Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
There was a noise behind us, and I wasn’t surprised to see Josh standing there.
Law cleared his throat. “I’ll leave you guys to it.” He stood and walked into the house as Josh came out. He sat beside me on the porch swing, and I dropped my head to his shoulder.
“Chase is worried that it’s his dad who took the photos of us,” I admitted. It wasn’t something I’d shared with anyone, especially not Griff. He would lose his mind.
“Oh shit.”
“I know. It’ll kill him if he figures out it was.”
“That’s not his fault.”
I chuckled humorlessly. “You don’t know Chase. It doesn’t matter if it’s his fault or not, he’ll feel like it is.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
“I keep thinking that maybe he found out it was his dad and he did something? Not that Chase would hurt him, but maybe he feels guilty and took off, or maybe his dad hurt him. I just…I don’t know. Why would he leave, Josh?” Why would he leave me? Again…
“He didn’t leave you, Kell,” Josh answered my silent question. “See, I know you too, and I know that’s part of your worry. Of course you want Chase to be okay, he’s your primary concern, and I know I gave you shit about this guy… I know I thought I hated him, but I don’t. I see the way he looks at you. He loves you. He didn’t leave you, and he’ll come back.”
God, I hoped he was right. “What if his dad hurt him?”
“Chase can take care of himself, I don’t doubt that. And I think you know it was him who texted you. You’d feel it if it wasn’t. I think maybe Chase did find out something he didn’t want to be true, and he’s figuring out how to deal with it. I can’t fault him for that. I’d do the same thing.”
I nodded.
We swung together the whole night. Part of me believed Josh was right. The thing was, I could tell there had been more than Chase was telling me where his father was concerned. He’d been worried about more, and it had been eating him alive.
I should have fought harder for him to tell me.
I should have made sure he knew that whatever it was, I wasn’t going anywhere.
And there was another part of me, one I was scared to acknowledge, that wondered what Chase’s dad could have done to upset him so much.
I was afraid to know the truth.
The next day my phone finally rang. I looked at it, hoping, praying to see Chase’s name, but it wasn’t. It was the Havenwood Police Department, and my heart sank.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Chase
The lake cabin looked the same as I remembered it. The front porch was a bit newer; it had obviously been rebuilt. But from the outside, the rest of it was the same.
You could see a few more cabins in the distance. None too close. The man who’d taken our photograph had been staying at the nearest one. The lake was out front, with a small dock that also looked as if it had been rebuilt. The whole area was surrounded by thick green trees for as far as the eye could see.
The closest cabins looked empty, and I had my fingers crossed they were. I also hoped my father was staying here now.
I didn’t know how likely that was. It wasn’t something I had even thought to mention to the chief. My dad didn’t have a sentimental bone in his body, but I hadn’t known where else to go. I’d just…driven. I wished I could forget what I found, but I knew I couldn’t. That wasn’t something I could ever do to Kellan and Griff. Plus, it was why I did what I did, wasn’t it? I’d told Kellan that I’d gone into law enforcement because of his parents, and that had been true. I’d always wanted to figure out who had killed Robert and Susan, and now…now that I knew, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t.
My gun was on my hip. I wasn’t that guy who typically carried his personal firearm around, but I also didn’t trust my father.
I’d taken the first step onto the porch when I heard the faint sound of wood creaking from the back, and I took off running around the house. Sure enough, my old man was there, looking like shit, with bloodshot eyes and in bad need of a shave.
“Fuck,” he cursed.
With a quick scan, I saw he wasn’t holding anything, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a weapon anywhere else on his person. “Is anyone here with you?”
“Fuck you,” he replied.
“Get back in the goddamned house.” He was alone. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind about that. The last thing I wanted was to do this outside. Plus, I had to be careful how I went about this and what I said. I’d illegally searched his home. I was on leave from the department. Yeah, I definitely shouldn’t have been there, but I was.