Page 88 of Gifts

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Keelie

“Did he say what he wanted?” Emma hugs herself in a way I’ve become far too familiar with. Seeing her like this breaks my heart.

The Hollingsworths have been living under my roof now for weeks, so I feel comfortable closing the distance separating us and take her hand. “I don’t know, sweetheart. But I’m sure he’ll be here soon to explain—”

My words are cut off by Asa barging into my office. He’s standing in the doorway but his eyes are on Emma. He’s not happy and this reminds me of the Asa I experienced after the drive-by shooting.

I keep close to Emma. “What’s going on?”

He glances to me before stepping in to shut my door. He’s making me nervous as he focuses his attention back to his daughter—I can’t imagine how Emma feels.

Crossing his arms, he glares at her. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

I look to Emma and she’s ghost white. “What would I have to tell you?”

“We had an agreement,” he continues. “After the shooting. If you had anything out of the ordinary happen, you’d tell me. All I want from you is honesty. We also had an agreement after you and Levi moved in with me. There’ll never be repercussions for being honest while you’re with me. I’ve been patient these last few months, but I’ve gotta tell you, sweetheart, I’m about at the end of my rope. So, I’m going to ask you again, Emma,” he leans in and stresses his words, “is there something you want to tell me?”

If possible, Emma shrinks into herself farther and starts to tear up.

“Nothing?” he presses when he doesn’t get an answer. His voice is angry and now he’s frightening me.

She finally squeaks out a response through her tears. “What do you want to know?”

He raises his voice and I’m worried anyone outside my office will hear. “The truth, Emma.”

“Asa,” I whisper and try to calm him. “What happened?”

But it doesn’t do any good and he keeps at his daughter. “You know what I do for a living, Emma. Who I work with and the connections I have. Surely you can assume I have access to all kinds of technology, not that it’s hard for any Joe-Blow to do these days. Did you really think I’d let my daughter wither away in front of my eyes and not do every fucking thing in my power to stop that from happening?”

Emma and I both flinch when he curses at his daughter and Emma starts to cry harder.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t do something as simple as tracking the activity on your phone?”

Emma stumbles back from both of us. Pressed up against my file cabinet like cornered prey, she’s trembling and shaking her head.

“I’m not a dumbass, Emma.” Asa goes on. “And I can tell you know what I’m talking about. Tell me who sent you those pictures and why.”

Confounded, I move to him and put a hand on his chest. “What pictures?”

He finally looks away from his daughter and pulls out his phone. He doesn’t say anything, so I’m not prepared for what I’m about to see.

My heart tightens as I look at his screen, reminding me of what happened, the accident and tragedy that shook our school when Brandon Sutherby and Kyler Jakes were killed. Hell, it shook our community. As I flip through, the last picture is of Asa’s house, boarded up and still riddled with bullet holes. My van had been towed, but the glass from the windows is still scattered around his driveway with the crime scene police tape strung everywhere.

That picture had to have been taken soon after the incident. Asa told me clean-up started the next day and as of now, the repair work is almost finished.

I look to Emma, my voice scratchy. “Someone sent you these pictures?”

She keeps shaking her head in quick succession, her lips pressed tight.

I turn to Asa. “What does the shooting have to do with the accident?”

His voice dips to a menacing rumble. “That’s what I want to know.” Asa takes a deep breath and I can tell he’s working hard to keep his temper in check. “I already have someone tracking the profile who sent you those pictures. It would help if I had some idea what the hell I’m getting into here, Emma.”

Emma’s tears are pouring down her face and she has to gasp for her words. “Pl-please, don’t do anything. I d-don’t even know who it is, but they said they wouldn’t just hurt me, but Levi, too. I thought it would all just go away if I did what they said,” she hiccups, “but whoever it is keeps bothering me. They k-keep finding ways to remind me to keep my mouth shut.” She roughly wipes the tears from her face. “I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

Shocked and more confused than ever, I look back to Asa.

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