Always Us (The Jade Series #8)

by Everhart, Allie

  “Garret. Was he here or not?”

  He doesn’t respond, which just tells me Carson was right. Holton was here and Garret didn’t tell me. Why wouldn’t he tell me? We agreed we were done keeping secrets from each other.

  “Dammit, Garret!” I shove him back. “Why do you do this to me? Why do you keep hiding stuff from me?” Tears fall from my eyes before I can stop them. “I need to be able to trust you. You’re my husband and I need to be able to trust you.”

  I’m so mad at him right now. I’ve worked so hard this past year to learn to trust people, and the person I trust the most keeps lying to me. I walk around him and stand by the couch. He turns to face me but remains by the sliding glass door with that stupid wand thing still in his hand.

  “Jade, I’m sorry. But you don’t understand.”

  “There’s nothing to understand. Your grandfather was here and you hid it from me. Why would you keep that a secret, Garret?”

  He sighs, heavily, and stares down at the floor. But he doesn’t answer.

  “Is that why you were acting so strange when we were at Frank’s house? Because Holton came here and you didn’t want to tell me?”

  Silence.

  “Garret. Answer me. Was Holton here?”

  “Yes.”

  “When?”

  “Monday. A week ago Monday.”

  “Why? What did he want?”

  Garret finally looks at me. “I can’t talk about this right now. I need to deal with this thing with Carson.”

  “There’s nothing to deal with. You’ll tell your dad and he’ll deal with it. There’s nothing else we can do. Now answer my question. Why was your grandfather here? He wouldn’t show up here for no reason. So tell me what it is.”

  Garret stares at the floor again and shakes his head side to side.

  “What does that mean? You’re not going to tell me?”

  Silence. Again.

  I take a deep breath and wipe the tears from my face. “Fine. I’ll see you later.” I storm into the bedroom and slam the door.

  Garret opens it and meets me at the dresser. “Jade, where are you going?”

  “Where do you think?” I take out a sports bra and some shorts.

  “You’re not running, Jade. I promise you, we’ll talk about this. Just not right now. I need some time.”

  “You had time! You had over a week to tell me and you didn’t. And you wouldn’t have told me if it weren’t for Carson. I only found out because of him.”

  “Jade, just wait.” He tries to take my running clothes but I yank them back.

  “I’m running, Garret. I know you don’t want me to, but I don’t care. I’m running. I have to. Because I can’t handle having you lie to me like this. Not answer my questions. Stand there in silence without even trying to explain. I can’t handle how I’m feeling right now and I have to run. I admit it. I’m messed up and that’s what I do. I run. Deal with it.”

  I go to the other side of the room into the walk-in closet and grab a t-shirt, then change clothes as fast as I can. When I turn around, Garret’s blocking the door. I don’t look at his face. I just push on his chest as hard as I can. “Get out of the way.”

  His hands are bracing the door frame and he doesn’t move. I can’t even squeeze around his sides.

  “Garret, I mean it. Move. I need to run. I can’t stay here and listen to your silence.”

  “Okay.” He says it quietly. “I’ll tell you.”

  I look up at his face. His eyes are wet and there’s a tear running down his cheek.

  I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect to look up at him and see tears. The only time I’ve ever seen Garret shed a tear was last spring when he thought he’d never see me again.

  I take a step back. “Garret, what’s wrong?”

  He reaches for me and pulls me into his arms. “I almost lost you.”

  I swallow hard, fighting back my own tears. “What do you mean?”

  He doesn’t answer, but just holds me close to him and breathes. Deep, heavy breaths. He slowly lets me go, then sits on the floor just outside the closet. He’s backed against the wall, his knees bent and his arms resting on them, his eyes on the floor.

  I sit next to him, rubbing his arm. “Garret, talk to me.”

  “My grandfather came here last week. He broke into the house. I didn’t have class that afternoon so I went home. And he was here.”

  “Why? What did he want?”

