Ropes and Revenge (11 page)

He had always hated the thought of another man’s hands on his wife, but especially this man’s hands. Jenner was a pretentious asshole who came from big money, worked two days a week, and fancied himself a brilliant artist, far above the rest of the peons in the world who actually had to show up to work every day to make a living.

John had seen Jenner’s photographs and remained less than impressed. If panoramic shots of desert sunsets and hipster kids in fancy clothes lounging on rusted out cars were art, he was pretty sure he could set his kids loose with a couple of digital cameras and they’d come home with something worth hanging in a museum.

“What’s up?” Jenner slid onto the stool beside John instead of taking a seat around the corner of the bar and putting a decent amount of space between them like a normal person. “Have to admit I was surprised to hear from you.”

“I was surprised to learn you were staying at a hotel so close to town,” John said, suspicion in his tone no matter how hard he tried to keep his voice neutral. “You spend a lot of time in the area?”

Jenner shrugged, but a guarded look crept into his eyes. “Now and then. There are some great places to shoot near Lonesome Point.”

“Nice people, too,” John said. “Right? I mean, you seemed to enjoy our hospitality when you visited before.”

The skin around Jenner’s eyes crinkled as he grinned, but his eyes remained hard. “I’m not sure what you’re hinting at, John, but why don’t you just spit it out. Then we can retreat to opposite sides of the bar and ignore each other for the rest of the night.”

“I found the card you gave Lily.” He hadn’t intended to reveal that much tonight, but he hadn’t bargained on the way Jenner’s smug grin would get under his skin. “The one with your cell number written on the back.”

“I figured that’s how you got it,” Jenner said, not missing a beat. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I gave that card to Lily because I was concerned for her welfare. I still consider her a friend, no matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other. That’s it.”

“That’s it,” John echoed. “And why were you concerned for her welfare?”

Jenner turned, catching the eye of one of the women still watching him from her stool near the middle of the bar. “Why don’t you ask her yourself? She’s your wife. If you’re having issues communicating, that’s not really my problem.”

John’s mouth went dry. He’d never imagined that Jenner wouldn’t know.

Though why would he? It wasn’t like Lily’s death had made headlines. There were too many awful things happening in the world for the accidental death of a mother of two to make the evening news.

But then, Jenner could also be faking ignorance in an attempt to cover his tracks.

“I can’t ask her because she’s dead,” John said, eyes glued to Jenner’s face as the other man’s features froze.

“What?” Jenner’s brow furrowed, but he looked more angry than distressed.

“She’s dead,” John repeated. “Her four-wheeler went off the side of a mountain trail. Her skull shattered in three places on the way down, but she didn’t die instantly. The doctors say she probably suffered for an hour or two before she passed.”

Jenner’s lips curled and heat crept into his cool blue eyes. “What the fuck?”

“You said you were friends,” John said. “I thought you might give a shit.”

“I do give a shit, but—” He broke off with a shake of his head as he stepped off his stool. “I don’t know what your problem is, John, and I don’t want to know. I’m sorry for your loss, but—”

“Are you?” John stood, facing him down. “If that’s true, then tell me what Lily was doing with your business card.”

Jenner shook his head again, taking another step away. “I don’t do drama, man.”

“This isn’t drama,” John snapped, his hands balling into fists at his sides. “My wife is dead and you’re not leaving this bar until you talk to me.”

“You’re a real piece of work, Lawson,” Jenner said, eyes narrowing. “I never thought Lily would last ten months with a Neanderthal like you, let alone nine years.” His breath rushed out. “Poor thing was probably relieved to get away from you. Even if she had to die to do it.”

John lunged forward, but before his fist could connect with Jenner’s self-righteous face, slim, but strong, arms wrapped around his waist, hauling him backward.

“Stop it! Right now!” Percy darted in between them, pressing a hand to his chest. “Go upstairs, John. I left a key to my room with Layla at the front desk. I’ll talk to Mr. Sloan and meet you there in a few minutes.”

“I’m not leaving,” John said, his fists still itching to make Jenner hurt, to make him bleed for acting like Lily’s death was nothing but trashy gossip. “Not until he—”

“Go!” Percy ordered firmly, pointing a finger at the door connecting the lobby to the bar. “Right now. The last thing your kids need is for their father to end up in jail for starting a bar brawl.”

“She’s right,” a soft voice said from his left. John turned to see Clint standing behind the bar with his phone in hand.

“If you hit that man, I’m going to have to call the police, John,” Clint said, a pained look in his eyes. “I’m going to hate to do it, but I won’t have any choice. I can’t let something like that go. That’s not the kind of place we’re running here.”

John nodded stiffly before turning back to Percy. “Jenner knows something about Lily,” he said, shame and rage leaving a rancid taste in his mouth. “But he won’t tell me. He said he gave her the card because he was concerned for her welfare, but he won’t tell me why.”

“I’ll see if I can work something out,” Percy promised. “But you need to go. You’re not helping anything here.”

“Listen to your girlfriend, John,” Jenner said, an edge to his voice. “Though how you keep convincing beautiful, intelligent women to waste their time with you is beyond me.”

Fire leapt in Percy’s eyes as she whipped her head in Jenner’s direction. “Behave Mr. Sloan, or I’ll be tempted to hit you myself. This man has lost his wife. What’s your excuse for being so quick to be unkind?”

To John’s surprise, Jenner actually had the grace to look a little ashamed of himself.

Just a little.

It was enough to grant John the perspective to realize how badly he’d botched this meeting. The smartest thing he could do at this point was to remove himself from the situation before he lost control again. Jenner might not open up to Percy, but at least she had a snowball’s chance in hell of finding out what he’d seen the day he’d given Lily his card.

