“Yeah?” Brad asked, his eye twitching as he tried to make sense of the scenario he’d created. Bobby nodded, gestured for him to let Crystal go as he nudged Willow forward a step.
“Take her, and she’ll take you to the laptop.”
As Brad slowly lowered his knife and loosened his grip on Crystal, Bobby charged forward, and with the butt of his gun, cracked Brad across the face, sending him falling to the ground. Both Crystal and Willow went tripping forward into the waiting arms of their circle of friends.
“Clay, go up to the house and get my cuffs. I’m arresting him for assault, public intoxication, and whatever else I can come up with,” Bobby called, and Clay turned on his heels with Betty in tow and headed back to the house.
“You think this was my only play?” Brad asked, snickering through the fog of his slurred speech as the blood poured out of his nose. “My father deals in information, swapping dirt on people. He’s dug up enough on you. Looks like you had to save your girlfriend from her own crazy-ass father. The reports say the guy pulled a gun, and you killed him. My father read those reports and he says they didn’t add up. Your superiors weren’t very interested in the inconsistencies though. Everyone was just so damn happy to have that mess she brought with her over. What would they find if they looked again? If they reopened the case and investigated further? How would you fare?”
Jedda watched as Bobby’s jaw clenched and he swallowed hard, clearly affected by the words of this lunatic. “And your lawyer buddy?” Brad asked, thrusting his chin toward Michael. “There’s a rumor that he might have orchestrated the flipping and protection of the most notorious crime boss in the state. The guy who turned on all his associates and then went into hiding. What do you think would happen if people found out he had a hand in that, and worse, that he might know how to find the guy. How safe do you think that baby of yours would be?”
“Go to hell,” Jules snapped as she stepped forward wielding an empty champagne bottle in her hand like a weapon. Michael caught her wrist, and pulled the bottle back. In a hushed voice he calmed her.
Clay hustled back past everyone and tossed the handcuffs to Bobby, who began to clasp them on.
“Stop,” Willow said flatly. “Let him go.” She stepped forward and Jedda could feel his blood start rushing again, seeing his sister so close to Brad.
“What are you talking about?” Bobby asked, halting momentarily to hear her out.
“Let him go, and I’ll make the deal with his father. I’ll give him the laptop. I’ll sign something that says I’ll never say anything. Whatever he wants.”
“I knew you’d come to your senses,” Brad grinned, winking in her direction.
“No way. He just assaulted Crystal. This isn’t your call, it’s up to her if she wants to press charges,” Bobby said, looking over at Crystal for support.
Jedda assumed her answer would be swift and decisive, but instead she hesitated.
Willow spoke up instead. “I’m not going to watch him dismantle everyone’s life one block at a time. The things he’s saying about you both, whether they are true or not, it would cause you serious trouble. I’m not letting it happen. Not when getting him to stop is within my control. If you arrest him right now, you’re throwing down the gauntlet and we’ll have no chance at making any of this go away. Just let him go, and I’ll make the deal.”
“I want to know what he did,” Bobby insisted. “Before I decide anything, I want to know what’s on the laptop and what crime we’d be letting him walk away from.”
“No,” Willow protested. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever he did, it won’t change what he’d do to all of you if you push it any further.”
“I want to hear it, Willow,” Bobby insisted. Willow remained silent.
“You know why she doesn’t want you to know,” Brad said flatly. “She’s not as innocent as she wants you to believe. I couldn’t have pulled any of it off without her.” Bobby jerked Brad’s head backward, yanking a handful of his hair.
Michael cut in. “He sold drugs out of his dorm. He got greedy and started dealing some expensive synthetic stuff that put a few kids in the hospital. One of them isn’t expected to recover fully. He has some brain damage and motor skills problems now. He’s the son of a senator. A politician who happens to be a good friend and cohort of Brad’s father. If this guy finds out Brad is responsible for his son’s condition it would undo a very tangled web of favors, bribery, and deals, and land Brad in prison.”
Brad sneered over at Willow. “How do you think I got those drugs? Someone had to steal the ingredients. Good thing I was dating a girl whose dad was a doctor, and who blindly trusted her.”
“Willow?” Jedda asked, a wave of disappointment and nausea flowing through him.
“It isn’t what you think. That isn’t what happened,” Willow said, stumbling backward as she tried to distance herself from this moment.
“Is that why you wanted to run? Is that why you want to make a deal with this guy?” Bobby asked, shaking his head in disgust.
“No. That isn’t why. I don’t want him to hurt anyone. I don’t want him to cause any of you any more problems.”
“Did you steal the drugs from your father and give them to Brad?” Bobby asked as his nostrils flared with an anger he was trying to restrain.
“Yes,” she said, all the blood draining from her face. “But let me explain.”
“No,” Michael said, raising his hand to stop her. “Don’t say another word. Don’t incriminate yourself any further. Bobby, let him go.”
Everyone was silent, the hooting of an owl and chirping of crickets the only noises.
“There isn’t much we can do here, Bobby. If you arrest him, there is no turning back. It’s the start of a war. Willow supplied the raw material to make the drugs, she stole them, we’d be sending her to jail if we pursue this.”
