Julian stumbled out of the bar and into the alley. How could his father do this? How could he ask him to kill his own sister?
Julian knew Alistair had asked him to do some shady things in the past, but, this, this was unconscionable! Julian gulped a swig from the brown-bag–wrapped brandy bottle in his hand and slammed it down on the rail.
"Something wrong, Julian?"
Julian turned around at the sound of Eve's voice.
"Eve?" Julian straightened himself, glanced at his brandy bottle, and dropped it to his side. "I wasn't expecting to see you tonight."
Eve glanced down at the ground and frowned. "I'm on my way to meet TC at the youth center, but I dropped my keys. I could have sworn I lost them right around here . . ."
"Maybe it was me you were looking for," Julian smirked. "You always did seem to know when I needed the comfort of a woman's touch."
Eve rolled her eyes. "Oh, come off of it, Julian. I'm not here to play kissy face with you."
Julian's smirk disappeared.
Eve frowned and rested her hand on top of his, her voice softening. "Now, are you going to tell me what's wrong or what?"
Julian coughed and turned around. "It's not safe for me to tell you, Eve." Julian turned back to her. "It's better you leave here right now for your own good."
Eve shook her head. "You never were able to let anyone in, were you, Julian? Not even me."
"I let you in more than you will ever know." Julian gritted his teeth. "Now go—get on with it!"
Eve shook her head again and frowned. "I'll never understand you, Julian." Yanking her bag up on her shoulder, she locked her eyes on his one more time before turning and exiting the alley.
"Have I found the bride-to-be?"
Sheridan looked up as the door to Luis's office opened. "Pilar!"
"Mija . . ." Pilar smiled, crossing the room and taking Sheridan into her arms. "I prayed for so many years that this day would come for you, and now it finally has."
Sheridan leaned back and smiled. "Yes, thanks to your wonderful son Luis."
"And thanks to you." Pilar rubbed Sheridan's arms. "My Luis loves you. As do I. Like you were my own daughter." Pilar smiled. "And, now you finally will be."
Tears pooled in Sheridan's eyes; joy swelled through her heart. "I can't tell you how much that means to me, Pilar. After my mother died . . . well, I don't know how I would have gone on without you. You were my rock . . . my confidant . . . my only safe place." Sheridan's smile fell. "When Father sent me off to Paris, I didn't know how I'd survive without you . . ."
Pilar nudged Sheridan's chin with the crook of her finger. "But you did, mija. And you grew up to be such a wonderful, caring, and warm young woman. Even without a mother and father to love and protect you." Pilar clasped Sheridan's hands in her own. "I'm so proud of you, Sheridan. And I'll be even prouder to call you my daughter."
Sheridan's smile and heart burst; tears slipped down her cheeks.
Pilar pulled the woman she had always considered a daughter into her arms. "Oh, Sheridan. My beautiful, wonderful Sheridan."
A knock sounded at the door.
"Sorry to bust up this party, ladies." Ethan smiled as he poked his head into the room. "But I heard there's a bride in here who needs an escort down the aisle."
"Julian!"
Eve stopped short in the alley at the sound of Alistair's voice, wrinkling her nose as the smell of cigar smoke filled the air around her. Something big was going on here, and it obviously was not good. Eve poked her head around the corner, her pulse quickening as she watched Alistair approach his cowering son.
Sucking in a breath, Eve flattened her body against the wall.
"Once again, you've failed me, Julian," Alistair growled. "You're supposed to be figuring out how to kill your sister."
Eve's hand flew to her heart.
"When will you ever learn, Julian?" Alistair shook his head. "Even as we speak, your fool sister is marrying that low-life cop, Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald. The union between them could bring down the entire Crane empire."
"You keep saying that, Father, but you don't know that Luis is going to keep pursuing his father's disappearance."
Alistair shook his head. "Have you taken a hit to the head, Julian? Luis is like a dog with a bone when it comes to his father. Sheridan or not, he's never going to rest until he finds out what happened." Alistair clenched his fist. "And now he's going to have access to everything Crane, to everything he could ever need to find his father and bring us down once and for all."
"You know, Father, I'm starting to think you play fast and loose with 'what could bring down the Crane empire.'" Julian tightened his fingers around the neck of his brandy bottle. "After all, there's no proof tying us to Martin's disappearance."
"Don't be a bigger fool than you already are, Julian!" Alistair threw his cigar to the ground and crushed it under his foot. "What about Martin, himself? True, he's been gone for years, but if Luis and Sheridan ever found him, ever found out what we did . . ."
Julian cocked his head. "And what exactly did we do, Father? All these years, and you've never been quite straight with me about that. You just had me run your errands, do your dirty work, but you've never told me why."
"It doesn't matter, Julian." Alistair narrowed his eyes at his son. "Just do as I say, and make sure Sheridan and Luis are separated—permanently."
"We already tried that, Father." Julian rested his bottle on the rail. "Luis and Sheridan discovered the imposter we hired to make Sheridan believe that Luis was only using her, that he was cheating on her during their engagement party."
Eve gasped.
"What was that?" Alistair glanced over toward the alley.
Julian looked back and ran his hand down his throat. "Noth . . . nothing, Father. It must have just been a rat."
"A rat that has a bigger brain than you, Julian." Alistair turned back to Julian. "Now do as I say."
"No . . . no . . . no!" Julian slammed his hand down on the rail. "The only reason I agreed to go along with your imposter scheme was to protect Sheridan, to keep your obsession with breaking up her and Luis from coming to this." Julian turned to his father. "You can't ask me to do this, Father. You can't make me kill my own sister."
"You'll do as I say, Julian." Alistair clenched his fist. "And you'll do it now."
Julian glared back at him. "And if I don't?"
Alistair shook his head, reached into his breast pocket, and drew out a gun.
Eve's hand flew to her mouth.
Alistair pointed the gun at Julian's chest. "If you don't, then your sister won't be the only Crane heir meeting an untimely demise tonight."
"Julian, no!" Eve dashed out from her hiding spot and rushed toward her former love.
"Eve!" A single shot rang out through the air as Julian shoved Eve aside.
Eve's entire world played out in slow motion as Julian's body froze, then collapsed on top of hers.