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Deputy Peters’ face pinches with anger, but he quickly masks it with an awkward smile. “Very well. Enjoy your stay here in Silverbell.” He walks away, and Drakes eyes follow him all the way back to his car. Just before he climbs inside, he turns back, looking directly at us, and Drake gives him a salute, infuriating him further.
“That the cop?” Drake asks, not taking his eyes off Deputy Peters as he talks into his radio.
“Yeah, what gave him away?” I deadpan, with a roll of my eyes. “The guy has a serious case of ‘I’m a giant prick’. Has it in for me, and I don’t like the way he looks at Kenzie either.”
“That is something we can agree on. What happened to your face?” Drake asks, pointing to the small dressing at her temple.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“She got run off the road,” I say, at the same time as she tries to brush it off. I feel her eyes burn into the side of my face while Drake’s widen and pin Kenz under an equal glare.
“When?” Drake asks.
“Early hours of Saturday morning on my way home from work.”
“Jesus, Kennedy. You should have told me,” Drake grumbles, rubbing his chin. “You tell the cops?”
“Err…a slightly fabricated version of events that didn’t involve another car, yeah,” Kenz tells him.
Drake leans back in his seat with a huff, tapping a finger to the table. “Anything else I should know about?”
Reluctantly, Kenz tells him about her following Stu, and then I fill him in on what I saw. When I mention the black Escalade, something passes in his eyes, but he doesn’t comment other than to agree that it’s possible the man I saw Stu with and the car that ran her off the road could be connected. His lack of any sort of emotion reminds me of Jack Reacher, and based on his previous responses, there is something off about this one.
Kenz nips to the bathroom, and I take the opportunity to quiz Drake about what he’s not saying.
“Want to tell me what it is that you’re keeping from her?” I ask, my arms folded and resting on the table as I lean forward, keeping my voice low. “It’s clear we don’t like each other, that’s a given, but we have the same goal—keeping Kenz safe, so tell me what the fuck is going through your mind, Mr Hudson.” His eyes widen a fraction at my use of his last name, and I raise my brows at him.
“I have a friend I need to call about a possible Feds connection.”
“Seriously! Involved?”
“That’s what I need to find out. In the meantime, I need you to lay low, stay out of trouble. You think you can manage that, Mr King?”
“Don’t fucking patronize me. Just so we’re clear, Kenzie is mine. You do your job, I’ll do mine, and we won’t have a problem.” A shadow falls over the table as I finish, and I look up to find Everly there with her asshole boyfriend, Darryl.
“Hey, Ash. Kennedy with you?” she asks, her eyes skimming over to Drake.
“Yeah, she’s in the bathroom. What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing. Just wondering what you two are up to Friday.”
“No idea at the moment. Why, what’s happening Friday?” I ask, watching as Darryl shifts from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable. Kenzie returns before Everly can reply, and Darryl avoids eye contact with Kenz completely. I catch Drake’s eye, and he gives a barely there nod to say he’s noticed Darryl’s behaviour too.
Getting to his feet, he tells Kenz he’ll call her later, then he leaves and Everly takes his seat, dragging a reluctant Darryl into the seat beside her.
“So, there’s a beach party Friday. Wanna come with us?” Everly asks excitedly. You’d think she was fifteen not twenty-six. Kenz screws her nose up. Everly seeing what’s coming, adds, “Come on, Kenz, we’ve not been to a beach party since before you left. It’ll be a good way to let your hair down and give the middle finger to everyone that…well, you know.”
Kenz looks to me, and I shrug while mentally working out my shifts. “Whose party is it?” she asks, offering a ray of hope, which is snuffed out a second later.
“Aria Thomas. It’s her birthday, and Daddy is throwing her a big beach party to celebrate. Of course, it’s a perfect platform for him to get some exposure too. People like him never do anything without an ulterior motive.”
“I don’t know, Everly. Don’t you need an invitation?”
I listen as Everly explains it’s open house while squeezing Kenzie’s leg beneath the table in what I hope she realizes is a say no gesture and not a come to bed with me gesture.
“Yeah, maybe,” Kenz tells her, then gets to her feet. “We need to go, but I’ll call you later.” She practically drags me from the seat and doesn’t stop till we are in the car. “Arghh, that man infuriates me just looking at him. The fucking sleazeball.” She yanks her seatbelt so hard it locks, and I watch as she struggles with it while continuing to berate Darryl. Shaking her head, she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, then gently pulls on the seatbelt, clicking it into place.
“So, I guess you’re not a fan then?” I ask with a chuckle, as she turns to look back at the diner.
