The three of us sit in the waiting area for the next hour waiting for Frank to wake up. Ryan’s girlfriend, Chloe, shows up and we wait some more. Frank’s still sleeping so we decide to go out for dinner.
Chloe’s in med school and she’s all about eating healthy, so we go to a restaurant where you make your own stir-fry. You don’t actually make the stir-fry. You just pick the ingredients and give it to the guy to cook.
“Look, Jade. Vegetables. Your favorite,” Garret jokes as we’re lined up at the stir-fry station. Luckily they have egg rolls and fried wontons, so I load up on those and go back to the table. As I’m eating, Garret comes back with some stir-fried green beans and sets them in front of me, moving aside my plate of egg rolls.
“Why are you putting something green in front of me? I can’t eat that.”
“Just try it,” he says, digging into his own heaping plate of vegetables.
I cautiously try a green bean, preparing to spit it in my napkin. But it’s really good. It doesn’t even taste like a green bean.
“What did you put on those?”
“It’s a secret. I made my own concoction at the sauce bar.” The cocky smile appears. I haven’t seen it for a while and I’ve missed it. “You like it, don’t you?”
“Maybe.” I eat another green bean.
“I could make you something else. Like chicken? Or some other type of protein? Actual food instead of that fried crap you’re eating.”
“If you could make it taste like this, I’ll have some chicken.”
He gets up and heads to the stir-fry station.
Ryan comes back to the table, pretending to be startled when he sees my plate. “You’re eating a green vegetable? Are you feeling okay?”
“Funny, Ryan. Garret made me. And now he’s making me eat chicken.”
“Huh. I’ll give him a few points for that.” Ryan leans over to Chloe. “Jade lives on junk food. Potato chips. Fries. Desserts. That’s about it.”
“And chocolate milk,” I add. “Technically, that’s not junk food.”
Garret comes back with the chicken. It’s just as good as the green beans. I might have to break down and give him a compliment for this. But not now. I’ll save it for later.
After dinner, we go back to the hospital and see Frank, who is finally awake. We stay there until the end of visiting hours. The nurse keeps coming in telling us we need to leave, but I’m not ready to. I don’t want to leave Frank. I haven’t had enough time with him.
I sit next to Frank on the bed and take his hand. “I’ll miss you like crazy, but I’m going to keep calling you every day, just like I’ve been doing. Once a week isn’t enough.”
“Okay, honey. Sounds good.” He glances at the clock on the wall. “You should get going. They’re very strict about visiting hours. Call me tomorrow when you get to Connecticut so I know you made it.”
“I will.” I stand up but I’m unable to go. Frank still looks so frail. What if he doesn’t get better? What if his brain starts bleeding again and they can’t make it stop? What if this is the last time I see him? Just thinking about it has my eyes getting watery. Stupid Garret making me feel shit! Damn, it pisses me off!
I give Frank a hug. My eyes can’t hold the tears anymore and they run down my cheek. “I don’t want to go,” I whisper to him.
“You need to go,” he whispers back. “You’ll be safer there.”
I pull away, trying to quickly wipe the tears. But Frank sees them. He’s never seen me cry. Not even when my mom died.
He motions me to get close again. “That boy’s been good for you, Jade. I’m glad you found each other.”
The nurse is standing at the door staring at us, signaling us to get out.
“I guess we have to leave,” I say, letting go of Frank’s hand.
Garret comes over to Frank. “It was nice meeting you. I hope you feel better soon.” He puts his arm around me as I stand up. “I’ll take good care of her.”
I lean down and hug Frank one more time.
Then I hug Ryan. “I feel like I did that day you dropped me off at Moorhurst. Saying goodbye when I didn’t want to. I felt so alone when you left. I ran for like three hours that day.”
“Jade, you should’ve called me.”
“Oh, yeah. Like you would’ve talked to me with your no-cell-phones-while-driving-on-the-interstate rule.”
“I would’ve pulled over.”
“It doesn’t matter. I survived.” I take a deep breath and let it out. “This goodbye stuff sucks. I’ll just say see ya later.”
Ryan smiles. “Okay. See ya later, Jade. See ya, Garret.”
On the way to the hotel, I try not to cry but a few tears sneak out. Garret reaches over and holds my hand. “Jade, you can come home before May. I’ll get you a ticket for spring break. Or some weekend. Whenever you want to go.”
“No. You’ve already spent enough.”
“The money doesn’t matter. What matters is that you see your family.”
“I’ll think about it.”
We get a few hours sleep before having to get up to catch our early morning flight. When we board the plane, our seats are in the second row. “First class again, Garret? It’s gonna take me years to pay this off.” I turn to look behind us. “We could’ve sat back there. It’s not a full plane.”
“I told you I don’t fit in those seats.” He takes a newspaper from the flight attendant and turns to the sports section. “Just get used to it. When you’re Mrs. Kensington you’ll only fly first class.” He’s trying not to laugh.
“Stop it. You’re just saying that because you know it freaks me out. And you know I can’t protest because of that rule you made.”
“Katherine ruined the family name, Jade. We need a new Mrs. Kensington. And you’re it.”
