After the Ex Games (The Ex Games #4)(21)
Author: J.S. Cooper

Chapter 14

Brandon

“What’s that commotion?” I walked into the living room, looking for Katie.

“Hey.” Greyson nodded at me, and I smiled.

“You’re back.”

“Yes.” He gave me a look and I frowned, not understanding what he was trying to tell me. I looked around the room and that was when I saw Meg and Katie standing over another girl. “Meg and I are back. We brought Nancy with us.”

“Oh.” I froze, not sure what to say. “Welcome.”

“Nancy was held at gunpoint by David.” Meg gave me a look. “He nearly killed her.”

“What?” I didn’t know what else to say as I stared at her.

“I’m okay.” She offered up a weak smile, but she didn’t make eye contact with me. The room was silent for a few minutes as we all stood there, no one knowing what to say. I stood there awkwardly in the corner of the room, not really knowing what to do.

“Patsy was the one who approached me.” Nancy spoke up finally and I looked over at her again. “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. It was all her idea.”

“What was her idea?” I walked over to her, my heart in my mouth.

“She approached David first,” Nancy continued. “She didn’t tell him everything at first. Just told him that she knew what had happened to Maria and she thought it was wrong. She told him she could get him a job at the club and that they could bring you and Greyson down.”

“I see.” I sat down next to her, and Greyson sat on the other side.

“Are you okay, Nancy?” Meg asked. “You don’t have to do this now if you’re not up for it.”

“No, I want to.” She looked at the ground. “I’ve been waiting to talk about it for a while now.”

“Okay.” Meg nodded and then walked over to Katie and held her hand.

Katie smiled at her weakly and they took a seat. This was it then. We were all going to discuss it.

“She knew about me all along. I guess she and Maria had been good friends,” Nancy continued. “She thought if I came to the club, it would be great. She thought I’d want revenge as well. She wanted it to be the three of us bringing down the club. She wanted to see you and Greyson pay.”

“I see.”

“I didn’t know what to think.” Her face turned red. “She didn’t tell me the truth until the day I disappeared. She saw that I was getting close to Meg. She was scared that I wouldn’t go ahead with anything because of Meg. She knew Meg was hooking up with Greyson. She hated that. She wanted me to put something in Meg’s food.” She looked pale as she spoke. “But I told her no, Meg. I told her no.”

“I know.” Meg nodded. “I know you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“When she told me the truth right as I was walking outside, I threw up. She told me to go and lie down. She told me that I should just be by myself. She said she’d back.”

“I was wondering how you disappeared so quickly,” Meg said, nodding. “It seemed to happen in minutes.”

“I didn’t know what to think or feel.” Nancy nodded. “I cried and cried and cried and agreed with her and David that I wanted some sort of revenge, though really all I wanted to know was why.” Her voice caught and she looked at me quickly. I felt my heart racing and I saw Greyson giving me a closed look. This was a lot harder than I’d thought it was going to be.

“I was worried about you, Meg, so I quickly wrote a note and that diary to leave you clues. I didn’t want Patsy or David to get suspicious if they found them though, so I added in other stories.”

“Thank you for doing that, Nancy.” Meg’s voice cracked, and it was then that I realized that they really had a close connection.

“She hated you so much. She was so jealous that you were with Greyson. She was so confident that he was just with you for fun, but then she realized that he seemed to be falling for you. She hated you with a passion and it made her hate Greyson even more. And that of course made her hate you even more.” She looked at me. “She told me and David that you tricked her into sleeping with you one night and that was why Greyson had ended things with her. She told us that you ruined her relationship with him and she would never forgive you for that.” She looked away then and glanced at Katie. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, and Katie walked over to her.

“Don’t be sorry, my dear.” Katie kneeled down and hugged her. “Don’t you ever be sorry for telling the truth.”

Nancy stared at her in surprise, and I could see fresh tears in her eyes. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure!” Katie nodded and reached over, grabbing my hand and squeezing. “Please continue.”

“So she told me that I’d been used and discarded as well.” Her breath caught. “She said it wasn’t right what you guys had done to me. She said we had to make you pay. We had to hurt you as you’d hurt us. I didn’t know what to think. My life had been turned upside down. I told her I’d work with her. I wanted to hurt you both as well. At least, that’s what I thought in the beginning. Then I realized I just wanted to meet you. I just wanted to talk with you. I just wanted to say hello to my father.” She paused then and Greyson and I looked at each other.

The room went silent, and we all sat there waiting for someone to say something. It was as if no one knew what to say. It was then that I noticed that no one seemed shocked. There had been no gasps. Everyone knew the truth. I looked at Greyson again and he nodded. He’d told Meg. I couldn’t be mad. I’d told Katie. I understood why he had. Why we’d both had to. Our love for our women was greater than our need to keep it a secret.

I reached over and grabbed Nancy’s hand, and she looked up at me with big, wide eyes.

“Well, here I am, Nancy. Go ahead and say hello. I’m sure you know by now that I’m your father.”

Chapter 15

Unknown/Nancy

“I’m your father.”

I stared at Brandon as he said the words I’d been waiting to hear. It felt surreal staring into his eyes. I could almost see myself in his face.

“That’s weird.” I laughed uncomfortably and looked down. “I mean, to hear you say that. It sounds weird. I didn’t even know about you.”

“It’s okay.” Brandon squeezed my hand. His fingers felt warm and soft, and I looked up at him again. “I understand how you feel.”