"You can never tell anyone this," I say to Gavin. "If you do, your father will do something to my dad. Or my mom. Or me."
"I can't believe this," Gavin says, leaning back on the couch. "I don't even know him. I don't even know my own dad."
"Do you think your mom knows?"
He shakes his head. "No. In fact, when I was living at home last summer she kept asking him where he was going at night but he wouldn't tell her." Gavin looks at me. "What you saw? I think he's done that before."
"Why do you think that?"
"Why else would he disappear late at night? And why does he have all those guns?"
"Who would he be using them on? Does he have a lot of enemies?"
"I have no idea. I'm starting to think everything he told me was a lie. He's always said violence is wrong. That people can talk through their problems. But it was all a lie."
"So what did you do? After you found the guns, what did you do?"
"I put the cover back over them and closed the trunk. Then I went to find my dad."
"But you didn't say anything to him, right?"
"I was going to but I couldn't find him. And then I saw him on stage. He was preparing for his speech. He was surrounded by his staff so I couldn't go talk to him. So I left and came here. But I have to say something. I have to confront him about this."
"Gavin, no. If you do, he'll think I told you. He'll punish me. He'll go after my dad."
"I'll keep you out of it. I won't tell him you told me about that night. I'll just tell him I was looking for his laptop and found the guns by accident."
"It's too risky. He'll assume you told me about the guns and then he'll assume I told you what I saw that night. Don't tell him you found the guns. Just forget it."
"I can't forget it. My dad is driving around with a fucking stash of guns in his car. I can't just ignore that."
"What good will it do to tell him? He'll just deny it."
"He can't deny it. I saw it for myself. If he denies it I'll tell him he's lying."
"It's not going to change anything. He's not going to get rid of them. You don't even know why he has them."
"No, but I'm going to find out."
"How would you find out?"
"I don't know yet, but I'll figure something out."
I pause for a moment, trying to decide if I should tell him how my dad's been following Niles around. I decide not to. Gavin's really upset and telling him that now might make him even more upset.
"Gavin, I think you just need to calm down. You're not thinking clearly right now. Give it some time and then decide what you're going to do. What time does your dad's speech end?"
"It's already over. It was only a half hour speech."
"He's going to be looking for you, wondering where you went."
Gavin shrugs. "Probably. But like you said, I'm too angry to talk to him right now."
"But if he finds out you left, he'll think something's up." I hand him his phone. "You've gotta call him. Act like everything's normal."
"I'm not ready to yet. Besides, he won't notice I'm gone for another hour or so. He always meets with voters after the speech."
Just then my phone rings. "Hello?"
"You told him!" a man screams.
"Who is this?" I ask, my hand shaking.
"You know damn well who it is. Where the fuck is my son?"
I get up and walk to the window, away from Gavin. "I don't know. I thought he was with you."
"Someone said he left. They said he looked upset. It's because you told him! You little fucking bitch!"
"No. I didn't. I promise I didn't."
"What did I say would happen if you told?"
"No! Please! Don't do anything!"
Gavin appears behind me and rips the phone from my hand.
"What did you do?" he barks into the phone. He waits, then looks at the phone. "He hung up. What the fuck?"
"Where was the speech?"
"Some small town south of Hartford. Why?"
"How far from my dad's house?"
"Maybe twenty or thirty minutes?"
"Give me the phone." I grab it from him. "I have to call him."
I call my dad but the call immediately goes to voicemail. "Dad, it's me. I just talked to Niles. He thinks I told Gavin about that night. Now he's going to do something to get back at me. Get out of the house, Dad. I mean it. Please. I'm begging you. Get out of there."
I end the call, gripping the phone as I wait for him to call back.
"Do you know where he is today?" Gavin asks.
"He's working from home. The home your dad basically just said he was going to blow up."
"What?"
"When I told you about your dad, I left this part out."
"What part?"
"Remember when my dad's shed blew up?"
"Yeah."
"Your dad did that. He admitted it. And he threatened to do it again, but this time to my dad's house. What if he already planted an explosive there?" I grab Gavin's arm. "We have to go there. We have to get him out of the house."
As we're racing to Gavin's car, he says, "Could you call a neighbor? Maybe someone could go over and tell him to leave."
"I only know his girlfriend. She lives down the street but she'd be at work right now and I don't have her number. I don't even know her last name."
Gavin speeds down the road while I continue to call my dad, but he never answers and he never calls back.
"I have to warn my dad," I say, "but he's not answering the phone. I called his cell and his landline and he's not answering either one."
"You sure he's home?"
"I don't know where else he'd be. And I don't know why he's not answering his phone."
"Maybe he's taking a nap. You said the pain pills he takes for his arm make him tired."
"Then we need to wake him up. He has to get out of there."
When we reach my dad's house, I see someone at the door but it's dark and all I can see is an outline.
I jump out of the car and run toward the house.
"Kate, stop!" Gavin yells, racing up to me. He holds me back and we stand on the lawn as the person on the porch turns toward us.
It's Niles.
"Dad." Gavin takes my hand, gripping it tightly. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to speak with Kate's father." Niles remains in front of the door, an odd grin on his face.