  “A couple weeks ago he called me and told me I had to work for the company.”

  “Yeah, I remember. And you told him you wouldn’t do it, right?”

  “Yes. But he didn’t like my answer. That’s why he showed up here.”

  “To tell you to work for the company?”

  “Not tell, but force. He was going to force me to work there. And force me to transfer to Yale. He already got me accepted.”

  “Yale? But we have a life here, in California. And what was I supposed to do? I can’t get into Yale.”

  “You weren’t part of the plan, Jade.” Garret won’t look at me. He won’t even look in my direction.

  “He told you to divorce me?”

  “Yes. And to never speak to you again.”

  “What did you say to him?”

  “I told him he couldn’t control me like that. I told him I’d never leave you and I’d never work for the company.”

  “And what did he say?”

  Garret shuts his eyes, then opens them again, his gaze still on the floor. “He said—” He stops and takes a deep breath and lets it out. “He told me if I didn’t do what he said, he would—” He stops again. “He would kill you.”

  I inhale sharply and the muscles in my chest immediately tighten, making it hard to breathe. I turn so that I’m facing Garret. “No. Your grandfather wouldn’t do that. He was just trying to scare you into doing what he wanted.”

  “He was serious, Jade. He would’ve done it.” Garret pauses. “He killed my mom.”

  “What? No. That’s not possible.” Now I really can’t breathe. I’m shaking. “The organization killed her.”

  “Yes, but it was his idea. The organization wanted to do something to the company to punish my dad for marrying my mom. But my grandfather convinced them that getting rid of my mom was a better punishment. It was all his idea. He had her killed. And he determined when it would be done. They wanted to kill her right after my dad married her but my grandfather made them wait. He wanted my dad to suffer. He wanted my dad to have all those years with her, to love her, to have a child with her, and then take it all away.”

  “No.” I shake my head, tears falling again. “A father wouldn’t do that to his own son. And his daughter-in-law. Your mom.” I cry even harder as the realization of what he’s saying hits me. “Oh my God. Your mom. She’d be alive if he didn’t—”

  He nods. “Yeah.”

  I hug his chest. “Garret, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry she’s gone. I’m sorry he did that.” More tears fall, my heart aching for him. “I don’t even know what to say. I don’t know how anyone could be that evil.”

  “Evil is everywhere, Jade. Your own father tried to kill you.”

  I sit back and look at him. “Yes, but he didn’t know me. He didn’t raise me. This is different. Holton raised your father. Pearce is his only son. Why would he do that to his son? And his grandson? You were just a little boy. How could he take away your mom?” I’m still crying, but Garret’s expression is blank, his gaze on the bed behind me.

  “Because he wanted to punish my dad. My dad didn’t listen to him. He didn’t divorce my mom. And he didn’t raise me the way my grandfather told him to. My grandfather hates not being the one in control, which is why he was trying to take over my life. He was determined to make sure I followed orders. To do exactly what he had planned for my life. He was even trying to get me accepted back into the organization. That’s another reason why he had to get rid of you.”

  My whole body is shaking. I don’t belie
ve this. It’s too evil, too vicious, too cruel to be real. I wipe my tears and take some deep breaths.

  My focus shifts from what Holton did in the past to what he’d planned to do in the future. To me. “When was he going to do it? When was he going to kill me?”

  “He gave me a deadline. He said you were safe until the end of the year. After that, I had to make a decision. If I divorced you, you’d be safe. Otherwise, he’d kill you, but I wouldn’t know when. He said he’d pick the time, just like he did for my mom. When he told me this, I swear I almost killed him with my bare hands. But he had a gun.”

  I’m so shocked, I can’t even come up with a response. Why would Holton bring a gun? Did he plan to hurt his own grandson?

  Garret continues. “After he left, I called my dad and told him to come out here right away. He flew out that night and that’s why he was here Tuesday morning. He said he’d take care of it. He was going to talk to my grandfather on Thanksgiving. I don’t know if he ever did. He didn’t tell me.”

