Somewhere Between Water and Sky (Shattered Things #2) (31 page)

“
Ohmigod.
”
She whispers.
“
He was sitting in the booth next to us when I stopped you from leaving. I remember.
”
I look at her and nod. She pales a little and then looks at Jude, her voice quiet.

“
What
’
s is going on here?
”

I bounce off her question.
“
And how
’
d he get in my room?
”

Jude scratches his forehead as if he
’
s trying to figure out a puzzle.

“
It
’
s complicated, Stephanie.
”

“
Complicated my ass. Check who you
’
re talking to and try that again.
”

Kevin opens his mouth as if he
’
s going to say something and then, catching a look from Jude, shuts it and turns away. I pounce, the frustration growing to code red levels.

“
Wait. What was that? I saw that look. No secrets, you guys.
”

Fuck this shit.

I grab for Kevin
’
s wrist for the first time since seeing him. His eyes grow wide and I lower my voice. Once I have his attention, I let go of his arm, my fingers still tingling from where we had contact. I have to clench my jaw to keep my voice from trembling.

I really, really, really hate emotions.

“
No secrets, Kevin. I
’
m done with those.
”

Jessa clears her throat and raises her hand.

“
I
’
d like to know what
’
s going on, too.
”

Ren nods in solidarity, even though I have no idea if Kevin filled him in on anything on the drive over here.

“
It would be nice to have an inkling of why I played chauffeur today to a teenager with a federal ID.
”

I raise an eyebrow and Ren looks at me, thumbing his hand toward Kevin.
“
This guy just shows up at my place early this morning demanding a ride over here. Said it was
‘
of the utmost importance.
’”
He jerks his head back.
“
Who talks like that anyway?
”

A breathy laugh escapes and I glance at Kevin.

“
You really told him nothing? Just demanded a ride?
”

“
I had to come, Steph. I wanted to make sure you
’
re safe.
”

I say nothing. There
’
s nothing to say to that kind of idiocy.

Jude blinks and notices Ren for the first time. He points at him and Jessa.

“
Who are you?
”

“
They
’
re my friends. And you don
’
t get anymore information until you answer questions.
”

He studies my face and then nods, rubbing his chin with his fingers. I notice the stubble.

Emma never lets him get away with stubble
—
always complains when he gets lazy in shaving.

“
How long have you been here?
”

He closes his eyes for a split second before looking at me again with a slight smile.

“
Steph. I promise. I
’
ll answer your questions.
”
He glances around and that
’
s when I see two things: there are absolutely no officers left in the lobby
—
and I have no idea when they left
—
and the men in suits sprinkled around the lobby are acting inconspicuous but eyeing us. There really is no difference between surveillance on both ends of the spectrum. I remember noticing the men watching me at all times back home
—
the men my father hired to keep tabs on me. They held the same stance as these men, the good guys.

Always suspicious. Always watching.

Jude gives a slight hand motion and the men disappear slowly and methodically. Pointing to a room off to our left, he looks at me.

“
Come on. We can talk in here.
”

I follow after him and Kevin, Jessa and Ren by my side.

“
Wait. Jude. Where
’
s Max?
”

He holds up his hand and shakes his head.

I purse my lips and sigh. I know that signal too. I give Jessa the side eye.

“
His wife used to do that in the classroom,
”
I whisper.
“
We called it the STFU hand.
”
I shake my head.
“
He just doesn
’
t get it, though. I
’
m not shutting up about this. I want answers.
”

She nods.
“
I know, girl. You deserve them.
”
She grabs my hand and makes me slow down to lengthen the distance between us and them.
“
I mean it, Stephanie.
”

I look at her and frown.
“
What do you mean?
”

She sets her jaw.
“
Don
’
t let them officiate you into being quiet or doing something you don
’
t want to do or believing something you know in your gut is a lie. This is
your
life and even though they may love you
—
that doesn
’
t mean they
’
ll always do right. Trust
yourself.
Remember? Storm-wood.
”

I swallow.

