Page 108 of Deadly Revenge

“He’s right, and I don’t believe for a minute you lost this here.” Alex stared at the necklace.

Maybe that was true, but it would put a seed of doubt in their minds—not that either one would admit it—and that’s what Phillip and Sebastian wanted. And they wouldn’t stop with planting the necklace—they wanted her destroyed.

Alex studied the necklace. “Let’s say it is yours—why would anyone plant it here?”

“For the same reason Phillip spread the rumors in Chattanooga.Maybe we’re looking at the wrong person, and it isn’t Sebastian at all, but my ex-fiancé.”

“I still don’t understand why,” Alex repeated.

“Because he’ll do anything to discredit me.” Jenna couldn’t believe the nightmare with Phillip was happening again.

“But why does he want to discredit you?” her boss asked.

“The photos she has, maybe?” Max said.

“What photos?”

Jenna barely heard Max as he explained about the data drive with the photos on it and why she hadn’t given them to the authorities. She’d been so shocked at seeing the necklace, she’d blanked.

“The photos aren’t conclusive evidence. If he can make it look like I’m a dirty cop, he can convince everyone I’m trying to set him up if I turn the photos over to a DA.”

55

While Jenna waited for Max to change for the meeting with her uncle, she flipped through the new photos on her phone of Sebastian’s key men that Alex had emailed her. She hadn’t seen any of them in town, but that wasn’t surprising. It wasn’t like they would parade themselves down Main Street.

She rolled her shoulders. It’d been a long day, most of it spent at the Armstrong place ... or maybe she was just tired since it’d been several nights since she’d had a decent six hours of sleep. Even last night with Max in the house or maybe especially because he was there. He’d moved his things from the hotel and put them in her spare bedroom, although he’d indicated he planned to sleep on the sofa in case someone tried to break in.

Max was the one person she’d always thought would have her back, no matter what. But how could she trust him now when he didn’t believe anyone had been in the house? And that he thought she was having a PTSD breakdown? It was plain that’s why he was staying at the house. Jenna lifted her chin. Her mind had not fabricated the man in her bedroom. Was it going to take her death to prove it?

She laid her phone on the kitchen table and stared out the darkened window. What was taking Max so long? It hadn’t taken Jenna five minutes to change into jeans and a long-sleeve pullover to ward off mosquitos.

They needed to leave soon if they were going to connect with Sam and the men they planned to interview. She reached down and re-laced her high-top boots for whatever snakes might be around.

“Sorry if I kept you waiting,” he said, entering the kitchen. “Do we have time for me to make a cup of coffee? That apple pie I had with dinner is making me sleepy.”

“I warned you about the carbs.”Ouch. A little harsh, aren’t we?She pushed a smile to her lips to cushion her words. Jenna wished they could go back to the way it was before he didn’t believe her about the intruder. But she couldn’t unhear his doubt. She checked her watch.

“You do,” she said, softening her voice.

“Thanks.”

Silence fell between them while he put the pod adapter in the coffeemaker and popped in a pod. Once the coffee finished brewing, he put a lid on his insulated cup and opened the back door for her. Jenna climbed in on the driver’s side while Max rode shotgun.

He placed his coffee in the cupholder. “How do we want to handle tonight?”

“I say play it by ear, but remember these guys are highly suspicious of outsiders, even if my uncle did invite you.”

“Is your dad coming?”

“I had a text from him saying he’d see me later, so I’m assuming so.”

She glanced at her dad’s house when they passed, a little surprised his pickup was still in the drive. Maybe Sam had picked him up. A few minutes later she turned into the pasture road totheir meeting place and drove to the edge of the woods where pickups were parked. “Looks like they’re all here.”

Once they joined the others, Sam introduced Max to the men. Jenna breathed easier when Junior Bledsoe responded with a friendly backslap. Todd Donelson was friendly as well, but Gordon Marsden, her father’s former coworker, stood off to the side. She didn’t see her father, and she caught Sam’s eye. “Where’s Dad?”

“I don’t know. He said he might be late. Something about being tired after finishing his route and catching a nap before he came. He’ll find us.”

Jenna stifled a yawn. A nap was something she wished she could’ve caught and hoped they wouldn’t be out too late. Sam opened three cages and put tracking collars on two of the dogs.

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