Page 75 of In the Pursuit of Haven
What?Not a killer?That seemed like that should head her list of complaints… unless we were right and Robert was the one calling the shots with Hunter. What if there was more to Abby getting in good with those bad guys than just trying to get out of this town? Had they used blackmail on her too?
Jessie hunched into his jacket, pushing his hands into his pockets as he steadfastly avoided my gaze.
What would Robert have on her? Or was it her family she was protecting?
Matching Abby’s stride behind Jessie, I leaned closer to her. “What does he have on your family?”
Jessie circled around at that. “Just a bunch of childhood pranks that he had no business knowing about.”
If anything ramped up my suspicions, his flippant response had. His family was loaded down with skeletons in the closet, and if we didn’t let them out soon, they’d haunt us forever. “Like what?” I asked.
“Like stupid stuff,” he said, keeping his voice low. “We were stupid kids.”
Well, yeah, that was true, but Robert was supposed to be in prison during our formative years.Thishad more to do with Pete, and why he drank his life away. I was sure of it.
Their father might’ve turned Robert in for murder for more reasons than we thought.
Robert hurried into the tavern before we could, and we groaned collectively. Jessie looked back at us. “We should wait.”
“I can handle Robert,” Abby said defensively.
“Yeah, but…” His eyes went to me as we reached the tavern’s colorful entrance. For a moment, I could almost imagine how it had been during the days of Salem’s golden age of sailing, when this building had been bustling with the chaos of sailors disembarking ships at all hours of the day, all of them looking to spend their good money on bad habits.
Abby’s arm went around me. “I’ll take care of her, lover boy,” she told her brother. “Just keep an eye on who else comes in.”
Jessie let out a heavy breath and touched my gloved hand. “Just… be careful, okay?” His dark eyes pleaded with me, but he had nothing to worry about.
I might betoocareful. Pretending I had this all in hand, I nodded with a confidence I was far from feeling and swept inside with his sister. I was glad Abby was with me—she was the kind who seemed to own the place wherever she went.
That kind of arrogance was catchy. Every eye was on her. She was well-known in Zak’s establishment, though I noticed a few curious glances my way too.
The tavern had opened only a half an hour earlier and business was already hopping. Abby pushed through the bodies to get to the bar where we’d be closest to Jake’s dollar collection… and that coin. The round metal was framed in a glass case surrounded by other fancy bills from foreign visitors.
I noticed Robert sitting at the bar across the way. Immediately, his gaze found mine before it ran over Abby. He let out a bark of laughter. “No Jessie, huh? We all know how the Crabbs can’t hold their drink.”
Abby let out a disgusted sound and turned from him. “Just ignore the jerk.”
Zak quickly leaned over the bar to cut the obnoxious old-timer off from us. His blue eyes showed his concern.
Abby immediately read his protectiveness wrong, holding up her hands. “We come in peace, Zak. You don’t have to worry. You won’t get any trouble from us.”
“Is that so?” He took a deep breath and leaned closer to me. “You okay, Roxy? About the other night…”
I nodded. “Yes, it was a misunderstanding, but I’m sorry about your bar. We can pay for any damage.”
“There was no damage,” he said. “I was more worried about you.”
Abby heaved a sigh. “She’s fine. Hey, what do you know about the smuggling tunnels around here?”
Nice segue. Zak laughed. “They don’t exist. You’re not gathering intel for that Davey guy now, are you?”
Abby withered with embarrassment. Jessie’s friends were all like big brothers to her and ready to tease. “I saw you hanging out with that tour guide,” Zak said. “You crushing on him?”
Abby squawked, just like he wanted her to do. “I’m not here to talk about Davey!”
Zak’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, you actually came in to order something?”
“Clam chowder,” I said quickly.
