“There is only one way I’m going to get to the truth.” I turn to grab my phone. I quickly text Cherry, asking if she’s done with work. When she replies that she is, I tell her to get over to the house. She questions me, which nearly causes me to throw the phone against the wall, but I manage to restrain myself.
Just get over here.
“You just showed your hand,” Pops says.
“I don’t care. I need to get to the bottom of this.”
“Sometimes there is no bottom.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“What is what supposed to mean?” Antony asks. “Boss, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Not talking to you.” I nod my head in Pops’ direction as I keep staring at the phone.
Antony and Threes glance at each other, clearly confused. Once I tell them that I’ve told Cherry to come over here, they both nod slowly.
“Do you want us to be here when she comes?”
“No. I want you both to keep digging. There has to be more information out there, and I need it immediately. I’ll talk to Cherry.”
“Whatever you want, Nate.”
“Do you want me to keep close?” Threes asks.
“I…I don’t know.” I shake my head. The only reason to have Threes remain nearby is if I’m going to do something…drastic. I can’t think about that—not now. Not yet.
I wait, still looking at the phone, but Cherry doesn’t reply to my last text. I hope that means she’s on her way over to my house, not to the west side of town and the arms of the Ramsays.
I look over to the wall near Pops’ portrait, but he’s managed to leave the room without my seeing him.
Apparently, I’m on my own for this one.
Chapter 18—Confrontation
Eyes closed, I coil my fingers around the velvet box and try to keep myself from hurling it across the room. I can’t stop myself from thinking about proposing to her. I keep seeing the image of myself holding out the ring and the look on her face when she realizes what’s happening—an image that may now be a fantasy never to come to fruition.
Cherry is on her way here now, and I have no idea how to confront her with what I’ve learned. Where do I even start? Her internet date, her connection to the Ramsays, or the fact that I feel like she’s ripped open my chest and carved up my heart with a razor blade?
“Just lay it out there,” Pops says. “Tell her you know everything, and let her condemn herself.”
“Shouldn’t I give her a chance to explain? What if she doesn’t know?”
“She knows. She’s a Ramsay, and she’s known it all along. It all makes sense to you now; you just don’t want to admit it.”
I swallow hard. It does make sense. Cherry is a Ramsay. She knows she’s a Ramsay. She came here to get under my skin. She came here to infiltrate my family.
“Micha died because of her,” Pops whispers in my ear, and then he’s gone.
My limbs turn to ice, and a shudder runs through me. I try to swallow again, but my throat tightens up on me. Nora was right. I was really falling for Cherry, and I’m already starting to feel the loss of her on top of Micha’s passing and…
I blink, trying to figure out where that last thought was going, but I can’t seem to remember what was happening in my head. I need to focus on the here and now, not the past.
Antony sticks his head into the office and gives me a nod.
“She’s pulling up now,” he says.
I clear my throat and shake my head to clear it.
“Get the door,” I tell him. “Bring her back here.”
“Sure, boss.”
I move around the desk and sit in Pops’ chair, staring at the documents in front of me. Maybe there is some way that all of this doesn’t tie Cherry to the Ramsay family, but I can’t see it. Clearly, my brother had suspicions about her, and those suspicions might have been the prelude to his murder.
I tighten my grip around the velvet box once more before shoving it back into the desk drawer. A moment later, Antony and Threes walk in with a confused-looking Cherry between them.
“I do know the way,” Cherry says with a scowl in my cousin’s direction. “I hardly need an escort.” When Antony doesn’t reply, she turns to me. “Nate, what is going on?”
“Leave us.” I wave my hand dismissively. “You both have work to do.”
Antony and Threes nod before they exit the office, shutting the door behind them. I stare at Cherry, trying to find something in her expression that tells me she’s faking this—something that tells me she knows exactly why she’s here.
I find nothing in her expression but confusion.
I gesture to the couch on the other side of the desk, wanting to keep my distance, but Cherry ignores me and stays where she is. She places her hands on her hips and scowls at me.
“Nataniele, what is going on here? Why did you order me here like this?”
Without a word, I push the copy of her birth certificate found in Micha’s file toward her. She takes a step forward to peer at it, and I see a glimmer of recognition in her eyes.
“What is all this?” she asks. “Who is Cherice Montgomery?”
“That’s the birth certificate used to create your forgery,” I say bluntly. “You haven’t seen it before?”
“Of course I haven’t seen it,” she says as she examines the document a little closer. “Is this a…a relative of mine or something? Like, a real relative?”
I narrow my eyes at
