When the Heart Lies - By Christina North Page 0,79
cigarette. Do you honestly think we met by chance?”
Her brow creased. “I’ve never thought otherwise.”
“Angela’s our cupid. She wanted you out of the way. Something about you really eats at her. She spotted your weaknesses, and I fine-tuned them. Fooling you was easy, easier than I thought it’d be.”
“Angela?” Her heart beat in her throat. Theories rattled through her brain, and her open mouth hung in disbelief. What had Angela found out? And who else knew? She must’ve had a reason to go to such extremes. But even if Angela had reason, Kinsley found believing she would put her and Max in danger next to impossible. She’d never known Angela to do more than spread a nasty rumor or spill a strategically placed glass of red wine on a drooling bimbo when she wanted revenge. Wayde was right. It had been easy to dupe her.
“Don’t look so stunned, you would’ve figured out what was going on if you had wanted to.”
“Where is Max, and when do we go home?” It didn’t matter anymore why she was with Wayde or who instigated their meeting. Remy laughed, hauntingly. She saw triumph in his eyes. Fear raked through her.
~ ~ ~
Slack eyed and devoid of sleep, Xavier entered the kitchen of his home. Jonathan was already sitting at the table, amidst the aroma of fresh coffee and the comforting sound of the clock ticking away the time. A silent expression of unequivocal understanding passed between them.
“I'm going to visit Angela today, with Mills.” Xavier said. “I can hardly see the point though. Seems unlikely she’d tell us anything even if she had the ability to talk after the stroke. When Jackson mentioned Wayde enlisted thirty-two years ago in south Carolina, it hit me that Angela might have known him and may have wanted Kinsley gone. I didn’t say anything last night, I wanted to check the video surveillance of my study first. I checked and it’s clear Wayde meeting Kinsley wasn’t coincidental. Angela had gone snooping and found her reasons for setting Kinsley up.”
“That’s an understatement,” Jonathan said.
Xavier’s eyes flashed upward briefly, acknowledging Jonathan’s conclusion. “She must’ve laid the groundwork for the manipulation of Kinsley and Nick’s marriage and fed Wayde the stories Kinsley shared about Drew over the years. It appears Wayde was more than willing to comply, for a price, and fabricated his relationship with Drew. Why didn’t I see it? My God, we both know why Angela did it—to hurt Kinsley, punish her for the things she’d found out. But why the kidnapping? That’s what isn’t clear to me.”
“People are capable of all sorts of things, Xavier. We don’t always understand the reasons people turn to desperate measures. I do know you can’t blame yourself for what Angela’s done. No good will come of it.” Jonathan stared down into his coffee, stroking the rim of the cup repeatedly with his thumb. “What’s important now is to get Kinsley home safely.”
“Yes, you’re right, when she’s home everyone will be relieved. Maybe things can finally be set straight in this family.”
Xavier placed his hands on the table’s edge and leaned back. “Well, where’s Nick, maybe I should start with him?”
Jonathan gave him an empathetic look. “He’s passed out on the sofa in your study.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. He was half tanked when I went to bed. I’ll talk to him. The last thing Kinsley needs is for him to slip back into the drunken stupor he was in when she left.”
~ ~ ~
Across the street from the café, Jackson paced the sidewalk. The night had come with a barrage of theories on Kinsley’s disappearance, most of them ill fated, and he’d spent the majority of his sleepless night chasing bogus information. After speaking with Xavier and Olivia earlier, the situation appeared bleak. Wayde hadn’t made a second call yet, and the vehicle they had left in hadn’t been spotted. When Jackson saw a man holding keys and heading for the door of the café, he exited the truck quickly and made his way into the building directly behind him.
The man turned and faced him. “Sorry sir, we don’t open for another half hour.” He smiled and held the door ajar for Jackson to exit. “You understand.”
Jackson stayed put. “I’m not here as a customer. I need to talk to you about one of your regulars. Are you Jim?”
He
narrowed his eyes, nodded, and took off his baseball cap, twirling it in his hands as he waited for Jackson to continue.