I turned in her hold and cupped her chin. "I need to take care of some business this afternoon, but I hope we can have dinner when I get back. I shouldn't be long."
Nina smiled up at me, blissfully unaware of where I was going. "Okay. I'm going to get working on the artwork for this nearly perfect suite, Mr. Stone. Don't worry. I'm on the job."
I couldn't help but smile. She did that to me. "I'm happy to hear it, Ms. Edwards. I'll expect a full report when I return then."
"Of course." She faked a bow and stood on her toes to kiss me. "Don't work too hard, okay? Tell whoever you're meeting that I'm going to have something to say to them if you come back here all grouchy because of work."
Kissing the tip of her nose, I promised not to work too hard. I couldn't promise I wouldn't be a miserable fuck when I returned, though. I hadn't been able to get all those terrible things Joseph Edwards had detailed in his notes out of my mind and what Judge Cashen's daughter had to say likely wouldn't make things better. But at least I'd know the full truth.
The concierge had a car service take me to Jessica Cashen's home in Alpharetta, and nearly an hour later I was standing on the front porch of her home with my heart in my throat. A cool breeze chilled me as it began to lightly rain. I rang the doorbell and balled up my shaking hands, bracing myself for what was to come.
The door opened and in front of me stood a woman I guessed wasn't even Nina's age. Maybe twenty-two, she had short blond hair and brown eyes that grew larger by the second as she stared at me. She was petite, but quickly I found out that small package was full of power.
"Who are you? How can you be here?" she asked in a voice seeped in rage.
I raised my hands in front of me in surrender, hoping to put her at ease. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. My name is Tristan and I was hoping to speak to you about your father."
"There's no way you can be standing here in front of me. Is this some kind of cruel joke? If so, I don't think it's funny."
She tried to slam the door on me, but I quickly stuffed my right foot next to the doorjamb and said quietly, "Please. I don't know what you're talking about, but it's very important I speak to you."
"Who are you?"
I looked in through the opening and saw a look of horror on her face. "Don't be scared. My name is Tristan Stone. I just want to talk. Please."
The look in her eyes told me she recognized my name. Slowly, she opened the door and her gaze scanned me up and down. Finally, she stopped on my face and narrowed her eyes to angry slits.
"You look just like him."
I didn't have to ask who she meant. Nodding, I said, "He was my twin."
"I heard he died. Is that true?" she asked with venom in her words.
"Yes."
"Good. I hope he suffered." She looked away and then faced me again. "I'm sorry. I just can't feel bad that he's gone."
"May we talk? I need some answers, and I'm hoping you can help me understand some things."
Silently, she welcomed me in and we sat in a small living room off the entryway with a small, unlit Christmas tree in the corner. I studied her for a moment as she did the same with me, and then I said what I guessed no one in my family had ever said to her. "I'm sorry about the deaths of your father and sister."
"I'm having a hard time believing you knew nothing about that, Mr. Stone. Your brother sure did."
"My brother and I were two very different people. I swear to you I knew nothing about what happened to your family. That's what I'm here for tonight."
Jessica Cashen sighed heavily and her mouth turned down into a frown. "You don't understand how hard it was to accept what your brother did. Even today, if I hear the name Taylor, I have a hard time not lashing out. My husband has been through so many nights of me being miserable over this I had to promise him I'd let it go."
"I understand, Jessica, but I need to know things only you can tell me. There's another person hurt by all this, and she'll be helped by what you tell me."
"Are you saying your brother did this to another girl too?"
I shook my head. "No, but there was another person hurt by my brother and father. What you can tell me about what happened may help her deal with the loss of her father."
"I'm sorry to hear someone else went through what my family had to endure. My mother died last year right in this house, never fully recovered from the shock of losing my sister and father just months apart. She just shriveled up."
"I'm so sorry."
She wiped a tear away and took a deep breath. "I'll tell you what I know. You'll have to fill in the blanks."
"Thank you." I sat back on the couch and listened as she began her story.
"My sister was only fifteen when she met your brother, Tristan. Even now as I look at you, I can see him. Those same brown eyes and look of money you both have. How old are you?"
"Twenty-nine."
"Did you like teenage girls when you were twenty-four? Your brother did. I never found out how he met her. I can't imagine why a fifteen year old girl, a freshman in high school, would be anywhere near where a grown man would be. Amanda was sweet and innocent, not in the way people say someone is but in reality they're out every night sleeping with anyone. She was still a virgin when she met him."
My stomach turned at the idea of being with a teenage girl when I was twenty-four.
"Wherever they met, she was crazy about him from the first night. I remember she came up to my room and told me she'd met someone. I thought she meant some boy at the mall. She told me his name was Taylor and he was gorgeous with big brown eyes she was sure were the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen. I bet you've heard that a lot too."
Jessica stopped for a moment and stared at me. "It's amazing how much you look like him. When I first saw you standing in my doorway, I wanted to lunge at you I was so angry. You're identical down to the shape of your face and even your teeth."
For the first time in my life, I hated the way I looked as she described Taylor through my features. "You met Taylor, I assume?"
"Once. It was then that I realized my sister had gotten into something that was going to be bad for her. I just didn't realize how bad."
"What happened to make things go bad?" I asked, knowing the basic outline of the story. My brother had gotten a teenage girl pregnant and like a coward, had turned his back on her and the baby. What I didn't know was why.
"She found out she was going to have his baby. I tried to convince her to have an abortion. She was only fifteen, for God's sake. I was nearly nineteen at the time and I couldn't have handled a baby. She was too young, but she wouldn't listen to me. She was in love with him and thought they'd get married and live happily after. I tried to explain things to her, but she just said over and over that he could take care of her. I guess she thought since he was wealthy that he'd do just that."