“That’s not how we do things, bruh, and you know it. She’s your girl and our sister. You have her birthday to take care of; that’s more important than this other crap. You focus on that, and we’ll take care of the other until you get back. It’s not like we’re gonna solve it before then.”
I don’t trust that shit. I’m pretty sure he’s got things organized down to the last letter in his head. “Speaking of which, the plane should be ready by seven this evening.”
“What plane, where are you going?”
“Not me, you ass, you and little… you and Cassie. Didn’t you want to go to the island for her birthday?”
The guy is a freaking spook. I may have mentioned once a long time ago that I’d love to take her back there where we began, but I hadn’t mentioned it in a while, especially since things had gone to shit in the world; I had put it out of my head. “Are you serious? Is everyone coming?” I looked around the room at the others.
“Not right away no, we’ll join you there in a few days.”
“Wait, why aren’t you coming with us?” Jace gave me a look that said I was brain dead, and I laughed it off until I remembered that Cass and I were there for their honeymoons. What the hell is he up to now?
The day seemed to drag on after we spent the morning catching up. Because of the pandemic, there wasn’t much to do, so we just hung around the Saunders estate until about noon when my mind went to Cassie’s dad. When I’d seen him the day before, I hadn’t given any thought to what exactly it was he could do about Mandy and the notes; I was just too pissed to think straight.
Now, after talking with Jace and the others, I realize there isn’t much he can do short of turning himself and his wife in for their part in the attack against her. That line of thinking got me thinking about something else, something that none of us had given much thought to, and I went back inside in search of Jace and the others.
“Hey, do we know if Cassie’s dad knows that his wife was there that night? We’ve talked about everything else but that.”
“Good question, I never even thought about that. I know Cassie knows because she saw her. But her dad had already left by the time her mom showed up.”
“I need to go talk to them anyway, let them know that I’ll be taking her away for her birthday.” Good thing she’s out of the house; it gives me a chance to talk to both of them.
“You need me to come with you?” I grinned and headed to the door after refusing his offer. “Don’t look so worried; I’m not going to do anything stupid.” I figure he was afraid because he knows how he would’ve reacted in the same situation. Shit, if it were Sian, he’d have had her moved out of her parents’ house already.
That would be my first option as well, but Cassie has proven that she still worries about her folks, so taking her away like that would do more harm than good. That’s why my talk with them is going to be full of bullshit. I won’t let on that my real reason for taking her away sooner than I’d planned is because I don’t trust them with her. I’ll make it seem like it’s for her own good. Looks like these notes are going to come in handy after all. Her dad doesn’t need to know that it’s just another high school girl who’s been passing them off to her.
I used the drive-over to think about my strategy. I could face both of her parents together, sure, but I might get more out of playing them off of each other, and like I said before, I have no problem using this shit and their screw-ups to my advantage. The jury’s still out on whether or not either of them really gives a damn about her though the dad did seem regretful the day before.
It’s hard trying to get my head around the whole thing. On the one hand, I only care about her, and on the other, I know that keeping them out of shit is just as important to her as her safety is to me. Bottom line, though, if it comes to it, I’ll sell them both up the river if I have to, to keep her safe.
By the time I pulled into the driveway, I’d made up my mind which way to go. The housekeeper answered the door with a look of surprise on her face, but I cut her off before she could ask any questions. “I’m here to see Mrs. Thornbird. Is she in?” She stepped back and ushered me in with a smile.