Always Us (The Jade Series #8)

by Everhart, Allie

  “Actually, I have to leave.” I put my coat on. “It was nice meeting you,” I say to the nurse.

  “You as well. Tell your wife she’s a very lucky lady.” She winks at me.

  “Will you be back for another visit?” my grandfather asks as I’m walking out.

  “I don’t know,” I say, casually. “Maybe.”

  I take off down the hall and the stairs and go straight out to my car. I should’ve known he wouldn’t accept my offer. I gave him two of the main things he wanted and it still wasn’t enough.

  I never should’ve even made that offer. Why would I give him what he wants? Why would I change my whole life just for him? Because I’m desperate. That’s why. I’m desperate to stop him. He’s determined to kill Jade. I think he’s even looking forward to it. Knowing him, he wouldn’t even hire someone. He’d do it himself. Sick bastard.

  I get some dinner and take it back to the hotel and call Jade.

  “How’d it go?” She sounds worried.

  “Not well. He wasn’t interested in what I had to say.”

  “So now what?”

  “I guess I’ll go to my house and talk to my dad. See if we can come up with something else.”

  “How did Holton look?”

  “Like he always does. If it weren’t for the IV you wouldn’t even know he’d been sick. Are you at home now?”

  “Yeah. The security guys are outside. I feel weird having them out there. I feel like I should invite them in for dinner or something.”

  “Jade, they’re not your friends. They’re only there to protect you.”

  “So what else did Holton say?”

  “I didn’t talk to him very long. A nurse came in so I left.” I smile. “The nurse asked about you.”

  “She did?”

  “She asked if I had a girlfriend. I told her I have a wife named Jade who I love more anything in the world. And I told her you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  “You said all that?” By her tone, I know she’s smiling. “To a stranger?”

  “Why wouldn’t I? It’s true. I love you and I’m not afraid to tell people. And my grandfather needed to hear it.”

  “It won’t change his mind.”

  “I know, but I still said it. I don’t want to talk about him anymore. Tell me about your day.”

  We remain on the phone for hours. I don’t want to hang up and neither does she. We find a movie on TV and watch it together, but she doesn’t fall asleep like she normally does during movies. She only does that when I’m there and we’re snuggled up on the couch together. She said she won’t sleep at all tonight, with me gone and two strange guys just outside the door. I won’t sleep either. I’ll be awake, worrying about her and missing her and trying to find a way to fix this.

  Around eleven, we say goodbye and hang up. I lie on the bed staring up at the ceiling, replaying that conversation I had with my grandfather. I can still see that look on his face, challenging me to do something. I hear him telling me I’m weak. Part of me feels like I am. I’m lying here, not doing anything, knowing he’s going to kill Jade. My wife. The person I love more than anything. So why aren’t I doing something?

  Kill or be killed. William said those words when we were at Grace’s house and I haven’t forgotten them. Before we left that day, I asked him why he hired someone like Walt to work for him. I knew Walt freelanced for the organization, which means he’s killed people, probably lots of people. William explained that he has lots of enemies and that’s why he needs someone like Walt. Someone who isn’t afraid to take out the enemy. William said that for people like him and my dad, sometimes it’s kill or be killed.

  Kill or be killed. Sometimes that’s your only choice. I feel like it’s the only one I have left. I kill my grandfather. Or he kills Jade.

  This only ends when one of them dies. And it sure as hell isn’t going to be Jade.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  18

  GARRET

  I bolt up from the bed, put my coat on, grab my keys, and burst out the door. I get in the car and speed down the road, not stopping until I reach my house. My dad changed the code on the gate but the security guy knows me and lets me in. He must assume my dad knew I was coming because he doesn’t act surprised. But he does make a comment about my getting there so late. I tell him my plane was delayed.

  I go in the house, which is dimly lit by the sconces that line the halls. We always keep them on at night, as well as the small lamp that sits on the table in the foyer.

