The Perfect Bride - By Kerry Connor Page 0,61
the killer react?”
“If they think this means your wedding is off, they might be happy,” he suggested.
Jillian’s frown deepened. “But then they might not come after me again and we’ll never know who it is.”
“There has to be another way to get to the bottom of this without making you a target.”
“I’m all ears.”
Grimacing, he shot a glance at the window, listening to the wind and rain pounding against the glass. “We’ll figure it out. In the meantime, let me put in a call to my investigator and get that ball rolling. And then let’s just try to get through this storm without anyone getting hurt.”
Chapter Fourteen
Zack was waiting by the stairs in the front entryway when they came out of the office. Leaning against the banister with his arms folded over his chest, he looked up at their approach and slowly straightened.
As they came closer, Adam studied the younger man, considering what he knew about him. It wasn’t much. Zack was only twenty-four. He’d lived in Hawthorne and at Sutton Hall for most of his life, except for a year he’d spent in Boston not long ago. He didn’t have a criminal record or any signs of trouble in his past. Adam had hired him mostly because Ray had asked him to and because he obviously knew the estate better than anyone else Adam could have found.
Now, though, he had to wonder if he’d made a mistake, especially when Zack’s gaze slid to Jillian, his mouth twisting with contempt before he glanced away.
His anger spiking, Adam speared the man with a glare. Under different circumstances, he might have dealt with the man’s attitude more diplomatically, but he wasn’t in the mood to play nice. “Everything all right, Zack?”
Zack grimaced, not looking directly at him. “Fine.”
“If you have something you want to say, maybe you should just say it.”
Zack clenched his jaw. “It’s none of my business.”
“You’re right,” Adam said. “But I think we’d like to hear what you have to say anyway.”
Zack finally turned that contemptuous glare on Adam. “All right.” He looked straight at Jillian, his lip curling in a sneer. “Guess commitments don’t mean that much to you after all, huh?”
Jillian simply looked back at him steadily. “Are you upset because you think something happened between Adam and me, or because I didn’t take you up on your offer?”
“My ‘offer’ wasn’t serious,” Zack scoffed. “I just wanted to see how serious you were about getting married. Turns out, you’re not. You’re even worse than the last one. At least she never did anything.”
Adam felt Jillian tense beside him. “You mean the first bride to come here?” she asked.
“Yeah. I saw the way she looked at me. Couldn’t take her eyes off me, all while she was supposed to be planning her wedding.” He shook his head. “Commitments don’t mean that much to anybody, do they?”
“You mean like they didn’t to your mother?”
Zack’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Don’t call her that. She doesn’t deserve the title.”
“There could have been other reasons why she left,” Jillian said gently. “You don’t know—”
“Yeah, I do,” Zack snapped. “I managed to track her down last year. She said sorry, but she wasn’t cut out to be a mother and getting married was the worst mistake she ever made. She never should have done it and she never did again after she left.” He snorted. “Maybe she should have figured that out before she bothered doing it the first time. It would have been a hell of a lot better on my dad and me if she had. The same way it would be for the guy you’re supposed to be marrying if you end it now.”
“If that’s how you feel, I’m surprised you wanted to work around weddings and brides,” Adam said coolly. “Maybe you’d be happier working somewhere else.”
Zack shrugged a shoulder. “You’re right about that. Go ahead and fire me. Just do me a favor and fire my dad, too. The only reason I came back here was to convince him to stop hiding on this damned mountain and get out of here. He needs to start living, not let his life be ruined by somebody who isn’t worth it.” With one last scornful glance at Jillian, he turned and stormed off down the hall.
“What do you think?” Adam asked softly when they were alone again. “Is he our killer?”
“He’s certainly angry. I just don’t know if he’d be that upfront with his contempt for me or Courtney, or his