Always Us (The Jade Series #8)

by Everhart, Allie

  “Thank you, Marta.”

  “Would you like something?” she asks me.

  “No, thank you.”

  The maid leaves, closing the door behind her.

  “Justin’s sister was also a reporter.” My dad swipes through the screen on his phone as he talks. “And she was indeed killed. She was killed by your grandfather.”

  “What?” I move to the edge of my chair. “Are you serious? Why did he kill her?”

  “He didn’t do it. He hired someone, like we always do. The girl knew too much. She had to go.”

  “Dad, what the hell? You act like she deserved it.”

  “Of course she didn’t deserve it, but that’s the business we’re in, Garret. Well, not you, but the rest of us. Knowing too much can get you killed. That’s why I keep telling you to stay out of things like this. And that goes for Jade as well.”

  Normally my dad wouldn’t tell me all this. He’s never come out and actually admitted to having people killed. But maybe now that I know what he did to his father, he feels less of a need to keep secrets from me.

  “Do you think Carson, I mean Justin, knows it was Grandfather who arranged to have her killed?”

  “I’m almost certain he does. I think he somehow traced her murder back to my father and that’s what led Justin to investigate our family and become involved with Aston Hanniford.”

  “Shit.” I sit back in my chair. “No wonder the guy hates me.”

  “Your grandfather was careless when it came to these things. He was arrogant and took too many risks. And because of that, I now have Hanniford to deal with, along with the FBI.”

  “The FBI is after you?”

  “Aston has friends in high places. He knows an FBI agent who agreed to look into this for him. There’s no open case against me. The agent is doing this on his own as a favor to Aston. But I’m sure he’s using the FBI’s resources to get it done. And if finds any conclusive evidence, he’ll tell his fellow agents and they’ll open an official case and start an investigation.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I’m not doing anything. I’m supposed to keep my distance. The other members are taking care of it.”

  “Meaning they’ll kill the FBI guy?”

  “Even with him gone we’ll still have to get rid of whatever files he had on me,” my dad says, glossing over my question. “We’ll also need to destroy any files Justin may have on me.”

  “You’re not going to kill Justin, are you?”

  “It’s not up to me. It’s out of my hands. I told the members the situation and now it’s up to them to decide what to do. If Justin shows up at your house again, or harasses either you or Jade, let me know. We’ll take care of it.”

  “I don’t want you to kill him. Just let me handle it. If he shows up again, I’ll find a way to make him leave. Beating him up would be better than killing him.”

  My dad picks up the remote and turns on the TV that’s on the wall behind me.

  “Dad, what are you doing? We’re in the middle of a conversation.”

  “I just want to check the weather. I heard we might get snow later tonight.”

  My dad never checks the weather. He doesn’t care about the weather.

  I turn to see the TV. A news station is on and an older man is talking. “In other news, we’ve just learned that billionaire Cecil Roth was killed in a car explosion near his home in Westchester County, New York. Reports are still coming in, but it’s believed he was speeding and lost control of his vehicle. He hit a telephone pole and a fire started, which likely sparked the explosion.”

  “Holy shit.” I look back at my dad. “He’s dead? Roth is dead? What the hell?”

  My dad sighs. “That’s a shame. Another funeral to go to. That’s two in one week.”

  “Dad, did you—” I can’t accuse him of that. It was a car crash. Roth was speeding. It had nothing to do with my dad.

  He flips to a weather channel. “You see? A winter storm is on the way. I hope it doesn’t affect your flight home.”

  His phone rings and he answers it. “Yes, William. I saw the news.” He listens. “Let me know how it goes.” He sets the phone down.

  “Was that William Sinclair?”

  “Yes. He’s been asked to attend a meeting tomorrow.”

  “A meeting about what? Do you think they’re going to offer him the promotion?”

  “Perhaps, although it has to be voted on by the members and that won’t happen until the meeting at the end of this month.”

  “With Roth gone and Grandfather gone, there are two spots open. Who will get the other one?”

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. We really shouldn’t talk about it.”

  I sit there, my mind coming up with all kinds of scenarios that probably aren’t true. Or maybe they are.

  “Doesn’t William live near there?” I ask.

  “Near where?”

  “Near the crash site. Westchester County.”

  My dad turns on his computer. “I’m so behind at the office, I’ll never even begin to catch up. This past week, with planning the funeral and the memorial, I’ve barely had time to return phone calls.”

  He’s avoiding my questions. But why? Did he do that to Roth? We own a chemical company and chemicals cause explosions. So did he rig Roth’s car? Was William in on it? He had just as much motivation to get rid of Roth as my dad did. Maybe more. William wants Jade and me to be safe, but he also wants to be promoted. Having two open spots gives him an even better chance of getting that promotion. So maybe my dad provided the chemicals and William rigged the car.

  My dad’s typing something into the computer.

  “Where were you last night?” I ask him.

  “I told you, I had to go into the office. There was an issue with one of the plants and it couldn’t wait until morning.”

  I examine his face, his expression, his tone. But there’s nothing there. No emotion. No expression. No change in body language. His voice is even. He’s completely calm.

