Tell Me No Lies

Thirteen

Jack's POV

I was surprised to walk in and see Emily and Daniel cuddled on the couch watching television. They weren't fighting or anything. They were just two close friends enjoying the evening together. I decided not to interrupt them while they were on good terms. I went to the backyard to join Reese who was practicing a dance routine she'd found online. "Hey. What are we doing?"

Reese grinned. "Zach said he'd put me in dance class so I'm practicing," she replied as she did a little pirouette.

"I must say, you're a much better dancer than I am," I laughed and tried a pirouette to demonstrate.

Reese laughed when I nearly fell. She demonstrated it again and I tried to do it. Once again I almost fell. Reese grinned. "Not like that. You have to be relaxed when you do it."

"Well clearly you're a natural," I said as I knelt down. "How long have you been out here?"

"Two hours," Reese replied. "I wasn't dancing the whole time. I was also swimming."

I smiled at the child. She was one of the sweetest little kids I'd met. "How about I make us a sundae?"

"Do we have to share it this time?" Reese asked as she followed me into the house, her towel wrapped around her. I hadn't noticed she was still wet from the pool. She must not have been dancing for long.

"No, today you can have one all to yourself," I replied as I picked her up to put her on the barstool.

I opened the fridge and freezer and got everything out and set it on the counter. I opened a cabinet and pulled out a cereal bowl. "What are we starting out with?"

"Chocolate and vanilla," she replied.

I finished making the sundae a few minutes later and added some whipped cream and a few cherries. "There you go."

Corbyn walked in and leaned onto the counter. He took a cherry off Reese's sundae. "Hey kiddo," he said as he ruffled her hair.

I grinned as I made myself a sundae. "Want one?"

Corbyn shook his head. "I'll just have chocolate with extra fudge."

"This isn't a restaurant," I laughed as I got him what he asked for.

Daniel's POV

Emily and I were on the couch binge-watching The 100 and eating popcorn when Zach walked. He looked surprised to see us getting along. He was even more surprised to see her resting on my shoulder. He shrugged as he went to join the others in the kitchen. Emily was almost asleep when Jonah burst into the house. I glared at him. "She's exhausted. Just let us chill."

Jonah frowned when he saw us on the couch. "Since when are you, two friends?"

"Recently," I replied. "I made a promise to Zach and she's honestly pretty cool."

Jonah was quiet for a moment before remembering what it was he was upset about. It was then that he noticed the tear stains on Emily's face. "What happened?" he whispered.

I shook my head. I really had no idea. Emily had come home crying but had refused to tell us what was wrong, even Zach. I suggested a movie to take her mind off it and now she was asleep. Jonah sighed and went into the kitchen. He was in there for a few minutes before he returned with Zach. They looked serious as Zach sat beside his girlfriend. "Emmy?"

Emily's eyes fluttered open and she looked at Zach. "I'm sleepy."

Zach gave Jonah a sad look before nudging her shoulder. "You have to wake up baby. Jonah needs to talk to you."

Emily rubbed her eyes as she looked at Jonah. "What's wrong? Why are you so serious?"

Jonah took her hand and led her into a different room. I turned and looked at Zach as I began to catch on. "Carly..."

He nodded. "Can't say I'm surprised though."

No One's POV

Jonah took a deep breath. He didn't know how he was going to tell Emily that her own best friend was against her. What's worse is that he'd gone through all the files and found multiple plans on how to get Emily out of the picture. "Emily, it's about Carly."

"What about her?" Emily stuttered.

Jonah figured it would be better if he just said it straight up instead of going in circles. "She's working with your dad. They're formulating a plan for you. It's why she's wanted to spend more time with you lately. We suspected it but we finally found evidence of it."

Emily's stomach dropped and she began struggling to breathe. Tears started running down her face. "Jonah, I knew something was off with her. I never told her anything. I never thought she would work with my dad."

Jonah nodded as he hugged Emily. "It's okay Em."

"What about Nicole?" Emily asked.

Jonah shook his head. "We have no reason to believe she's knows anything. She has no history in the mafia. I've checked and her family's name has no meaning."

"I should tell her," Emily muttered, still not moving out of Jonah's arms. 

Jonah nodded as he ran his hands through her hair. "I think that would be good. For your safety." 

Emily pulled away from Jonah and went back to the living room. Zach stood up when he saw how upset she was. "What do you need baby?"

"I need you to take me to Nicole's," Emily replied as she took Zach's hoodie off the couch. 

Zach grabbed his keys and led her to his car. As they drove Emily began venting about how she didn't feel like she belonged in the group and how she felt she was the weak link in the group. Zach shook his head as he pulled into Nicole's neighborhood. He parked in the driveway and looked at his girlfriend. "You are not a weak link. You're learning. That's the most important thing. We've all seen you improving." 

Emily shrugged as she got out. "If we ever had to, could we take her in? She could have my room." 

Zach nodded. "Only in an emergency." 

Emily smiled as she went into the house. Nicole looked up from her book when she saw her best friend. Emily sat down on her bed and sighed. "I never thought I'd have to tell you this. It's time though." 

Nicole took off her glasses and joined Emily on the bed. "You can always tell me anything." 

Emily quickly went into explaining everything about her joining the mafia and her dad's plans to kill her. She explained that the boys were on the right side of the mafia. When she'd finished she began to explain Carly and Mia's role in the mafia. As she was explaining she began to realize who'd framed Corbyn. "Emily... is Carly going to kill me too?" 

Emily shook her head. "We're going to ensure that doesn't happen. I won't let it. I swear." 

Nicole looked worriedly at Emily. "Why are you in the mafia? Emily, how can you even involve yourself in this? You could get killed." 

A dark look that Nicole had never seen crossed over Emily's face. "He's getting what he had coming to him. My dad was going to kill me. I'm getting him before he gets me." 

"Just make sure you're okay with the consequences," she sighed. "And don't ask me to join." 

Emily shrugged. "I wouldn't want you to join. It requires putting yourself and your family at risk. I have to go."