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“Not the time, Jackson,” Ash tells him, and the serious look on his face wipes the smirk straight from Jackson’s face.
“What’s going on?” Jackson asks, looking between us.
Ash’s tone even has me giving him all my attention as I get the feeling whatever he’s about to reveal is of vital importance.
“First off, Kenzie knows about the letter you received. Secondly, it’s not the first time I’ve seen a letter like that.” Jackson frowns but stays quiet. “Archie received one similar to yours a couple of weeks before his death. He told me it was a disgruntled resident not happy with the development. However, and this is where it gets tricky, Kennedy found out today that her dad was already dead the night of the fire.”
“What the fuck?” Jackson exclaims.
“I know, but before we get back to that, there is something I need to tell you. Both of you actually. I saw Stu the other day, before your accident, receiving an envelope from a man I’ve never seen before. I followed the guy and listened to him take a call where he mentioned ‘the daughter’ and promising to ‘take care of it’. The guy got picked up by a black Escalade.”
I can’t help the little gasp that escapes and two sets of eyes, one looking a little sad to be telling their best friend that his dad is possibly connected to what happened, and the other looking mightily pissed off, turn on me.
“What is it?” Ash asks, warily.
I lower my eyes a fraction before looking directly at Jackson as I speak. “The night before my accident I was followed home from Tungsten Bay by a dark SUV, the same car that rammed me off the road the following night.” I swallow and prepare to tell him something that is only going to make Stu’s involvement even more likely.
Jackson taps his clenched fist on the counter, and I can see his mind working through what he’s just been told, his cool, casual demeanor now vanished.
“I’m sorry, Jackson, but you’re not going to like what else I need to tell you. I saw Stu meeting a man down by the lake the day after my accident and they were clearly talking about me. Saying that they couldn’t afford for me to start shouting my mouth off again or I’d ruin everything, and Stu promising I won’t be a problem…” I hesitate for no more than a second, but it’s long enough to alert Ash that I’m holding back.
“What is it?”
“Well…” I look to Jackson, jaw clenched and nostrils flaring. “I couldn’t get a good look at the guy, but he wasn’t alone. There’s a small chance that his security saw me.”
“Security? Jesus fucking Christ, Kenz! You didn’t think to mention this before now?” Ash curses, slapping his hand down on the counter before spinning away. Back turned to me, he tugs at his hair with both hands, then drops them to his hips.
“Funnily enough, no, I didn’t think to mention it before. Did you forget that before now I’ve been avoiding you, and even now there’s hardly been a lot of fucking talking!” I snap back at him, and as he turns round to face me, I arch a brow at him. The scraping of metal on the tiled floor draws our attention to Jackson, who is now on his feet and stepping round the breakfast bar.
“Hey, where you going?” Ash asks, grabbing a hold of his arm.
“I’m going to find out what the hell my dad is up to. And I promise you now that if he is involved in this, I’ll bury him myself.” He yanks his arm free from Ash’s grip, but before he can go any further, I step in front of him.
“Just wait a second,” I say, putting my hands on his chest, giving it a gentle pat as I talk. “Please, Jackson.” He looks at my hands then to me. “I know you’re angry—”
“Not even close enough to cover what I’m feeling, Kennedy.”
“Okay, and I get that, but if you go off like this and confront your dad, we lose any advantage we have. We need to be smart, Jackson.” He sighs, knowing that what I’m saying is true. “Just stay here for now. I have someone that I need to talk to before we make any other moves,” I implore.
He steps back, my hands falling from him, and with a nod and nothing more, he reluctantly agrees.
Asher steps forward, slapping Jackson on the shoulder. “Don’t do anything stupid, Jackson,” Ash tells him before walking out of the kitchen.
I hang back, Jackson looking up at me. “Go, Kennedy. I’m not going anywhere,” he says with a lift of his chin toward where Asher disappeared down the hall.
When I step outside, I find Ash sitting in his car—my brother’s old car.
Spotting me, he calls through the window, “Jump in.”
Before he’s even finished saying the words, I’m shaking my head. “No. I’ll walk.”
“We’ll be late. Just get in the car, Kenz.”
I look over the car, and I know it’s just a car, but it was Nolan’s. I see him in it. I see him and my dad in the garage, hood open, fixing it up and it hurts. Each memory is like a tiny shard of glass from my shattered heart piercing another puncture wound in the fragile repair job.
“I…I can’t, Ash.”
He climbs out and stops in front of me. Reaching out he cradles my face, bending down so we are eye to eye.
