. She shifted under the sheets, almost wishing he’d be angry. Yelling would be so much better than this icy silence and calculating gaze as he assessed her. “Let me make sure I’ve got your story straight now,” he said, his tone mocking. “You decide to do an undercover operation and spend time with me to gain knowledge about my mother. You try to gather information from my brothers and my family, using me and my interest in you as bait. Were you willing to sleep with me for it?”
She raised her chin, ignoring the cold, hard piece of ice lodged in her gut. He had every right to be angry and cruel. She owed him the truth with no excuses. “No, sleeping with you was never in the plan. You got the job for the bar because you asked for it and were the best. I decided the time we spent together could be useful.”
“Useful. I like that word.” His gaze flicked over her in disgust. “What were you going to do when you confirmed my mother was a lying, conniving bitch?”
She flinched. “At first, I wanted to restore my father’s reputation. After the accident, your family ruined his name, spreading cruel rumors about him seducing and killing your mother. I was destroyed. I had no money or family name, like you did, and couldn’t fight back. That’s why I ran away all those years, to find myself and heal. I’d always wanted to get revenge by discovering the truth, proving my father was taken advantage of.”
“But now you don’t believe that.”
“No, I don’t. I think they were in love. I think there were other things between them we don’t know about, but that neither of them wanted to hurt anyone.”
“How generous of you to forgive them both. When did you decide your spy games were officially over? Last week? Tonight? A few moments ago?”
“The night of the break-in,” she said quietly. “I realized there was much more between us, and I didn’t want to sacrifice it for some strange sense of justified satisfaction. I wanted to get to know who you were, separate from your mother. And I did. Dalton, there were never any lies between us in bed, or with my emotions. I planned to tell you.”
His jaw clenched, and he spoke from between gritted teeth. “You planned to tell me, huh? I lay beside you and told you everything about my mother and the accident. Stuff I never shared with anyone else, because I fucking trusted you. Why didn’t you tell me that night, Raven?”
“I tried! I swear to God, I began talking, and then when I finished, I looked at you and you’d fallen asleep! So I promised myself I’d tell you the next morning, but you had to run out before we had a chance to talk.”
“Convenient. At least you’ve gotten the answers you need, Raven. Is that your real name? Or is it Bella?”