Tore Up (Mississippi Smoke Series Book 1)
Tore Up: Chapter 11

Than was sitting on the sectional with his elbows resting on his thighs and his head hanging forward when I walked back into the great room. He looked up at me the moment he heard my boot hit the hardwood. I’d not wanted to tell him about her with her present. I had known the moment he heard her name, it would click. He was the one who had heard Crosby’s last word. It had been bothering him. He’d said it looked like Crosby was begging him to understand just before he took his last breath.

“It all makes sense now,” he said. “That last month before, he was so different. At times, he would look so fucking happy, and then there were times when he looked agitated, like he couldn’t get away fast enough. It was her. He tried to tell me.”

“He loved Saylor,” I said, stalking past him.

“Did he though?”

Than’s words made me stop.

“Yeah, he did.” My words sounded more like a snarl.

“Sure, I mean, he loved her. The way we all love her. She’s our friend. Our family. But, Bane”—he turned around and looked up at me—“I don’t think he was in love with her. He was dying and didn’t even look her way. He didn’t say her name. It’s something I didn’t think about at the time, but I have since. He knew Halo was pregnant, didn’t he?”

I nodded. We hadn’t talked about all the details of his last few moments. Until now, I hadn’t wanted to hear it. Fuck, I still didn’t want to think about it. The fresh wave of grief it caused was the reason why I’d not asked.

“I walked in on him talking on the phone to a realtor the day before the shooting. I asked him if he was moving out of the compound. He shrugged and told me it was nothing, not to worry about it. I wondered if Saylor was pressuring him to get a place and get engaged. But … but he never talked about marriage to her anymore.”

“Then, he was a fool because that lying slut is the reason he got killed. Her fucking brother fired that shot because he’d found out she was pregnant.”

He paled. “What?”

“You heard me. I lost my brother, and that bitch is gonna lose hers,” I said through clenched teeth.

Than stood up. “I agree he needs to die, and I want to be there when it happens. But it isn’t her fault.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. Was he fucking serious? “Yeah, it is.”

He shook his head. “I am almost one hundred percent sure that Crosby loved her.”

“Well, it fucking got him killed,” I bit out.

I was done with this conversation. My dad would be calling soon. I had him and my mom to deal with, and then there would be Saylor. None of them were going to want me to keep Halo here. I didn’t give a fuck what they wanted, but it was still drama I had to face.

“He wouldn’t have wanted you to blame her, and you know it,” he called out behind me.

I said nothing. There were only so many things I was willing to do when it came to her. Forgiving her was not one of them.