Inevitable Detour (Inevitability Book 1)(73)

A few hours later, everyone is gathered in the living room. We’ve all had time to clean up and eat something. Haven and Rick are seated side by side on the sofa. Rick has a huge, swollen knot on his temple, but he seems not to be one bit bothered by his injury. I’m sure he’s had worse. Haven scoots closer to him. She is still a wreck, chewing on her nails, dealing with the fact that her dad is alive and well.

“I still can’t believe it,” she says quietly. “I never thought I’d meet my father.”

Rick places a comforting hand on her knee, and Farren, seated next to me on a love seat across from them, follows his movement. Mr. Barnes, in a chair to our right, is also watching Rick and Haven. He doesn’t seem to be as accepting as Farren. His expression is far more wary. But what can he say? He’s not been in his daughter’s life since she was three. Still, I see a longing in his green eyes—not dissimilar to Farren’s—while his gaze is focused solely on Haven. He wants to connect with the only daughter he has left; that much is apparent.

Vincent is seated in a chair across from Mr. Barnes, slightly removed from everyone. He clears his throat and says, “We should discuss what’s going to happen from here on out.”

“Before we get to that,” Haven interjects, “I want some answers.” She narrows her eyes at Barnes. “What happened to you? You said in the basement that you were forced to leave us.”

“I was,” Barnes says gently. “When you and your brother were kids, I witnessed a crime. We were living in New Jersey at the time. I didn’t know when I watched two men dump a body into the Passaic River that I was witnessing a hit. I only found out when federal agents contacted me. They needed my testimony, desperately. And they offered protection—”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Haven interrupts. Her tone is contemptuous. “Just hang the rest of your family out to dry.”

“Haven,” Farren says sharply, “that’s enough.”

Haven’s anger redirects to her brother. “No, Farren, it’s not enough. Our father left us to the wolves nineteen years ago, and you’re okay with that?”

“That’s not exactly what happened,” Mr. Barnes interjects. “I never wanted to leave any of you.” His voice cracks. “I had to leave in order to protect my family. I knew the men who’d dumped the body would ID me eventually. I knew they’d go after my wife and children,” he adds, eyeing both Farren and Haven pointedly. “The agents convinced me that my testimony could take those bad guys off the street…for good. My family would be safe then. The only catch was that I had to disappear.”

He sighs, takes a moment.

After a beat, he continues. “Everything happened so fast. And, of course, I couldn’t tell anyone. I had to leave immediately. I was given a new identity before I testified. My whole past was erased so that the bad guys couldn’t trace me back to you, your brother, or your mom. It was the only way I’d cooperate.”

Barnes pinches the bridge of his nose, a gesture I’ve seen Farren do often. “After the trial, my identity was changed again. I became Mr. Quinton Barnes. I was given a large sum of money to start a new life. I invested, made deals, and I soon discovered I had a knack for business. I became successful, enough that I had the money to change my appearance. Still, I knew I could never go home.” He pauses and then says softly, “When I received word that your mother died, it just about killed me that I couldn’t go comfort you and Farren. But showing up in your lives at that time would’ve still been dangerous. I knew that you and your brother moving in with your aunt was the better option.”

“It seems like too high of a cost,” Haven murmurs. “You basically gave up everything.”

“It was too high of a cost,” Barnes confirms. “But once the wheels were in motion, things couldn’t be stopped.”

“You got remarried, though. You had another child. You forgot about us.”

“Never,” Barnes denies vehemently. And then he says quietly, “Not a day passed that I wasn’t thinking of you and Farren. I never stopped loving you and your brother, your mother, too.”

Farren shifts next to me. He remains stoic, but there’s emotion in his eyes. Haven, meanwhile, is peering down at her hands in her lap while biting her bottom lip. Finally, she looks up and asks her father, “Are those men you testified against out of jail now?”

Mr. Barnes clears his throat. “One of them is.”

Dawson, I know it has to be Dawson. He’s the right age, and he’s a criminal through and through.

“And the other one?” Haven inquires.

“He died in prison.”

“The one who’s still alive ID’d you, though. Didn’t he?”

“Unfortunately,” Barnes replies, “he did.”

Haven says pointedly, “So, the criminal organization he and the dead guy worked for finally found out you were alive and well. They wanted revenge for you testifying against them. That’s why Annemarie was targeted.” Haven is on a roll, putting the pieces together swiftly. “And, somehow, some way, they’ve now linked me and Farren to you.”

No one responds, and Haven flat-out asks, “Is that why I was targeted? I want to hear the truth.”

Mr. Barnes looks away and doesn’t say a thing. Maybe he can’t. He does seem as if he’s close to some breaking point.