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Just how many people were in on this conspiracy to frame me for Cerina’s murder? Why did they target me? And why on earth was her family in on it?
“Come on.” Mr. Blythe pressed on my left shoulder blade. I hadn’t even realized that I’d stopped walking. “We’re not there yet.”
He led me out of the Vincent mansion and over to a silver car with heavily-tinted windows. Mr. Barron unlocked it and roughly pushed me into the back seat. I waited, heart pounding, as the two of them got in the front and pulled out of the winding driveway.
We turned onto the main road, and I stared out the window to my left, watching the world go by and wondering if it was the last time that I’d see any of it. Mr. Blythe had claimed earlier that he wasn’t going to kill me today, but I had no way of knowing if he was lying or not. For all I knew, he was going to throw me off a cliff as soon as we finished at the memorial service this morning.
Ten minutes later, we turned into Carrington Park. It was an enormous expanse of land on the edge of town filled with lush gardens, sweeping lawns, and meandering paths.
Mr. Blythe slowly steered the car into a parking lot on our right. A thick patch of trees and shrubs fringed the far side of the space. We parked in the last spot at the end, next to an enormous oak tree, and then Mr. Barron turned to look at me in the back seat. “Stick your left leg across here,” he said, motioning toward the center console.
“Not yet,” Mr. Blythe cut in, pointing to the clock on the dash. “We’re a little early.”
“Are we?” Mr. Barron followed his gaze to the clock. “Ah, yes, we are. The service probably hasn’t even started yet.”
Mr. Blythe turned to look at me. “Sit tight, Kinsey. We’ll cut the monitor off when the service is halfway through,” he said. “You should actually be able to see it from where you’re sitting.”
I peered out the window again. A crowd was gathering in the distance, surrounded by a purple haze of flowers. A row of police officers stood on one side, watching the mourners like hawks.
“Lots of police here,” Mr. Barron mused, staring in the same direction as me. “They must be here to see if Kinsey shows up.”
“Yes, they’re probably expecting her,” Mr. Blythe replied. “Apparently murderers often show up at the funerals of their victims. I’m not sure why, exactly. To gloat about how they got away with it, perhaps?”
“Who cares?” Mr. Barron said, lifting a shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “As long as they believe Kinsey was here today, that’s all that matters.”
I took a deep breath through my nose, wishing I could give the two men an earful. Unfortunately, with the gag in my mouth, the only sound I could make was a strangled groan.
A few minutes later, a familiar black car pulled up four spots down from us. My eyes widened and my heart began to race again.
It was Jax.
He stepped out of the car and stretched his arms, mouth dropping open in a yawn. His face was drawn and there were dark circles under his eyes. Clearly, he hadn’t slept a wink since I disappeared.
A powerful rush of love shot through my veins, and I moaned through the gag, wishing Jax could feel the emotion bleeding through the thick metal and glass between us.
Erin stepped out of the passenger side of the car, looking just as drained and worried as Jax. She was followed by Bobbi Kesinovic, who was probably the last person I expected to see hanging out with either of them. I didn’t spend much time thinking about her, though. I was too set on getting to Jax. I had to make him see me. Hear me. Save me.
“Jax! Help!” I tried to scream but my words came out in a garbled, barely-audible squeak.
Jax clicked his key fob. Then he turned and trudged away from the car.Shit.I was going to lose him.
I wriggled over on the back seat and smashed my head into the window. A loud thud echoed through the car. I repeated the movement, hitting my head even harder this time.
“What the hell are you doing?” Mr. Blythe hissed, reaching into the back seat to grab me. “You know no one can see you through that tinted glass, don’t you? All you’ll do is give yourself a concussion.”
I wriggled out of his grip and smashed my head against the window again.
Jax stopped and turned to stare in my direction, brows dipping in a puzzled frown. For a long moment he just stood there, motionless. Then he shook his head and turned away.
A moment later, he was gone.
8
Jax
“Did you hear that?”I turned my head to look at Erin and Bobbi.
Bobbi lifted a brow. “Did I hear what?”
