Somewhere Between Water and Sky (Shattered Things #2) (32 page)

“
It
’
s time to talk, Jude.
”
I point to Kevin.
“
And you? You stay silent.
”

Jude studies me and then cracks a grin.

“
Emma warned me this would happen.
”

I feel my head jerk back.
“
What?
”

He stands and moves to a nearby chair, placing his hands on the back of it. He smiles and looks off in the distance and shakes his head.
“
From the very beginning, she told me it was a bad idea, hiding this from you. I just couldn
’
t risk your dad finding out and then running away with you. We had to get you out.
”
His eyes turn serious.
“
It was a risk I was willing to take. Even if it meant you not understanding.
”

Jessa pokes me in the back with her finger.
“
That
’
s fucked up.
”
She whispers. I hide a smile.

“
You need to know Emma fought for you. From the very beginning, she hated that you didn
’
t know.
”
He sits down and motions for me to take a seat across from him.

“
I
’
ll tell you everything I know.
”

“
Jude
…
.
”
Kevin
’
s voice cracks the silence and I look at him.

Jude sniffs and looks down at his hands.
“
Kev
…
you know how much I respect you. I think though, for this conversation, it would be best if you leave.
”

Kevin stares in shock and Jude shrugs.
“
You know what I
’
m going to say. Nothing will be left out. She
’
s right. She needs to know.
”

Kevin sighs and runs his hands over his face.

He
’
s stressed.

Grabbing his jacket, he glances at me for just a moment before walking out the door. My vision blurs. I clench my fists.

Shit.

Just then, when he caught my gaze, I didn
’
t see fear. I didn
’
t see the righteous indignation or anger I
’
d come to recognize in the baby blues. I saw love. Regardless of what he did and the reasons behind it, I knew now the foundation
—
at least in this moment
—
was love.

I think of what Jessa told me the other day, how sometimes, we do pretty shitty things to the people we love. And if I could do anything right now, I would run after him. Make it right. Find a way to start over from this crazy twisted nightmare.

Because even though I
know
he loves me? I still can
’
t get it out of my head that I was his
job.

Jessa squeezes my arm.

She saw it too.

I blink and look at Jude, trying to hold my composure. I sit down and straighten my back and look him in the eyes.

“
From the beginning.
”
I say.
“
Tell me everything.
”

.::.

Jude studies his hands.

Ren and Jessa have taken seats next to me.

“
We started watching you a little over a year ago.
”

“
Who is we?
”

Jude looks at me.
“
Me. Kevin. My team.
”

“
Why me? How did you know?
”

He tilts his head.
“
We didn
’
t know, actually. We just knew your dad had some suspicious behavior. We
’
d see him with younger girls; he was constantly being called into the precinct; we had rumors of dirty cops
—
and then of course, Emma reporting your family to CPS.
”

I flinch, remembering when they took Pacey.

He opens his hands.
“
Stephanie
—
we never knew anything for sure until Kevin found you in the shed that morning.
”

“
But why Kevin? He was still in high school. Why drag him into this mess?
”

Jude sniffs and grows silent.

“
There are a lot of things I wish I could go back and do differently. At the time, the way he handled the rape case involving his friend caught our attention. We knew pimps were beginning to drop placements within the schools to gather girls who were particularly susceptible to attention.
”
He glances at me and then looks away.

“
We thought maybe we could beat the system. Have our own person on the team that could infiltrate the ranks and watch for us while roaming the halls.
”

He points at me.

“
He found you, you know.
”

I blink.

“
What?
”

“
Kevin. He found you. Noticed the bruises on your arms and the way you avoided eye contact with almost everyone.
”
He wipes the corners of his mouth with his fingers.
“
He saw you talking with Emma in the hallway. Said you looked familiar. Remembered you from a run-in at the corner store when your dad caused a scene in the parking lot.
”

He smiles and shrugs.
“
Started watching you before we even knew Sam Tiller had a daughter.
”

I look down at my hands, not sure what to say. Kevin saw me before Jude told him to follow me?