  “What would you like for dinner tonight?” He sips his coffee. “We could go out if you’d like.”

  I sit back in my chair. “So you’re really going to Roth’s funeral? I thought you hated the guy.”

  “He was a friend of my father’s, therefore I must set aside my personal feelings for the man and pay my respects.”

  “What did Roth say to you last night that made you so angry?”

  “I was angry because he showed up here uninvited.”

  “It was more than that. You wouldn’t normally show your anger to someone like Roth. It’s disrespectful for someone at his level.” The organization is all about hierarchy, and the members must honor that hierarchy, and last night, my dad didn’t do that. “Just tell me what he said. It was about me, wasn’t it?”

  “Charles makes excellent coffee.” He drinks the last of it and sets the cup down. “Your grandfather said he never liked Charles’ coffee. He said it tasted like tar. And yet one day I saw him in the kitchen pouring himself a cup of it. He never knew I saw him do it.”

  “Dad, I need to know the truth. Was Roth trying to get me back in the organization?”

  “Yes,” he says casually.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I just recently found out. My father and I discussed it the night we had dinner, before he suffered the stroke.”

  I stare at him. He’s completely serious, like he truly believes the fake story about my grandfather having a stroke. I don’t know how he does it. I don’t know how my dad is able to pretend the truth doesn’t exist and act like the fake story is what really happened. It’s just like he said. Like he lives his life as two different people. The dad I know is the one who chooses to believe he didn’t plot to kill his own father and that my grandfather died of complications from a stroke. The other side of him knows the truth. I guess that’s the only way my dad can live with himself and still do the bad things he does.

  “Da
d, I need to know more than that. What exactly did Grandfather tell you?”

  He sighs. “Roth and my father were both trying to get you back in the organization. Both men had too much pride and too much arrogance to allow you to just walk away from the plans they had for you.”

  “You’re saying Grandfather was in on Roth’s plan to make me president?”

  “Your grandfather claimed it was his idea. He said he came up with it years ago and convinced Roth to use his power and influence to make it happen.”

  “Why would Roth do that for him?”

  “I don’t know. I may never know. It doesn’t matter. The point is that Roth looked like a fool when the plan fell through. And he blamed my father for that and wanted him to fix it. My father told Roth it wasn’t possible unless Roth got him promoted to the top level at the organization. That way they could used their combined power to force the other members to give you a second chance. And it worked. My father used Roth to get the promotion, and together they were able to convince—or rather bully—the other members to reinstate you, given you met certain conditions, of which you already know about.”

  “But even if I was a member again, their plan for me is over. I destroyed my reputation and the members voted. Like you said, they can’t go back on their decision.”

  “Roth still wanted you back, just to prove that he’s the one in charge. And to punish you for your behavior last spring.”

  “Does he know it was fake?”

  “Luckily, your grandfather didn’t share his theory on that, probably because he couldn’t prove it. But Roth knew about your grandfather’s plan to kill Jade and he was prepared to follow through on it.”

  “How do you know someone else won’t?”

  “There’s nobody left in the organization who cares about you anymore. You were being talked about the past few months because of this rumor about Roth trying to get you back. But only he and my father wanted that. As I’ve told you before, the other members are tired of dealing with you after the trouble you caused last spring.”

  I hesitate, then just come out and say it. “You killed him, didn’t you?”

  He looks directly at me, his eyes dark, his face serious. “Why would you ask me something like that?”

  I feel like he’s daring me to say what I’m really thinking. But he knows I won’t, because he knows I don’t really want the answer. I don’t like the world he lives in, and I don’t want to be part of it or know what goes on there. I’ve seen more than enough already.

  “I just—”

  “Accidents happen, Garret. Cars crash every day. Roth shouldn’t have been speeding.” He gets up from his desk. “I need to get more coffee and then I’m going to check on Lilly.”

  “She needs to talk to you about some stuff. She was asking me all these questions about death.”

  “Yes, I’ll spend some time with her.” He opens his office door. “Where’s Jade?”

  “She’s with Harper.” I get up and follow him into the foyer. “Oh, I wanted to ask you about Kiefer. Last night he said he wanted to talk to me about something. He wants to talk in person so he said he’s driving up to see me when we get back to California. Do you know what this is about?”

  My dad turns back to face me. “Don’t talk to him.”

  “I already told him I would.”

  “Then call him and tell him you won’t. You need to stay out of this.”

  “Stay out of what? Is this about—”

  “Garret.” He grips my shoulder. “I can’t protect you forever. You need to start seeing things for what they are and taking the necessary precautions.”

  My dad’s telling me this is about the organization. Kiefer wants to talk to me about it, but why?

  “Okay. I’ll tell him I can’t meet with him.”

  “Good. And make sure Jade knows that her friendship with Harper needs to end. Soon.”

  “She’s not going to like that.”

  “What did I just tell you?”

  “That I need to take precautions. I know. I’ll tell her about Harper. When is this thing with Kiefer official?”

  “January first.”

  “Daddy, you’re home.” Lilly comes running down the stairs.

