Page 70 of New Blood

He walked alongside her as she headed for the garage.

“That’s nice of you. I hope she didn’t order you to do that.”

She gave him a sideways glance. “She was actually very nice this morning. She offered to help Priscilla with breakfast so I didn’t have to.”

“That’s very considerate of her.” He hadn’t expected that of Violet, but maybe she was more adaptable than the rest of the Gallaghers.

As they arrived at the garage, he opened the gate for her.

“Do you mind if I tag along?”

“Aren’t you busy?”

He shook his head. “Yes and no. But I wanted to fill you in on my talk with Eve.”

“That sounds ominous. Get in.”

She got into the old Toyota that looked like it was on its last legs, and he opened the passenger side door and joined her. He made a mental note of getting her a better car as soon as possible—paid for not from the Gallagher estate but his private funds.

Danielle stuck the key in the ignition and started the car, then exited the garage and drove slowly over the gravel path leading to the front driveway.

A BMW was just leaving.

“Is that Violet?”

“Yes. She said to just follow her. I don’t have GPS in this old rust bucket.” She glanced at him. “What did you want to tell me about Eve?”

“Oh, yes. I had a talk with her this morning. I want her to show me the letters she claims were written by you.”

“But you said you believed me.”

He recognized the disappointment in her voice and put his hand on her thigh.

“Of course I do. This is not for my sake, baby, but for yours. I want to show the Gallaghers that you’ve done nothing wrong. And the best way to do that is to prove that Eve either lied or was simply wrong about who wrote the letters—if they exist.”

“Did she give them to you?”

“She claims she doesn’t know where they are right now.”

“But—”

The BMW in front of them had already passed through the gate that had opened automatically.

“I gave her an ultimatum. She has to substantiate her claims, or she won’t be welcome here anymore. Nobody has the right to insult you like that without consequences.”

“But this is her home…”

As they passed through the gate, the road ahead of them was making a curve. The car was heading for it too fast.

“Danielle, please slow down a little. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She shot him a look, her hands gripping the steering wheel as if it were a lifeline.

“The car… the brakes aren’t working…”

They went into the curve, and the car was swerving. He looked down at her feet and saw that she was trying frantically to slow down the car. To no avail. On the slight downhill slope, the car gained speed.

“Fuck!” he cursed and looked for a safe spot where they could turn. But everything was sloping downwards.