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James runs a hand down his weary face. “It’s not that simple, Son. There are things—”
“Yeah, yeah... things we can’t know. But you gotta see it from my point of view. My girl was kidnapped and had a gun held to her head by some fucking psychopath who wanted to hurt us... and you left her there because of what—”
“What?” The words whooshes from my lungs. Guilt shines in James’ eyes.
“You were always safe, Kennedy, I promise.”
“N-no, that’s not—”
“Shh, babe.” Conner pulls me into his side and I cling to him, trying to make sense of what James is saying.
“Warren discovered some things. Things about me and the people I work for.” He slumps back in his chair. “How much has Hadley told you about Gravestone?”
“A little,” Conner replies. “She doesn’t really talk about it.”
“Understandable.” He runs his hand along his jaw. “Hadley’s dad is one of the founding families of Gravestone.”
“Founding families, what does that mean?” I ask, uncertain I want to know. But then, part of me wants to know what was worth leaving me there in that cage for.
A shiver rolls down my spine and Conner presses kisses to my hair.
“I’m right here,” he whispers, and my eyes flutter closed. “You’re safe now, K.”
I nod. When my eyes open again, James is watching me intently.
“For what it’s worth, Kennedy, I will never forgive myself for all of this. But I had to know... we had to discover his base of operations.”
“Base of operations?” Conner scoffs. “This isn’t some espionage movie, James. It’s our life, and I think we have a right to know what’s going on.”
Mr. Jagger lets out a long steady breath. “Our family is from Gravestone. The people I work for, the men who control the town... they are not the kind of people you want to disobey, Son.”
“So what, they’re like gangsters?”
“I guess you could call them a gang. One steeped in history and tradition.”
“You mean like a cult?” I blurt out, because he’s being so vague and mysterious.
“The details are not important. What matters is that the less you know, the safer you are. I am repaying a debt to them. A debt I do not intend being passed onto Ace.”
“Ace? But you said—"
“Conner, please. I’m going to need you to trust me on this. The less said about Gravestone the better. Warren is gone, he can’t hurt Kennedy anymore.” He releases a weary sigh, and it’s then that I realize how tired Mr. Jagger is.
“No way. You can’t expect me to just forget all those photographs. I mean, what does Bexley have to do with any of this? He’s been gone for months.”
“Conner,” James warns. “I’m asking you to trust—”
“Trust works both ways, Dad. He tried to kill her. He put a gun to her head and—”
I throw my arms around Conner and hold him tight, feeling his body tremble beneath me. “Shh,” I whisper. “It’s okay, I’m okay.”
“No.” Conner cups the back of my head and presses his brow to mine, staring into my eyes. “Nothing about this is okay.”
He wants to push his father, I can see it right there in his cloudy gaze. But I’m crashing.
“I’m tired,” I whisper. “Take me back to bed?
“Yeah, okay.”
