The Lover’s Secret (No Exceptions #1)(29)
Author: J.C. Reed

How the f**k could Jett visit him?

He might not care about how I felt about Nate, but what about the things Nate had done to his own father? And, most importantly, why did they release Nate?

My fingers gripped the paper so hard it crumbled in my hand.

It wasn’t so much the pain of the past, of what had happened, of knowing that Jett could still face this man, but the shock at the realization of what might now lie ahead, of what I had been hoping would never repeat itself. I had been trying to forget and run from the past for so long that it had taken every ounce of my willpower not to let things get to me. And now a serial killer was a free man.

My God!

Nate might be after me this very minute, eager to get his revenge for all the trouble I had caused. The evidence I had found was supposed to tie him down for a lifetime. That they let him go didn’t make sense. Unless Nate had connections, someone who helped him find a loophole.

A killer who had run an illicit club.

And now he could continue with his previous crime spree—raping innocents, killing for sport like a hunter would chase after a fox.

My throat constricted at the thought, and the trembling in my limbs intensified. As the black pit from my past slowly opened beneath my feet, threatening to engulf me once again, I realized my past efforts to control my fear had been in vain. Suddenly, the shiny marble floors of the TRIO hotel didn’t look relaxing at all. They looked like they were about to crack like stones.

Was it possible that Jett didn’t know about his brother’s release?

Possibly, but not likely.

He’d visited him so often. Surely someone would have told him during one of his regular visits. He had to have known it. Anything else wouldn’t make any sense.

With the envelope clutched to my chest, I rushed to the front desk. The receptionist was summarizing the hotel’s amenities to two guests.

“Who sent this?” I asked, cutting in front of them, hardly able to contain my voice. Even to my ears, I sounded hysterical. Knowing this, I tried again, this time calmer. “You gave me this envelope.” My voice still trembled with shock as I showed her the envelope. “Someone left it for me. Who was it?”

She stared at me for a moment, confused, and then her eyes widened as recognition crossed her face. My heart pounded so hard I feared it might be about to burst.

“It was left for you this morning, ma’am.” She turned to a man to her right. “I wasn’t here, but my colleague was.”

From the way he was standing, rigidly observing the entire situation, I concluded that her colleague was actually her superior.

He stroked his beard and shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see anyone. It was given to one of the bellboys, who delivered it to the desk. I’m afraid the sender left no name,” he said in a deep voice.

The female receptionist nodded and turned back to me, repeating the man’s words. “I’m sorry.” She then turned her attention back to the couple, apologizing for the disruption.

I stared at her. Under different circumstances, I would have complained that they weren’t more forthcoming. But seeing that I was the one disrupting their service to the guests, and they were just trying to do their jobs, I mumbled weakly to the waiting couple, “I’m sorry,” and then walked away.

Once I reached the elevators, I stopped, unable to ignore the rising panic inside me. Leaning against the cold tile wall, I stared at the envelope, unsure of what to do. Someone had wanted to deliver a message. Their mission had been accomplished.

Did it really matter where or who it came from?

Whoever sent it had wanted to tip me off, all the while choosing to stay anonymous. I figured the person was someone who knew Jett well; someone who was familiarized with Jett’s working schedule, and probably knew Nate, too, which wasn’t so surprising. Before his incarceration, Nate had been on the board of Mayfield Realties. That the sender knew where to find me bothered me, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed to talk with Jett. Until then, none of it was going to make sense.

I speed-dialed his number and waited. The line rang until it went to voicemail.

Pressing my hands back into fists, I couldn’t stop another wave of anger from gushing through me. Couldn’t he sense my distress? Jett usually picked up on the second ring, unless he was in a meeting or conference, which, I assumed, had to be the case.

I stashed my phone back in my handbag, only to pull it out a minute later. I didn’t know what made me punch in one of the assistant’s number. I reckoned it was out of desperation and the knowledge that doing something—anything—was better than doing nothing. As the phone kept ringing and I waited for her to pick up, I prayed that the message in my hand was nothing but a joke, some kind of stupid, thoughtless prank, and Jett would set it straight.

Emma picked up on the second ring.

“It’s Brooke,” I said by means of introduction. “I need to speak with Jett, please.”

There was a short pause before Emma answered in her usual snobby tone. “He’s off work until Wednesday, as you know.”

I blinked several times in succession. Of course I knew that tiny detail…only he had cut short our weekend to return to work, and that was a detail she should have known.

“He’s not there?” I asked, incredulously.

“No, Brooke, he’s not.” Emma’s voice was thick with sarcasm. “Aren’t you supposed to be on a vacation together?”

Was that a hint of glee I detected?

I clamped my mouth shut to keep back a venomous remark. The woman was full of contempt, and it wasn’t just a personal issue she had with me. She had once dated Robert Mayfield, Jett’s father, and for some reason, she had the impression that it somehow entitled her to be bitchy. The tension between us had always been thick as smoke. For a long moment, I pondered if she could have been the one who sent me the envelope, if the glee I detected in her voice actually stemmed from her delight at me being in the dark while she held all the cards.

Since I wasn’t sure, I decided to proceed carefully.

“We are. It’s just…” I paused, grasping for words. “Jett wants to know if everything’s fine.”

She paused, her hesitation palpable.

“I see.” Not even pretending to hide her disappointment, she heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Let me check.”

Papers shuffled audibly in the background, and then the line fell completely silent. For a moment, I wondered if she had put me on hold, keeping me waiting on purpose. The seconds stretched on forever, until I was sure Emma would never return.