Knowing You (The Jade Series #2) (29 page)

Garret’s pacing again. “Well, a lot of people look alike. That doesn’t mean they’re related.”

“Why didn’t you notice this before? You know the guy!”

“Jade. Really? Why would I even look for something like that?” Garret goes to the window, checking out the line of satellite trucks down below. The national media is here covering all the caucus-related events, many of which take place downtown on the streets around this hotel. “Frank was really out of it. I’m sure he was just confused. Sinclair’s not your father. There’s no way that’s true.”

“But what if it is? That guy’s from a powerful family, just like the guy in my mom’s letter. And he’s been working in politics his whole life. He was probably here for the caucus that year.” I join Garret at the window. “Remember at the fundraiser how he kept staring at me? And when I went back inside to get Harper’s scarf, he came over and talked to me. Nobody else was around. Why would he do that, Garret? I’m nobody. Why would someone who’s running for president go out of his way to come over and talk to me?”

“I don’t know, but I think we’re reading too much into it. So the guy has your smile. That doesn’t prove anything.”

“The shoebox! Frank said there’s something in the shoebox. Get your coat. We’re going back to the house.”

When we arrive at Frank’s house, I run to my bedroom and open the shoebox, dumping it all over the desk. Garret is standing behind me. I pick up a newspaper clipping. There’s an article about a political speech and next to it is a photo. I look closer and see my mom standing in the crowd. And next to her is a younger version of Royce Sinclair.

I drop the clipping, sure that my legs are going to give out. I collapse on the bed before they do. Garret picks up the clipping.

“It’s him,” I say. “He’s standing next to my mom. Frank was right.”
 

“Shit! I can’t fucking believe this.” He looks closer at the photo. “Sinclair’s like 10 years older than your mom. He would’ve been married then. And his wife would’ve been—”

“Pregnant,” I say realizing it. “He did this when he was married with a child on the way. My half sister. Sadie! The girl you dated! You dated my half sister!”

“Okay, calm down.” He sets the clipping back in the box and sits next to me. “That’s the last thing you should be worried about right now. Tell me again what Sinclair said to you at my house. Anything strange?”

“When you were outside waiting for the car, he asked me to tell my parents to vote for him in the caucus. Like I
had
parents. So that was strange. And then he asked if I was interested in politics. He knew my mom was a poli-sci major in college so maybe he thought I was, too.”

“Well, none of that would’ve seemed strange before, but now it does. Anything else?”

“I told you how he kept staring at me, especially my face. He was probably trying to see if we looked alike, hoping nobody would notice the resemblance.” I think back to that night, replaying the interaction in my head. “I remember your dad was acting really strange, too. When we were talking to Sinclair, your dad seemed nervous and his forehead was sweating.”

Garret thinks for a moment. “Everything changed after that night. My dad changed. That’s when he started acting all protective over you. Remember how he reacted when you said you’d be alone on campus over Thanksgiving? It makes sense now. He wanted you at the house with all the security and the locked gate.”

“What are you saying, Garret? That this guy’s made threats against me? And your dad knows about this?”

He gets his phone out. “We need to talk to my dad.”

“Do you really think he’s going to talk about this over the phone?”

He sighs and puts his phone away. “No. You’re right.”

“I don’t get it. If your dad knows Sinclair wants to hurt me, then why didn’t he say anything when you told him we were going to Des Moines? He knows Sinclair is here for the campaign.”

“Maybe my dad thought you’d be safe if I was with you. Maybe that’s why he didn’t get mad when I told him I was coming here. Or maybe he got Sinclair to back down. Leave you alone.”

“Maybe, but I still don’t feel safe.”
 

“Yeah, I don’t either.”

“Why is your dad even friends with that guy? And why is he giving him all that money for his campaign?”

“Sinclair must have something on him. He must know something my dad needs to keep hidden. That’s why my dad’s covering for him.”

“Your dad would really keep this guy’s secret all these years? He really wants a rapist to be president?”

“You think he’d be the first one? You think these people have never committed crimes, Jade? Seriously?”

“Don’t you dare talk down to me! How the hell would I know that? I live in the real world, where people who commit crimes actually go to prison.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it that way. I’m just so pissed off right now.” He runs his hand through his hair. “I told you before, Jade. Powerful people get away with shit. They pay people to keep quiet. Or they do other things to keep them quiet. And if anyone tries to accuse them publicly, they destroy them. They make them out to be crazy so nobody will believe them.”

“Like my mom. Everyone said she was crazy. When she told the police who raped her, they said the guy wasn’t even in Des Moines that night. But he was. He’s in the crowd in that photo. Didn’t anyone check the photo?”

Garret doesn’t answer. His mind has already moved on to the more recent past. “Sinclair had someone make those phone calls and steal that letter. He’s been watching you, Jade. And probably me, too.”

Another chill goes through me. “Are you trying to freak me out even more?”

He puts his arms around me. “I’m not leaving you here. I’m staying here until you go to back to school. And you’re not leaving my side.”

“But what about Christmas? You need to go home for Christmas.”

“They’ll have to have it without me.” He lets me go and gets his phone out again. “I need to get a gun. What are the gun rules in this state?”

I push his phone down. “A gun? Are you insane? You don’t even know how to use a gun.”

“I’ve known how to use a gun since I was 13. My family has guns, Jade. We have to. Because of shit like this.”

“You’re scaring me, Garret. How did I not know that you’re some gun fanatic?”

“I’m not a gun fanatic. It’s not like I want to use one. But I guarantee that whoever Sinclair has hired to keep an eye on you has a gun. And we need protection.”

