Deven’s phone buzzed again, probably for the fourth time. Maybe it was the fifth. She’d lost track. The air in the office was now stifling as it hummed with an ominous tension that had her climbing to her feet. She had just wanted answers. She didn’t know those answers would come with a slew of skeletons and webs of deceit. But she couldn’t close Pandora’s Box just yet.

“I need that address to the townhome, if you don’t mind,” Deven said. She would have to go see this place. Even if it didn’t yield any results, it was vital she researched it anyway.

Paul nodded. “I’ll text it to you,” he said. “So now what?”

“I don’t know,” Deven admitted. “But you’ve given me some new things to consider. I’ll have to see what to do with that.”

“Okay. Well, is there anything I can do to help?”

“You’ve done a lot.” Deven started to hug him, decided against it, and instead backed away to the door. Something about knowing he was in love with her sister made the appreciative gesture extremely invasive. “If you could just get me that address. And maybe the phone number you had for her. Really anything you think would be helpful so I can figure this thing out. Thanks, Paul.”

“No problem. And Deven,” he added once she was at the door. His voice had softened, his next two words almost like a whisper. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t know what he was apologizing for. Her tragic circumstances, his part in the chaos, falling in love with another woman . . . The comment was loaded, like he was telling her nothing and everything in the simplest of ways. All Deven could do was reply with a brisk nod before making her hasty exit. She wasn’t strong enough to face him again after the weighted admission.

Deven raced back through the office, the parking lot, and expelled a jagged breath only when she’d made it back to the safety of her car. She’d managed to suppress as much as she could and now, she just felt completely depleted. And numb. The evening air had chilled a few degrees and Deven now shook in her seat. She cranked her car and a blast of air hit her face, first ice cold and then heating to warm her skin. This was enough for the day—hell the year if she was being honest. She would go home and regroup. Get some rest. And she needed nourishment. Deven couldn’t even remember the last time she ate. Maybe then she could come up with a plan. But one thing for sure and two things for certain, this was definitely becoming way more than she could handle alone.