Chapter 27
CHAPTER
Jordyn
Present
JORDYN SPEED-WALKED TOWARD Ezra’s pickup truck at the same time he clambered down from the driver’s side.
He looked rougher than normal. Patchy stubble on his face said that he hadn’t shaved in days, and his olive-colored T-shirt and faded jeans were rumpled. His light brown hair had grown long enough to hang in his hazel eyes, but he shoved it out of the way as he faced her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, even as she nodded toward the carriage house. “Actually, don’t answer that until we’re inside, since I’d rather no one overhear us.”
Ezra spread his arms wide. “That’s the welcome I get?”
Irritation made her impatient, but she tamped down her frustration long enough to unlock the door and motion him inside. “I’m allowing you to come into my home, even after you kicked me out of yours. Consider yourself fortunate.”
“I never—”
“Inside please,” she repeated, gritting her teeth and hoping Natalie showed up soon so she had an excuse to send him packing. For now, however, she would at least make it clear that she was at a precarious moment of her investigation into Tara’s death.
He huffed a long sigh and lumbered into the house, his boots echoing on the hardwood. When she’d closed the door behind them, she swung around to face her ex.
“Now. Care to tell me why you not only ignored my requests to leave me alone, but you travelled halfway across the country to stand in my driveway where anyone could have seen you?”
“You stopped answering my messages, Jordyn. I got worried about you.” Shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he glanced around the small living space. “God, this place is tiny.”
Jordyn peered around the renovated carriage house, seeing it through his eyes. Small, yes. But there were deadbolts on both doors, and that was really all that mattered to her.
“You told me to choose you or Tara. I chose her.” She enumerated the points on her fingers. “You told me we were done. I took you at your word and packed my things. Now here you are, slowing down my efforts to investigate Tara’s death when I’m at a pivotal stage?”
He scrubbed a hand through his overgrown hair. “Can we just sit down for two minutes? I’ve been driving straight for the last sixteen hours.”
Her annoyance dimmed a bit in the face of his obvious exhaustion. How ironic he’d finally chosen to put some work into their relationship after they were finished.
“A few minutes, but then I’ve got an appointment with my PI, and I can’t reschedule.” She gestured toward the stiff-backed couch that had come with the furnished space. “Have a seat. I’ll get you something to drink.”
Ezra lowered himself to the dark blue cushions while she grabbed a couple of waters out of the refrigerator.
She couldn’t help but glance out her front windows as she strode back into the living area, paranoid that Brad or one of Tara’s other friends would choose this moment to drop by, and she’d be stuck trying to concoct a story about her guest. She took the time to pull the blinds.
When she passed one of the bottles to Ezra, she dragged over one of the dining table chairs and noticed him staring up at her.
“You look different.” He studied her while he twisted off the cap and took a long swig. “Is it just the clothes?”
Jordyn glanced down at the gray Alo Yoga top and black Lululemon leggings that she’d chosen for her errands.
She had no idea how out of date the styles were when she’d chosen them at a consignment shop, and she’d never been an athleisure fangirl before.
But she couldn’t deny they were the most comfortable things she’d ever put on her body.
“Does it matter?” She folded herself onto the wooden chair and sipped her water. “Can you please just tell me whatever it is you drove all this way to say?”
“Two things.” Leaning forward, he set the water bottle onto the square coffee table between them. “First, I’m really worried that you’re going to either end up dead or behind bars before this quest of yours is done.”
She knew she’d already addressed this, but since it was obviously weighing on him, she tried to reframe her response to be as simple as possible.
“Thank you for your concern. Please recall I was taking care of myself well before you came into my life. I’m tougher than I look.
” She hadn’t told him much about the years she’d been in the care of her addict parents before she’d gone into the foster system.
She’d slept in abandoned houses among people so deeply under the haze of drugs they didn’t have a clue what they were doing.
There’d been no need to dwell on it because she’d survived. In the end, she’d been stronger. Resolute.
Behind her, the old-fashioned kitchen clock ticked a loud countdown. One way or another, she had the feeling this whole drama would be over tomorrow after the book club.
“So let’s say you’re tough enough to take on a killer and live to tell the tale. Maybe you even exact the vengeance I know you want.” He leaned forward to make his point, eyes locked on her. “Is it worth risking jail time after you’ve worked so hard to build a good life?”
Her heart slugged harder in her chest, his words making her uneasy in a way she couldn’t immediately pinpoint. Was it just her imagination, or did it sound almost threatening?
“I’m here to expose a killer, not mete out vigilante justice.” She held up her hands. “I’m not the criminal here.”
“Maybe not yet. But you’re disguising your identity and tricking a whole lot of people with wealth and influence.”
“That’s not a crime.”
“Have you checked the stats about the number of innocent people behind bars?” He seemed agitated, his voice growing louder.
“You think everyone in this wealthy enclave you’re trying to infiltrate will just sell out one of their own when you point your finger at whoever you think is guilty?
” His frustration had distorted his features.
Making her wonder for an instant how far he would go to make his point. To scare her away from her mission. But this was Ezra. She knew him better than that, didn’t she?
“I guess I haven’t thought that far ahead.” She’d been too consumed with finding answers to consider the aftermath. “I assumed everyone except the killer would be grateful to know who among them was guilty. But maybe they already know and have been protecting that person this whole time.”
“Jordyn, you don’t know who you’re dealing with.” His voice had an edge.
She did not appreciate the scare tactics at a time in her life when someone was already threatening her. Perhaps following her.
“It’s unfortunate you came all this way to warn me when I’ve already explained that I’m committed to finding Tara’s killer I need to see this through.”
He reached toward her, mouth opening as if he would interject, but she bolted up from her chair and paced the small living space.
Even Ezra was scaring her now. She needed him to leave.
“Look, you of all people understand that I don’t have strong bonds with many people,” she continued, trying to convey that she was done listening to him by moving closer to the door. “Do you know how many meaningful relationships I’ve managed to form in my life?”
He shook his head sadly. “I don’t suppose you count me in that number?”
She stifled an exasperated sigh.
“This isn’t about you. This is about what I owe to someone who loved me for myself at a time in my life when no one else did.
The cops have admitted that Tara’s case is cold.
Even if it’s not technically closed, they haven’t done anything on it in months.
So all that matters to me now is finding the truth. Getting justice for her.”
As the words settled into the room, echoing in her ears, Jordyn acknowledged there might be more to it than that. Ezra hadn’t been wrong about her wanting vengeance.
Slowly, he rose to his feet again. Something in his expression told her she might have finally gotten through to him. Still, she remained alert. Wary.
Before he reached the door, he turned back to ask, “What if I go to the police first? Tell them who you really are and what you’re trying to do?”
“I would be angry with you, but in the end it won’t make any difference.” Except possibly slow her down. “I’m not going to quit until I have answers.”
“Yeah. I figured. But it was worth a shot to keep you safe.” This time he pulled open the door and stepped out into the night without looking back.
She followed him onto the small wooden steps, ignoring the niggle of guilt she experienced at making him leave again as the low rumble of thunder growled nearby.
At the same time, the headlights from Natalie’s Jeep swung across the front yard of the carriage house.
Jordyn felt relieved to have the confrontation with her ex over with.
And maybe she had him to thank for clarifying her purpose.
Reinforcing her resolve.
She watched as Ezra stepped back into his truck cab at the same time Natalie hopped out of the Jeep. Jordyn reached for the medallion she wore under her sweater and smoothed her fingers over the contours of the saint.
Whoever killed her friend would pay the price.