Page 52 of Embers of You
“Stu, what’s going on?”
Stu puts a finger to his lips to ensure I remain quiet. “Jonathan, I think we should bring Kennedy on board.”
There’s a sigh, then Jonathan says, “We talked about this, Stu. It’s too dangerous and Titan are watching her too closely.”
“I’m aware of exactly how much danger she’s in. I was the one at the hospital in the middle of the damn night. I think she can help us put the pieces together.”
“Fucking hell, Stu, she’s there, isn’t she? Put her on.”
“I’m already on,Jonathan. So how about we meet so you can fill me in, and maybe I’ll reciprocate.” Stu looks a little shocked at my response. One thing he’s yet to learn about the Kennedy that’s returned is that she’s no longer happy to stay quiet or sit back and be manipulated.
After several minutes of cursing and debating the level of danger and stupidity doing this will bring, Jonathan finally agrees to meet with me and Stu tomorrow, but not in town for obvious reasons.
Stu and I spend the next hour discussing how we can convince my mom to leave town for a couple of weeks. He tries to push me to go with her, but I refuse point blank, which makes persuading Mom even more difficult. He tells me that my aunt in New York has been desperate for Mom to come and visit, but she won’t go because there is no one she trusts to look after Morning Kick. I see the underlying and not very well-hidden question in his words.
Just the thought of stepping foot in there has my heart beating like a fucking drum, but I put my own anxieties aside and tell him if he can get her to agree to go, then I’ll look after Morning Kick.
When I ask where Mom is, he tells me that she goes to a book club on a Sunday night and should be back around ten. I love a good steamy book but push the thought of my mom reading the same books I do from my mind.
Stu leaves me in the office when we hear Mom coming home, closing the door behind him, realizing that I need some time alone.
I rest back in my chair looking across my dad’s desk. It doesn’t take much for me to picture him sitting here. But the happy memories soon fade, blurring in and out of focus as they fight against darker ones that are trying to push forward.
My eyes catch on the wall behind the desk where the large family canvas is still hanging, and I remember my reason for wanting to come back here in the first place. It also reminds me that if the missing papers from Titan’s file aren’t in there, then I need to ask Stu about them, although I don’t know how he would have got access to them after they were moved to storage. If he doesn’t have them then that raises so many more questions.
Getting to my feet, I step round the desk and push the chair Stu was sitting in back beneath the desk out of the way. Reaching up, I try to avoid the eyes of Nolan and my dad, which seem to follow my every movement, I clasp each side of the canvas and lift, unhooking it from the wall. Gently placing it on the floor against the wall, I look up at the safe. It’s so old fashioned, although it is more modern than the one that was here when my parents bought the house.
I have a moment where my mind goes completely blank as I stand here staring at the damn dial, which seems to be haunting me as I try to remember the combination. I only discovered it by accident one day when I watched my dad placing a birthday gift in there for my mom. Scared the life out of him when he turned around and I was standing right behind him. It provided months of entertainment as he tried to get me back but never managed it.
Hand shaking slightly, I grip the dial and pray to God that he hasn’t changed it. The house is quiet, so the distinctive click is audible a minute later as I turn to the last number. Giving it a tug, the door opens with a clunk.
Inside I find a couple of stacks of cash, a ring box and a pile of papers. I don’t need to look inside the ring box to know it holds my mother and father’s wedding rings. Bypassing it, I lift the pile of papers out and something falls to the floor, bouncing beneath the desk. Crouching to retrieve it, I hook my fingers through a small metal ring and pull it free. It’s a key chain with the Titan Industries logo on it and attached to it is a flash drive.
I shove it in my pocket, then scan through the papers. Documents for the house, passports for my mom and Stu and car ownership papers but no missing file. I gather them all back together and put them back in the safe, closing and locking it. I replace the picture, then head to my room.
ChapterTwenty-Three
There are headlights up ahead as I approach my house, and I stop to let them pass. I can’t see who it is until they draw level, slowing as they do and making sure that I know just who it is. Deputy Peters meets my gaze, and there’s no doubting the question in it or the message he’s sending me. He wants me to know that he’s watching me. I give him a chin lift as he passes, then I turn into my drive as he speeds up and disappears round the corner.
I don’t like the guy. Never have. He’s made it more than obvious the feeling is mutual, and I’m good with that. What I’m not so good with is his problem with Kenzie or why. He moved here after she’d left, and other than the rumors I’m sure he’s heard about what happened with Titan Industries, I can’t think of one reason he’d have it in for her—unless he’s connected in some way.
Making my way inside, I chuck my keys in the dish by the door and head to the kitchen, grabbing a beer. Then I go and sit on the front porch and send a message to Tripp. That man is going to be sick of me and want a huge favor for all this digging I’m asking for lately.
There’re no lights out here, none close enough to give more than a soft glow and anybody walking by would be hard pushed to see me.
I try calling Jackson again as I take a swig of my beer. He doesn’t answer, so I ping him a message telling him to let me know he’s okay.
When my phone pings with a reply a couple of minutes later, I’m hoping it’s him, but it’s Tripp.
You free?
I hit dial, and he answers before it even rings.
“Hey, so I was looking into this Carmichael guy, and it seems that he and Preston Thomas are good friends. Thomas’ daughter and Carmichael’s son are around the same age and have grown up together. Carmichael has a nephew too. Are you ready for this? Owen Taylor.”
“Hold on…Kennedy’s ex Owen?”
“One and the same. Seems they are quite the little family unit.”