“Why were you going to let Michael build a case if you knew you’d be implicated? Did you just plan to run if it came to that?” Bobby asked.
“I planned to tell my side of the story. I planned to explain,” Willow said, her voice small and shaking.
“That ship has sailed,” Michael said like a disappointed parent.
“I still don’t think we should let him go. We’ve fought plenty in the past. We’ll do what we always do,” Bobby said, slamming one of Brad’s arms behind his back.
“This is different. This isn’t last year and this guy isn’t someone you cross without being ready for his response. Especially if the situation is compromised, which we now know it is.”
“What’s so different this year? We’re talking about a guy who attacked Willow and Crystal. Even if she did do something wrong, she certainly didn’t deserve that. He’s made threats against your wife and child. You think he should be walking free?” Bobby asked.
“No, but I also have a hell of a lot more to lose than I ever had before and so do you,” Michael reminded him. “If this goes on long enough, one way or another they’ll get Jedda back behind bars.”
Bobby bit at his lip and let out an aggravated low roar. “I can’t believe we’re even considering letting him go. How do we know he won’t just come back?”
“I’ll take care of it personally with his father,” Michael promised. “I’ll make sure the terms are clear and we’re all protected in the future. I don’t see any other choice now.”
Bobby shoved Brad forward and tucked his cuffs away behind him. “I won’t let you go a second time. Do you understand me? If this happens again—you come around, you threaten anyone, I don’t care what you think you’re capable of, I’ll take you down myself.”
“Smart choice, letting me go,” Brad said as he passed Willow, running his hand across her cheek. “My father will be here tomorrow afternoon. Bring the laptop and he’ll talk details with you.” He grabbed a half full bottle of champagne as he headed for the path leading back to the house.
No one spoke as the lanterns started to burn dim and the air seemed to drop
a few degrees. Even Betty seemed at a loss for words, and her uncharacteristic silence made the moment even more ominous. It was Jules who spoke first as she leaned over and took a handful of cake and brought it to her lips.
“I got married today,” she said as she looped her free arm with her husband’s, and pushed the cake into her mouth with her other hand.
“Me too,” Michael grinned as he kissed his wife and rubbed her belly affectionately.
Jules turned toward Bobby. “There was more good than bad today. Sometimes that’s all you can ask for.”
“And sometimes that doesn’t feel like enough,” Bobby said as he wrapped his arm around Piper and headed for the house. His anger was palpable and Jedda imagined letting a guy like Brad go was torture for Bobby.
Chapter Seventeen
Willow felt Jedda’s eyes on her as she went back to clearing the cake off plates as though nothing at all had happened.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked as he pulled a dirty plate from her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me there was more to the story?”
“I didn’t think anyone would understand or believe me if they heard my side of the story about the drugs. Now Michael’s telling me to shut my mouth about it and no one even knows what really happened. He said once we’re alone and I can invoke attorney client privileges, then I can tell him. But not tonight while he’s been drinking.”
“And now what? What happens next?”
“I think if I remember right, we all live happily ever fucking after,” Willow snapped as she brushed the crumbs off her hands. “Is that what you need to hear? Can you please just go up there and talk to Crystal? She just told you she loves you. That has to mean something to you. Why are you here wasting your time trying to figure me out? Go work your own shit out.”
“Jedda,” Josh said, stepping forward. “It’s been a crazy night, why don’t you give her some space. I’ll help her finish here.”
“Come on,” Piper said, pulling Jedda by the arm, “she’ll be fine.”
Willow shook her head and slammed another plate against the trashcan. “She’ll be fine,” she whispered angrily to herself.
“You don’t have to be fine,” said Josh, tying up the trash bag and reaching for another.
“Thanks,” she shot back sarcastically. “I’ll be fine once I get out of here. No one’s talking me out of it this time. Tomorrow morning I’m going. I’m not going to have everyone here looking at me like a criminal. I’m not a criminal.” She hesitated as she bit at her lip. “I’m going home.”
“I believe you. I know Michael told you not to talk about it so don’t, but for what it’s worth I’m sure you do have a good explanation.”
“I do. But why do you believe me?”
“I love music. I know a lot of people say that, but I mean it. I genuinely love music. I connect to it on a level most people don’t understand. That first time I met you, when you sang that song to calm Jedda down, it struck me. Even just hearing you hum on the way home from the train station. The song you sang tonight, you wrote that, right?”
“Yes,” Willow said, her eyes still turned down.
“You’ve got a soulfulness about you, and while I think you’re caught up in your own head right now, I don’t believe you’re a criminal and I don’t think you set out to hurt anyone.”
“You can tell that from my songs?”
“I can tell by the way you talk to people. I can tell by the way you try to protect people even if that means leaving them. You have a good heart.”
“Thanks. It doesn’t change what everyone up at the house is thinking about me, but I appreciate it.”
“I’m sorry about earlier. I had no business trying to kiss you. I underestimated what you were going through with Brad. What he had . . . done.”
“Stop, please. That isn’t why I didn’t want you to kiss me. Okay? I just didn’t want you to. Is that impossible to imagine, that a woman might not like you?”