  No wonder Garret was so out of it last week. No wonder he didn’t sleep and could barely eat.

  I lean my head on his shoulder and take his hand, threading it with mine. “I wish you would’ve told me this, Garret.”

  “I couldn’t do it, Jade. How could I tell you something like that? All I ever wanted is for you to be happy. And you finally were, and then this happens. I just wanted you to be happy for a little longer. I thought maybe I could find a way to fix this. Then my dad said he would, and I believed him. I wanted to give him time to at least try before I told you.”

  I understand why Garret didn’t tell me, and part of me is glad that he didn’t. If I’d known about this, I would’ve been so scared and so angry that I wouldn’t have gone home for Thanksgiving. I couldn’t have been around Frank and Ryan. They would’ve known something was up. I couldn’t hide something like this from them.

  “Were you ever going to tell me?” I ask him.

  He rubs my hand with his thumb. “I was hoping I’d never have to. I was hoping it would just be over and you’d never have to know.” He pauses. “I never would’ve let him hurt you, Jade. I would’ve done everything possible to protect you. I spent all last week trying to figure out ways to keep you safe. I stayed up all night, every night, thinking about it.”

  “Is this ever going to end, Garret?”

  He wraps his arms around me and kisses my head. “It’s over. With my grandfather gone, this will end.”

  “But what about that burglary and the fake cop? What if the organization was behind that?”

  His body stiffens and I sit back again.

  “What is it, Garret? Do you know something about the burglary?”

  He slowly nods. “That was his original plan. But it didn’t work. The burglary was set up by my grandfather. He hired a guy to break in here and—”

  “Kill me?” A chill runs through my entire body.

  “I’m so sorry, Jade.” He pulls me back into his chest. “I’m so sorry I got you involved in this. I’m sorry I put you in danger. I’m sorry for all of it.”

  “It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. It was all your grandfather.”

  “Yes, but I should’ve been more aware. More cautious. My job is to protect you and I didn’t. That guy would’ve killed you. He almost did. He didn’t because he was scared off by the security cameras.”

  “Why did the fake cop show up here?”

  “My grandfather knows how my dad checks into stuff like this. He knew my dad would try to find out more about that guy who was lurking around our house. So my grandfather hired that man to pretend he’s a cop and tell us our neighbors were robbed. That way we wouldn’t think the guy was targeting us specifically and my dad would just assume it was a random crime. Anyway, when the robbery didn’t work as planned, my grandfather decided to take a different approach.”

  We sit there in silence, Garret hugging me too tightly again, but it’s what I need right now. I need to feel safe, and the only place I feel safe is in Garret’s arms.

  Holton’s going to die any day now, but I still feel scared. I was almost killed. Holton wanted me dead. I’d be dead right now if that burglar had done what he was hired to do.

  Is this really over? How can Garret be sure? He didn’t know about his grandfather’s plan, which means he may not know about other threats against me, or against us. I shudder just thinking about that.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  14

  GARRET

  It’s done. I told Jade everything. Every last detail. And she’s scared, just like I knew she would be, which is why I didn’t want her to know. Her whole body is shaking, and no matter how tightly I hold her, I can’t get the shaking to stop.

  “Jade, get up.” I push on her a little until she backs away. “Let’s go to the bed.”

  “I’m not tired.” Her eyes are red and teary, and I can see from her face that she’s more than just scared. She’s terrified.

  “Let’s just go lie down. You don’t have to sleep.”

  I stand up and help her off the floor. We go to the bed and I shove the covers back and we get in. Then I pull the covers back over us.

  “Just breathe,” I tell her as her shaking continues. I have her body pressed into mine, my arms completely around her.

  “What if he sends someone after me? Like Roth? What if they’re in on this together?”

