Trying to piece together what he knew about that case and Kat he was coming up with blanks. He wanted to press her for information but she had refused to answer any questions. She had allowed Jackson to sit by her but she just looked out the window, crying, not saying a word.
If she had recovered enough by the time Lexi was attacked the first time, she might have seen something that could’ve proven his innocence then, and he would have never gone to prison. They could have been looking for Jeremy years ago, not just now.
He felt his anger building. Maybe Lexi didn’t even have to be attacked the second time. Maybe those other women didn’t have to die. How could she not say anything?
His sense of justice was growing to where all he could think about was ending this bastard’s life so everyone would be safe.
Lost in thought, the next thing he knew the captain came on saying they were preparing for descent. Making sure his and Evie’s seatbelts were secured he waited to land, knowing a storm was brewing and wondering who was going to come out of it alive.
*
Once again, they were all gathered in the great room of Noah’s house. The atmosphere was tense with only four of them knowing what was found and the rest wondering why they looked so angry.
Evie pulled Noah aside. “You’ll want to stick by Lexi.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
Glaring at Kat, she debated letting Noah know before everyone else. “Well, let me put it to you this way. Kat isn’t who she says she is and knows more than she ever let on.”
Noah grabbed Evie by the arm. “Tell me.”
Shaking her head she said, “I don’t know much more than that. Kat said she wanted to tell everyone at once. I don’t think it’s good; Lexi is going to need you. And you might need to find a new bodyguard.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. Come on, let’s get some information.”
Evie walked over to Anthony. She knew she was going to need to lean on him, and hopefully he would lean on her. Dreading what was coming, they sat down to hear Kat’s story.
– CHAPTER NINETEEN –
Kat twisted her fingers together, she didn’t want to do this. She’d hoped she’d never have to tell these people what had happened to her and what she had to do. Hoping she could get through to them and they wouldn’t hate her, she accepted the glass of water Jackson handed her. He was the only one who wasn’t openly hostile towards her. She didn’t understand it but decided she’d take it.
Looking around the room at the people she’d spent so much time with the past year, she couldn’t help but have feelings for them. They were always so nice to her and treated her more like a friend than employee. Spending most of her time trying to keep them at arm’s length hadn’t worked; somehow they’d found a place in her heart.
Taking a deep breath, she knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. “I’m originally from Pittsburg. My family had always been into doing something to give back. Most of them were either police officers or fire fighters. But so many years ago, I was a first grade teacher. That was all I ever wanted. To teach children. To be around children. I wanted to fall in love and have a dozen of them. We were all a really close knit family, getting the whole gang together every weekend. They would all trade stories on catching the bad guy, making him pay or saving families from burning buildings. It was perfect.”
Kat kept her eyes down, looking at her fingers. She didn’t want to see the look in their eyes. She was sure some of them started to realize what was coming. “I had a great opportunity to go out to Los Angles. It was a teaching conference, the newest and best teaching tools to help kids. I remember wanting to go so badly. I had some kids that were having a really tough time. They didn’t have the best home life and I wanted to help them. I knew an education was the only way for them to break out of the cycle. I wanted to help them. That’s all I ever wanted was to help children. To have children.”
She was surprised when Jackson came over and sat down next to her. While she didn’t want to admit it, it helped knowing that maybe someone would, at least, listen to her. She hoped he wouldn’t judge too hard.
“So in L.A. the hotel double booked my room.” She nodded towards Anthony. “He was a gentleman. And so handsome. I have to admit I was hoping for a fairytale ending. You know, like something from a movie.” She paused. “But that didn’t happen. In fact, the opposite happened.”
“No.” whispered Lexi.