Love Thief: The Greystone Family: Stolen Hearts

Chapter 34

Chapter

Thirty-Four

“You need to come home, and now,” he tells me. He’s been back in Scotland for a few days, but this is the first time we’ve talked.

He’s quiet for a few moments before he hits me with the gut shot. “She’s here. Now, Kellen. I mean it. She’s going to give birth anytime. My dad is saying it won’t be long, and he is a bit strange sometimes, but he is seldom wrong. Please, Kell, I’m begging you. Get on that fucking plane.”

“I’ll come after. If anything happens to her, I won’t survive it.”

“You won’t survive it if you’re there, so just be here.” His voice rises as he gets more annoyed with me. Then he gives me an ultimatum. “If you’re not here when she goes into labour, and I’m in that room and deliver your babies without you, I promise you I will never forgive you for it. You have the chance to make it right, Kellen. Do it.” And then he goes from exasperated to demanding with the final dagger strike. “She wants you here.”

My head is spinning. “I’ll think about it.”

He sighs. “Well, think fast. You need to be here.”

I’m a mess. I told her no one loved her. God, what a piece of shit I am. How could I have spoken so many lies? My phone pings. Oh, no. Not James.

James

Come home Dad

Attachment

recording and audio file

Apparently I’m also a glutton for punishment, because I open the damn attachment. Someone’s recorded her walking around in a hard hat, looking at some renovations of the old stable block in Devon. I recognise the building. She has shorts on and a T-shirt that looks like one of Jackson’s, a heavy metal band on the front. Boots, long socks, and her fucking goggles. She’s grinning and going through a checklist of what she wants. She waves at the camera operator, rubbing at her huge stomach.

“You helping today?” she asks the person, and I close my eyes and pray it’s not Kasey Becker she’s talking to.

“No,” answers Jonno, “I’m busy. When are you going to Scotland? Marshall’s up a height over it.”

“Tomorrow. I’ve told Tarron I’ll go up there, but I’ll have to be quick. Not long left to go. What are you doing? Nothing?” She’s scolding him.

“I’m tech, remember. And besides, I’ve sorted your other problem.”

She shrugs. “I saw Kell’s statement,” she says, and all of a sudden she puts her head down and starts to cry.

“Hey, hey,” he says, making a noise in his throat as if he’s going to cry with her. The camera goes down and it’s audio only. There’s clearly only the two of them there.

“Why does he not come, Jonno? I want him here. Why? Did he really not love me? I can’t believe that’s true. I know he’s scared, but so am I. I need him here. He needs to be here.”

I hear him kiss her and say, “He’ll come, Sis. He’s not that dumb. I hope.”

“He’s that terrified, though. God, I even play the babies his songs so they’ll know his voice. I know he said Bridstones, but it doesn’t feel like the end. Why doesn’t he come?” She’s sobbing now, and Jonno is holding her.

“Let’s go get a drink and some tissues. Have you phoned him?”

“Yes, loads. I’ve left messages for him, every time. But he never phones me back. He doesn’t want us anymore. He said I was a pain, and too tying. Not letting him live his life like he thinks he wants to. I thought he was just lashing out, but maybe he’s decided that life is what he wants. A wife and four kids is hardly rock and roll, is it?”

“He’s not that daft, Evie. A life with you is worth a thousand of what he has now, and he knows it.” There are shuffling noises and the recording ends.

I sit for what feels like hours, but is in fact only minutes. “Mick!” I bellow through the empty house.

He enters the lounge from the kitchen area, his hands on his hips, a ‘what the fuck is wrong now’ look on his face. From the look in his eye, I know one more wrong move from me and I’m toast.

“Get the plane. We’re going.”

He grins at me. “Thank fuck for that,” he says, already picking up the phone to get calling.

I pack nothing, just walk out the door and get in the car to leave, Mick barrelling in right behind me, talking a mile a minute to get me on that plane.

Icall Jonno, as soon as we’re moving. “Fuckhead?” he answers, “on your way to the airport I hope?” Fucking Greystones and their apps.

“I am. Something weird, though. James sent me a recording of you and Evie, I’m assuming from a few days ago at the stables in Devon, and she was upset I hadn’t come.”

He chuffs out a breath. “Yeah, so what? She’s been upset for months, but carrying on, unlike you.” His tone is accusatory.

“Look, Jonno, I’m coming. I’m sorry. I’ll tell Evie I’m sorry when I get there and hope she’ll forgive me. But listen, she said in that audio that she’d phoned me and left me messages, but I’ve had none. No calls, no messages, nothing. So what do you think is going on?”

