Page 57 of Shattered

Me: I’m positive, stay there. We’ll grab an Uber.

Riley: Fly safe, little brother. See you soon.

My head was starting to ache from watching the video. I’d been at it for about an hour when I finally hit pay dirt. The camera pointed at the front door captured Trudy Trumble using a key to enter the house. She left ten minutes later with a backpack slung over her shoulder. The timestamp showed the break-in happened five days after Jett’s birthday, at six thirty in the evening. Thirsty Thursday.

Dammit.

I distinctly remember having a discussion with Jett the next day because we got home from our date and the alarms were off. He’d apologized profusely, stating he forgot to turn it on when he left to go hang with Phoebe. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. Nothing appeared to be missing or disturbed, so I let it go. I should’ve checked the damn feed. Shooting off a text to Keaton with the video link attached, I asked him to have Nelson look into it, then rested back against the seat.

“How’s your mom?” Jett spoke quietly as he slid onto the sofa across from us.

“She’s hanging in there. What about you?”

He shrugged. “I’m worried.”

“About your parents?”

“They’re up to something, Koen.”

The way his eyes shifted sent red flags flying inevery which direction. There was something more at play. Something he’d been holding back, and I was about to find out what.

Without waking Jade, I slid forward so we were less than a foot apart. “Have they contacted you, Jett?”

Another shift. Bingo!

“When?” I demanded.

“They sent me a few texts a couple of months ago,” he relinquished.

Tipping my head back, I prayed for patience.

“Why the hell didn’t you come to me?”

“I didn’t even know you then. Besides, I ignored them and eventually they stopped. I thought they’d given up.”

“You thought…”Fuck.“They texted again.”

“While I was in my room packing.”

I gritted my teeth. “Goddamnit, Jett. You should’ve told me before we left the house.”

“You were worried about your mom, Koen. I didn’t want to pile more crap on your plate, but I learned my lesson from last time. That’s why I’m telling you now.”

He’d done a lot of growing up since his brush with the law. It was clear whatever they’d texted had shaken him up.

“What did it say?”

“One word. Soon.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Me either. They aren’t going to go away, are they?”

Reaching across the aisle, I patted his knee. “We’ll figure it all out once we get home, kid. I promise. Right now, let’s just focus on other things.”

“Like how to keep you from getting your ass kicked when your family finds out you're married?”

“Yeah, that.” I ran a hand through my hair and slouched back into my seat. “Any ideas?”

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