Gavin squeezes my hand. "Stay calm," he whispers.
"How can I stay calm when—"
"Kate," he whispers in a tone telling me to keep quiet. His eyes are still on Niles. "Dad, put it down."
My eyes lower to Niles' hand and I see he's holding something. A gun.
"No!" I try to run to Niles but Gavin yanks me back and pushes himself in front of me.
"What did you do?" Gavin asks his dad, his voice raised. "What the fuck did you do?"
"Gavin, you know how important this election is," Niles says in a calm and even voice. "Nothing can get in the way of that."
"Kate's dad has nothing to do with the election. He doesn't—"
"But Kate does," Niles says, that grin still on his face. "I warned her. I told her what could happen."
"No!" I scream, struggling to get past Gavin. He captures me in his arms and holds on tight as I fight him. "Let me go!"
"You didn't," Gavin says to his dad, shaking his head. "You wouldn't do that. You would never do that."
Niles says nothing as he casually leans against the door frame and inspects his gun.
"Dad, tell me you didn't do it," Gavin says.
"Relax son." Niles lets out a laugh as he looks at Gavin. "I didn't shoot him."
Gavin sighs. "I knew it. I knew you'd never do that."
But if that's true, then why isn't my dad coming out of the house? Did Niles use a knife? Poison him? Hit him over the head?
"What did you do to him?" I yell. "I know you did something! What is it?"
Niles laughs to himself, still leaning agains
t the door. He's acting like he's on something. Either that or he's lost his mind.
"Get back," Gavin quietly says as he pulls me to the sidewalk.
"Why?" I whisper. "What are you doing?"
"Something doesn't feel right." He pulls me back even farther until we're out in the street.
"Gavin, stop." I try to pull away from him but he's got me in a tight hold. "I need to go in the house. My dad—"
"Not yet," Gavin says, and when I glance at him, I see him staring at his dad, a worried look on his face.
I turn back to see Niles. He's saying something but we're too far away now to hear him.
My phone rings and as I look down to check it I hear a loud boom and drop the phone.
"Dad!" I hear Gavin yell.
I look up and watch as the porch explodes, pieces of wood shooting at Gavin and me. He throws me to the ground, covering me as another explosion goes off, taking out another chunk of the house, fire engulfing the rest of of it.
"No!" I scream.
Tears are pouring from my eyes and I'm trembling as Gavin's arms slide under me, hugging me, his body protecting me from the debris.
"Don't look," Gavin says. "Just breathe."
But I can't. I'm screaming, crying, pushing on Gavin to let me up.
"I'm sorry," I hear him say over and over again.
But his words don't help. They don't lessen the pain and agony I feel knowing my dad is gone.
I tried to warn him. I was so close. Why didn't I get here sooner?
Gavin's shaking and I realize he's crying too. Not as hard or as loud as me, but he's still crying. Because he lost his dad. He watched it happen.
"I'm sorry," I say, squeezing my arms around him. I know the words don't help but I don't know what else to say. We both lost our fathers and there aren't any words that will help lessen that pain.
Neighbors appear and kneel beside us, asking if we're okay, and when we stand up, I see more neighbors gathered behind us, staring at the house as the flames continue to consume it.
"Kate, we have to talk to them." Gavin points to the fireman coming toward us. "We have to make up a story about what happened."
Gavin holds my hand as a fireman walks up to us.
"Is this your house?" he asks.
"It's my dad's," I say.
"Do you know if anyone was in there?"
I nod, crying. "My dad."
"And mine." Gavin pulls me into his arms.
"I'm very sorry," the fireman says, knowing it's too late to save them.
Gavin holds me closer and I bury my head in his chest, trying to block out the sounds of the firemen yelling things to each other as they race past me toward the house.
"Is she hurt?" someone asks Gavin.
I turn and see an ambulance worker there.
"I don't think so."
"We'll still need to check her out. You too. Looks like you could use some stitches."
"Why?" I step back, looking at Gavin. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Gavin holds his arm out. "Just a scratch. Some of the debris got me."
I see a large gash on the side of his arm, blood running down to his wrist.
"Go to the hospital," I tell him. "I'm staying here."
"Kate, you can't do anything. It's too late." He hugs me.
"No," I say, sobbing on his shoulder. "This isn't happening. It can't be real."
Gavin's phone goes off. He ignores it and keeps holding me as I cry.
His phone rings again. He lets me go so he can turn it off. His brows furrow when he sees the screen. "What the hell?"
"What?" I ask.
He shows me the phone. "It's your dad's number."
I grab the phone and answer it. "Dad?"
"Honey, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you. I've been following this—"
"You're okay?" I smile, tears streaming down my cheeks. "It's really you?"
"Yes. Why? I called you but you weren't answering so I had to call Gavin."
"You called me? When?"
"A few minutes ago. Why?"
"Who is it?" Gavin asks.
"It's my dad." I'm smiling so much it hurts. "He wasn't in the house."
"Thank God." Gavin hugs me then quietly says, "I'm gonna go tell the fireman."