“I’ll go wait in the lobby,” John said, turning to go without any parting words for Jenner. He didn’t dare look the prick in the face for fear he’d lose it all over again.

Still, the other man’s words echoed in his ears as he pushed through the door into the hotel lobby.
Relieved to get away from you. Even if she had to die to do it.

The words cut deep, not because there was any truth to them when Lily passed, but because of the man he could see himself becoming. He’d always been the defender of his family, but that didn’t mean he rushed in with fists raised. John had always believed in keeping his cool and not responding with violence unless there was absolutely no other option. He’d only hit another man two times—once to keep Cole from being bashed over the head with a tequila bottle in a bar fight and once to prevent a father at the community center from slapping his teenage daughter across the face a second time.

The fact that he’d almost punched Jenner for running his mouth scared him.

It scared him enough that when Layla—who was on a phone call with one of the hotel staff—leaned over the reception desk and pressed a key with Percy’s room number written on the outside into his hand, he decided maybe Percy was right. Maybe he should take himself farther away from Jenner than the lobby—the sooner, the better.

He didn’t wait for Layla to end her call. He simply turned and started up the stairs, confusion and anger warring with the cold chilling his blood.

He’d been granted a wake-up call. Percy had stepped in and saved him from himself before it was too late. Now he had to decide what to do with his second chance, and whether it was time to rethink his vendetta before he did something that would land him behind bars for a lot longer than an overnight stay in the drunk tank.

He’d never looked the conclusion of the quest to find Lily’s killer in the face for too long, but deep down he’d always known how it would end—with a gun in his hand and the man who’d taken Lily away from him dead at his feet. The fact that he’d been planning to commit murder hadn’t loomed so large when he didn’t have a single lead or suspect in sight, but now it coiled in his chest like a rattler preparing to strike, making him realize what a dangerous road he was on.

If Lily’s murderer believed John was closing in, he might find himself in that plot beside his wife before he was ready to go. And then the monster who had killed Lily would have stolen away both of the boys’ parents.

“Time to fucking wise up,” John mumbled as he let himself into Percy’s room, where the air smelled of sweet smokiness like the woman herself. He crossed the cozy space, sitting down in the window seat overlooking the street, determined to take a long hard look into the future and make sure Percy stayed safe.

He’d been a fool to let her help him. He should have thought things through and realized he was putting an innocent woman in danger. But he hadn’t been thinking anything through lately. He’d been barreling ahead, powered by grief and rage, selfishly concerned with nothing but his own pain.

That stopped now. As soon as Percy came upstairs, he would tell her that it was over, and try to convince her to leave town. He wasn’t sure where his questions were going to lead him, or if he could stop walking this dark road now that he’d started down it, but he could make sure that Percy was removed from the situation before it was too late.

Still, the thought of never seeing her again sent a wave of grief washing through him, making him wonder how many more things he was fated to lose.

CHAPTER NINE

Percy

With one last glance at the door where John had disappeared, Jenner eased grudgingly back onto his stool. “You want a drink?” he asked, already sounding more approachable now that John was out of sight.

Percy shook her head. “No thank you. I’m actually meeting a friend in a few minutes. I was just hoping we could talk first.”

Jenner sighed. “Fine, but I’d like a vodka tonic with my talk, bartender. Easy on the ice.”

“Coming right up,” Clint said, lingering to shoot Percy a concerned look. She forced a smile for the man, who clearly felt responsible for his patrons, amazed all over again at how kind most of the people were in this town.

It was so different than the big, wild, impersonal city where she’d grown up, or even the tiny lake town in upstate New York where she lived now. Lonesome Point was the kind of place where people looked out for each other, which made her even more certain someone must have been looking out for Lily. They might not know what they’d seen was significant, but if she and John asked the right people the right questions, hopefully, they’d find their way to the answers he needed to start putting his life back together.

After a moment, Clint nodded. “Vodka tonic.”

As he moved away to start Jenner’s drink, Percy slid onto the stool next to the photographer’s. She needed to win the man over, but after hearing the way he’d talked to John, it wasn’t easy to put on her best manners. She could usually see both sides of an argument, but there was no reason to kick someone while they were down, no matter how much painful personal history colored a shared past.

“I didn’t mean to be an asshole,” Jenner said, sparing her the burden of finding a way to break the ice. “That man brings out the worst in me. Always has. I never understood why Lily picked him instead of me.” His throat worked as he ran a hand over his already smooth ponytail. “God. I can’t believe she’s dead. What a waste.”

“It is,” Percy said, pausing when Clint reappeared to place Jenner’s drink on the bar. “And John’s been having a really hard time dealing with it. I don’t know him well, but—”

“So you aren’t the girlfriend?” Jenner asked.

“No, we’re friends,” Percy said. “New friends, but the people I’ve talked to say he hasn’t been himself since the accident. If you could tell me what you saw, that had you concerned for Lily it might help.”

Jenner stirred his drink. “It wasn’t any big deal.”

“Maybe not to you, but to John every bit of new information helps.”

Jenner’s eyes cut sharply her way. “Why? What does he think he’s going to find? He said her death was an accident, right?”

“That’s what the police concluded.” Percy shrugged, doing her best to downplay John’s curiosity. “He’s just trying to put together a more complete picture of her last few days. Things like your card and other unanswered questions have been bothering him.”

“I bet they have,” he muttered, a bitter smile curving his lips as he shifted on his stool. “Listen, Miss…”

“Styles,” she said, not particularly interested in being on a first name basis with this man.

“Miss Styles.” He took a drink, watching her over the rim of his glass, taking a moment to brush the liquid from his upper lip with his thumb before he spoke. “You may be used to dealing with stupid people, but I’m not one of them. There’s only one reason John’s got himself this worked up and we both know what that is.”