“I guess there’s a first for everything.” Josh shrugged, and Willow rolled her eyes at his attempt at levity. She could appreciate the fact that he was trying.
“I’m sure a lot of girls like you. If things were different I can see how there might be something between us. But it’s pointless. Especially since I’m leaving.”
“You could come back, right? Just because you’re leaving now doesn’t mean you won’t ever be back.”
“I guess there’s a chance of it. I don’t know.” Willow shifted uncomfortably as she saw where this conversation was heading. She prayed he wouldn’t be an idiot, but she knew it was coming.
“So I could wait. I could see if you come back,” Josh said as he shook open the trash bag.
“Are you kidding me?” Willow slammed down a dish, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“I’m not proposing marriage or anything, I’m just saying, if you needed some time to get yourself squared away, I think you’re worth waiting for.”
“If you can’t understand why that statement bothers me so much then we have nothing left to talk about. Don’t wait for me. Don’t put your damn life on hold for me.”
“I don’t understand. Every time I think I’m saying the right thing to you, it ends up being the wrong thing. So maybe shed some light on it for me.”
“Do you think I need one more person in my life being a martyr? Someone else putting their life on hold, putting themselves second to me? Even when I continue to screw it up and make it worse. Even when I’m clearly not worthy of that sacrifice. Take a look around, Josh. That position’s already been filled, and there seems to be a line of applicants behind him. And the fact that you even offered, tells me you have no idea what I need.”
“That might be the only thing we have in common, because I don’t think you have any idea what you need either. What a hardship for you, all this kindness and friendship. I just don’t know how you survive it,” Josh mocked. He looked as though this argument was just getting started, while Willow was acting like it was over. She stormed away, a dirty dish still in her hand.
She didn’t look back over her shoulder. She didn’t care if he was chasing her or watching her walk away. She was tired. Physically and emotionally spent. Wrongly, she’d believed Josh understood something about her that others were overlooking. He seemed to get who she was and why she was struggling. But his offer to wait for her quickly put that idea to rest.
She swung open the screen door and tossed the dish so hard into the sink it splintered into a dozen pieces. Everyone but Jedda and Crystal had left or gone to bed, and now their eyes were glued on her.
“Where’s Josh?” Jedda asked as he stood to grab the broken dish out of the sink and toss it into the trash.
“He’s leaving,” Willow said as the rumble of Josh’s car flooded the kitchen. “He and I didn’t exactly agree on why waiting for me to come back to Edenville was a bad idea.”
“He offered to wait for you?” Crystal asked, her facial expression looking as though she was in Willow’s camp and immediately making her drop her guard slightly.
“Yes. I seriously don’t understand how he can’t see why that wouldn’t work with me.”
Jedda’s frustration was written all over his face. “You don’t like him? Is he not your type? Because he seems like a good guy to me, and he seems to like you, in spite of everything, including your attitude.”
“My attitude?” Willow asked full of indignation.
“Jedda,” Crystal said, giving him a look to bite his tongue.
“I just don’t get it, Willow. I don’t understand how you can have the life you’ve been given and still be unhappy. How you can make the stupid choice to help a guy like Brad and steal from your father. You’ve had it all. Every opportunity to be happy and still you push everyone away. You run.”
Crystal stood between the two of them and raised her hand for Jedda to be quiet. “I don’t think you understand where she’s coming from and I think you should stop before you say something you’ll re
gret.”
“I don’t think you get much of a say in this, considering you were only here for one reason. Your own benefit.”
Willow watched as Crystal’s face went from bold to guilty. She could understand her brother’s feelings toward Crystal’s actions, but part of her wanted him to get over it. They’d all made mistakes, big ones, but if he didn’t let go of this he’d be giving up a damn good chance at happiness.
“If that were true I’d be gone already, so take my advice and give her some space.”
“I get that I’ve been away from the general population for a while and maybe I’m not aware how things work as well as the rest of you, but this seems pretty straight forward. I’m a damned murderer. I was locked up and look at me. I’m trying. I’m taking chances and risks and trying to make better choices. I’m fighting to make this life something I can be happy with and proud of” He stared wearily at Willow. “Can you say the same?”
“I saw you out there,” Willow said, softening her face a little. “I saw you make the right choice, as hard as it was for you.”
“But?” Jedda asked, begging her with his eyes to explain.
“That isn’t where I’m at right now. My being here won’t help you. I can’t be the person you were hoping to reconnect with. I want you to have a good life and this is the right place for you. You’re surrounded by the right people. The best thing I can do for you is leave. It was never my plan to stay anyway. It was only supposed to be a visit. I need to go home.”
“Back to that island, hide yourself?” Jedda asked.
“I’ll be fine. The best thing you can do right now is let me go.”
“I want to know you, Willow. I want to know you better than this. I want to understand you.”
“If it makes you feel better, I want to understand me, too.” Willow wiped at a rogue tear as it rolled its way down her cheek. “What I do know is I can’t have you trying to save me right now. Those days need to be behind me. It’s too much for me to carry.”
“Too much? Is it that you hate what I did? You can tell me. There is nothing you can say that would hurt me. I just want to know.”
Finding Freedom (Book 4) (Piper Anderson Series) Page 17
