Page 6 of Best Laid Plans

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Page 6 of Best Laid Plans

I hadn't wanted to believe it, but the security feed didn't lie. Nova had been in the library where the safe was that afternoon after she left my bed.

When Deputy Sheriff Pete Fontaine searched Nova's place, he found a brooch and a bracelet. Pete was a friend, and the Fontaines were an old Georgia family like the Larues. They'd lost their money, but they were still committed to the well-being of the people. Pete's Daddy was the Sheriff, and now so was Pete, after his father retired.

I hadn't planned to go see her after Pete arrested her. But I couldn't help myself. She'd been asking for me, begging. So, I went. Heartbroken, angry, and feeling like a fucking fool.

Alma, my sister, and Bailey, my ex, had both been compassionate when they didn't have to be. They'd both warned me about Nova, but I'd been so in love with her, so taken by her, that I'd not listened.

I stood outside the cold metal bars of Nova's jail cell, a storm of emotions churning inside me. The sight of her in that dismal place, her eyes wide with fear and defiance, was almost too much to bear. I had come to confront her, to get answers, but now that I was here, my heart ached with a pain I hadn't anticipated.

"Anson," she pleaded, gripping the bars with white-knuckled desperation. "You have to believe me. I didn't steal anything. I'd never do that. Please tell me you know that."

I wanted to believe her. I really did. But the evidence was damning. Pete had found my grandma's brooch and bracelet hidden in her rundown apartment on the wrong side of town—the part of Sentinel where people like Nova were supposed to live on nothing but broken dreams and shattered hopes. It had been my mistake to try to get her out of there, because maybe that's what she deserved.

"Stop lying, Nova," I snapped, my voice colder than I intended. "Do you think I'm a fool?"

Her eyes filled with tears. "How can you think that of me? After last night?"

"Is that what last night was about? You selling your virginity to me?" I demanded, pain roaring inside me. How could she have done this to me? I loved her. I'd have given her anything. She didn't have to steal from my family.

She took a step back, her hand on her heart.

She was in her diner uniform—Pete had arrested her at work. Even in that horrible gray shirt dress, she managed to look beautiful. Even with tears running down her cheeks, she was stunning.

"Did you think stealing that jewelry was payment for your virgin pussy?" I shouted.

She gasped and stared at me like she was seeing a stranger.

Yeah, Sugar, I'm not the man you know anymore. I'm Anson Fucking Larue, and no one fucks with me.

"I'd have given you money if you asked. You were worth it, babe." I knew she hated being called babe. "But stealing my grandma's jewelry? Where is the ring, Nova?"

She shook her head as if she couldn't believe what was happening. Well, she should.

"I never took anything," she whispered.

"You were in the library. I saw the security footage."

She frowned. "I…when?"

"When you left my bed, bitch."

She winced. "I…was lost. That's all. But I left right away."

She'd had to leave because she had a shift at the diner, and I'd let her go on her own. I should've walked her the fuck out. But I was sleepy after a night of fucking awesome sex and…I trusted her.

"The jewelry was found in your apartment. How else do you explain that?"

She held my gaze, unflinching. "I don't know. I swear to you, Anson, I didn't do this."

I clenched my fists, trying to steady the rage that was threatening to overwhelm me. "And why should I believe you? You're no better than your mother. She was a whore, and so are you."

The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. A flicker of hurt crossed Nova's face, and she took a step back, her hands falling away from the bars.

"How dare you," she whispered, her voice trembling.

"Why, Nova?" I asked, my voice breaking. "Why did you do it? If you needed something, anything, you could have just asked. I would've given you the world."

Tears streamed down her face now, but she stood tall, her chin lifted in defiance. "I didn't steal anything from you. I didn't take anything from you, ever. I don't know how to make you believe me, but that's the truth."


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