29. Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Blake
A fter breakfast, John, Doug, and Jaden escorted us to the safe house. I thought three cars were excessive, but they didn’t.
My heart raced while AJ and I waited in the truck for the other guys to check the small, run-down farmhouse. In the middle of fucking nowhere west of Dallas.
As John walked out of the house, I couldn’t help but replay his greeting earlier at Jamie’s. John’s calm, fatherly tone when he told me he was updating my father regularly almost brought on a fresh round of tears. Especially when he relayed my father’s message, quoting him without hesitation. “I love you. Please be good. This will all be over before you know it.”
It was already too late to be over before I knew it. I wish it had never started.
A loud noise caused me to jump in my seat and scream.
“It’s okay. It was just Jay tapping on the hood,” AJ reassured me.
It sounded a lot louder than a tap, but I didn’t trust my voice enough to say it.
“You ready?” AJ asked.
“Do I have a choice?” I asked. “Sorry.” AJ didn’t deserve my snark.
He nodded.
John opened my door and offered me a hand down. I wasn’t usually one to accept a man’s help getting in or out of a car, but AJ’s truck was huge and I was short.
“Thank you.”
AJ grabbed our bags while Doug and Jay carried in everything else.
“Do you guys own this house?” I sounded judgmental, but it had seen better days. The exterior needed a coat of paint, the windows were beyond dirty, and the lawn hadn’t been tended in a long time.
“No, Maxwell used her FBI contacts to get us a loaner from the US Marshalls. We usually use motels,” John said as he held the door for us.
“I could have stayed at a hotel?” The inside wasn’t much better than the outside. It was small, sparsely furnished, and completely devoid of charm. Not to mention, dark. Shades and curtains covered the windows.
“Motels, not hotels,” John corrected me.
“You’re not missing out,” Doug said. “We use random motels off the beaten path. They’re run down and shady.”
This place wasn’t?
“Are there cameras inside?” I asked, knowing there was a ton on the exterior.
“Only in the public spaces,” Doug answered. “Not in the bedrooms and bathrooms, and there’s no audio.”
That was a relief. I didn’t think I could deal with a complete lack of privacy on top of everything else.
“I’ll show you to your room,” AJ said from behind me.
I nodded and followed him as he walked down a short hall to the left of the living space.
“You can choose whichever of these two bedrooms you’d prefer,” AJ indicated the bedrooms on either side of the hall.
“What’s that one?” I asked, pointing to the closed door at the end.
“The master, but we can’t use it.”
“Why not?” The master probably has a private bath .
“The FBI said so.” AJ shrugged. “Take your pick.”
I looked inside both rooms and couldn’t see a difference, so I picked the one on the right. AJ insisted on carrying my bag in for me. He dropped my suitcase— Emily’s not mine —on the bed.
“There’s only one bathroom, so we’ll have to share.”
“Okay.” I looked around, grateful I’d never had to live like this. Maybe it looked less depressing when people lived here .
The frameless full bed was against the far wall and covered with a faded quilt. The scratched night stand beside it didn’t match the dresser at the end of the bed. The closet was the smallest I’d ever seen, and that was saying something—our dorm rooms had tiny closets.
The idea of unpacking was more than I could handle, so I went to the kitchen where the guys were putting away the last of the groceries.
“Let us know if there’s anything special you want to eat, and we’ll have Jack bring it when he relieves Jaden later today,” John said.
“Thanks. Can I ask you a question?” My voice trembled as I asked.
“Sure.” John answered, heading for the living room.
Grateful for the privacy, I followed him. I looked over my shoulder, making sure no one had followed.
“Do you think my father…” John waited patiently as I struggled to finish. “Is he involved with the people threatening me?” I couldn’t say guilty, or dirty, or on the take.
“I don’t know.” John’s tone took on that kind, fatherly tone again. “I know it’s not the answer you want to hear, but it’s the only one I have. We’re investigating every angle.”
