The Last Invitation (27)

A few passing cars honked their horns. Earl ignored the noise and looked at Jessa, as if to satisfy himself she wasn’t hurt. Then he turned to Rob Greene. “Is there a problem here?”

“He says he’s a reporter.” Wait, is that what he said? Something about a story. The anxiety pumping through Jessa made it hard for her to concentrate.

“Get lost,” Earl said and didn’t sound like he was joking.

“I’ve been trying to talk with you and your wife for weeks.” Greene didn’t move, but his calm assurance had vanished. He scanned the area, as if looking for reinforcements, but his gaze kept coming back to the bat in Earl’s hand. “Just a few questions. Some background.”

“You want me to beat the shit out of you out here, where everyone can see?” The menace in Earl’s voice was impossible to miss.

Jessa couldn’t help but shift until she stood closer to Earl and the weapon. Age didn’t matter; he looked ready to swing and was fit enough to connect with bone and make it hurt. At least Jessa hoped so.

“This is a serious matter. Right now, I’m not at the office, so I’m hard to reach. Here’s the best way to contact me.” Greene held out what looked like a business card. “Your wife knows people who—”

Earl knocked the card out of Greene’s hand, sending it to the sidewalk.

Jessa took that as a sign his patience had expired. “I’ll call the police.”

A car slowed down and parked next to them by the sidewalk. The vehicles lined up behind it blew their horns as they tried to maneuver around. Someone shouted, and a couple across the street stopped and watched.

Fear revved up and spilled over inside Jessa. No one got out of the stopped car, but having it nearby kept her from shouting for help.

Earl didn’t seem to notice any of the movement on the street. All of his attention centered on Greene. “Do you want more trouble?”

Greene lifted his hands in what looked like surrender. “Listen—”

“You have enough problems right now. You don’t want to add me to your list. Don’t let the clothes and the fancy house fool you. I came from a place where I learned to protect what’s mine and to fight dirty to do it. You understand me?”

The door of the parked car opened. A man stood up and called out to Earl, “Do you need some help, sir?”

Earl shook his head. “Mr. Greene is leaving and never coming back. Isn’t that right, Mr. Greene?”

Greene hesitated but not for long. He looked at Jessa. “I’ll be in touch.”

“My warning extends to her. You stay away from her.” Earl pointed the bat down the street. “Go.”

The man from the car stepped onto the sidewalk. He was tall with a military haircut. Wore nondescript clothing but looked like he punched people for a living. Security. Had to be. He escorted Greene away then came back and hovered nearby.

Jessa didn’t know much about Earl’s business, but the house suggested it was damn lucrative. She assumed a guy that powerful would have a detail of people ready to help him if he picked up a bat.

Earl’s icy demeanor softened the second they were alone. “Are you okay, Jessa?”

Shaking. Queasy and really confused. “What was that about?”

She bent down to get the business card, thinking that might explain. But Earl beat her to it.

“It’s nonsense.” He tucked the card into his pants pocket. “He’s unhinged. You don’t want any part of that.”

“He was talking about deaths and—”

“He’s a disgraced reporter who sees conspiracies wherever he looks. It’s pathetic and annoying.” Earl smiled, but the fury reflected in his eyes didn’t diminish. From his grip on the bat to the stiffness in his body, anger clearly ran through him, and he’d barely banked it.

He motioned for the man from the car to step closer. “Trent will take you home.”

“It’s okay.” A mix of adrenaline and panic clashed inside of her. She wasn’t convinced she could walk to the car without falling down. Standing there for a few minutes struck her as the right decision. “That’s not necessary.”

“We want you to be safe,” Earl said.

Despite living in the city and having been schooled in every precaution a woman needed to take to survive, Jessa rarely felt unsafe in the DC area . . . until now.





Chapter Twenty-Six

Gabby




Deny. Deny. Deny.

Gabby didn’t want to tell them like this. She didn’t want to tell them at all. She tried to find the right words, but there weren’t any. The train rolled right for her, bearing down and speeding up. She couldn’t jump or shift. She had to stand there and let it slam into her then hope enough pieces remained for her to rebuild from the chaos.

Liam and Kennedy were the two people Gabby loved most in the world, and she was about to lose them.

Liam’s eyes narrowed. “Gabby, tell me what’s going on.”

He acted like this was easy, but Gabby faced a wall of furious indignation. Kennedy, wound up and wrung out both emotionally and physically, looked ready to drop. Except for her expression. That fierce determination to push the issue and condemn her mother bubbled to the surface.

Gabby thought about trying to pivot, about falling back on Liam’s need to get work done, especially now, and Kennedy’s need to rest. Push off. Deflect. Ignore. That had been the strategy both in her mind and in reality for years, and Gabby watched it all crumble in front of her.