Page 79 of All the Ways You Save Me
“I’m so sorry,” I breathe.
Garrett lifts his head and stares out across the room. “Even when I realized Jason knew all along that he was trafficking drugs for Waylon, I thought,He just got himself in too deep.He screwed up, and when the drugs were stolen, he panicked.” He takes a shuddering breath. “But that’s not what happened.Hestole those drugs. He came to me crying and begging for myhelp because he knew I would help him. He knew he could keep the money, and I’d take the fall for him. And I did.”
I want to deny everything, to say anything to take his pain away. But I can’t. Because I know it’s the truth. Jason might not have known the lengths Adam would go to. But he knew Adam had taken the fall in the past and understood how deeply indebted Adam felt. It was probably a risk he was willing to take.
“He wanted the money.” Garrett’s blue eyes shift to mine. “And he wanted you. Getting me out of the picture accomplished both of those things.”
My chest burns with anger. “We can’t let him get away with it.”
“Wealreadylet him get away with it. We lost ten years together.”
I give his shoulder a shake. “He’s not going to take any more from us. Look.” I wave at the box on the desk and the composition book with years of dates and cash amounts all the way up until last week. “Jason is still stealing from Waylon and I’m guessing he sells it himself. He’s taking smaller amounts, and now that he’s worked his way into the boss’s good graces and takes care of the finances, Waylon probably has no idea. But it’s all there. All the evidence we need to finally be free.”
FORTY-SEVEN
PRESENT DAY
Madeline
I’m perched on the edge of Jason’s couch, trying to pretend I’m listening to him talk about his trip to Mexico while a decade of memories floods over me.
Jason clutching me, crying as the rain poured down around us.
Jason promising he’d always be there for me.
“It’s what Adam would have wanted.”
“He would be happy to know you found love again.”
I believed him. I believed that he would have done anything for Adam, that his heart had broken like mine when Adam had disappeared. That our grief had brought us closer and made us stronger together.
Jason doesn’t seem to notice that my responses are unenthusiastic at best, or the fact that I recoil when he slides onto the cushion next to me. “Madeline, I’m glad you came over today.”
I can’t believe I almost married this man. I’m not sure how I can fake this for much longer. But if this plan is going to work, I have to remain calm and wait for my opening. I press a hand tothe buttons on my blouse, feeling the thin lines of a wire attached to a microphone. Just a few more minutes and, hopefully, we can put this whole ordeal behind us.
I force a smile and manage a weak, “Me too.”
Jason takes my hand. “I know you said you want some space, and I want you to take all the time you need. But I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
His touch makes my skin crawl. His words are like static in my head. How many times did he say a version of this same line, and I believed it showed his compassion, his care, his understanding? How did I not see that he was manipulating me for nearly a decade? That he’d decided what he’d wanted and was going to wear me down one way or another?
I do my best to casually slide my fingers from his grasp, pushing my hair out of my face to have something to do with them instead. “Just like you were here for me when Adam died.”
He nods. “Of course. I’ll always be here for you. That was such a hard time for us, losing Adam. But I still believe that maybe you and me were the silver lining.” He gives me a sad, hopeful smile.
The doorbell rings, and I nearly slump over with relief.
Jason’s face scrunches in annoyance. “Wonder who that could be. A neighborhood kid who wants to cut the grass, maybe. Let me just get rid of him.” He crosses the room to the entryway, and I get up to follow.
I watch as he swings the door open and blinks, almost in slow motion. Finally, he chokes out a strangled, “Holy shit,” and staggers backward. “Adam?” he gasps.
Garrett stands on the door mat, arms crossed over his chest. “Surprised to see me?”
“Are you—how—what—” Jason’s mouth opens and closes like a fish as he angles toward me. “You were right, he’s alive?”
I nod. His gaze swings back and forth between me andGarrett, and then he lunges in Garrett’s direction, enveloping him in a hug. “Holy shit, man. You’re alive.” Garrett stands immobile while Jason steps back to look him up and down. “She said you were alive, but I didn’t believe it.”
“Why would you?” Garrett asks. “You stood on the bank of the river while my car slowly sank. Who would survive an accident like that?”