  I didn’t tell Jade about my grandfather being friends with Roth and I’m not going to. She can’t handle any more than what I’ve already told her. I’ll talk to my dad about Roth and see if he thinks Roth poses any kind of threat. I don’t know why he would. He doesn’t care if I run the company or go to Yale. And I don’t know why he’d want me back in the organization after the embarrassment I caused him. He was the one pushing for me to be president someday and then I acted out last spring and made him look like a fool for picking me in the first place. If anything, the guy should want to kill me, not Jade.

  “Nobody will hurt you, Jade. I swear. They’ll have to kill me first. And if I’m dead, my dad will protect you.”

  “Don’t say stuff like that. You’re not going to die. You’re not going to leave me. Say it, Garret.”

  I kiss her head. “I’m not going to leave you. Not ever.”

  We lie there quietly and eventually her shaking stops and she falls asleep. I didn’t think she’d be able to sleep, but there’s something about being in my arms that makes her sleepy. I don’t move, even though the arm that’s under her keeps going numb. I flex it a little, trying to get the circulation going again, but by the fourth time of doing this, I have to move it or I may not have an arm left. I slide it out from under her and she wakes.

  “Don’t leave,” she whispers.

  “I’m not leaving. I just needed to move my arm.”

  She turns around and grabs hold of my shirt. “He’s still alive. He might still come after me.”

  “He’s in a coma, Jade. He’s not going to recover.”

  “What about the other members? I don’t believe you when you say this will end.”

  “It will, Jade. It already has.”

  “You don’t know that. You don’t know who else is out there.”

  “My grandfather was the one who was obsessed with trying to control me. Nobody else cares what I do with my life. Nobody at the organization cares. They have other things to worry about. They’re not going to waste time trying to go after me.”

  “What about Lilly?”

  “Lilly? What do you mean?”

  “What will happen to her? Will they force her to go to whatever college they choose? Marry someone she doesn’t want to be with? Will she always be controlled by them?”

  “I don’t know. I think my dad’s trying to get her out of it. I don’t ask because I know he won’t tell me anything.”

  “I don’t want Harper to be part of this.”

  “We can’t interfere, Jade. You know that.”

  “Yes, but
it makes me sad.” She lays her head on my chest and I feel her tears soaking through my shirt.

  I kiss the top of her head and rub her back.

  Jade was so happy last night, putting up the tree and the lights. Then Carson had to show up and destroy everything.

  I have to find a way to make Jade happy again. Even just a little.

  “I’ll be right back.” I move over and off the bed.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Just wait here.” I go in the living room and slide the tree into the bedroom, dragging all the cords with me. Then I plug it in and the twinkling lights fill the room. I put my phone in the speaker dock on the nightstand and play the Christmas music.

  I get back into bed and Jade returns to her spot on my chest. I look down and see her gazing at the tree.

  We stay there, watching the lights sparkle, not talking about Carson or my grandfather or any of that stuff. I’ll deal with the Carson issue later. Right now, I need to make Jade feel safe again. Then later, I need to convince her this is over so we can go back to how things were before my grandfather’s visit.

  The next morning, I have class but Jade doesn’t. I offer to stay home with her but she insists I go. She seems better today than last night. Maybe now that she’s had time to think about it, she believes what I told her. That this is over. Probably not, but she does seem more relaxed.

  I moved the tree back in the living room, and as I was leaving the house, I noticed Jade plugged the lights in even though bright sunshine is filtering through the blinds. She loves the tree and the lights. She doesn’t care if it’s daytime. She wants to see the sparkling lights.

  On my way to campus, I check my messages. There’s one from my dad saying that my grandfather is still hanging on. I call him, but he doesn’t have time to talk, other than to say he hasn’t yet made it to the clinic to see my grandfather. But my grandmother’s there and apparently Katherine has stopped by a few times. I have no idea why, other than the fact that she’s one of the few people my grandfather actually likes. But he doesn’t even know she’s there so I don’t know why she’d bother going to see him, unless she’s trying to suck up to my grandmother.