Page 12 of Burned
“I didn’t even know he had a wife until you mentioned it.” River was very private about the woman’s portrait in his home. That must have been his wife.How did she die? “What was her name?”
“Her name was Joselyn. She died 15 years ago. It was a terrible accident that could have been prevented.”
“How did she die?” I asked. If I could find out the truth about River’s wife, maybe I could understand him and why he was so possessive.
“Have you ever heard of Davian Cross?”
I wasn’t sure what Davian had to do with finding out how Joselyn died, but I played along. “I know Davian. He is married to my best friend. What does Davian have to do with Joselyn?”
“You really don’t know.” Sliding his chair closer, he placed his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers. “Mr. Stevenson blamed Davian for his wife’s death. It was an unfortunate accident. If anything, Mr. Cross tried to save her.”
“How exactly did Joselyn Stevenson die?”
“She drowned in Lake Michigan when she drove her car off of the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Mr. Stevenson accused Davian of being involved in her death. There is one thing you have to understand. Joselyn wasn’t in her right mind. The autopsy report showed a high level of opioids in her system. She shouldn’t have been driving that day.”
“I still don’t understand how Davian fits into this. Why would River blame Davian for her death?”
“That is something you will have to ask Mr. Stevenson. All I know is that Joselyn worked for the Cross family. Something must have happened between the two men to warrant his feeling toward Davian.”
I left Mr. Marsh’s office with unanswered questions. If I wanted answers, these were questions I had to ask River. I wasn’t sure if he would answer them, even if I asked. Mr. Marsh said that Davian tried to save her, but how?Was he there when she drove off of the bridge? Was he the last person she saw?
I left the law office and headed down the elevator. When I opened the door to the street, not only was River’s car still parked in the same spot as before, I found him leaning against the front fender looking my way. I slowly walked toward him, wondering what he would say since I had defied him. In my defense, he had no right to make the comment he did to Mr. Marsh. I worked too hard to get this position. River needed to put his feelings against the firm behind him and allow me to learn for myself if Saxton, Marsh, and Peters were as dishonest in their law practices as he stated.
Pedestrians walked past me as I tried to make my way to River’s car. River pushed from the front fender and reached out, pulling me close to him while placing a kiss on the top of my head. “I know you are angry with me for saying what I did to Marsh, but there are things about this firm you don’t know.”
Little did he know, I did. Or at least enough to know why he said what he did. Breaking our embrace, I looked up at him sympathetically. “Mr. Marsh told me everything. I understand why you have so much animosity toward this firm and Davian. What I don’t understand is why you think Davian caused your wife’s death.”
Instead of responding, River took hold of my hand and led me to the other side of the car and pulled open the passenger door. Before I got in, I looked up at River. “I’m not making another move until you answer my question.”
“Get in the car and I will tell you on the way back to the penthouse.”
“Wait. I thought you were going to show me the sights.”
“Not anymore.”
~
On the way back to the penthouse, I could tell that River was anxious. His eyes kept going back and forth between the road and the rearview mirror. Wondering what had him so uptight, I found myself looking in the side-view mirror to see what was behind us. All I could see were a string of cars trying to get to their destinations. River’s driving made me nervous when he ran a red light and made a quick right turn down an alley onto another street.
Grasping the dash just to keep from being tossed from side to side, I turned my head his way. “What is the matter with you? You’re driving like a maniac.”
His eyes were focused on the road ahead with a steady grip of the steering wheel as he maneuvered through traffic. “There is a black SUV that has been following us since we left the Monadnock Building.”
“What?” I said as I turned my body enough to look out the back window. “Do you realize how many black SUVs there are in Chicago? We passed three since we left.”
“None of which have an NRA sticker on the front bumper.”
As I focused my sights on the only black SUV, which was two cars behind us, I wondered how River could have seen the sticker unless he spotted it before we left the Monadnock Building. “How did you know the SUV even had the sticker? I can’t see anything except the roof of it.”
“Because it was parked across the street from where we were parked.” River said as he gripped the steering wheel tighter before making a left-hand turn onto another street.
The way River was weaving in and out of traffic, it was evident that this wasn’t the first time he had needed to lose someone. Just when I thought he had lost the SUV, it showed up behind us. This wasn’t the way I wanted to explore Chicago. My heart was racing, praying that River could lose whoever was following us. A million thoughts ran through my head, one of which pointed to Van Wilkerson and Niles Harris as the people following us. No one else knew where I was, not even my mom. A possibility about the person following us finally hit me. It could be Davian or the guys. But an NRA sticker, no way.
As I focused on the SUV, it was impossible to see the driver. There was no way I could see who the driver was. I couldn’t make out the passenger either. River noticed me freaking out and placed his hand on my leg. “I’ve got this, Kenzi.”
Hearing those three words was all the reassurance I needed. Placing my hand over his, I twisted my body until I could no longer look behind me. I focused on where we were going instead of who was behind us. I could have closed my eyes, but then I would have gotten sick. Taking in a lungful of air and releasing it, I relaxed somewhat and left my destiny in River’s hands. Up to this point, he had kept me away from danger. I had to have faith that he would lose this asshole.
When the tension inside the car dissipated, I knew River had lost the SUV. I took a deep breath and willed myself to look behind me. There were no cars following us. River had driven us to safety by pulling into an empty parking spot between two 4x4 trucks. I wasn’t sure what got into me. Maybe it was gratitude, or the excitement of the chase. Whatever it was, I unfastened my seatbelt and wrapped my arms around River’s shoulders. My lips met his like it was the most natural thing to do after a person just saved your life.
