Page 188 of Promising You
“He won’t talk to you. He can’t.”
“What do you mean he can’t?”
“Think about it, Jade. Think about what you just said. About why he’s going along with this.”
“Yeah, they threatened him. But you didn’t answer me when I—” My sleepy brain finally gets it. “Me. They threatened to hurt me.”
Arlin’s quiet.
“Or they threatened to . . . kill me?”
“You need to leave. You understand why, so we’re done talking about this.”
“No! I’m not letting them take over Garret’s life like this. There has to be something we can do. You’re part of this group. Do something!”
“There’s nothing I can do. They’ve already approved the initial plan.”
“Who’s they? How many people are in on this?”
He doesn’t answer.
“You said you’d help me, so help me. I need to talk to Garret one last time. I need to at least say goodbye. Just help me get past the gate. Please. I’m begging you.”
“If I do, then you’ll say goodbye and agree to never see him again?”
“Yes.” It’s a lie, of course, but after what Arlin’s son put me through, I feel a lie or two is justified. We wouldn’t even be in this situation if Royce had just left me alone.
“I can’t guarantee this will work, but here’s what you need to do. When you get off the phone with me, walk back down to the entrance gate of the Kensington estate. When you get there I want you to text Mr. Kensington. I’m going to tell you what the text should say and I’m not going to repeat it. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“G40K4.” He says it slowly. “For the letters use all capitals.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“No. That’s all you need. That will get his attention. If he lets you in, say your goodbyes to Garret and get out of there. I’ll have a car waiting out front to take you back.”
“Thank you. Thank you for helping me.” I pause. “And um, I’d be okay with us meeting again sometime. Maybe you could bring your wife.”
“She would like that very much. We both would. Goodbye, Jade.”
We hang up and I walk as fast as I can back toward the house. The scene hasn’t changed. The same girls are still sitting there waiting for some kind of activity. I stand a foot away from the gate as directed and text Mr. Kensington. Then I wait.
Not more than a minute later I see Brad coming up to the gate. When he gets there, the gate opens and he walks out to the sidewalk where I’m standing. “Mr. Kensington has asked to see you.”
The girls across the street notice the open gate and come running over to it. The other security guards hold them back as I walk past the gate with Brad and enter the property.
It’s a long walk to the house and Brad and I don’t say anything to each other. I can tell he feels bad for turning me away earlier, but I don’t hold it against him. He was only doing his job.
When I get to the door, Mr. Kensington answers. “Jade, come inside, please.”
“Where’s Garret?” I step into the foyer.
“He’s in his room.”
I turn to go upstairs but Pearce takes hold of my arm. “Let him sleep. He needs to get the alcohol out of his system. Let’s talk in my office.”
“Hello, Jade.” Katherine walks by the foyer, smiling smugly like she won. Like she got what she wanted. To get rid of Jade forever.
