Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 137176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“After I left the cabin, Sully found me, and we had a long talk. He didn’t want to tell me the truth about the shooting, but he knew he couldn’t keep it from me anymore. As he was telling me about… about that night, I realized what he was saying didn’t make sense. When I did put together the pieces and understood I was the shooter’s original target and the other shootings were just a cover to throw off the police, I wanted to die then and there.”
Cass jerked his eyes back to mine. “What?” he asked, his voice heavy and angry. “You weren’t responsible for what happened that night. You didn’t kill those three people. There was no way you could have known—” He stopped abruptly when he said the words. The same words I wanted him to hear, but for the guilt he carried. He was silent for a long time before he murmured, “I guess that’s something you can never really get rid of, no matter how many times someone tells you it’s okay to let it go.”
“No, you can’t,” I agreed. “Have you confronted your father about his treatment of your grandmother?”
He shook his head. “I can’t walk into his office making accusations without proof to back them up. Renly told me my father has power of attorney, so he controls everything that happens to my grandmother. He’s in charge of her money, the staff, her health… all of it. Renly was there when my grandmother signed her rights away. She wasn’t competent enough to know what she was signing, but Renly couldn’t intervene because he was afraid if he did, he’d be fired, and my grandmother would be placed in a nursing home. Renly has been working for my grandparents since he was in his late twenties, so he’s always been loyal to them, especially my grandmother. For some reason, my grandfather didn’t leave a will behind and none of the family’s lawyers admitted to drawing one up for him, but Renly swears he saw my grandfather meeting with an estate attorney. Unfortunately, he can’t remember the attorney’s name,” Cass scoffed.
I released his hand but only so I could run my fingers over the tops of his and along his palm in the hopes of soothing him. Cass had done something similar in the shower when I’d started to panic. He wasn’t panicking, but I could feel him withdrawing from both the conversation and me. He kept our hands joined but shifted onto his back so he could stare at the ceiling.
“Cass,” I began awkwardly because I really didn’t want to ask my next question, but I knew it had to be addressed. “Your father, do you think…” My words got caught in my throat. He was in a vulnerable state and any further talk of his family could wait.
It didn’t matter because Cass was the one to finish my question by saying, “Do I think he’s the one who had you shot and me framed for the murders?”
CHAPTER 25
Cass
JJ didn’t respond to my question though I wasn’t really expecting him to. It was the elephant in the room, after all.
I shifted so I was once again facing him. “Not exactly first date discussion material, is it?”
JJ smiled. “Maybe not, but we always have the awkward goodnight kiss to think about,” he answered.
I couldn’t help but smile back. This was why I’d needed JJ to be the one to talk to about everything going on with my family. Although I’d intended to wait to deal with all the questions and theories spinning in my mind, the truth was I’d needed to work through it with him. Not because he’d been the only surviving victim but because I needed him to determine if I’d overlooked anything. I hadn’t realized that I’d also needed him at my side to remind me that coping with crippling guilt wasn’t going to go away because someone urged you to forgive yourself. But JJ understood. He got it.
“Yes, I think he could have been behind it all,” I admitted. “I just can’t figure out the motive.”
JJ was quiet for a handful of seconds. “Renly told you your grandmother got sick four years ago, right? You would have still been deployed but your superiors would have been able to get word to you about her at some point, wouldn’t they?”
“Yeah, but it could have taken time. If my father saw me as a threat to his plan to control everything that belonged to my grandmother, which was the entire family fortune as well as the controlling stake and seat on the board for Ashby Capital Group, he’d have had a reason for moving quickly.”
JJ looked skeptical. “If she was truly incompetent, he would have had no trouble proving that in court before you got back.”