Page 106 of His Secret Gift

“Well, do you know what she could’ve put in your drink?”

“No. Believe it or not, I’m not exactly well versed on the types of date rape drugs available today.”

Callie chuckles lightly. “Right.” She pauses for a minute while glaring at me. “Well, Kayla?”

“What?” I ask in a tone that’s fiercer than I intended.

Her neck jerks back in response.

“Sorry,” I rub at my forehead. “This is—this is just a lot.”

Jack steps closer to me. “And I understand that. Can you please just try to believe me?”

When he reaches for my hands, I flinch at first but then allow for him to take them in his.

“What are you going to say to everyone else?”

Again, Callie jumps in and acts as a knowledgeable third party. “Well, they don’t know anything about the two of you, no?”

Jack nods. “Right.”

She shoves a few pieces of her bangs aside before continuing, “Okay. So, what anyone else has to know is that sure, maybe you and Harper slipped up. So what? That happens between exes.”

I’m starting to get irritated again. “Okay… so, if she did actually drug him—”

“Which she did,” Jack utters.

I ignore him. “We’re just going to let her get away with that? It’s a crime!”

Callie lets out a sharp exhale. “Well, what else do you suggest? We expose your relationship and her bad doings? I’m sorry, I don’t see one being mutually exclusive of the another.”

My pupils are darting from one side of the room to the next as I process everything she’s saying.

“But why can’t we allege she drugged him without implicating me in the situation at all?”

I watch as Callie and Jack share a glance.

“Well?” I demand when they fail to say something.

“Callie’s right,” Jack eventually says.

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t do that to her.”

My heart rate is climbing. “Why not?”

“… her family gave me a large loan when my business was struggling.”

Oh.I had no idea.

“Kayla, they believed in me when nobody else did. There’s just no way I could betray them.”

“But it isn’t their fault she acted so poorly.”

The right corner of his mouth turned down. “No, but… I just—I just can’t.” He puts his arms behind his back and leans against a stall.

I understand loyalty. I really do. For instance, I’d do just about anything for my brother, Collin after everything he’d done for me growing up.

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