My voice is quiet.
“
I always thought you pointed me out to him. That I was his job first.
”

Jude shakes his head.
“
No. He noticed you before. Started keeping tabs on you. Said you reminded him of Jamie after the rape
—
timid, scared, walking around like a wounded animal.
”
He plays with his cell phone on the table.
“
When I approached him with your name, his whole face lit up
—
said he knew exactly who you were. That he
’
d been following you for about a month.
”

He finds my gaze.

“
He even knew your favorite coffee place.
”

Jessa snorts.

“
I don
’
t know whether to be thoroughly creeped out or swooning right now
…”

Jude chuckles and Ren turns to study Jessa.

“
Creeped out? You mean you don
’
t understand Kevin
’
s infatuation with following Stephanie to the ends of the earth?
”
He smiles and winks and nudges her arm before leaning in for a kiss. Jessa scowls but offers her cheek. Jude just offers a confused expression before I jump in with more questions.

“
So Kevin saw me before you had him tail me. And you guys didn
’
t fill me in on knowing what my dad was up to because you were scared he may call your bluff and leave town. But why follow me? And why let Kevin go all creeptastic and leave those journals everywhere?
”

Jude widens his eyes.
“
We did
not
know about those journals. I
’
ll be talking with Kevin about appropriate protocol
—
especially in this line of work. And we followed you because of one reason: we had people watching, and we noticed activity among your dad
’
s men. They started buying plane tickets to California. Started mini-cells along the southern coast line. Knowing this state
’
s history with trafficking and the direct access to Mexico, we needed to make sure you were safe.
”

“
And my dad got out of jail.
”

Jude nods.

“
A minor technicality and a horrible judge was the cause of that
—
I
’
m still raging at the judicial system back home because of it. Something about evidence.
”
He shrugs.
“
There
’
s nothing we can do about it except watch and wait for him to make a dumb move. Like today.
”

“
Today?
”
I feel Jessa
’
s eyes on me and I turn and look at her. She looks just as confused as I am
—
what part of today? The creepy message? The poem? The weirdness that happened at the hotel?

Jude leans forward.
“
It was your dad who sent in the anonymous tip to the cops. Had Pierre waiting in your room, tied up with false evidence. Thankfully, we beat the cops and were able to have them at arm
’
s length due to jurisdiction. This is one of those few moments where we can push them away.
”

“
Which is why Max disappeared.
”

Jude nods.
“
He got sidetracked by another cold case that just happened to fling wide open.
”

I stare.
“
You guys planted something.
”

“
You
’
re quick, kid.
”

I lean back into my chair.
“
So what
’
s next? What do we need to do? Obviously I didn
’
t have Pierre tied up in my room. How can we fix this?
”

Jude takes to twirling a pen and looks off to the side.

“
Well
—
there
’
s no
we.
You don
’
t need to worry about anything. We can take care of the local authorities. Let them know it was a simple misunderstanding. Wrong hotel room, that sort of thing.
”

I see Jessa clench her fists under the table and I widen my eyes at Jude.

“
You don
’
t want me involved?
”

He shakes his head.
“
Not at all, Steph. This
—
this whole case
 — 
it
’
s just too volatile.
”

I laugh.

“
Too volatile. Jude. My whole fucking life has been volatile. What makes you think this is any different?
”
I rise to my feet and the chair jerks back and crashes to the ground. Ren and Jessa glance up with surprise. They stand with me.

“
I
’
m going to the police station, Jude.
”

Jessa sucks in a breath.
“
Steph
…
are you sure?
”

I look at her and then look at Jude.
“
Positive. My whole life, I
’
ve been afraid of authority. I
’
ve hidden and expected the worst.
”
I bite my lip.

Am I really doing this?

“
Pierre is in custody?
”

Jude nods.
“
But Stephanie
…
your father
…”

I put my hand up and I notice it
’
s shaking, but this time it
’
s not because of fear. The anger rolls deep. I harness it and look Jude in the eyes.

“
Screw him. I
’
m done not being able to live my life because he is calling the shots.
”

Jude just stares at me and rubs at an eyebrow.