  I walk up the stairs and sneak down the hall to my room. I go to my closet and take out the small metal safe. I punch in the code and open the safe and pull out my gun. I take the bullets and load the gun, my hand shaking a little.

  I look at the loaded gun in my hand. I don’t know if I can do this. But I have to. If I don’t, he’ll kill Jade.

  I make sure I clicked the safety on the gun, then quietly walk out of my room, back down the hall, and down the stairs.

  “Garret?” It’s my dad. I turn my head and see him walking toward me from the living room. He’s still in his suit pants and white dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up a little. He has on a tie, but it’s loosened a bit.

  “I have to go.” I walk to the foyer, heading to the door, but my dad steps in front of me.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I don’t answer him. I can’t come up with a lie. I’m too out of it to think. And I’m shaking. Why am I shaking? Shit. My grandfather’s right. I am weak. I should be able to do this. I should storm past my dad, get in the car, and go shoot the man who plans to kill my wife.

  My dad glances down at my hand and sees the gun.

  “Garret, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  I can’t answer him. I can’t look at him. So I stand there, my gaze on the tile floor.

  He reaches down and slowly takes the gun from my hand.

  “Son, this isn’t you.” He says it softly.

  I hear him move beside me and set the gun down on the table.

  He comes back in front of me and places his hands on my shoulders. “Garret, look at me.”

  I lift my head and see his face. He doesn’t look angry. He looks concerned.

  “Dad, I didn’t know what else to do.”

  He pulls me into him, his arms wrapped around me. “I know. I understand.”

  And he does. This is like him and my mom all over again. I don’t know all that happened back then, but I know my dad always worried my grandfather might do something to hurt my mom. And in the end, he did.

  My dad grips my shoulders, his eyes on mine. “Listen to me. I know you’re desperate to do something, but this isn’t the answer. This is not you, Garret. You’re not a murderer. You don’t hurt people. I may not have been the best father to you, but I did everything in my power to keep you from becoming me. Or him. And I will not let you do it now.”

  “He challenged me to do it. I went there and I almost attacked him with my bare hands. And he waited for me to do it. And when I didn’t, he said I was weak.”

  “Killing someone does NOT make you strong. It does NOT make you a man. It makes you a monster, like my father.” He glances at the gun, then back at me. “It changes you. Once you take someone’s life, you can’t go back to how you used to be. You’ll never be the same. That’s why my father challenged you to do this. He wants you to change. To be just like him. Even if doing so results in his own death. He’d be happy dying, knowing he did that to you. But I won’t let that happen. I won’t let my father take away the person that you are. You’re a good man, Garret. A good son. A good husband. You’re better than my father or I will ever be.” He pauses. “You have no idea what I’ve done over the years. And I don’t want you to know. I try to think of that side of me as someone else. The person my father created, not the real me. But I have to live with that part of myself every day, and believe me, you don’t want to live this way.” He looks down at the floor, then up at me agai
n. “I know you don’t want to lose Jade and I don’t either. I love her like she was my own daughter. That’s why I told you I’d take care of this. You just need to trust me.”

  “I did, but nothing happened. And I couldn’t just sit and wait for you to do something.”

  “Things have happened. You’re just not aware of them. This is being taken care of.”

  “Are you the one who drugged him?”

  He sighs. “Garret, it’s late. Go upstairs. Get some rest and we’ll talk about this in the morning.”

  “No. I’m sorry, Dad, but I have to end this.” I grab the gun from the table and run out the door before he can stop me.

  “Garret, get back here!” He follows me to the driveway. “You don’t need to do this!”

  I get in the car and take off, heading toward my grandparents’ mansion. It’s now almost midnight and I have no idea what I’m going to do when I get there. My dad’s right. Shooting my grandfather will change me. And once I do it, I can’t go back. But it has to be done. He has to die.

  When I get to the mansion, I punch in the code the security guy gave me earlier. The gate opens and I turn off my headlights as I approach the house. I don’t want to wake up my grandmother. Shit. What’s my grandmother going to do? I’m killing her husband. And what about Lilly? I’m killing her grandpa.

