The Dirty Truth by Winter Renshaw

Author:Winter Renshaw [Renshaw, Winter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Montlake
Published: 2022-06-13T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

WEST

I’m pacing the foyer when Elle and Scarlett arrive. An hour ago, Elle phoned me to let me know she’d finally heard from my niece and that she’d be delivering her personally. Apparently she was with her “friend” Piper, who had decided to meet up with some boys. Scarlett knew I’d say no, so she turned off her phone.

But evidently, after dragging her to some park on the Lower East Side, Piper ditched her when her old group of friends showed up.

Scarlett, not knowing where she was, went to turn her phone back on—but the battery had died. After that, she found a Duane Reade, where a kindly cashier let her charge her phone on his personal charger in the break room.

Afraid of facing my wrath, the second she was powered up again, she called Elle.

The entire thing sounds terribly . . . convenient.

I haven’t had a chance to sort fact from fiction.

“Uncle West, I—” Scarlett begins to protest a verbal lashing I haven’t even begun to deliver.

“Go to your room.” My jaw clenches so tight it sends a shock of pain down my neck.

“But I—” she attempts again.

I lift a hand. “Honestly, Scarlett. I’m too upset to speak to you right now. And I’m afraid of what I’d say if I even tried. Go to your room. We’ll talk in the morning, when I’ve calmed down.”

Scarlett shoots Elle a look, who simply nods with a pained wince—as if she’s in agreement that it’s the best course of action for all involved.

Skulking to the elevator, Scarlett slams a palm on the call button before disappearing between the double doors.

Dragging in a long breath, I wait for my vision to change from red to clear again before turning to Elle.

“Thank you,” I say. “I’m not good at this . . . feeling-like-my-heart-is-walking-around-outside-my-body thing. I shouldn’t have been so demanding before; I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Her blue eyes slide to the tile floor, and she wrings her hands. “West, I’m sorry, but I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Scarlett has some complexities that I wasn’t really prepared for. Every time I think I’m making progress with her, she does something like this. I think it’s time to consult a professional.”

“Don’t you think I’ve already done that?”

Her gaze flicks to mine. “Maybe try someone more specialized?”

“When she first came here, she met three times a week with a three-thousand-dollar-an-hour so-called specialist who couldn’t break through and ended treatment after two months of making zero progress,” I say. “It’s the Maxwell in her. We’re obstinate. The stubbornness is simply bred into us.” I step toward her, closing the space between us. “But if you turn your back on her now, Elle, you’ll just be another name on a list.”

Clasping her hands over her heart, she frowns. “That would’ve been nice to know before . . .”

“You’d have walked away. Any sane person would,” I say, then pause. “Through your columns over the years, I’ve

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