  “Yes, honey.” He picks her up. “Let’s go in the kitchen. Daddy really needs some coffee.”

  He leaves me standing there in the foyer. My conversation with him left me with more questions than answers. Did he kill Roth? He had the motive to, which makes me think he did.

  My dad is all about rules. So maybe I already have the answer.

  Rule number two. Protect your family above all else.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  26

  JADE

  I get back to the Kensington mansion and open the door to find Garret standing in the foyer with nobody else around.

  “What are you doing?” I hug him. “Waiting by the door for me?”

  “Yeah.” He sounds a little out of it. He must still be tired from yesterday. “How was Harper?”

  “She’s okay. I thought she’d talk about Sean the whole time but she didn’t talk about him at all. Oh, and when I picked her up at Moorhurst I ran into Jasmine. She couldn’t believe I was married. She was shocked when she found out I married you after your bad boy behavior last year.”

  “Did you see anyone else while you were there?”

  “No. We left as soon as I got there.” I notice Pearce’s office door is open. I peek inside. “Where’s your dad? Did you talk to him?”

  “Yes, and he already knows about Carson. He’s been investigating him for months. My dad knows about Hanniford, too.”

  “So what’s he doing about it?”

  “He told the organization and I guess they’re dealing with it.”

  “They’re not going to hurt Carson, are they?”

  “He doesn’t know. It’s not up to him. Jade, this isn’t our problem so we need to stop talking about it.”

  “What if Carson shows up at our place again?”

  “We’ll tell him to leave and then we’ll tell my dad and he’ll take care of it.“

  “I don’t like this, Garret. They’re going to—”

  “Jade. It’s not our problem.” He pauses. “I have some other news. Roth is dead.”

  “Roth, as in the guy who showed up before our wedding?”

  “Yeah. He died in a car explosion not far from his home.”

  “Someone blew up his car?”

  “He was speeding and crashed into a telephone pole. It sparked a fire and the car exploded. This just happened so the news didn’t have many details yet.”

  “Does your dad know?”

  “Yeah, he had the TV on in his office and that’s when we found out.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I’m glad he’s gone.”

  “Yeah, me, too.” Garret hugs me as he says it, and again, his hug is a little too tight.

  “Garret, is something wrong?”

  He pulls back. “No. Why?”

  “Nothing. I just—never mind.”

  I need a moment to process this. Roth and Holton are dead. The two men who were trying to control Garret, trying to take over his life, are gone. They’re really gone. I feel like we should celebrate. That’s wrong, I know. I shouldn’t celebrate people dying, but feeling safer and more secure is something to celebrate.

  “Let’s go out,” I say to Garret.

  “Where do you want to go?”

  “I don’t know. Anywhere. Go get your coat.”

  Garret gets his jacket from the closet. “I know it’s early, but do you want to go out for lunch?”

  “What about your dad and Lilly? Should we invite them to come with us?”

  “I don’t think so. My dad wants to spend some time with her since he hasn’t been around much, so it’s probably better if we leave. We’ll see them this afternoon.” He opens the door. “You driving?”

  “No.” I hand him the keys. “Driving your dad’s car makes me n
ervous.”

  He goes over to it and opens my door. “Why does it make you nervous?”

  “Because if I get in an accident, he’ll yell at me.”

  Garret laughs as I get in the car. “He would never yell at you, Jade, especially about wrecking his car. He’d just fix it or buy another one.” He gets in the driver’s side and pulls out of the circular driveway. “So what did you decide about lunch? Yes? No?”

  “Yes. I’m starving. Where should we go?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “You’re not going to tell me?”

  “It’s a surprise.” He smiles. “Because I know how much you love surprises.”

  He drives out of the fancy rich neighborhood his dad lives in and goes down some winding roads for about five minutes, then turns off onto another small road. I recognize the area and know exactly where we’re going.

  “The Mexican place?” I ask him as I see the sign for it just a few feet ahead. It’s the place he took me to on our first official date.

  “I know you’re dying to hear that guy sing again.” He pulls into the lot and parks. “And no laughing this time.”

  “That’s impossible,” I say, already laughing. “You know that, right? Because I’m telling you right now, there will be laughing.”

  He takes my hand as we walk to the entrance. A man with a huge sombrero opens the door. “Welcome, amigos!”

  I burst out laughing. I don’t know what my problem is, but this whole place makes me laugh. For some reason, I find everything funny here.

  “Jade, stop.” Garret’s laughing, too, but at me, not the sombrero guy.

  “Two for lunch?” the hostess asks. At least she’s not wearing a funny hat.

  She takes us to a table that’s three down from where we sat on our first date.

  “Can we have that one?” Garret points to the other table.

  “Sure.” She leads us to the table and hands us our menus. “Your server will be here shortly.”

  There’s hardly anyone in the restaurant because it’s just after eleven and they just opened.

  “I don’t see your singer,” Garret says, glancing around. “I bet he only works at night. You wouldn’t want to waste a talent like that on the lunch crowd. You need to save it for the more serious dinner patrons.”