  I park the car and sit there a moment, the gun in my hand. What the fuck am I doing? My dad’s right. I’m not a murderer.

  I get out of the car, leaving the gun behind. I walk up to the door with no plan for what I’m going to do when I get to his room. Then I realize I don’t have a key to the house. I can’t get in. I turn the door handle and it opens. What the hell? Don’t they lock their doors? And where are the security guards? There should be at least one outside watching the gate. This is odd. Something doesn’t feel right.

  I go inside. The house is quiet, but not completely dark. They always keep a few lights on downstairs. I slowly walk up to his room. I’m now convinced I’ve lost my mind, showing up at my grandfather’s house in the middle of the night, not even sure what I’m going to do.

  The room he’s in is at the far end of the hall, and as I’m walking there I hear voices. It sounds like a man and a woman. Maybe his doctor and nurse? I’m not sure, but if his medical team is in there, I need to leave. As I’m about to turn back, I hear the woman speaking. The voice sounds familiar. I step closer to the door.

  “Are you sure he’s out?” she asks.

  It’s Katherine. What the hell is she doing here in the middle of the night?

  “He’s out,” the man says. “Sleeping like a baby. Go ahead.” The man sounds familiar, too, but I’m not sure who it is.

  I remain outside the door.

  “There. It’s done,” Katherine says. “Straight to the bloodstream this time. Double the dose. It’s nice to have friends in the pharmaceutical industry.”

  Pharmaceutical industry? Was she talking to…no, that can’t be right.

  I hear the man’s voice again. “Now we just wait.”

  Holy shit! That’s William’s voice. William’s in there with Katherine. What the fuck?

  I walk into the room. “What are you two doing here?”

  Katherine is standing by my grandfather’s bed, right next to the IV pole, a syringe in her hand. William is across from her.

  “Garret!” Katherine drops the syringe, a look of horror and shock on her face. “Get out of here! Right now!”

  When I don’t move, William says, “Garret, you need to leave.”

  I look down at my grandfather. His eyes are closed and his skin is getting paler by the second.

  “What’s going on here?” I ask William.

  “Nothing,” Katherine snaps. “Now get out!”

  “What did you do to him?” I ask her. “What did you put in his IV?”

  William answers in a calm, even tone, his eyes on Katherine. “She injected a drug that is now seeping through his veins, slowly killing him.”

  My eyes shift back to my grandfather. His breathing is getting slower, more labored. The color continues to drain from his face. My grandfather’s dying. Right now. Before my eyes. And I’m not doing anything. I’m just standing here, watching him die.

  “Why the hell would you tell him that?” Katherine spits out at William.

  “Garret wants him dead as much as we do.”

  We? Why does William want my grandfather dead? And why does Katherine?

  Katherine turns to me. “Why would you want to kill your own grandfather?”

  “Because he was going to kill Jade.” I’m not even sure if I said the words out loud as I try to figure out if this is really happening.

  “So you came all the way out here to kill him?”

  “I wasn’t going to—I mean, I just needed to talk to him. Get him to back down. Leave Jade alone.”

  Katherine smiles and looks at William. “Do you want to tell him or should I?”

  “Katherine, don’t. He doesn’t need to know.”

  “Know what?” I ask her.

  “Jade is dead,” she says bluntly.

  I reach over and grab her arm. “Why the fuck would you say something like that?”

  “Because it’s true. She’s dead. That piece of trash is finally out of our lives.”

  “You’re lying.” I let go of her and turn to William. “Why would she say that about Jade?”

  He clears his throat. “Jade’s not one of us. We can’t let people like her marry into families like ours.”

  “People like her? She’s a fucking Sinclair!”

  “You knew she was a Sinclair?” Katherine says to William.

  I ignore her and go up to William and shove him back against the wall. “What the fuck did you do?”

  “Garret, just calm down.”