He thinks for a beat and then says, “Well, it’s not me. Hang up and I’ll call you from my number and then from Evie’s number.”

“How can you do that?”

“Duh, clone.”

I grin. “Fucking criminals.”

“We prefer the term Security,” he laughs as I hang up.

He calls me from his number and it connects. He then hangs up and I assume calls from hers. Nothing. No call, no message. “Did you get it?” he asks immediately after ringing back on his phone.

“No, nothing.”

“Mmmm, someone’s put a divert on her number. It goes to a voicemail. I left a message telling you you”re a dickhead. Someone will find it very entertaining.”

“Can we find out who it was?”

“Sure. I’ll need access to your phone, though.” He talks me through some tech stuff and I hang up.

If I would’ve heard her messages, would I have gone? I’m not sure, but I feel I would have gone sooner than this.

Jonno calls back just as I am boarding the plane. “Can I ring you when I’m in the air? I can make calls.”

“Yes, do.” And he hangs up.

“Someone cloned my phone, Mick. Or has diverted Evie’s calls away from this mobile,” I tell him.

He raises his eyebrows at me. “One of those girls from England do you think? It’s easy to divert calls and block numbers if you know how. Didn’t one of them work in the IT department at the school? Lots of clever kids these days, full tech savvy, look at James.”

I call Jonno as soon as I’m able and he dives straight in. “She diverted her calls and blocked her number. Doesn’t look like a clone, but easy to do and hard to tell unless you’re looking for it.”

“Do we know whose number the calls went to?”

“Yes, Grace by the looks of it.”

We say nothing for a few minutes, letting it sink in.

I close my eyes, disgust washing over me. What have I done?

“What has she done with the recordings?” I choke out.

“Nothing. They’re all still there, saved to a cloud system. I’m just deleting them all now.” I can hear the grin in his voice. “I’ve knocked the divert off and unblocked the number, so if E rings you it will go through. And you better fucking answer.”

“I will, I would have. What are you going to do?”

He scoffs out a very unfunny, and mildly evil, noise. “Don’t ask questions you really don’t want the answers to.” He sounds deadly as he continues. “Those two women have caused my sister so much harm. They had you, they were living at your house, living the dream,” he says sarcastically, “but they couldn’t stop harassing her. Wouldn’t stop. Internet trolling on a regular basis, stories that the babies weren’t yours. She got pushed and shoved in the fucking street at twenty-five weeks, obviously pregnant. I think they wanted her dead, I really do.”

“I’m sorry, Jonno. I didn’t know the full extent of it. Why didn’t you tell me? You spoke to Xan.”

“You weren’t listening, Kell. You weren’t looking. Too busy focusing on numbing out life, brother.”

I hang my head. I know he can’t see me, but he is so right.

“I’m sorry, Jonno,” I croak out. “I’ll make sure everyone knows it.”

“Just make sure my sister does. She is the only thing that matters, the only one.” He hangs up.

“Fucking Grace,” I say to Mick. “How could they be so cruel? Listen to her messages asking me to come and not pass on one word. They knew how pregnant she was.”

“If they couldn’t have you, they certainly wouldn’t want Evie with you. They wanted her life, but they wouldn’t be able to have it because they aren’t her. They’re bitter and twisted. You know, when I think about it, she was odd after that first night of cards and whiskey. How everyone was going mental over Evie’s new place. She asked everyone if Evie really owned it. Or was it Jude’s, or had you bought it for her. She certainly was jealous to death.”

“Well, it is an amazing place, honestly. She still pretended to be friends in Vegas at first. Although, she tried to upset Evie, but then defended her. Weird.”

He’s thoughtful, then says, “Do you really think she was defending her? Or was she cranking it up to cause more drama and upset? If you walk away, no drama. But if you stand and argue, people say more horrible things.” He nods his head at me, like all the pieces have just fallen into place, the whole jigsaw laid out.

“The manipulative bitch. I never thought about it, but it makes sense now. I thought the first day in the hotel was weird. Evie said she’d just reminded her of something, and it was to do with France.”

Mick adds, “Yeah, well, look how that went.”

I sit back as it all hits me. She’d tried to play everyone. Look like a nice friend, when all the time she was the worst.

I debate whether to text Evie or not, but ultimately decide not to. I should get to Barclay on the thirty-first. Halloween. I just hope I’m not too late.