Page 60 of I Should Hate You-but I Don't

Chapter Twenty Seven

Zane

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Kingsley passed Zane a cigarette. "That went as bad as I imagined."

He inhaled deeply, needing something stronger than smoke to calm him down. The look on River's face knocked his legs out from under him.

"Just don't let them out of your sight." He paced the driveway.

River had led Kenna to the closed bar when they fled the house. Together, they sat on a log bench to the right of the door.

"I'm going to put a request into the prison to see Dad. I'll see if I can get it approved fast enough for Sunday's visit." He toed the cigarette, putting it out, and then picked the butt off the ground and put it in the fire-safe can outside the garage. "I never held any faith that Pruitt would okay a visitation."

"How will Dad help?" asked Kingsley.

"Somehow, he has a way to communicate with Pruitt. He can get the message to him that the girls know he is alive." He lowered his voice, making sure it wouldn't carry in the night.

"Fuck." Kingsley pulled out another cigarette. "All you're doing is putting a target on our backs and on the girls."

"We can handle it," he muttered. "As for River and Kenna, I don't plan on letting them off Gem Haven property."

He walked down the driveway, planning on getting River, and turned around before stepping into the overhead beam from the floodlight atop the garage. With the amount of informationshe had received, he needed to give her time with her sister and tread softly.

As much as he wanted to force her to sit and listen to his reasons why he'd lied and kept that secret from her, she could only handle so much tonight.

He strode to the garage and leaned against the side. "If you want to go in, I'll watch them."

"I'm not going anywhere." Kingsley squatted and ripped a blade of grass out of the ground. "I couldn't sleep if I wanted to."

From his spot, he saw River hugging Keena and the animated hands moving in the air. There was a lot of pointing and gesturing. There was no need to hear the conversation; he knew what they were discussing.

"I can't tell you how many hours I've wasted trying to get inside Tom Pruitt's head and figure out why he'd ask two fucking kids who already had the world on their shoulders to watch over his daughters." He scoffed. "If he gave a damn about those girls, he could've got someone else to watch them."

"Felt like we were kids, but we were adults." Kingsley spit on the ground. "Two young men in charge of an eleven and twelve-year-old. They were young girls. What would've happened to them if he had put them in the hands of any other man? I don't even want to think about that."

Look at us." Zane checked the volume of his voice. "Were we any better? We're both involved with them. We've slept with them. They were in a position—hell, I don't know what to think. I could've done better, I know that."

"It all comes around to Dad." Kingsley looked in the direction of the bar. "He called in a favor, gave no reason why, and knew we'd follow his orders."

Zane inhaled swiftly and rubbed the back of his neck. He was tired.

Tired of fighting himself. Tired of fighting his dad's ideals. Tired of fighting someone else's fight.

Ridge Stafford knew more than any of them, and Zane wanted answers.

Chapter Twenty Eight

River

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The door handle of the cabin turned in River's hand. She pulled Kenna inside, glad Phil had already opened for business and left to make the rounds in the campground.

She hadn't asked Zane or Kingsley if Kenna could come to work with her. But staying in the big house another day, shut in her room, was out of the question.

Using her foot, she rolled the rock they used to prop open the door into place. Then, she shoved her backpack under the counter.

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