Page 21 of Hart of Vengeance
Duke belonged in prison, preferably before my sister was released. Otherwise, she would run back to him. I wasn’t sure if he would take her back. They had an on-again, off-again relationship. Regardless, I would do everything in my power to keep her away from him so she wouldn’t fall into the same deep, dark hole of drugs and stealing again. I knew that was a feat in and of itself. I’d never been able to tame Savannah, and the older she got, the harder it became. I was hoping prison would reform her and make her see that crime didn’t pay.
Kelton let out a hearty chuckle. “Maybe a little. But you contributed and asked appropriate questions. You got Denim to open up, and that was helpful. Thank you.”
I smiled for the first time in a long time as a warm feeling coursed through me. It felt good to have someone compliment me on my abilities, especially since I thought I’d screwed up.
“After seeing Denim, do you think he’s innocent?” Kelton asked.
I was beginning to believe that Kelton had brought me along not for a training exercise or because I was his assistant, but rather because of my intimate knowledge of the man. “Yes. I believe without a doubt he’s innocent.”
“Was it his speech or something else that makes you believe his innocence?”
His speech about how prison life had shaped him had been sincere. He’d put a lot of feeling behind his words. But it wasn’t his words. “When Denim lied to me when we were dating, he would roll a shoulder. He didn’t do that today.” It was possible he could’ve learned how to lie better, but I didn’t think that was something Denim would do. Or maybe he was too focused on undressing me with his eyes instead of lying.
My dad had always said, “Once a liar, always a liar.” In addition, I wasn’t blinded by Denim’s good looks or charm. Or by the fact that I wanted to tear his white T-shirt off his broad chest and run my hands over every dip and valley he had.
“Hmm,” Kelton said.
Cars passed, rain fell, and silence mixed with theswish, swish, swishof the windshield wipers.
Kelton merged onto the highway five minutes later. “Tell me about Duke Hart.”
I cocked my head. “Don’t you know him?” I assumed he did given that he and Dillon were friends and Denim was his client.
“Not really. I know of him through Dillon. But even then, Dillon hardly talks about Duke.”
Sighing, I folded my hands in my lap. “Duke is the reason my sister is in jail.”Oh, and I want to kill him.
Kelton sped up but stayed in the far-right lane. “He might’ve had some influence on her, but her actions were hers alone. I mean, he didn’t tell her to rob a convenience store. Right?”
“True.”But let me believe that Duke is at fault.
“What do your parents think?” he asked.
The windshield wipers were working hard, and traffic was moving, but not very fast.
I picked at a nail.
Boomer wagged his tail, trotting up to me as the wind whipped the rain sideways.
“There you are. Come on.” My feet dug into the squishy, wet grass as I practically dragged Boomer into the house by his collar.
Once inside, he shook all the water off him, slinging mud and dirt everywhere.
Mom scolded him then turned to me. “Get cleaned up.”
“Jade.” Kelton tapped on my shoulder. “Did you hear my question?”
I shook off the memory. “I’m sorry. They died in a fire when Savannah was thirteen, and I was fourteen.” I’d been known to check out during rainstorms, especially around the time of their deaths, which was coming up next month.
If they were alive, they would be devastated. However, I often thought if they hadn’t perished in the fire, Savannah might have been a different person. She’d had a hard time coping with their deaths. So had I, but everyone handled death differently. Savannah acted out. I dove inward. But I was also the older sibling. It had been my responsibility to take care of her.
“I’m so sorry. Did you live with a relative growing up?”
“Our aunt, who’s now on a charity mission in Africa. She wasn’t ready to take on two teenage girls. My mom’s sister was single and still a kid herself. I mainly took care of Savannah, but that was tough. We both changed after our parents died. She rebelled with boys, petty crime, and drugs. I became a hermit, focusing on school.”And Denim.
“If you would like me to look into your sister’s case, I can.”
Tears pooled, mainly because I was remembering my parents. “Thank you. But they have her on tape. Plus, she confessed.” I didn’t have to ask her why she’d turned to robbery. Money had been scarce for both of us, more so with her since she was into drugs and could barely hold down a job.
