Page 58 of Finding Us
“I have no idea why they wanted to meet there. I honestly don’t. I would tell you if I did.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” Garret raises his voice. “You’re sworn to secrecy. You do what they tell you. You have to. Otherwise you’ll be punished. I know how this works, Dad. I fucking lived it. And so did you. You still do.”
“Garret, I promise you. I had no involvement in this. The meeting wasn’t my idea. I just found out about it a couple weeks ago. Roth’s assistant called my assistant and had her put it on my calendar. He didn’t ask me. There wasn’t a choice here. I was ordered to attend.” He waits for Garret to respond but he doesn’t so Pearce continues. “I have no idea what their plans are, or if they even have plans. This could all be some game of theirs to show you who’s in control.”
“What do you mean?”
Pearce shrugs. “They let you go. But you and I both know they weren’t happy about it. We beat them at their own game. Made them feel like they aren’t as powerful as they think they are. So maybe this is their way of showing you they can still control you, not in the sense of your future but in the sense of making you always living in fear. Making you spend the rest of your life wondering if they’ll be back. Or if they’re watching you. That’s how they operate. Even if they’re doing nothing at all, they get you so paranoid that you have trouble living a normal life.”
I slump my shoulders. “Well, that’s just great. So this is what we have to look forward to? More surprise visits from these people? So we’ll never be able to live in peace?”
“You can’t let them get to you,” Pearce says.
“Easier said than done,” Garret mumbles.
“Yes, I know,” Pearce says. “Believe me. I know. But it’s what you have to do. You’re not part of this anymore, Garret.”
“Are you sure about that?” he asks.
“If they follow the bylaws, they can’t go back and change their minds. It’s too late. Which means they can only control you if you let them. That stunt they pulled yesterday? It’s just a mind game. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. They don’t want you going off and living a normal life. They want you to always be looking over your shoulder. Afraid to go anywhere. Afraid to travel. Afraid to be happy.”
“That’s sick,” I say. “And sadistic.”
Garret turns to me. “We won’t let them get to us. If that’s their plan, then let them try to scare us. It won’t work. We’re stronger than that, Jade. There’s no fucking way they’re keeping us from having a normal life. A happy life.”
“Another possibility is that. . .” Pearce pauses and I glance over and see him looking at me. “Maybe this was all about you, Jade.”
Before I can ask what he means, Garret does. “What are you talking about?”
“Obviously they know you and Jade are together and I’m sure they know you two are getting married. That’s not something that’s difficult to find out.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Spouses tend to tell each other things they wouldn’t tell anyone else. They might be worried that once Jade is your wife, you’ll tell her their secrets. Or maybe they think you’ve already told her things you shouldn’t have. Things she needs to keep quiet about. Showing up at the restaurant yesterday might have been a warning for you, Garret, to not tell her what you know. And a warning for you, Jade, to keep quiet about anything Garret’s already told you or might tell you in the future.”
“From the way they acted yesterday, I feel like it’s more than that. I feel like they haven’t given up on Garret. Like they want him back.”
Pearce doesn’t respond and neither does Garret, which tells me they both think it’s possible this group might want Garret back.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
“I’ll ask them,”Pearce says.
Garret looks at his dad. “Ask them what?”
“I’ll ask Roth if they have plans for you or if this is just one of their control tactics.”
“You’re not allowed to ask them questions. You know that.”
“Yes, but I also know that I want my son to be happy more than anything else. I want you to have a normal life, Garret. That’s the reason we worked so hard to get you out of this. And I don’t want you worrying about this for the rest of your life.”
“They’ll punish you. They’ll punish you for even asking the question.”
“Let them. I don’t care anymore.”
“They could do something to Lilly.”
“They won’t. Katherine’s father made some kind of deal with them. She knows what it is but she won’t tell me. All I know is that any punishment I receive will never involve Lilly.”
