JAXSON.
I was still sitting at the table, staring at the empty seat Tessa had just left, when Cole walked in from the hallway. His face looked serious, different from his usual lazy grin.
“Dad wants to see you,” he said.
I looked up. “Now?”
He nodded once. “Yeah. Study.”
I sighed and pushed my chair back. Ryder was already gone, so that meant he was probably there too. The way everyone had acted when Tessa mentioned her father’s name hadn’t left my mind. There was something there, something they all knew and weren’t saying.
I followed Cole through the hall, past the living room. When we reached the study, the door was already half-open. Ryder stood by the window with his arms crossed, and my father was seated behind his desk, a cigarette burning slowly between his fingers. The air in
