Lexie’s face crumbled and tears filled her eyes. “I wanted to wait. I wanted more time…”
Nausea filled Kendall. “What’s going on?”
“Honey, let’s sit,” Kade said. He led her to the sofa in the back of his office and they settled in, her heart pounding hard in her chest.
Lexie sat in a chair across from them.
“You’re scaring me.”
Kade took her hand. “Right after Lexie told me she walked in on you and Julian, I hired a private investigator to tail him and see what he was up to.”
Kendall blinked, barely believing what she was hearing. “You what?”
“Hired a PI.”
“I heard you. I just can’t believe you did that. It’s such a violation of privacy. It shows such incredible disrespect for me—” She jerked her hand back, out of his grasp.
“Kendall, it’s just the opposite,” Lexie said, siding with Kade.
“You knew.” Pain shot through her. “You knew and you didn’t tell me. You let him spy on Julian. I can’t believe this!” She jumped up from her seat.
“Kendall, you need to hear what we found out. It took one short weekend for him to come up with something,” Lexie said, standing and coming to her side.
Kendall narrowed her gaze. She’d been away this weekend, but she couldn’t imagine what they’d discovered that would change how she felt about Julian.
“What? Tell me.”
Kade rose slowly, his gaze on hers. “He’s got an ex-con, ex-drug dealer coming in and out of his apartment. All weekend. His friends were hanging around outside and they aren’t any better than he is.”
Billy, Kendall immediately thought. The man the PI saw had to be Alex’s brother. The joke was on Kade and Lexie, but she wasn’t about to enlighten them.
“That’s it? That’s what you’ve got?”
“Isn’t it enough?” Lexie asked, sounding horrified. “He’s hanging around with a known drug dealer, and Julian is an addict, Kendall. An addict. What do you think this means?”
Of course they’d think the worst. Kendall did wonder why Billy was still coming around after he’d been paid off, but she was sure Julian had a good explanation.
Her sister and her husband, however, had betrayed her faith by hiring someone instead of trusting Kendall’s words and her judgment.
“You had no right,” she said, her voice rising.
Waffles barked at her obvious upset.
“Shh,” she said, gesturing for her to come. She petted the dog’s soft fur, feeling better herself.
“Kendall, we love you. We want what’s best for you. And if that means looking out for you in ways that you might not like, so be it,” Kade said.
“I disagree.” Kendall re-hooked Waffles’ leash without meeting Kade’s gaze. “I asked you to do something for me. To take my word for a man I’ve come to know very well. And you went behind my back and had him investigated.”
“Kendall—” Lexie said.
“I’m leaving.” She curled her hand around Waffles’ leash. “And don’t make me choose between you and Julian,” she said, realizing that’s what she’d been doing since Lexie found out. Pushing Julian away. “Because you might not like the result.”
Chapter Thirteen
Julian washed Steve’s dish and poured him fresh water, something he felt like he was doing constantly, rising and adding water to the bowl. His doorbell rang, taking him by surprise. He wasn’t expecting company, and since summer had started and school ended, Alex was at work at the library.
He hoped it wasn’t Billy. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with him right now. Julian had managed to track down his parole officer and give him the information he needed to know about the activities Billy was engaging in and what he’d asked of his sister. The rest was in their hands.