Which means they’re investigating my father, though he didn’t say it. My emotions flip-flopped between grateful for the kindness and frustrated by the half-truths.
Even though he hadn’t said it, I felt the need to defend my father. “You probably won’t believe me, but he’s innocent. He’d never do anything illegal.”
I didn’t sound as strong as I had when I defended him the night before. My conviction’s waning.
“For your sake, I hope that’s true.” Empathy radiated from his eyes. He held out his arm and escorted me back to the kitchen.
Apparently, the conversation was over.
Doug was wiping down the table, stirring up a dense cloud of dust.
Which made me sneeze.
“Bless you,” three different voices called out.
“Thanks.” I sneezed again. “Can I open a window?” I didn’t think I could live with the dust and the musty smell filling the house.
“Unfortunately, no, they’re nailed shut.”
Nailed shut? That had to violate some housing code or something. “What if there’s a fire and we have to get out?”
“You break the glass.”
I didn’t appreciate Jaden’s condescending tone. He might be used to this kind of thing, but I wasn’t.
“Jaden,” his father’s tone invoked an apology.
“What happened?” AJ asked, walking in to the kitchen.
“Nothing,” Jaden answered.
“Jaden was being less than polite.” Doug didn’t hesitate to throw him under that bus.
AJ growled at Jaden, who raised his eyebrows and chuckled.
Men .
I grabbed a bottle of water and went back to my room to grab one of the books Emily let me borrow, then tried to get comfortable on the lumpy couch. You’d think they could’ve found a better place to stay . I’d happily dish out more cash for a five-star hotel. Knowing they’d tell me no; I didn’t bring it up.
I got as comfortable as I could and opened the book. Before long, the cozy mystery transported me to a fictitious English village filled with magic and mystery.
I was a few chapters in when John and Doug left. Three cars suddenly made sense. Jaden and AJ each had one, and John and Doug needed one to get home.
“Holler if you need anything,” Jaden said before closing and locking the door. He had keys so he could come in to use the bathroom and get food, as needed.
AJ sat in one of the mismatched recliners and opened a book. He reads? Probably a thriller or mystery. Looking down at my novel, I realized I had zero room to judge.
I usually played background music when I studied or read, but hadn’t needed it before the guys left. Their chatter had filled the void, but now the house was eerily quiet.
Without thinking, I reached for my phone. Right. Annoyance rushed to the surface—I didn’t have my phone or my laptop. I didn’t have any of the luxuries I’d always taken for granted.
“You okay?” AJ asked over the top of his book.
“It’s too quiet,” I admitted.
“We could talk, or I could turn on the TV.”
I didn’t want to watch the tiny, probably black and white, ancient looking, TV.
“AJ, if I ask you a question, will you be completely honest with me?”
He paused, weighing his options. His dark eyes bore into my soul while I waited. “I’ll be as honest as I can be,” he finally said, putting his book face down, creating a tent on the table between us.
Which means he’ll give me the party line and I won’t learn anything.
I gathered my courage to deal with whatever answer he gave me.
“Does SSI really think my father is involved with whoever is threatening me?”
AJ hesitated a second before answering. “This will be hard for you to hear, but I don’t want to lie to you.” He ran his hands through his dark hair, making it stand up in places. “Even though I could get in trouble.”
This can’t be good . I nodded and waited for the hammer to fall.
“Blake, there’s a lot of circumstantial evidence suggesting your father is involved with criminals, including the one trying to hurt you.”
The room turned blurry as I shook my head back and forth. I thought I was ready to hear what he had to say, but I was wrong. I wanted to shout, Take it back!
Instead, I argued, “I don’t believe you. He wouldn’t do that. He’d never do anything to hurt me.”
“We don’t think so either, but we think they’re using you to get to him,” AJ said.
Could it be true? Could he have connections to criminals?
“I’m sorry, Blake.”
Sorry? Was that supposed to make me feel better? Because it didn’t. My mind went into overdrive trying to think of something that could explain it all away.
