Chapter 63
He probably shouldn’t have had so much of the beer. He probably should have kept his head clear and planned this a little better. He hadn’t planned on the girl being there.
But then again, the idiot should have had the alarm system on or something.
Surely a place like this had had an alarm?
The door had been locked, but he’d been able to get into the one in the basement easily enough.
He’d been to the Grady house before—back with Kameron.
When Kameron would be stuck babysitting him and he’d brought Jacob with him a few times.
Old man Grady had paid Kameron to help his boys with the yard work, while he was too busy to do it himself.
Jacob had had to find a way to keep himself busy.
Mostly, he’d hung out in the house with the daughters of the house watching him like he was disgusting trash or something.
They always had been bitches, too. Worth a fuck, but still bitches through and through.
Especially that oldest one who’d turned out to be a cop.
Jacob had explored this house when no one had been watching back then.
He’d remembered the basement windows, easily enough.
And he fit through them just fine. Guy should have done better.
“Why didn’t you have a fucking alarm on? ”
Guy just shrugged. “I didn’t think there was a need tonight. We weren’t planning to be here long. She needs to go pick up her six kids at the inn in an hour.”
“Well, that was just stupid. You got a lot of stuff people would steal to get. Rich people always do. And the girl. Hell, some asshole could take her and rough her up, have some fun with her.”
“But you’re not going to do that.”
“I’m not a fucking pervert. I didn’t even plan for her to be here tonight. She’s just got to go, too.”
He’d probably regret her most. But Jacob had to do it. He just had to. “I’m sorry about this. If you had just died that first night, none of this would be happening to you now. Probably a good thing you didn’t die either time, right? For me. Now I can blame it all on Bruce.”
“Either time? What all have you done?”
“Slipped you something that day at the mechanic’s. Just for the hell of it. Figure you deserve to know. Before I kill you tonight.”
“Why did you do that?”
“You were so smug, asking about precious Kameron and what he was up to. As if the two of you rich bastards don’t hang out together all the time, anyway.”
“And why did you run me off the road that day?”
Jacob wasn’t sure, but had the guy gotten closer? Was Grady moving closer? “Stay back. And why the hell not? You came out of the wreck okay, right? That just sort of happened.”
“You nearly killed him because it just sort of happened? Why did you drug Cal?” Auggie asked, in a tone Cal couldn’t identify.
“Just happened. Figured it would be funny to see the great Calloway Grady brought down. Used to do it to Kameron all the time. Nobody asked me if I wanted to go watch that asshole run around a damned track, did they? A bit of Dad’s shit medicine and off Kameron would go, holding his stomach.
Practically crying. I got a kick out of that. ”
“You used to give Kameron drugs to make him sick before track meets? Why in the hell would you do that to your own brother?” Grady asked.
“I wasn’t his fucking keeper. I had to be dragged around everywhere because of Perfect Kameron.”
“You are going to kill us, because of jealousy over your brother?” Auggie asked. “That’s…insane, Jacob. Stupid, too. You should just leave. While you still can.”
Cal could feel her hand spread over his back. Keeping them anchored. He shifted.
Jacob Neilson wasn’t going to hurt her. Not while Cal lived.