I nod and talk to my dad. "I thought you were working from home today."
"That was the plan but I decided to go check on that man who's been following Niles. I'm tracking him now. He's—"
"Niles is gone."
"What do you mean he's gone?"
"He died. He blew up your—" I stop, realizing that Niles couldn't have been the one who blew up the house. If it was him, he wouldn't have been here.
"Kate, what are you saying?"
"Someone blew up your house. It's a long story but basically I came to see you to warn you that Niles might do something and when I got here, I saw Niles at your house. He had a gun."
"And you assumed I was home so you thought he killed me," my dad confirms.
"Yeah, and then the house exploded and Niles was killed. Gavin saw it happen. He's here with me. We both thought we'd lost our dads."
"Honey, I'm so sorry. I wanted to call you earlier but I lost my phone. Turns out it fell under the seat of my car. Anyway, after I found it, I called and you didn't pick up."
"Because the house exploded and I dropped my phone." I glance around, searching for it. "I don't know where it is."
"Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?"
"I'm fine, but the house is pretty much gone."
"And you're sure Niles was in it?"
"He wasn't in the house but he was standing at the door when it happened." Looking over to check on Gavin, I see him talking to a fireman. "Dad, the firemen are here and they're asking questions. I don't know what to tell them."
"Tell them you think it was caused by faulty wiring or a leak in a gas line. Something like that."
"You don't really think that could've caused this, do you?"
"No. I think someone did this. I just don't know who. Obviously it wasn't Niles."
"Could it be one of your clients' exes? A cheating spouse looking for revenge?"
"I doubt it. I keep a close eye on those people and haven't seen any signs that would point to any of them doing this."
"Then it's them. It's that group."
"We don't know that for sure, but because it's a possibility, you're not going to go looking into this. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, but Dad, you have to know who did this. Once they find out you're alive, they'll come after you again."
"You let me worry about that. Are you sure you're okay? None of the debris hit you?"
"I'm fine, but Gavin got scratched up. He's talking to one of the firemen."
"Go over there and make sure he doesn't give too much away. I'll be there soon. I'm almost home."
A few minutes later he drives up, parks on the street, and races over to meet Gavin and me by the fireman.
"Craig Norris," he says to the fireman. "I own the house." He pulls me into his side. "You sure you're okay?"
I nod. "Yeah."
He looks at Gavin. "I'm very sorry about your father."
Gavin looks down at the ground.
"About the house," the fireman says to my dad. "Your daughter mentioned you might've had some faulty wiring."
"It's possible." His eyes go to what remains of his home. "It's an old house. It's hard to tell what's behind the walls unless you rip them down."
A policeman appears. An older man with a tan, wrinkled face. "So you're assuming it's just an accident."
"I have no reason to think otherwise."
The man stands in front of my dad. "You don't have any enemies? Because in your line of work, it seems like it comes with the territory."
My dad looks him in the eye. "Everyone has enemies, Bill. But I don't have the kind who would burn my house down."
"You two know each other?" I ask. I can already tell they don't like each other by the way
they both immediately straightened up when they saw one another, their faces tightening.
"I met your father when he was on the force," Bill says, his eyes still on my dad.
"That was a lot of years ago," my dad says to Bill. "And yet you're still keeping tabs on me?"
"Your job isn't exactly a secret. Your business is registered with the state, just like any other company."
"You'd have to do some digging to find it."
Bill smiles. "No need to be suspicious, officer, or should I say former officer."
My dad glares at him. "Back to what happened here tonight, I'm thinking it was some type of electrical issue. Something sparked and set off a fire."
"We'll do some investigating and find out."
"I don't think that's necessary."
"The insurance will require it. That is, if you want your insurance money."
"Bill, I need to take my daughter back to her apartment and take Gavin home to his mother." He turns to Gavin. "Does she know?"
"No," Gavin mutters, still staring at the ground. "They offered to tell her but I wanted to be the one to do it."
"Excuse us," he says to the firemen as my dad lets me go and walks up to Gavin. He puts his arm around his shoulder. "C'mon."
He leads Gavin over to the sidewalk, away from all the people. The two of them talk, with Gavin mostly nodding, then Gavin remains there while my dad walks back over to me. "Kate, let's go. We're leaving." He looks at Bill. "I'm guessing you have my number?"
Bill nods. "Yes."
"Call if you have any questions. I don't know where I'll be staying yet—"
"You'll stay with me," I tell him. "You can have my room."
He smiles at me. "The couch is fine. Thank you."
We walk back to Gavin, who's staring at the ground, still in shock. I put my arms around him and hug him. "I'm so sorry, Gavin."
He says nothing but I can feel his sadness. His sorrow. His grief. The same overwhelming grief I felt when I thought my own dad was dead.
Gavin is left without a father, and I feel horrible about that, sad for Gavin and the grieving he'll have to go through to get past this.
But with Niles dead, it's over. I no longer have to live in fear because of what I accidentally saw that night. I'll no longer be threatened. I'm safe. I'm finally safe.
Chapter Thirty-One
Secrets Kept Page 31