Chapter 24
Juliette
Wes’s eyes widened. He was clearly not expecting to see me. And his surprise only worsened my growing suspicion. My stomach churned as I waited for his response.
He cleared his throat. “That was a cop investigating the shooting.”
I hadn’t been able to hear everything Wes was saying, but I’d heard him tell whoever it was that I’d gone to the pharmacy.
Feeling my blood pressure rise, I swallowed. “You said something about me being out of the house. Why did they need to know that?”
He looked down for a moment. “He was asking where you were. I think he wants me to keep things to myself for some reason. Maybe he thinks you talk to Vince? I think they’re worried about his involvement. They want to put some distance between Vince and the investigation.”
I narrowed my eyes. That seemed like a weird explanation, but I let him continue.
“We have to make sure your father doesn’t interfere,” he said. “Vince told me he wanted to handle it, and that’s bad news. That’s not the answer. He’s going to botch the whole thing.”
“Did my father do something since you last spoke to him?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. But Vince will inevitably fuck everything up if he thinks or even suspects he knows who did this. He could very well draw the wrong conclusion, too, since he’s not working with the official investigation.
Imagine if he kills the wrong person… I’m trying to cooperate with the cops so they can figure out who’s responsible before Vince does anything.
Your father just wants to find the person and kill them. He’s trying to fight fire with fire.”
While I wanted to believe Wes’s explanation of the phone call, his face was red.
Did that mean something, or was I reading into things?
He had been through a lot recently. Maybe it was stress from all that.
Despite feeling uneasy, I didn’t want to say or do anything that would interfere with his recovery.
I reminded myself that he’d nearly died just a few days ago. Maybe I needed to lay off.
“Okay…well…” I looked down at my shoes. “I guess I overreacted. I’m sorry.” I wanted to believe my own words. But my gut wouldn’t let me.
Wes moved in closer and placed his hand on my cheek. “We’ve both been through hell these past few days. I don’t blame you for being on edge. Never hesitate to tell me what’s bothering you.” He lifted my chin to meet his eyes. “Okay?”
I couldn’t look him in the face for long. He’d see the worry written all over mine. So I turned away.
But a moment later, I turned back. “You tell me to share what’s bothering me, but then you get upset when I ask you to express your feelings.
Don’t you remember the argument we had at the farmer’s market right before the shooting?
We never resolved why you’d been acting differently, Wes.
” I shook my head, catching myself pushing when I’d said I’d back off.
“You know what? Go rest. You should be taking it easy.” I walked away.
I needed to be alone anyway to process these feelings of doubt.
“Juliette…” he called after me.
I kept walking. “Oh, and I called the pharmacy on the way, and they said your meds weren’t ready, which is why I came back. I’m gonna take a shower…” I closed the bathroom door behind me.
As the water rained down on me, more questions pummeled my brain.
The longer I spent thinking about his explanation of the phone call, the more paranoid I became.
Why had Wes let me leave for the pharmacy without him?
It was uncharacteristic of him to not want to tag along to keep an extra set of eyes on me.
What if he’d actually stayed behind so he could talk to someone on the phone without me overhearing?
Worse, what if that person wasn’t even a cop?
A rush of panic hit. What if it was a woman?
That was a stretch, given the timing. Also, I didn’t take him for a cheater.
But my mind continued to race. There was that booty-call woman who’d phoned back when we were in Italy. What if she’d called him again to get together? I shook that thought from my brain. I was being paranoid with that one.
As I drifted off to sleep that night, I reminded myself that Wes had given me no tangible reason not to trust him. Right now, all of this was in my imagination.
Basically, I went against my gut and tried to lie to myself so I could have a chance at getting some rest.
***
I ended up sleeping for a few hours, at best. The foreboding feeling that Wes was hiding something won out and kept my brain busy most of the night.
And the following day, Wes brought everything to the forefront again when, in the middle of the afternoon, he announced, “I have to go meet with one of the investigators.”
“Who?” I asked.
“Detective Olson.”
“What does he need from you?”
“He wants me to look at some potential suspect photos.”
I blinked. “They have more than one suspect?”
“Well, it’s more of a lineup kind of thing, but using photos instead of real people. I think they might be close to narrowing it down to one person and need my input.”