“Okay. Just hold on a minute. Maybe we’re overreacting here. The guy’s known about me all these years and he’s never tried to hurt me. So maybe we’re getting worried over nothing.”

“He hasn’t tried to hurt you before because he didn’t need to. But now you know his secret. And he wants to be the fucking president! He can’t have evidence of his crime walking around. Anyone can prove you’re his daughter with a simple DNA test. Shit! This is bad.”

“But if anyone ever found out, he could just say he had an affair. Politicians have affairs all the time. Nobody has to know it was a rape.”

“If news got out that he had an affair, his political contenders would go digging for anything and everything about his past and there’s a chance that one of them would find out the truth. He can’t let this get out.”

“Okay, but is he really evil enough to harm his own daughter?”

“I don’t know, Jade.”

“Tell me what you know about this guy. Everything.”

“I don’t know that much about him.”

“You dated his daughter! You have to know something!”

“We didn’t sit around talking about her dad!”
 

I’m trying hard not to think about Garret and Sadie together, but my mind keeps doing it anyway. I wonder how far that relationship went. There’s no way I’m asking. Then again, they dated for two months. I don’t need to ask. I’m sure it went where I was hoping it didn’t.

“What’s his background?” I ask, trying to wipe Sadie’s image out of my head. “Why is he so powerful?”

“The family owns a big pharmaceutical company. The company’s been around forever. Sadie’s uncle runs it. Her dad didn’t want to. He was more interested in politics. That’s all I know. But my dad knows more about him.”

“I don’t know what to do, Garret.”
 

“Let’s just put this stuff away and go back to the hotel.”

When we get to his room, I look out the window at all the national news trucks along Grand Avenue. Even international news agencies are here.
 

Garret turns on the TV, flipping to one of the news channels. A reporter is standing outside. They’re live in Des Moines, just a block from our hotel.
 

We listen as the reporter talks. “…visiting the state once again before the holidays. The latest polls show Royce Sinclair taking the lead, but by a slim margin. There’s still plenty of time left for a new frontrunner to take his place. Sinclair has said he’ll be staying in Iowa over the holidays to secure his frontrunner status. Kent Gleason is also remaining here, although he’s currently a distant fourth.”

“Turn it off,” I tell Garret. “I can’t watch it. It’s making me feel sick. He’s probably down in that building next to all the news trucks. What if he’s staying in this hotel?” The thought makes me panic even more. “He probably is! It’s the nicest hotel in town!”

Garret comes over and forces me sit to down. “The candidates usually don’t stay at hotels. They usually rent a house because they’re here for so long.” He gets out his phone. “I’ll look it up quick.”
 

Within a minute, Garret’s already found it. “Just like I said. He’s renting a house in the suburbs. Some place called Clive.”

“Yeah. It’s out west. Fine. But he’s still here in town.”

My cell phone rings. It’s Ryan calling. “Ryan. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Relax, Jade. Dad’s starting to improve. He’s being moved to a regular hospital room later this afternoon.”

“That’s great! Should I get over there?”

“He’s still sleeping. But stop by around 3. Or come here earlier and we’ll have lunch. I’ll be done in the lab at 2 so you could come by then.”

“Okay. Sounds good. See ya soon.” I hang up and turn to Garret. “We’re meeting Ryan for a late lunch. Frank’s getting better and they’re moving him to a regular room.”

“That’s good news.”

“Yeah, but I’m a little worried about seeing him again. Do you think he remembers what he told us?”

“No. I think he was totally out of it when he said it.”

“I think so, too, but I have to ask him about it. I need to know for sure if this is true and find out what else he knows.”

“So what do you want to do until we go to the hospital? Do you want to get out of here?”

“No, I want to stay here. I want to get into bed and pull the covers over me and just feel safe for a minute. And I want you beside me.”

He smiles at that last part. It’s one of the few times I’ve ever come out and actually asked him to be there for me. “I can do that.”

I take off my jeans and climb into bed in my t-shirt. Garret joins me, lying on his back. I scoot closer to him and he kisses the top of my head as he secures his arm over me. “It’ll be okay, Jade.”

He says it, but I don’t think he believes it.
 

25

When we’re back at the hospital we meet Ryan at the lab where he works.
 

“Did they move Frank to his new room yet?” I ask him.

“No, but he should be there within the hour.” Ryan’s in a much better mood. I don’t think he ever expected his dad to leave the ICU. I was kind of thinking the same thing after I saw how bad Frank looked. “Let’s go somewhere else to eat. I can’t take any more hospital food.”

Ryan drives us to the restaurant in his old, beat-up car that barely works. I glance over at Garret and he gives me a look, reminding me of our conversation. He’s not judging Ryan’s car, so I need to stop assuming that he is.

We go to a pizza place not far from the hospital. It has a buffet that you pay for as you walk in. Ryan pays for all of us, which breaks my heart because I know that he’s completely broke. But I don’t say anything because it’s his way of being the big brother, a role I know he misses since I left.
 

“This morning the doctor said Dad will probably be in the hospital for at least another week,” Ryan tells me as we’re eating. “Probably more than a week. So he won’t be home for Christmas.”
 

“That’s okay. We’ll just hang out in his room for Christmas.”

“Well, I kind of made plans to be with Chloe’s family for part of the day.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m just saying that it’s not going to be much of a Christmas this year. Dad will probably be asleep for most of the day and I’ll be at Chloe’s. You might be stuck alone at the house unless you want to go to Chloe’s with me.”

“She won’t be alone,” Garret says. “I’ll be here.”

Ryan seems surprised. “You’re staying here? And your family’s okay with that?”

“They’ve had plenty of holidays with me. Besides, I’m there all the time.”