motioned to a large black SUV. “We’re taking mine. Jake is leaving his car here. He spoke to our security guard and asked him to feed your parking meter. I hope that’s okay.”
“I appreciate it.” She wasn’t going to jockey for shotgun position. Before either man could say a word, she climbed into the back seat. The interior was nice. It reminded her of a Secret Service vehicle. Nothing wrong with that.
Falling Brook was an hour from New York City, depending on traffic and the destination. Once Joshua put the SUV in motion, Nikki fell dead asleep...
She roused as the car slowed and turned a corner. Up ahead, she saw a sign for the correctional facility.
Jake shot her a glance over his shoulder. “You okay back there?”
She nodded, rubbing her eyes and smoothing her hair. “Yes. I can’t help thinking about all the times my mother and I came to the city for a play. Or shopping. Those days seem like another lifetime, another person. I was spoiled and naive.”
He frowned. “Don’t beat yourself up. You were the only child of wealthy parents. Of course they gave you the best of everything.”
Until they didn’t.
This prison, among others, made the news now and again for overcrowding and poor treatment of inmates. Nikki shivered. Her own father could have landed here before his certain conviction. Maybe death had been a kinder sentence.
When the three of them exited the parking garage a short time later, Nikki huddled into her coat. The wind whistled through the streets between tall buildings. The sun was out, but it shone hazily behind a thin veil of clouds.
Once inside they had to go through a security checkpoint with a metal detector. She began to wish she hadn’t come, but it was too late to back out now.
Joshua signed a visitor log for the three of them, and then they sat in a waiting room. About fifteen minutes later, a uniformed security officer appeared in the doorway and called Joshua’s name. Jake and Nikki stood, too. Her stomach fell to her feet.
Without overthinking it, she slid her hand into Jake’s. He was about to see his father for the first time in a decade and a half. What was he thinking? His fingers gripped hers tightly.
The officer’s face was stoic. “Mr. Lowell has changed his mind. He doesn’t want visitors today.”
After a moment of silence, Josh cursed beneath his breath. He and Jake had both gone pale. Joshua straightened his shoulders. “Perhaps you misunderstood. My father asked us to come today. We’re here as a courtesy to him.”
The man shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. Mr. Lowell was perfectly clear. He’s in his cell, and he doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
Nikki could feel the tension in Jake’s body. “Well,” he said, his tone gruff. “I guess that’s it.” He turned on his heel, dragging Nikki in his wake.
Joshua followed them out onto the street. They all stood on the sidewalk, stunned. Nikki let go of Jake’s hand, self-conscious now that Joshua might notice.
Jake exhaled and stared at the ground. “I’m not sure why we’re surprised. The old man is a class-A bastard. We’ve done our duty. Now we’re off the hook.”
Joshua shook his head slowly. “I can’t believe it. Why would he ask us to come and then refuse to see us?”
“Maybe he’s ashamed,” Nikki said. She tried to put herself in Vernon’s shoes, but couldn’t imagine it. What kind of parent abandoned his family?
Jake made a face that could have meant anything. “It’s freezing out here, and I’m starving.” He gave Nikki a quick glance. “You up for walking a couple of blocks?”
“Of course.”
They ended up at a little hole-in-the-wall place the Lowell brothers remembered from their teen years. Jake actually smiled when they entered. “We used to come here on the weekends and eat pizza and play pool. We felt like such rebels.”
“Why was that?” she asked.
“Because it was a million miles from Falling Brook,” Josh answered. He looked around the crowded, dimly lit room with a grin. The booths were covered in faux green leather. The wooden floor was scarred. The dartboards on the far back wall might have been relics from the Second World War.
There was an awkward moment as they were being seated. A booth for three meant that two people were cozy. In this case, Jake and Nikki. She squeezed toward the wall and tried to pretend she wasn’t freaked out by the fact that his leg touched hers.
He helped her