  “Calm down? Katherine just told me Jade’s dead! And you want me to calm down?” I’m so filled with rage I could kill him, right here, right now. “You better tell me this is some kind of sick joke or I swear to God I’ll kill you.”

  “William ordered his security guards to shoot her,” Katherine says. “Left a nice suicide note as well.”

  “No.” I back away from him and wait for him to deny it.

  But he doesn’t. He just stands there, showing zero emotion.

  My mind is racing, refusing to believe this, trying to find an explanation. Why would William hurt Jade? Did he want revenge for Royce’s death? Was that his plan all along? Get close to Jade and then kill her? But William cares about her. He was trying to protect her. He kept telling me to protect her.

  “No!” I remain in front of him, my hands clenched, my heart thumping hard against my chest. “You wouldn’t do that! I fucking trusted you! You promised me you’d protect her! Katherine’s lying. Tell me she’s lying!”

  He says nothing. I get my phone out and call Jade. It goes straight to voicemail. I call again. Same thing. Why the hell isn’t she answering?

  I hear Katherine again. “She’s dead, Garret.”

  “Tell me she’s lying!” I yell it at William. “Tell me she’s fucking lying!”

  He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Garret. It had to be done.”

  “No!” I drop my phone and lunge at him.

  “Garret!” My dad races into the room, grabbing me and yanking me away, holding me back.

  “He killed Jade!” I fight against my dad, my eyes on William, who’s now texting someone on his phone. “He admitted it! He—”

  “Garret, stop!” My dad yanks me back even more. As I continue to fight him, he says by my ear, “It’s not real. I’ll explain later.”

  What? What’s not real? This whole scene is so fucked up I don’t know if any of this is real.

  He lets me go and I turn to see his face. He nods slightly, then his eyes dart to Katherine, then back at me. He’s telling me something. What is he telling me?

  “Pearce!” Katherine cries out as she runs over to him. “I don’t know what’s going on here, bu
t I came to see your father and found William putting something into Holton’s IV. I was going to call the ambulance but then you showed up and—”

  “Katherine!” he says to her. “That’s enough!”

  I hear someone in the hall. Dr. Cunningham comes in, wearing his white lab coat. He goes over to my grandfather and checks his pulse, then listens to his heart. Then he walks over to Katherine. “He’s gone. Do you still want Eleanor to find him in the morning? Or should I go wake her?”

  “Please give us a moment,” William says to the doctor.

  He nods and leaves the room.

  Katherine looks up at my dad. “Pearce, I didn’t do this. I promise you. It was William. I saw him do it. The syringe is still on the floor. The drugs he used were from Sinclair Pharmaceuticals.”

  My dad stares down at her. “And how would you know that, Katherine?”

  She inhales sharply. “I, I didn’t. I just assumed.”

  “You killed him,” my dad says to her. “And William and I will attest to that when we report this to the organization. I imagine the punishment for killing someone at the high-level ranking my father was at will be quite severe. Granted you aren’t a member, but your father is and will be punished accordingly. And you will be as well.”

  She shakes her head. “No. You can’t do that. And William…” She looks at him. “William would never accuse me of that. He knows I didn’t—”

  “The game’s over, Katherine,” he says, coming over to her. “We played you. Got you to do what needed to be done and kept our hands clean.”

  “But in the end, you’ll get what you want,” my dad says to her. “With my father gone, our divorce will be approved. But you won’t be marrying the senator. They’ll find someone else for him. Someone of a higher social standing. You won’t be allowed in our world anymore. They’ll make sure of that.”

  “Pearce, how could you do this to me? I’m your wife! The mother of your child!”

  “Yes, about that. I’m getting full custody of Lilly in the divorce.”

  She narrows her eyes at him. “You can’t raise our daughter. You’re never even home.”

  “And yet I see her more than you do. You’re in the same house with her all day and instead of spending time with her, you ignore her and force her to stay in her room. I’m not arguing about this Katherine. She’s staying with me. If you’d like to fight that, I’d be happy to expose even more of your sins to the members.”