I jab his side. “Okay, you’re done now.”
He goes back to reading his sports section. I squeeze his hand as we take off, then rest my head on his shoulder and fall asleep.
We get into Hartford just before noon. It’s dark and gloomy. It almost looks like it could snow.
I get in the car and call Ryan quick to let him know we made it while Garret puts the luggage in the trunk. I hang up with Ryan just as Garret gets in the car.
“Do you want to eat somewhere?” he asks as we’re leaving the airport. “It’s more than an hour drive to my house.”
“No, I’m not hungry.”
Garret gets on the interstate. As he speeds up, I notice him glancing down at his feet.”
“What are you doing?” I ask him.
“I was just checking something.”
His eyes move from the road to the dashboard and back again, repeatedly. A car pulls into our lane. We come up close to its bumper but Garret doesn’t even slow down. He just darts into the other lane.
“Garret, you almost hit that car. Why didn’t you slow down?”
He checks the dashboard again. “I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?”
“I can’t slow down.” He sounds panicked. “I keep pressing on the brakes and nothing happens. Watch.” He hits the brakes and the speed doesn’t change. “The fucking brakes are out!”
Now I’m panicking. “This car is only a few months old. How could the brakes not work?”
“We have to get off the interstate. I’m gonna take one of these exits.”
“And do what?”
“I don’t know yet. The next town is really small. I’m hoping we’ll have the road to ourselves. Then I’ll figure something out.”
He signals and moves to the far right lane, then gets off at the next exit going 75 miles per hour. Luckily there aren’t any other cars on the offramp or the stoplight at the end of it. We plow right through the red light and down a two-lane road.
I’m convinced this is the end of both of our lives. We came back here to be safe and now we’re going to die.
Garret’s being very calm about this, probably for my sake. I keep quiet so he c
an concentrate.
“Jade, hold on to something. This is going to be a rough stop.”
Before I can ask what he’s doing, he puts the car in neutral, veers off the road, and steers up a large snowy hill. The car slows down, unable to make the hill, the tires struggling in the snow. It rolls back and finally stops. Garret turns the car off, then reaches over and unfastens my seat belt.
“Get out of the car! Now!” He yells it at me as he gets out of the driver’s side.
He comes around and grabs my hand, then starts running away from the car.
“What’s going on?”
“Someone fucked with my brakes. And if they did that, they might have done something else to the car. Set something to go off. I don’t know. We just need to get away.”
We stop when we reach the ditch by the road. “Jade, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. I’m fine. Just freaked out. And cold.”
“Come here.” He holds me close to him with one arm and calls his dad with the other.
“What did your dad say?” I ask him after he hangs up.
“He’s coming to pick us up. I told him we’d wait at that gas station we passed, so we need to get walking.”
“But does he think someone did this?”
“He knows someone did this. Brakes don’t go out on a car that’s four months old. I had that car serviced a month ago. Everything was fine. And the brakes worked on the way to the airport. Someone did this while it was sitting in the parking garage.”
“So they’re trying to kill us. They want us dead.” I don’t say it like a question because it’s clear that’s what they wanted.
“Let’s not talk about it right now. Let’s just get to the gas station where it’s warm and wait for my dad.”
Mr. Kensington picks us up an hour later in his black Mercedes. Garret and I don’t say much on the ride back to the house. I think we’re both still in shock.
When we get to the house, Mr. Kensington takes us into his office. It’s huge and looks like an actual office in an office building. He sits down at his oversized desk and Garret and I sit across from him.
“I never thought it would come to this,” he says. “I’ve known Royce for years and although he’s ruthless when it comes to politics, I never thought he’d do something like this.”
“Why wouldn’t he?” I ask. “He’s a rapist. He almost killed my mom. He left her for dead on the side of the road.”
Mr. Kensington’s brows raise. “A rapist? No, he didn’t rape her. Royce and your mother had an affair. And he certainly didn’t try to kill her.”
“No. He raped her. And left her on the side of the road to die. You didn’t know that?”
“He told me it was an affair.” Mr. Kensington says it like he’s talking to himself, his eyes glazed over. “I never understood why he was so worried about an affair. Politicians have affairs all the time. And it was so long ago. It wouldn’t have hurt his campaign. But if he raped her . . . and then left her . . . ” He wakes from his fog and shakes his head, looking even more worried than before. “Now I understand why he’s so panicked about this.”
“So what’s the deal you made with him?” Garret asks.
“Royce needed to make sure Jade never found out about him. He knew he’d be running for office and he wanted to get control over anything from his past that could jeopardize his campaign. That’s why you’re here, Jade. That’s why you’re at Moorhurst. I gave you the scholarship so I could keep an eye on you for him.”
I suppose that should shock me but surprisingly it doesn’t. It never did make sense that I got the scholarship without even applying for it. Then again, maybe I’m not reacting to the news because I’m still trying to get over the fact that Garret and I almost got killed in his car.
I sit there quietly but Garret’s pissed. He bursts up from his chair. “You brought Jade here so you could spy on her? Why would you do that?”
Mr. Kensington lets out a long sigh. “Because I owed him.”