I sucked in a breath as my adrenaline surged. “That’s great news.”
He looked into my eyes. “I won’t stop until we get to the bottom of this, Juliette.”
Did he think that’s why I was concerned? Maybe I should’ve been more concerned about finding the perpetrator than I was about Wes’s sneaky behavior. But the latter had completely overtaken me.
“Can I go with you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “He told me I need to come alone.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Why can’t you bring someone? You shouldn’t even be driving yet.”
“I’m fine to drive.” He shrugged. “I guess they don’t want anyone influencing what I remember.”
“I was there, too, though,” I pointed out. “What if something sparks my memory?”
“I get why you’d think that,” he said. “But you already told them you don’t remember seeing anyone.
I admitted that I got a glimpse of a guy right before it happened.
So that’s why they’re focusing on what I remember.
They likely wouldn’t trust your word since you’ve already admitted to having no memory besides me covering you. ”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Oh my God. His face was turning red again, same as yesterday. This confirmed that it wasn’t my imagination. He’s lying.
“Where exactly are you meeting the cop?”
He hesitated. “The police station.”
I nodded, remembering the bits and pieces I could make out from his phone call. He’d mentioned the Hotel Adventura. Nothing about a police station. Hmm…
Wes turned away from me. “Have you seen my keys?” He scrambled to locate them, knocking into one of the end tables, seeming discombobulated.
“You have to leave right now?” I asked.
“Not yet. Like in ten minutes. But I can’t go anywhere without my keys. Can’t remember where I last put them. I think my brain is still fried from the meds they gave me at the hospital.”
As I pretended to help him look for the keys, a crazy idea came to me. As much as I knew I shouldn’t pursue it, I wasn’t able to stop myself. “I, uh, have to go next door to return a book I borrowed from Pam,” I said. “So I probably won’t be here when you get back.”
He forced a smile. “Okay. Make sure Eddie knows. I’ll see you a little later then.”
I nodded and walked to my room, grabbing one of Wes’s black hoodies that had been hanging on a rack. When he went to use the bathroom, I snuck out the back door, somehow managing to bypass the guards’ attention.
After running over to Pam’s, I knocked on her door.
She opened. “Hey, Juliette. I was ju—”
“I need your help.” I took a deep breath.
Her expression turned serious as her dog barked, circling her legs. “What is it?”
“I have to borrow your car. Just for like an hour.”
“My car?” Her forehead wrinkled. “Why?”
I decided to be somewhat honest. She either still knew nothing about my mafia ties, or had chosen not to say anything.
But I could certainly play the worried-girlfriend card.
That I knew she could relate to. Pam had a cheating husband some years ago, so I suspected she might sympathize with that angle.
“A guy I’m dating and I have been going through a little rough patch. He’s supposed to be going downtown to meet a friend. But I’m not sure I trust that he’s not meeting a woman.” I sucked in a breath. “I want to follow him to make sure he’s being honest.”
Pam sighed. “Some guys are impossible to tame.” She rolled her eyes. “Say no more.”
“Thank you.” I let out a relieved breath. “I know this seems crazy, but I appreciate you helping me out.”
“You do whatever you need to, Juliette. And give him hell.” She disappeared for a moment to get her keys.
“I shouldn’t be too long,” I told her as she handed them to me. “I just need to see where he’s going. Then I’ll bring the car right back.”
“Be careful driving.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t crash.”
“Not concerned about the car, honey. Take care of yourself.”
“Will do. Thank you, Pam.” I smiled nervously. “You’re a good friend.”
I hid in Pam’s beige Toyota Camry in her driveway until I spotted Wes leaving the house. After pulling his hood up to shield my identity, I took off and followed him.
This was probably the craziest thing I’d ever done, but I didn’t see any other way to handle my growing doubts. At one point, a box truck cut in front of me, blocking my view of Wes’s car.
“Damn it!” I started to sweat. If I lost him, that would be it.
When the truck turned onto a side street, I was relieved to find Wes’s car still right in front of me. I exhaled.
Then it hit me that Wes wasn’t going toward the police station.
This was the total opposite direction. My eyes watered with disappointment and fear.
He was lying to me. And this was so much bigger than a lie.
Wes was the one man I’d trusted in my entire life.
I’d likely never get over him breaking my trust.