“
Storm-wood.
”
I respond, before turning around and walking toward Jude and Kevin, waiting for me down the hall.

Chapter Sixteen

I pause at the door to the room and look around. There are surveillance cameras, laptops, wires
—
a set up that
’
s been weeks in the making
…
at least. I zone in on what the cameras are facing and recognize the curve of my hallway, our coffee shop
…

…
Jessa
’
s house.

“
Whoa,
”
Ren exclaims behind me.

I start breathing a little heavier and point a shaky finger at the screens.

“
What is that.
”

Jude and Kevin just glance at each other and do their best to turn off the monitors before I can see everything. A slow iciness spreads across my skin.

“
You guys have been watching me.
”

Jude leans against the table and crosses his arms over his chest. When I start backing away, Jessa grabs my arms and leans in.
“
No you don
’
t. No running. Besides, I gotta hear this.
”
She motions quietly with her chin.
“
That
’
s my condo.
”

“
I know,
”
I whisper back.

Jude moves to clasp his hands in his lap. I throw up a hand.

“
Well?
”

He exchanges a look with Kevin.

“
We
’
ve been following you this whole time, Stephanie.
”

I breathe in quick and shake my head.

“
I told you not to
…
I said to leave, to not follow me
…
what part of that did you not understand?
”

He nods.
“
I know. But you have to understand you were in jeopardy. You were completely unaware of Sam
’
s men watching you at all times.
”

“
That
’
s not true. They haven
’
t been following me. Only him. He
’
s the psycho.
”

He places his head in his hands and mutters into his fingers.

“
Did you even know one stayed right next door to you? It was a couple. We found them a few weeks ago. Brought them in. They
’
re in custody now.
”

My limbs grow heavy with memory
—
they were the ones I stole the champagne from
—
the ones who told me they moved from Portland and were staying there while their new home was built.

I shake my head.
“
That
’
s impossible.
”

Kevin jumps in and I bristle with the way my breath catches. I hate that he has this effect on me.

Why can
’
t he just go away.

“
It
’
s true, Steph. You know it, too. That guy at the Americana? He followed you guys there. He was tracking you before then
—
you said so yourself. He sat next to you on the bus.
”

My insides empty out into a puddle on the floor. I feel hollow
—
numb. This can
’
t be happening. I shoot a glance at Ren and Jessa, frozen in place. Jessa blinks and furrows her brow.

“
So what does this mean?
”
Pointing to the camera, she looks at Jude.
“
How long are you going to be watching my place? Isn
’
t that some kind of invasion of privacy?
”

Kevin chuckles and Jude throws him a warning glance. He opens his hands.
“
Unfortunately, for cases as intricate and complicated as this, you don't really have a say.
”

“
Like hell we don
’
t.
”
Jude looks at me in surprise. I can feel the anger boiling to the surface again and this time, I don
’
t push it down. I step closer to Jude, keeping my eye on Kevin. I know his pattern. Now would be the perfect opportunity for him to run in and save me from myself. He
’
s done it before. My anger always surprised him.

“
For months, I
’
ve believed I was starting fresh. I allowed the lack of answers because I was here and you guys were there and I felt a separation.
”
I motion to Ren and Jessa.
“
I made new friends.
Actual
friends who weren
’
t just using me as a job.
”
My gaze lands on Kevin before falling away.

“
They had no idea who I was until dad starting showing himself again. And when they found out? They didn
’
t run. They didn
’
t go behind my back to try and save me. They
’
re showing me that I can do this myself.
”

Jude winces.
“
Steph
…
please.
”

I hold my hands up.
“
No. YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO ME. For once. I want answers, Jude.
”
I stab my finger into my palm.
“
I
’
m tired of being the blind one when this? All of this?
”
I turn and point to all of the intricate wiring.
“
It
’
s about
me.
And I had no idea it was here.
”
I wrap my arms around my chest and feel my heart beating wildly.