“Of course you did.” Garret remains standing, his arms crossed over his chest. “So what is it? What does he have on you?”
Mr. Kensington doesn’t answer.
“Our manufacturing plant in Texas.” Garret waits for his dad to respond but he doesn’t. “The fire was our fault, wasn’t it? All those people died and we didn’t do a damn thing for their families. You blamed the employees. You said it was their fault, not ours. You blamed the plant manager and ruined his life! You faked the evidence, didn’t you? Covered up anything that would link it back to us.”
“I agree it was wrong. But we did what we had to do. Some of the employees started talking to reporters. We had to get control. Someone had to take the blame. You know how many contracts we’d lose if the truth got out? We’d lose the company. Our family company. Your great grandfather’s company.”
Garret shakes his head as he slowly sits down. “I don’t even know how it’s possible we’re related. Thank God for Mom. Otherwise I would’ve turned out like you.”
“That’s enough, Garret! I regret how I handled the fire. I really do. But it wasn’t just me. Your grandfather was involved as well. In fact, it was his idea. And we can’t change it now. It’s over.”
“You can change it! You can tell the truth!”
“It’s not going to happen. Too many people were involved in covering it up. And Royce is one of them. After he did that for us, I agreed to keep watch on Jade once he started campaigning.”
“What do you mean by keep watch?” I ask him. “Have you been spying on me this whole time? Do you have people following me around?”
“No. Nothing like that. I was just supposed to make sure you went to Moorhurst and take care of anything you needed money-wise. Royce contacted me after your mother died. At the time, he sounded like he cared about you. He wanted you to go to a good college so you could get a decent job and not end up like your mother.”
I tell Mr. Kensington Frank’s theory about my mother being drugged all those years.
“It doesn’t surprise me, Jade. That’s not uncommon when someone won’t keep quiet.”
It’s just like Garret said. It’s one of the techniques powerful people use to hide their secrets. Making people who know the truth crazy so nobody will ever believe them. I start to wonder if I should be telling all this stuff to Garret’s dad. I’m not sure if I can trust him. Garret always tells me his family does stuff he doesn’t approve of. And the story about the fire just proved that. Now I’m wondering what else his dad has done.
“When did Sinclair start threatening Jade?” Garret asks.
“A few months ago. But he wasn’t making threats, at least that’s not how he made it sound. He called me and said he suspected she might know about the affair. Again, he called it an affair, not a rape. And he mentioned something about a letter. Anyway he told me to keep a closer eye on her and that he would be sending someone out here to give her a little scare so she wouldn’t start digging for more information. That’s when I started to have concerns. I tried to talk him out of it. I told him it wasn’t necessary. And then I found out you two were dating and I had to stop it. I didn’t want you involved in this, Garret.”
So that’s why Mr. Kensington kept trying to keep Garret and me apart? I still think my background had something to do with it. Along with input from Katherine.
He continues. “When you two showed up at the fundraiser, Royce was furious. He assumed I brought Jade there just to flaunt her in front of his wife and daughter, like I was trying to reveal his secret to his family. I assured him I had nothing to do with it, but he didn’t believe me.”
Mr. Kensington turns to Garret. “Later that night, Sadie made a joke, saying you picked a girl who looks just like her. Royce panicked. He was sure his wife or other people at the party would also notice the similarity and would eventually put the pieces together. That’s when I started getting even more worried.”
“So you think he’s really trying to k
ill me?” I almost can’t say the words. The thought that someone, especially my own father, wants me dead is too much to comprehend.
Mr. Kensington sits back in his chair. “I thought he’d just start having you followed. Listen in on your calls to see how much you knew. I didn’t think he’d actually try to harm you. But now, with this incident with the car, it’s clear he’s trying to do just that. And he obviously wants to harm you as well, Garret. He must assume you know about all of this, given your relationship with Jade.”
“So what now?” I ask him. “We hide out and hope he doesn’t kill us? Can’t we do something?”
“I’m working on it.” Mr. Kensington stands up, as if signaling that our conversation is over. “I don’t think you need to be prisoners here in the house but stay close to home. Royce knows better than to send his people to the house, or even to this town. But Garret, if you go anywhere, I want you to take your gun.”
“Yeah, I will.”
I look at them like they’re insane, but the two of them act like it’s perfectly normal.
We leave the office. Mr. Kensington shuts the door behind us.
“I guess that explains some things,” Garret says. “I’ve never seen him so worried about me. And he’s worried about you, too. He’ll take care of this, Jade. He’ll do whatever he can to keep this guy from hurting you. And me.”
“What do you think he’s going to do?”
“Call up his people. Go into full attack mode. Force Sinclair to stop whatever he’s planning to do.”
“I probably don’t want to know the details.”
“No, you don’t.” He puts his arm around my shoulder. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
I hope he’s not going to show me his gun, because I’m still trying to accept the fact that he has one. And is ready to use it.
27
Garret leads me beyond the foyer and around the corner to the formal living room. Standing near the window is the largest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen, at least in person. It’s artificial because Katherine would never allow a real tree in her house. It would be too messy. But the fake tree looks real.
Knowing You (The Jade Series #2) Page 23
