I look over at Havoc, who must know what I’m asking. “She’s in the den watching the Grinch. Don’t ask. Apparently that child does not think Christmas movies are just for Christmas.”
“We never really celebrated Christmas, Havoc,” I remind him.
He winces but is spared from saying anything else when Neveah walks in with a mug of tea and hands it to me. The warmth of it seeps into my skin, and given how I can’t seem toshake off the lingering chill from today’s shock, I’m grateful for it.
“Thanks, Nevaeh.”
“Okay, fill us in,” Havoc orders, crossing his arms once everyone else has taken a seat.
“I spoke to the principal. Considering the circumstances, they agreed to share with G the security footage of the guy who tried to collect Star. They’re going to email it over as soon as they have it ready.” Amity begins looking at me. “The raincoat and boots came as part of a large donation the school received. Star was given that specific outfit at the donor’s request.”
“She wasn’t the only one, either. Several children had been specifically singled out. Without digging, I don’t have more to give you on that yet, but I will,” G grunts out, clearly frustrated.
“Thoughts?” Havoc asks him.
“Either he has a grudge against all those families, which seems unlikely. The gifts were all types of outdoor wear?—”
“And not something that would trigger most people,” I finish for him.
G looks at me with sympathy. “Which means the other option would be it was a targeted attack and the other students were just meant to muddy the waters.”
“It would be enough for local PD to dismiss Star, or Citi even, as the main target.” Havoc shakes his head.
“We thinking this is the same guy who broke into the house?” Ambros asks, making me jump.
“I hope so. I’m not sure how many psychopaths I can handle,” I chirp in, trying and failing to sound flippant.
“This motherfucker is really pissing me off,” Havoc snarls.
I bite my lip, still pissed that I was dragged into something I don’t want to be part of. “What does he want with me?”
“We don’t know if it’s you or Star he wants,” Nevaeh says, looking sick to her stomach.
“It’s me. He’s feeding off my fear. If he wanted Star, he had her. He could have taken her, and we all know how easy it was to keep me hidden for fifteen years. I didn’t think of it at the time, but the raincoat is proof.”
“How?” Amity frowns.
“Because the coat means nothing to Star, otherwise she wouldn’t have put it on. She wasn’t there that day. It isn’t imprinted in her brain like it is ours. That damn coat marks the beginning of everything that happened. The only people who would have been affected by it were Citi, me, and our dad,” Nevaeh grits her teeth.
“So why me? He knows I’m not Nevaeh, the big bad president’s woman. To know about the coat, he’s done his digging. He knows who I am. He knows my story, and he’s still willing to terrorize me. You need to level with me here, Havoc, because it’s me and Star taking these hits. You might be willing to take the risk, but are you going to be okay telling that little girl that after everything she’s endured, everything she’s lost, that her mommy is gone to?”
Havoc stalks to me, crouches down, and though I can see he’s livid, he takes the tea from my shaking hand and holds it gently. “I’m not willing to risk you. I hate that you fucking think that. Telling you something is club business gives you plausible deniability.”
“Which is of no use to me dead.” I take a deep breath and squeeze his hand back because, despite everything, I really do care about him.
“This man has proven there is no honor among thieves. I don’t know what you all get up to, and though you seem legit for the most part, I’m not dumb, despite my lack of education. I know not everything you do is legal. That means we can’t use the police like regular folks. Keeping me in the dark isn’t the answerthough. It blinds me to this asshole, but not him to me. He sees me, Havoc. You’re giving him the advantage.”
Havoc sighs as he taps my hand and moves back to the arm of the chair Nevaeh is sitting in. He looks to Amity before his gaze lifts to G, who nods, then to Ambros.
“Alright. Some of this Amity and Nevaeh might know a little about because it started before you came back. You know the story of Legs getting stalked and the incident with the grenade?”
“The whole town knows about the grenade. Delphi’s became a local legend.” Amity grins as I nod.
“Right, well, what’s not common knowledge outside of church is that while this was happening, Kruger’s company, ELM, was approached by a man called Jack Davis. He was looking for his wife.”
“And Kruger couldn’t find her?” I frown, not understanding.
“Kruger found the woman. Annie. She just wasn’t this guy’s wife. It was a test. The same guy, who was going by Sam at the time, tried to get an in with Hannibal’s club too, using a different pretense.”
