Page 81 of Shattered

“I love you too.”

Pulling a blanket over the top of us, we drifted back to sleep until the sounds of our guests moving around downstairs woke us up for the second time.

“Are you sure this is what she wants?” Keaton asked as we climbed out of my car four days later, stepping onto the parking lot of a seedy motel on the outskirts of town.

“Positive. As much as it burns my gut, she has a plan and I have to let it play out.”

We leaned against the hood of the Camaro, arms crossed over our chests, watching while our contact at the local PD, Detective Shayne Black, pounded her fist on room one oh three. She was accompanied by two uniformed officers. The red-and-blue flashing lights of their cruisers glinted off the dirt covered door.

“Huntington Police Department. Open up.”

Yesterday, Nelson and I turned over all the evidence we found, including a video of both Bill and Trudy Trumble entering a local pawn shop with the stolen jewelry box. They sold off Jade and Jett’s memories of their grandmother for a measly three grand. The hurt they inflicted on the people I love would fade. I’d make damn sure of it. I just hoped the cash was worth their freedom.

When the door finally opened, the Trumbles tried to argue their way out of the mess they’d brought on themselves. In the end, justice prevailed. Even as my heart broke for my Angel and her brother, I took great satisfaction in watching them be led away in handcuffs.

Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I sent a text.

Me: It’s done.

Angel: Thank you.

“Well, that was rather anticlimactic,” Keaton complained.

“What did you expect? Shayne wasn’t going to let us be a part of her bust.”

“I was there when she arrested the jackass who assaulted Henley and Jade. She must love me more.”

“Maybe, but this one hits a little too close to home.” I pushed off the car, adjusting the sunglasses on my face. “Besides, Jade asked me to let the PD handle it.”

“Smart girl.” He looked at his watch. “I guess we better head back. Lanie should be finished with her debriefing by now.”

Opening the driver’s side door, I slid inside, the engine purring to life when I turned the key.

“I have one more stop to make.”

“Fine by me.” He fastened his seat belt.

Ten minutes later, when we pulled into a parking lot, he eyed me suspiciously but didn’t say a word when I exited the car. Thankfully, Nelson was the best computer geek I knew, so he found what I was looking for in no time flat.

Gravel crunched under my shoes as I moved toward the northwest corner of the small cemetery. I may not haveknown Gran when she was alive, but from the stories Jade shared, they were a lot alike.

Stepping onto the grass, I located her final resting place with ease. A modest headstone marked the small plot with simple, yet perfect words.

Geraldine Elizabeth Smith

Beloved Wife and Grandmother

Gone Too Soon

I’d only gone to my father’s grave once after his funeral; the day I left California. I had no idea if there was any sort of protocol when visiting the deceased, so I knelt down and spoke from the heart.

“Hi.”

Hi? God, I was an idiot.

Clearing my throat, I started again, “I’m Jade’s husband, Koen. Long story short, we got married out of fear, but I asked her to marry me again because she is my whole world. I love them both more than anything.”

I paused, taking a cleansing breath before forging on.

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