Watch Me (Last Stand #3)(85)
Author: Brenda Novak

Did he want it badly enough to frame him? That had to be it. John would never have hurt Jason himself. He’d worshipped that boy. So the two incidents were connected but not as directly as everyone thought.

Still…angry as John was with Cain, much as he might want revenge, he wasn’t a violent man.

Or was he? She touched her cheek, and the memory of John’s rage caused goose bumps to rise on her arms. He’d wanted to hit her again. She’d seen it in his eyes—

A car pulled into the drive. Karen could hear the engine, then the slamming of the door. Was it him? Who else could it be? Robert was already home.

Heart pounding, she wondered what to do. She couldn’t confront him with what she’d found. She might not live to tell about it if she did. She had to get off the property without being seen. She’d always known John was obsessed when it came to his stepson, but until this moment she hadn’t understood the depth and breadth of that obsession.

Forcing herself to retrieve the mask, she stuffed it into her large purse. Ned would want to see it and, even though she hated what this would do to John, she had to turn it over to the proper authority. She couldn’t allow a man who’d done what he’d done to remain free.

As her fingers came into contact with the rough-feeling droplets on the knitted fabric, she shuddered. That had to be Sheridan’s blood.

Obviously, John would stop at nothing to see Cain punished.

John had spotted Karen’s car the moment he turned down the street, but he wasn’t happy that she was at his house. What did she think she was doing? He’d told her it was over, and he meant it. He’d never forgive her for making such a fool of him. As if their encounter hadn’t been bad enough, when he’d gotten home last night, he’d found a typewritten note on his doorstep: Cain was Ms. Stevens’s pet for a reason.

Those words indicated that someone else knew. And if that was true, it was only a matter of time before everyone did. She’d allowed Cain to humiliate him, and his shame would soon be public.

Just the thought of being embarrassed like this was driving John crazy.

The house was unlocked, but Karen didn’t answer when he called her name—Robert did.

“Where is she?” he asked as soon as his youngest son appeared at the entrance to the hall. For some reason, Robert had been in the back bedrooms.

“I don’t know,” Robert said. “I can’t find her.”

“Are you sure she’s here?”

“That’s her car out front, isn’t it?”

“Maybe she’s talking to one of the neighbors.”

“No, I saw her come in.”

Via the security cameras. Of course. “Maybe she went back out and you missed it on those little monitors of yours,” he said wryly.

If Robert was surprised he knew about the surveillance, he didn’t show it. “If anyone ever tries to break in, you’ll be glad I have those monitors.”

“I’m already glad. Someone left a note on my doorstep last night. I want you to tell me who it is.”

“I-I’m not sure the cameras picked that up.”

Doubt caused John to take a closer look at his son. “Sure they did. They pick up everything, right?”

Robert flushed but didn’t respond.

“You know, don’t you? Who was it?”

Again, no answer.

“Robert, you’re going to show me those tapes, so I’ll see for myself soon enough.”

“Fine, it was me,” he admitted, hanging his head. “I-I don’t have proof, but Amy once told me she thought Cain and Karen were involved, and…I thought you should know.”

He couldn’t have made him aware sooner? Before he’d bought an engagement ring? “Your note was a little late. She’d just told me herself when I found it,” he said.

“She did? And—”

“And we broke up, so you can be happy about that.”

“I wasn’t trying to break you up.”

“Right,” he said, letting the sarcasm that boiled up inside him drip onto the word.

“Dad—”

“Just tell me where it is.” What kind of game was Karen playing?

“I don’t know, but she’s here somewhere. I saw her arrive, but she didn’t leave.”

Motioning for Robert to hand him the phone, John dialed her cell and was rewarded by a barely audible jingle.

Coming from the garage.

28

Karen’s cell was in her purse, along with that ski mask and a million other objects. She had no chance of finding it and silencing it before the sound gave her away. So she acted on instinct. Ducking out of the workshop, she tossed her purse toward the side door, which stood open to the backyard. The resulting clatter told her everything had spilled out as it fell, but she didn’t have time to worry about what she might lose. She’d already stepped into the workshop and hidden behind the door.

Someone came into the garage—she didn’t know if it was John or Robert. Her cell phone still chimed, despite hitting the concrete floor. She could hear rustling as someone navigated the mess and picked it up.

Pressing a hand to her chest as if she could slow the galloping of her heart, Karen squeezed her eyes closed. Please think I dropped it as I ran. Please go out after me.

“What’s going on between you and Karen?”

Robert was asking the question. His voice came from the entrance to the house, so she knew it was John who finally silenced her cell. “We broke up.”

“Why?”

He didn’t answer right away. Karen could hear him moving around and guessed that he’d walked over to the side door to search for her. “Damn.”

“What’s wrong?”

“She’s gone.”

“Are you going to tell me what happened?”

His voice grew angry, strident. “She’s been screwing Cain. That’s what happened.”

Anger made Karen’s eyes and mouth fly open at the same time. That wasn’t true! She hadn’t cheated on him.

“When did that start?” Robert asked.

“Twelve years ago, when Cain was in her class.”

Karen nearly whimpered. Robert hated her. If he wasn’t the one who’d already known, he knew now. This was all she needed to seal her fate. Her future in Whiterock was ruined.

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Robert grumbled.

“Why?”

“Something Amy said.”

John cursed. “And you didn’t tell me?”