Page 119 of Always Us

“You think Kiefer’s having second thoughts?”

He shrugs. “I have no idea. But I’m going to call him and tell him I can’t talk to him. I told him I would that night of the memorial, but I only said it to get him away from me. He was drunk and he wouldn’t go away unless I agreed to meet with him. He didn’t say what he wanted to talk about, but it has to be the organization. Anything else he could’ve just asked me that night or later over the phone.”

“We keep getting sucked into this, Garret. When will it end?”

He stops and faces me, holding both my hands. “It already has. And I’m not just saying that to make you feel better. My grandfather is gone. Roth is dead. The members have no interest in me. The only connection we have to them now is my dad and your uncle.”

“That’s a pretty close connection.”

“Yes, but it’s not a direct connection. And the organization doesn’t want to deal with me anymore. Last spring, I caused them too much trouble. I wasted too much of their time. They’re not going to spend even more time coming after me. I’m telling you, Jade. The only people who wanted me back are Roth and my grandfather and now they’re both dead.”

“Do you think someone killed Roth?”

“Maybe. He has a lot of enemies so it wouldn’t surprise me if someone rigged his car to blow up. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.”

“Who are his enemies? Like other members?”

“Not members, but people he’s screwed over. Like men he hired to do his shit and then didn’t pay because he didn’t want anything being linked back to him. Or people he made deals with, but then he didn’t do his side of the deal. Guys like Roth are arrogant. They think they can get away with shit, but they can’t. At least not always.”

I don’t want to tell Garret this, but there were thoughts floating around my head that maybe his dad killed Roth, or hired someone to do it. Ever since Roth showed up last July, I had this feeling he’d try to get Garret back in the organization. I think Garret and Pearce thought so, too. They just wouldn’t admit it. So in the back of my mind, I wondered if Pearce would do something to get Roth out of our lives, but it sounds like someone else did that for us. Or maybe it really was just a car accident.

“So it’s over?” I smile really wide. “It’s really over?”

“We’ll always have to be careful, Jade. That’s just part of being a Kensington. But as for the organization? It’s over. They’re done with me, which means we can stop worrying about them and start living our lives.”

“And build our house?”

“You want to build the house? Like now?”

“I guess not, but I want to go visit our land. We haven’t been there for a while and I miss it.”

“Do you want to go tomorrow? There aren’t any classes and neither one of us has a final tomorrow.”

“Don’t you have to study?”

He shrugs. “I need a break from it. My brain can’t hold any more information.”

“Okay, then we’ll go tomorrow.”

“Let’s pack a lunch and have a picnic there.” He kisses me and talks over my lips. “And for dessert I’m bringing the Halloween candy.”

“I can’t wait.” I kiss him back, then take his hand and we walk back to the house.

On Monday, Garret and I drive to the land where we’re building our house. It’s sunny but cool, so I brought a sweatshirt and some extra blankets. While Garret sets up our picnic area, I stand at the edge of the cliff, gazing out at the waves and feeling the cool breeze. Every time I come here, I can’t believe this is ours.

“Jade, get away from the edge,” Garret yells.

I run over to him. “You worry too much.”

“You about give me a heart attack when you stand so close to the edge. I’m gonna have to put up a six foot fence just to keep you away from it.”

“You can’t do that. I wouldn’t be able to see the ocean.”

“I will, if you don’t stop standing on the edge like that.”

“Fine.” I kiss him. “I’ll make sure to stand at least a foot away from it.”

“More like three feet. Or six.”

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