“Yeah. I know it is.” Her smile never wavered, I had to give her that, and she even smoothed back the frayed hair strands. “So,” now her eyes snapped to attention. She was going in for the kill. “I didn’t believe it when I was told, but tonight I saw it for own eyes. You and Carter Reed. Imagine that.”

“Yeah,” my tone chilled. “Imagine that.”

“That’s great. Well, if the reports are right. You know, if he got out of the mob and everything. But damn, Emma. I’m so proud of you.”

My smile was stretched thin. Did I have time to hurt this girl? “Proud of me?”

“Yes. He’s gorgeous. I mean, I know what he looks like, but he’s so much more in person. I can’t believe it.” Then a look twitched in her eye. Revenge? Anger? “And I heard that your brother was his best friend. That’s so nice of him to reach out to you, you know, to honor your brother’s memory. The media should really report how generous he must be.”

Nope. I caught it now. A smug pretentious look, that’s what it was.

“Really?” My eyebrow went up. My hand turned into a fist.

Amanda moved first. Damn her. She pushed me back. “I’m really sorry, but we have to get going. I’ll make sure to tell him your message.”

Tamra blinked. Her mouth opened a fraction.

Amanda finished, “I’m sure he’ll see it that way, that’s he’s being generous by being with his best friend’s sister. I’m sure he won’t take offense to that at all, but that’s my opinion. All I know is that he really loves Emma so I’m sure he won’t take it in the degrading way you actually mean it to be.”

A small growl came from me.

Amanda turned and pushed me back. “We’re going to the bathroom, remember?”

Yes. I had things to do. I’d never been friends with Tamra before, but now I wanted to yank her hair and slam her against the hallway. We were that type of friends now. And I knew there were so many others girls just like her.

“Let’s go.”

“Fine.” My teeth ground against each other. As we went further down the hallway, we came to another one and paused. I glanced over. “You know we’re not going to the bathroom.”

“Do we know where we’re going?”

“Nope” I answered.

“Okay.” She nodded. “Do we know what we’re doing?”

“Nope.”

“Is he doing mob stuff?”

“Yes.” I didn’t falter. She deserved to know what she was walking into.

“Glad we’re on the same page.”

I caught the disapproval in her tone and pulled her to a stop. Then I faced my now oldest friend besides Carter and hoped she saw how much this meant to me. “I love him.”

“I know.” But she faltered.

She didn’t. Or she didn’t believe it. I touched her arm again. “I grew up with him. He was family to me.”

“He abandoned you.”

Now the truth was out.

“No.” I shook my head.

“Yes, he did.” Her eyes grew hard. “I defended you just now, but he left you. And I know that he’s not with you because of your brother, but it still pisses me off that he left you in the first place. You told me stories about the foster homes, Emma. You’ve never mentioned Carter Reed at all, not until,” her voice lowered and she moved closer, “you know. So no, I don’t think he’s family and I don’t think he loves you.”

My mouth fell open. How could she think any of this? Thoughts and betrayal raced through me when she continued, “I think he wants you. Yes. I think that. But he wouldn’t love you because he wouldn’t have let you grow up alone. You were alone when I met you.”

“I had Mallory.”

“Who you took care of, all the time. You were alone.”

My eyes got big. I couldn’t believe Amanda said that.

She wasn’t finished. “I loved Mallory. I did. And I loved the group we had, all four of us, but you were my friend. I took care of her when you left. I did it for you. Mallory’s never taken care of you back. It’s always been one-sided, and I think you were just grateful she allowed that. So yes, Emma, you were alone until we became friends.”

I opened my mouth.

“And I haven’t left you now either. I know I’m roommates with Theresa. I know she’s taken me under her wing and I’ll always be grateful, but you are my best friend. You are my sister. That’s how it is, so even though I don’t approve of whatever you’re about to do, I’m still with you. I’m here. I’m with you.”

She ended it with a dramatic nod.

“Okay.” I didn’t know what else to say.

Her eyebrow arched up.

“Let’s go find Carter then.”

And she gestured for me to take the lead.

So I did.

A large group stumbled past the hallway to one end. I went the other.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Amanda and I looked all over the hotel. They could’ve been anywhere, but just as we began to head back in defeat, I saw some big muscle-bound guys at the end of one hallway. It was where the larger suites were located. I touched Amanda’s arm. “Let’s go to my office quick. I have a master key that’ll let us in.”

An eyebrow went up. “You think we’ll have to break into a room?”

“No. That’s why I’m getting the master.”