Page 69 of Always Us

“And they’re not part of—they’re not . . .freelancers?”

“No. They’ve never worked for them. Garret, I’m glad you’re doing this. It’s smart. After we met at my mother’s house in October, I worried about the two of you. I didn’t think you were taking enough precautions, given that you’re a Kensington and have connections to—well, you know what I mean. Anyway, it’s good to know you’re being more careful now. I’ll get everything set up and be in touch later with the details.”

“Sounds good. Thanks for your help.”

“What did he say?” Jade asks as I set my phone down.

“He said he’d have two of his security guys out here by tonight. I want to meet them before I go so I’ll plan to leave in the morning.” I take my laptop and search for flights. “There’s a 6 a.m. flight. I’ll take that one.”

“Why do I need two guys? Isn’t one enough?”

I get my credit card out and buy the ticket. “We want someone watching the house 24 hours a day, so we need two so they can alternate shifts. And actually, one of them should go to class with you. Well, not go in the class, but wait outside.”

“Garret, you’re freaking me out. If Holton’s not going to do anything to me, I shouldn’t have to be escorted to class by a security guard.”

“I’d just feel better if you weren’t alone. It’s just for a couple days. I’m flying back on Sunday.”

“That’s not enough time to do anything.”

“I have tomorrow and Saturday. That’s plenty of time. All I’m doing is talking to him, seeing if we can come to some kind of agreement.”

She’s quiet. I know she’s scared, and although I don’t like scaring her, I’m not going to pretend I don’t have concerns. Because I do. And I need her to know that so she doesn’t take risks. She needs to be aware of her surroundings and never go anywhere alone.

We have dinner later, then wait for William’s security guys to show up. They arrive at eight. I invite them inside and question them for a good hour. They’re older, probably late thirties, and huge. Both of them used to be in the military. They’re very serious and call me ‘sir’ even though I’m almost 20 years younger than them. By the time we’re done talking, I feel better about having them here, although I still wish I didn’t have to do this.

I hate leaving Jade, but I feel like I don’t have a choice. I need to deal with my grandfather. In person. By myself.

And when I get there, I’m prepared to do anything to make this end.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

17

GARRET

I almost couldn’t leave this morning. Even with the security guys and the alarm system and the cameras, I don’t believe Jade’s safe unless I’m there watching over her. I’m putting all my faith in William that those security guys will take care of her. I like William, and he treats Jade like family now, so I hope I can trust him. I tell myself I can because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to leave her.

But truthfully, I feel like I can’t trust anyone right now, or anything they tell me. I can’t trust the doctors, who lied and told reporters my grandfather had a stroke. I can’t trust the news, which kept saying he was dying. I can’t even trust my own family. Everyone’s lying and covering up the truth. That’s why I’m here in Connecticut. I need to know what’s really going on with my grandfather. I need to see him myself and see if he looks healthy or sick. I need to know if his mind is still sharp or if the drugs affected him in any way. I need to talk to him. Alone. And then I need to take action.

I arrived in Connecticut a half hour ago and just checked into my hotel. Jade was in class when I got off the plane, but I texted her and she texted back so at least I know she’s okay.

She should be out of class now so I call her. “Hey. How’s it going?”

“I just got out of class.” She’s talking really quiet. “Mike’s here.” Mike’s one of the security guys. He must be standing right next to her. “Could you give me a minute?” she says to him. I don’t hear anything but I assume he gave her some space because she says, “Okay, I can talk. Are you at the hotel?”

“Yeah. Just checked in. Tell me what’s going on there. If those two aren’t working out, I’ll—”

“No, they’re fine. Although everyone’s staring at me for walking around with this guy. He’s so huge, he stands out.”

“It’s just one day. Tomorrow you’ll be home and he’ll stay outside all day.”

“So have you decided what you’re going to do? Are you just going to show up there?”

“I don’t know yet. And I don’t want to talk about it until I get back. I’ll tell you everything when I get home.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll talk to you later then. Can you call me tonight?”

“I’ll try to. If for some reason I can’t, I’ll send you a text.”

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