Jodi pressed her back. “But you?” Her gaze moved all over Kennedy’s face, and when she focused on her bruised temple, she flinched. “Damn, Kennedy, you look like—”
“Hell, I know.” She briefly hugged her again. “Have you heard the whole story?” She wasn’t sure how much Reyes or Cade had shared with Jodi.
“Ha! They didn’t tell me much of anything except that you were okay and I had to follow orders.”
“That pretty much covers it.” Summarizing greatly, Kennedy shared what had happened.
“I’m glad Delbert died,” Jodi said.
“Same, though I would have liked to have gotten hold of him first,” Reyes admitted. “Far as I’m concerned, he got off easy.” With a hand to the center of Kennedy’s back, Reyes began urging them both inside. “Instead of jawing out here, how about we get comfortable?”
“It’s your place,” Jodi said, strolling into the suite. “You can come and go as you please.”
“For now,” Reyes replied, “it’s yours. You don’t have to worry about anyone showing up without an invite.”
“You two did.”
Surprised, Kennedy said, “I messaged you first.” Then, because she understood Jodi’s attitude was part of her defenses, she quietly asked, “You don’t want to see me?”
“Sure I do. Just sayin’ that it wasn’t my choice to be here.” She shot a resentful look at Reyes, then walked across a wide entry to a beautiful living room furnished with a cream velvet couch and two armchairs. She threw herself into a chair, looking much like a ticked-off teenager.
On one side of the room was a dining table with six chairs, and behind that a wet bar and kitchenette. On the other side, an arched doorway led to a bedroom and bathroom. Through the open doorways, Kennedy saw that both rooms looked mostly unused. The couch faced a wall of windows with an impressive view of the Rockies.
Every inch of the space had top-of-the-line finishes, giving it the look of a designer home.
Though she knew Jodi couldn’t be comfortable here, Kennedy tried to encourage her by saying, “Wow, this is nice.”
Jodi shrugged. “In a gilded-cage kind of way.”
It almost embarrassed Kennedy for her friend to be so ungrateful. “Jodi,” she chided, wishing for a way to reassure her.
Reyes stalked over to stand in front of Jodi. Arms crossed and feet braced apart, he loomed. Kennedy had never seen him do such a thing before.
Finally he asked, “Got a death wish, Jodi? Is that it?”
Losing her slouched position, Jodi straightened as much as she could with Reyes so close. “Maybe death would be easier than waiting for fate to screw me over again.”
“Nah,” Reyes said. “Girl, you have to know if Golly gets hold of you, it won’t be an easy death.”
Appalled by that bit of verbal reality, Kennedy gasped. “Reyes!”
Both he and Jodi ignored her.
“You might not put any value on your life, but Kennedy sure as hell does. Come to that, so do I.”
“Ha!”
Reyes leaned down into her space and growled, “I’d like to rip Golly apart because of what he did to you.”
Anger shot Jodi out of her chair. Reyes straightened but didn’t back up, so she had to tip her head way back to glare at him. Given her short stature she barely reached Reyes’s shoulders, and he weighed more than twice what she did, making it a ludicrous standoff.
Full of pain and suffering, Jodi growled, “You think I don’t want that, too?” Her eyes turned red and liquid, her thin chest heaving. “Jesus, it’s all I want. I’d gladly die if I could take that miserable bastard with me!”
“Well, you can’t,” Reyes said softly, laying his large hand on her narrow shoulder. “I’m sorry, so fucking sorry, Jodi, but Rob Golly is dead after all.”
When Jodi would have lurched away in shock, Reyes held her still. Furious, she went on tiptoe to glare into his face. “Why would you be sorry about that? I wanted him dead! That’s why I killed him.”
He nodded. “You accomplished that much, and I swear, girl, I’m cheering for you.”
“Then why...?” As if Jodi knew there was worse news to come, the tears spilled over and she started gulping breaths.
“Sadly, the danger doesn’t end with him. But I know you’re strong. You’ve already proven that a dozen times over. I know you’re smart, too, so you’ll listen to reason.”
Giving one sharp, grave nod, she rasped, “Quit dragging it out. Let’s hear it, already.”
“What you need to know, what you have to understand, is that your life has value. Real, substantial value. Don’t let Golly take that from you.” He lifted his hand to briefly cup her cheek. “He’s taken enough. Don’t give him another damned thing.”
Angrily she dashed away the tears and then, wonder of wonders, she said, “Okay.”
“Thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me?” she asked with another huff.
“Because Kennedy loves you, and I don’t want to see her tormented by your stubbornness.” He grinned a rascal’s grin, dimple and all. “Now, how about we all sit down and talk this out?” Oh-so-gently, he led her to the couch where Kennedy sat.
Kennedy barely kept her smile contained. Every time she thought Reyes couldn’t get more wonderful, he outdid her expectations.
“Fine.” Jodi flopped back against the plush cushions and propped her feet on the glass coffee table. “Talk away. I’m listening.”
With Kennedy on one side of her, and Reyes on the other, Jodi was boxed in—but she didn’t get jittery about it like she usually would. Reyes had accomplished that much.
Kennedy half turned to face her. “Okay, so as Reyes said, the good news is that Rob Golly is dead after all.”
“I thought the body wasn’t there, though. How do you explain that?”
“Well...” It was so awful Kennedy hated to break the news to her. “It seems Rob has a brother. You probably never met him because he was in prison. Apparently, as soon as Rand got out he went to see Rob and found his body. I’m guessing it didn’t take a sleuth to find out from Rob’s friends that he’d had you, making you the most likely suspect.”
Eyes wide in disbelief, Jodi stared at her, then laughed. “A brother? You know, I think Rob talked about him every so often. There was even a photo of them when they were younger.” She laughed again, the sound rusty and mean, nowhere near humor. “I must have the rottenest luck ever. My life has been tainted from the day I was born. You’d be smart to stay away from me.”