Page 75 of Crossroads of Love

“No one would believe that about you.”

“Well, no one would have believed it about Aaron either.”

“Maybe not, but there’s some pretty damning evidence out there. It seems Dad was gathering as much as he could to proveyourinnocence.”

I inhale deeply and let out a small chuckle. Henry was always looking out for Jayla and me. I shouldn’t be surprised he did so here, too.

“Of course he was,” I breathe. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me any of this.”

“I think he was trying to protect you until he could be certain. I found some receipts, and I believe he paid someone off to leave you alone.”

“Leave me alone? What does that even mean?”

“It seems like someone named Hank was threatening to tell you. Maybe make it all public.”

“Hank? There’s no way that…”

“Did he recently purchase ten acres of land?”

“Yes.”

He shrugs as he pulls away from me and leans against the kitchen counter. “I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”

“Shit. With Henry and Aaron both gone, what would stop him from blowing everything up now? I can’t…I can’t risk Jayla finding out about any of this. It would destroy her.”

“I’ll do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. Do you know this guy well?”

“He’s been hitting on me since he moved here about five years ago. Aaron always said he thought he was a serial killer or something. Maybe he only said that because he knew that Hank knew what he was doing.”

I start pacing the kitchen. I can feel my chest tightening again as I do.

How did I miss all of this? How was I so clueless?

I know how I was so clueless. I had caught Aaron lying so many times that I didn’t trust a word he said. I fell out of love with him a long time ago, and I was only going through the motions.

“I’ll be gone next week,” Aaron said. “Your husband was invited to an elite conference for top law enforcement in the country.”

“You can’t do that on short notice. We have to vote in and approve the budget and…”

“You can’t even be happy for me, can you? You have to talk about the fucking budget and rain on my parade. I’m so sick of you and all of your negativity!”

“We can’t afford for you to go as a family and especially not as a city. We don’t meet for another two weeks.”

“You can call an emergency meeting.”

“That’s favoritism! I can’t do that!”

“You won’t do that. That’s the difference. Don’t worry about it. They offered it to me all expenses paid,” he said as he looked away quickly. “Which you would have known had you asked.”

“Aaron,” I started, but I saw the look on his face. I saw that his eyes were narrowed and dark, and it would only be a matter of time before the verbal beating ensued. I could hear someone pulling into the driveway, and I ignored the obvious sign of his lies because I didn’t want to fight anymore.

Tears roll down my cheeks as the memory slaps me hard. There were a hundred more moments mostly the same. He knew exactly how to get away with anything.

“What do you know about him?” Gavin asks, his voice bringing me back to the present.

“Not a lot, really. He works from home. He’s socially awkward and always seems to be around when and where you least expect him to be.”

“I have a few friends who can look into him, maybe see what we’re working with. If he’s shady, too, then I can get some leverage to keep his mouth shut. The problem with paying people off is that it’s usually only a temporary solution.”

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