As it was, they had about five minutes before I stormed out and called the police or lit a fire. I only agreed to come inside because they’d mentioned talking to Herc and it felt like a failure to leave Deception Valley without meeting him once.
“Andie, is it?”
The temptation to reply with No, I’m Rhona, was real.
The red-haired man I knew to be Hercules Thana moved past my chair to the heavyset desk that occupied most of the huge study.
He faced me, and I clutched the armrests.
Oh. My. God.
His expression mirrored my shock.
My fingers itched toward the picture in my pocket. The similarities between Hercules and my mother—his hair, for starters, and the sloped shape of his face—were more obvious in person. She’d had emerald irises like mine, and his were a clear blue, but the shape was the same.
This guy was just shorter than me, the same height as Mum.
“Yes, I’m Andie. I came to see you. I—” Quickly reaching into my back pocket, I drew out the picture, laying it flat. “You’re in this picture with my mother. Did you know her? Her name was Ragna Booker?”
I held my breath.
The man seemed stuck in a trance.
Did he not remember her?
“I’m—” He broke off, shaking his head. “—so sorry. This is a shock. Ragna, your mother is my sister.”
Shoot. I really hadn’t considered this next part. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. She passed around ten days ago. Mum battled bone cancer for five years.”
The man squeezed his blue eyes shut, turning to the large windows that looked out over expansive and manicured lawn.
I studied his back.
Such an emotional response. Yet Mum didn’t keep in touch with him. Judging by his surprise, Hercules never knew I existed until this moment.
“Was she in pain at the end?” he asked.
Did he want the honest answer?
Hercules cut me a flat look over his shoulder. “The truth, please.”
In my experience, people mostly wanted the nice, tidy answer. “It takes a lot of morphine to lessen pain that deep. She wasn’t always lucid in the last few weeks because of the medication. She’s out of pain now.”
The matter-of-fact words rolled off my tongue—the only way I could deliver them. Cancer was a bitch like that. I’d lost my mother and she’d left a gaping hole in my heart. But my grief encompassed the five years I’d cared for her, the times I thought I couldn’t make it through the day, and the constant nagging guilt that I could have eased her pain by trying harder.
Her cancer killed her in five years. The sickness would go on in my heart.
I watched his shoulders shake and had to dig my nails into my thigh to avoid joining him. After the terrifying ordeal and a long day driving, bawling seemed like a fucking great idea.
Hercules drew a hand over his face. Grabbing a tissue from the desk, he blew his nose.
“I didn’t expect that,” the early-fifties man croaked. “Andie, I’m so very sorry for your loss.”
His reaction wasn’t faked. He was distraught. It just didn’t jive given the situation.
What happened here, Mum?
Standing, I extended a hand. “I’m Andie Charise Booker.”
That floored the poor guy all over again, and sympathy panged deep for him. At least I’d had a few days to process that my mother had a life I knew nothing about.
“Hercules Thana,” he murmured. “Charise was our mother’s name.”
Oddly, I did know that. Mum always told stories about her.
He rubbed his forehead. “Sorry, your last name’s Booker. Did Ragna marry?”
“No. My father left us when I was three. I guess she just changed it.”
People didn’t just change their damn name. And Mum purposely hid the truth, lying to me about her birth certificate all those years ago. Then there was the first will too.
Mum didn’t want me to find Deception Valley.
I could only fathom the reason was to do with Dropkick. But I shouldn’t discount that it was to do with Hercules.
“I see. It sounds like your life hasn’t been easy,” he said slowly.
I couldn’t recall anyone speaking those words to me. The comment was something a responsible adult said to a child. If not an abandoned one, then one whose mother had a rampant gambling addiction, or one caring single-handedly for her ill mother.
Shifting my attention to the shelves, I put more space between us.
“I came because of the picture,” I replied, ignoring his comment. “Her birth certificate mentioned Deception Valley and the name Thana too.” I’d keep the discovery of the old will to myself for now. My mother’s last wish seemed too personal to share with her estranged brother. “I’d like to find out more about the place my mother’s from while I’m here.”
“I’m happy to tell you everything I know.” He perched on the desk. “You may also be interested to learn why she left and why I didn’t know you existed?”
Okay, I liked his straight-forward manner. “Yes. I would. As far as I was aware, Mum had no family.”
A shadow crossed his gaze. “I’d be curious about it too. However, it’s late, and I want to make sure our conversation isn’t rushed. Could you meet here tomorrow at, say, ten?”
Hmm, could I fit that into my crazy schedule? “Not a problem.”
His faced turned grim. “Now, Eleanor told me you were attacked in the forest. Could you tell me what happened?”
Shit, I’d genuinely forgotten that dirt covered me from head to toe and I spent most of my evening lost and trapped. I exhaled. “Right, yeah. I came here to talk to you, and someone offered to help, but laser tag started before I found you. I ended up lost in the forest, then some huge guy attacked me and shoved me in a hole.”
“Was he wearing black?” he asked.
I frowned. “Dark jeans and a dark-green flannel shirt. Why?”
“He wasn’t from our side.”
“I mean, I’m more concerned with what he did, actually. Not what side he was from.”
Hercules leaned back in the leather chair. “You know that we play laser tag every Wednesday?”
I cocked a brow. “Yes.”
“It’s an old tradition here due to a long-held grudge between the two families in this town. A hundred years back, the feud was tearing Deception Valley in half. They decided to focus the anger into something that wouldn’t affect other families in the area.”
“Laser tag,” I said doubtfully.
A shadow of a smile graced his face. “It used to be a far more violent version of the game. Even now, our version of laser tag is far more complex than the one you may know.”
Me? Know laser tag? Laser tag cost money, so that was a big, fat no.
His blue gaze bore into mine. “In our game, teams win points for hitting the other side with their laser fire. They also win points for trapping members of the opposing team. Most often, the traps involve nets or rope, but some traps have been built into the playing field over the years. We’re usually very careful about ensuring other members of town aren’t caught in the crossfire. I imagine you were granted access to the grounds because you look a lot like one of our players, Rhona.”