Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Jace raked a hand through his hair. “Right, but how did she know to come here? It’s not widely known that Roan is my cousin. I mean, everyone online only knows him by his artist name, and it’s never been made public that Elias is his brother.”
“Right, that is cause for concern, and something your dad will get to the bottom of.”
I was about to ask if the impersonator had been requesting money since that was normally a part of these sort of catfishing scams, but then Jace’s other bandmates, Angus and Kami, joined us. I stepped back to let Jace and his mam explain what was going on, not keen on interacting with these two since they’d always disliked me.
Angus and I’d had a certain rivalry that dated back to when we were teenagers. The Fields house was my safe place, but then when Jace and Angus became friends at school, it had become quickly apparent that Angus’ parents were abusive and neglectful. Jay and Matilda had let him stay with them whenever he’d needed, and eventually, he’d ended up moving in with them for a time. I’d been jealous that he got to live with them while I had to return to the cold mausoleum next door every night. Angus had thought I was spoiled and didn’t need to be at Jace’s house so often because my parents were rich, and I lived in luxury, while his mother and father had actively abused him.
Looking back, I understood why he’d felt that way. From the outside, I must have seemed like a girl who had everything. In reality, I’d been a lonely girl longing for someone to love me.
Anyway, as we’d grown older, that rivalry faded, only to be replaced with a new kind of resentment, at least on Angus’ part. I personally had no problem with him or Kami; however, they saw me as a sort of “Yoko” figure, even though I’d never done anything to try and interfere with the band. Unfortunately, in their eyes, divorcing Jace was my cardinal sin.
Jace must’ve noticed me trying to leave because suddenly he called, “Shannon?”
“I just need the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
He studied me a long moment, clearly not believing that I wasn’t trying to flee. I mean, he had his family and his bandmates here. He didn’t need me.
“All right, but don’t leave, okay?”
“I’m not leaving,” I said, feeling guilty because that was exactly what I’d been trying to do. Instead, I went to the bathroom because I actually did need to go. When I returned, Jace’s dad had reappeared, and behind him, I saw his Aunt Lille assisting the redheaded woman outside and into a waiting car. Alison turned back to the gallery, her eyes desperately searching for Jace, but he had his head down, talking seriously with his father. Something uncomfortable unfurled within me. I didn’t like this woman believing she and Jace were in love, but more than that, I was angry that some faceless person was going about impersonating him without his knowledge.
Jay ran a hand down his face. “Let’s go sit down in private so we can talk properly.”
Jace and his mam followed him before Jace paused to look around. “Where’s Shannon?” As soon as he spotted me he motioned me over. “Can you stay?”
There was a pleading in his eyes that I couldn’t say no to, so I bobbed my head. “Of course.”
A minute later, I was sitting in a small room at the back of the gallery with Jace, his parents, his three bandmates, as well as Roan and his father, Jack. I sat on a narrow sofa next to Jace, our thighs pressed together. It was crowded to say the least, and I didn’t necessarily feel like I needed to be here, but then I recalled Jace saying how it didn’t make sense that this woman even knew he’d be at the gallery tonight. That meant the catfish knew personal details about Jace’s day to day life that weren’t explicitly public knowledge. That could also mean they knew things about our daughter. Everyone knew that Jace had a child, but we’d both always agreed to keep Zara’s name and image private.
Fear and worry curdled my stomach. Whatever was going on, I refused to let it affect Zara. I would protect her at all costs.
“So,” Jay began, looking around the room as he seemed to formulate how he wanted to convey the information he’d gathered. “As we’ve already deduced, someone on the internet is pretending to be you, Jace, and they’ve lured at least one woman into a scam relationship.”
Beside me, Jace exhaled a long, stressed out breath, and I found myself touching his hand again, hoping to soothe him. He glanced at me in appreciation, and I looked away, unable to take the intensity in his gaze. I was only trying to comfort him, but he seemed to be reading a lot more into the simple touch.