When the Heart Lies - By Christina North Page 0,47
he hadn’t tried to reach her.”
A puzzled expression crossed Xavier’s face. “Do you think the returned letters are a matter of this guy, Wayde, being jealous and not wanting to give them to her?”
“Maybe. Still, she never goes anywhere except to that café, and occasionally to her friends place down the road from Wayde’s. Those types of behaviors are often red flags. He drops her off and picks her up when she goes to the café. The café has no Internet. Who knows if she’s able to make a call? Doesn’t appear she has a cell phone, and pay phones are hard to find these days.”
“No telling why she hasn’t called,” Xavier said. We have the audio in as of this morning; Olivia had some undercover men pose as telephone repairmen. It should give us more insight.”
“What if she’s being threatened?”
“We’ll have to help. If she doesn’t want any, I’ll have to get Max home.”
“What about Kinsley?”
“If she’s in physical danger, do whatever you can to help her, but ultimately, leaving is her choice.”
Chapter 9
After Jackson and Olivia’s plane got in, Jackson went straight from the airport to pick up Scar. Anxious to hear what she had to say about Kinsley, he drove a little too fast. She was already waiting for him in the dining area.
“Hi, ready to get out of here?” he said, pulling his head in the direction from which he’d come.
“Yeah.” She headed for the door, but her usual upbeat way of behaving seemed subdued.
“Whoa, wait a minute. What’s up with you? You didn’t even say hello. Is something wrong?”
“We can talk in the car. I just want to get out of here.”
They had been driving about five minutes when he let out a huff. Scar’s silence was uncommon and disturbing. “Okay, time to tell me what’s wrong.”
“I just got a bad vibe.”
“About Kinsley?”
“You should’ve seen the way she looked when she left. Way worse than the other night when she said she was down.”
He remained quiet for a few minutes, chewing himself out for not meeting with Xavier sooner and not saying goodbye to Kinsley. “We’ve got the audio from inside the house. Come back to the motel with me and listen to some of the taped feed from today.”
Scar nodded. He could see she was worried. He shouldn’t have gotten her involved, but now that she was, he knew she’d feel better knowing what was going on.
“I’m going to make sure she’s all right, Scar.”
“I gave her my cell number and told her to call me if she needed to talk,” Scar said, not sounding very confident that Kinsley would call.
That worried him. “Did you give her mine?”
“I asked if she wanted yours, but she said no.”
“Oh.” It wounded him hearing she didn’t want his number. He was sure she felt the same connection he did. He hoped so at least. “Did you have any lunch? I’ve got some stuff at the motel for sandwiches.”
“I ate. I’m good.”
The room was in a shitty roadside motel. The only thing available in Orangevale: rooms rented by the hour, the day, or the month. Depending on the length of your stay, they offered amenities. Scar dropped her bags beside the door as they walked in. She went over to the bed, fell backwards onto it, and stretched out like a cross.
“How could you stay in this hole for three months?” she said.
“It’s not so bad. Cable, fridge, hotplate—porn.”
She distorted her expression and threw her pillow at him. “Gross.”
He ducked and went to get himself a beer. “Relax. You know I’m kidding. Sorta.” He smirked. “Want anything?”
She shook her head with another ridiculous expression deforming her pretty face. “Yeah, right. You’re kidding. It’s not like you could bring anybody here. Even Olivia wouldn’t want you that bad.”
He laughed heartily. She was right. Lying down on the other bed, he put his hands under his head and crossed his legs at the ankles. Grunts escaped the depths of him as he stretched.
Scar turned onto her side, leaned on her elbow, and faced him. “So, what happened last night?”
“I talked to her father-in-law, Xavier. I’m working for him.” He turned his eyes back to the ceiling and added with some hesitation, “Met her husband, Nick.”
“What’s her husband like?”
“I can’t even describe the guy. Asshole would pretty much sum it up, I suppose. He’s good looking and filthy rich. Definitely a natural born player. She’s too good for him.”
“So he’s everything you’re not, except the player thing.” She giggled.