“I bet they offered him a bribe and are threatening him because he refused to take it.” That made sense, fitting what I believed about my father.
“Maybe,” was all AJ said.
A glance at my watch revealed it barely lunch time. It’s going to be a long day . I got up and went to the kitchen to make myself something to eat. I found sliced ham and turkey, a variety of sliced cheeses, and mustard in the fridge. When I pulled away from the refrigerator, I felt AJ’s presence before I saw him.
“Want a sandwich?” I didn’t really want company, but I didn’t want to be rude either.
“Sure. I’ll grab plates and the bread.”
We each made our own sandwiches. Mine was a couple of slices of turkey and a slice of provolone. He made two, one ham and swiss, the other turkey and provolone. Both thick and slathered with mayo and mustard. I gained ten pounds just by looking at them.
Not that he has to worry about it . AJ was solid muscle and probably worked out every day. I wasn’t shallow enough to be attracted to someone based solely on their looks, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate a ridiculously good looking man when I saw one.
“You want chips?” he asked, breaking me out of my stupor.
Please tell me I’m not blushing. “Thanks.”
We ate in silence, which AJ disrupted as soon as we finished. “Blake, can I ask you a few questions?”
Something in his tone made me nervous. I bit my thumbnail before answering. “I guess.”
“How well do you know your step-mother?”
“Not well. I know she’s a gold-digger who married my father for his money and she’s pissed he didn’t inherit my grandfather’s.” I didn’t mention I had. He probably already knows .
He nodded. “What happens to your inheritance if you die before you turn twenty-five? Would it go to your father, then?”
Yup, he knows . Maybe SSI had it all wrong, and it was Priscilla who was involved with the people threatening me, not my dad.
“Do you think she’s behind this?” I asked.
“We don’t know. We’re looking at every angle.”
There it is, the party line .
Before I could accuse him of avoiding my question, he asked another. “Did you know your parents are having money problems?”
“What?” I asked. My father told me they weren’t. Sure, Priscilla whined about daddy supporting me, but that was because she was greedy, not because he couldn’t afford it. I folded and unfolded my napkin until it fell apart. It couldn’t be true; my father would never lie to me. But what if?
“If it’s true, I’d happily give my dad my inheritance to make this all go away, but…”
“But you can’t, not yet,” AJ finished for me.
Did everyone at SSI know I’d inherit my grandfather’s fortune on my twenty-fifth birthday? Is that why they were so nice to me? It wouldn’t surprise me. Most people were nice once they learned I'd be worth almost enough millions to qualify as a billionaire.
“Blake?”
“What?” I mumbled. I didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
“You didn’t know, did you?”
“I don’t think it’s true,” I argued without conviction. Memories flashed through my mind. Individually, they meant nothing, but together they added up to one giant red flag.
“I assure you it is, and unfortunately, having money problems is a strong motive to make some questionable decisions.”
Questionable decisions? My head snapped up to look at him, ready to argue again, but the honesty, and empathy, in his eyes stopped me dead in my tracks.
He’s telling the truth .
“Why didn’t he tell me?” I buried my face in my hands and cried.
If he’d just told me, I could have helped and none of this would have happened. I wouldn’t be locked up in the stupid house with no way to call him. What if they get pissed they can’t get to me and go after him? Would they kill him? What would I do then?
I felt the comfort from AJ’s large, warm hand on my forearm a moment before he answered.
“I can’t answer for him, but it’s safe to assume he didn’t want to embarrass himself by asking his daughter to bail him out of debt.”
When he put it like that, it made sense. Daddy was a proud man, and he’d never ask me for help. He wouldn’t want me to see him as anything less than the man I’d loved and worshipped my whole life.
But would it really be so bad? Surely, it wouldn’t be worse than this? He must be so worried . If only I could call him and tell him I was okay and offer to give him what he needed.
“Is my dad doing okay?” I asked.
“As far as I know, he’s fine.” Something about the tone of his voice, and the guarded expression in his eyes, felt off.
What isn’t he telling me now?