Page 51 of Jake's Angel

“We believe his intention was to use you as leverage against Russ. Marco Cusenza, the man who is trying to find you, wants Russ’s freight company to help him expand his business ventures. When Russ refused to sell to him—he threatenedyou.” At the rough, steely edge of his voice, she leans into Sadie and listens, appearing uncertain if she should believe him or not. She looks back to Sadie, who nods her agreement to what’s been said.

Gabe goes on to inquire, “The night you snuck out with Sadie, one of our men who works security there was shot and killed. Do you know how that might’ve happened?”

Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise, her green eyes are wide. “Who?” She turns her question to Pop, who’s been quietly watching and listening, measuring her reactions.

“Chuck was shot in the chest at close range just outside the storm cellar door.” She visibly shutters at the mention of his name. At first glance, there’s a mixture of fear and rage in her expression, but almost as quickly as the emotions appear, they’re gone and replaced with a small sigh.

“He’s dead.” Her voice is whisper soft, but the relief she feels is clear.

The nagging pain in my chest has returned along with a rise in my body temperature as I realize my intuition was right.He’s the one who put his hands on her.But the question remains, isshethe one who shot him? The better question I’m asking myself is—would I care? An odd feeling settles in my gut when I answer within myself a resoundinghell no!

“You think I shot him?” It’s Pop that she directs her question to.

He shrugs when answering her. “We aren’t sure, Avery. You have to admit, it looks suspicious. You being here with Sadie after she illegally broke into the security system and doctored the time stamps, so we can’t see what happened before or after Chuck was shot. But the hardest pill to swallow is you showing up here in town, having left without warning, and completely severing all ties to your grandfather. It’s not like you, sweetheart. You and Russ have always been close. Why would you leave and not tellhimwhy or where you were going?”

My eyes are locked onto Avery’s.

She’s shrunk back into her chair, looking lost and helpless.

Defeated.

I don’t like it.

“Hold on a second. I have a thought.” Hawk leans into the table, raising his hand to be heard. Gabe gives a chin dip, letting him have the floor. “Is it possible we’re looking at the wrong person here?”

“What do you mean?” Pres asks.

“Well, Avery here, is Russell’s granddaughter, right?” Hawk says, looking to Pop, who shrugs, unsure of where Hawk’s going. I don’t think anyone else is, either. “Is it possible Cusenza isn’t trying to use her against Russell, but maybe he’s looking to settle a debt made by her parents?”

“What?”Gabe barks. “The fuck are you talking about?”

“Bear with me for a second. I’m just trying to connect the dots, Pres.” Hawk looks around the room at each one of us, making sure we’re all paying attention to what he has to say. “If she’s not Russ’s daughter, then who is her father?” Avery’s eyes lift, but she doesn’t speak. “It makes sense when you think about it. Russell is the one with the money, but maybe he’s not the one with a debt.”

“Hawk.” Pop tries to get his attention, but Hawk is too deep into what he’s saying.

“Maybe her parents owe a debt to the bastard, and he’s trying to leverage Russ to pay it off. I mean, why did he adopt her in the first place? Did she have shitty parents?” He shrugs, his fingers moving swiftly across his keyboard. His monitor isn’t linked to the flatscreen on the wall, so we can’t see what he’s looking at. “We don’t know, but I can find out. Just give me?—”

“Hawk!” The muscle in Gabe’s jaw tenses as he glares at Hawk, motioning for him to shut up.

Unfortunately, Hawk doesn’t take the visual clues as well as some of the rest of us, and he pushes forward, still clicking away at his laptop.

Avery watches the exchange taking place, looking to Pop for clarification as to what the hell is going on. I must admit, I’m as confused as she is. Sadie too looks completely baffled. Gabe stands to his feet, slamming his chair back.

“I said drop it!” Gabe’s outburst causes everyone in the room to jump, but especially Avery.

Hawk must’ve hit a nerve, or maybe there’s something in Russell’s file the club isn’t meant to be privy to. It makes sense. Russell is a Garrison Security client. Gabe has access to all those files, same as Pop does. But if he’s asking the club to protect Avery, we have a right to know what’s going on, and who exactly we’re protecting.

There’s a thickness to the air, but it’s Avery’s small voice that cuts through all the confusion when she answers the lingering question.

“My mother is dead. As for my father, your guess is as good as mine.” She says it so matter-of-factly, it’s as if she’s repeated the same story a thousand times. “My grandparents adopted me after she died.”

All the air feels like it’s just been sucked out of my lungs. Waves of dizziness wash over me, causing my head to spin.

“How’d she die?” I shouldn’t ask. Everything inside of me is telling me not to ask, but there’s a small piece of me thatneedsto know.

“She died in a car accident when I was two years old. I’ve lived with my grandparents ever since.”

Memories flood my mind, and my heart feels like it’s kicking the inside of my rib cage. The whooshing sound of my pulse is pounding in my ears.

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