Forever You Page 12

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  Garret slides farther into the booth, like he’s trying to hide. “Some men just walked in who are um…” He motions me to the edge of the booth. “Move over and don’t look. They’re getting ready to walk past us.” Garret purposely drops his napkin under the table and reaches down to get it.

  “Garret?” I look over to see who’s talking. An older man with dark gray hair wearing a navy suit is standing at the end of our booth. Two other men are standing next to him, also in suits.

  Garret sits up, putting his napkin on the table. “Yes. Hello.”

  “I thought that was you.” The man smiles but it’s not a friendly smile. It’s more of a devious smile that makes me very uncomfortable. “Are you here on vacation?”

  “No, I live here now.” Garret tenses up. It’s clear he regrets telling them that. His foot starts tapping under the table which is something he never does.

  The way these men are looking at Garret and the way they’re dressed, in very expensive suits, I know they’re from the organization. But they’re not the same men we saw at Harper’s house. And when Garret was approached by those men, he didn’t act nearly as nervous as he’s acting now.

  So what the hell’s going on? Why are these men here in this restaurant? In this tiny town in California? A week before I’m marrying Garret?

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  15

  The man who was speaking looks over at the two men standing next to him, then back at Garret. “I guess I do remember hearing you’d moved out here. Are you just staying for the summer?”

  “Sorry¸ but we really need to get going.” Garret takes his wallet out and drops some money on the table to cover the check. He glances at me. “Let’s go.”

  We move to the end of the booth but the men won’t step out of the way.

  The man starts talking again. “Garret, I think your father taught you better than to leave in the middle of a conversation. And if he didn’t, I know your grandfather at least taught you some manners.”

  Garret sits back in the booth. “Of course. Sorry.”

  “Proper manners would dictate that you introduce us to this lovely young lady.” He turns and focuses on me. His gaze is cold and threatening and I suddenly don’t feel safe.

  “This is um…” Garret pauses and I know it’s because he’s not sure if he should give them my name. But if these men are from the organization, they already know my name and everything else about me.

  “Jade,” I say, holding my hand out to the man. “And you are?”

  The man seems taken aback by the question. Was I not supposed to ask?

  “Mr. Roth.” He shakes my hand. “And these are my associates, Mr. Bernstein and Mr. Stiles.”

  “Nice to meet you.” I feel Garret staring at me, urging me to let him handle this, and I probably should but instead I say, “How do you know Garret?”

  Garret nudges my foot under the table.

  “We do business with Pearce, Garret’s father,” Mr. Roth says. “In fact that’s why we’re in town. We’re meeting Pearce here on Wednesday to go over some plans for a new project.”

  I knew it. When Pearce said he had to work, I knew it was for the organization, not Kensington Chemical. But why would he make plans to meet with people from his crazy secret society the week of the wedding? In this town? As I’m thinking it, Garret asks them.

  “Why are you meeting here instead of New York?”

  “Our meeting regards a project we’re doing with Kiefer Douglas. Kiefer couldn’t get away to New York given his filming schedule so we decided to come out here.” Mr. Roth turns to me again. “Perhaps you’ve heard of Mr. Douglas. He’s worked on several films meant for people around your age. Superhero movies. Romantic comedies. That sort of thing.”

  I don’t respond. The guy obviously knows I’m friends with Harper. I’m sure he and his organization found out everything they could about me when they learned I was dating Garret last year. Back when they wanted to kill me to get me out of the way.

  Garret clears his throat. “I’m sorry but Jade and I really need to go.”

  The three men finally step aside.

  “Yes, well, perhaps you can join us for dinner when your father gets into town on Tuesday,” Mr. Roth says.

  Garret doesn’t answer as he steps out of the booth. “Mr. Roth.” He shakes his hand, then goes to the next man. “Mr. Bernstein. Mr. Stiles.” He shakes their hands as well. “Enjoy your meal.” Garret’s talking in such a formal way that it doesn’t even sound like him.

  I don’t bother saying goodbye to the men. I just follow Garret out of the restaurant to the car.

  Garret takes off down the road, drives a few miles, then pulls into a strip mall parking lot and turns the car off.

  “Shit!” He rubs his temples with his hand.

  I keep quiet but his reaction is making me even more worried than I was before.

  “What the fuck are they doing here?” He tips his head back and takes a deep breath.

  I’m not sure if the question’s rhetorical but it seems like it is so I remain silent.

  He keeps taking deep breaths, then slams his fist against the steering wheel. “What the hell is he doing? Just when I’m finally getting along with my dad, he goes and pulls this shit?” Garret doesn’t look at me, but instead keeps his eyes focused out the front window. “Why the fuck would he have a meeting here in this town? The week of our wedding? Does he not want us to get married? Is this some sick, twisted joke? Did he plan this all along? Let us get to this point and then break us apart a week before the wedding?” He bangs his hand on the wheel again. “Fuck!”

  “Calm down.” I put my hand on his arm. “I’m sure your dad had nothing to do with this. He wants us to get married. You know that, Garret.”

  He doesn’t respond.

  “Why are you acting like this? Who were those guys?”

  Garret inhales another deep breath and lets it out. “The guys at the top. The ones who make the final decisions on shit. They’re so high up in the organization that they don’t attend the regular meetings. In fact, you rarely see them. Most of the members have never even met them. I only know them because they interviewed me before they made the final decision about my future. They scared the shit out of me then and they did it again just now.” Garret turns to me. “They’re fucking powerful, Jade. Like worldwide powerful. They control shit in other countries. Trade agreements. Monetary systems. They basically control everything.” He faces forward again. “Shit! I should NOT have just told you that. Dammit, those fuckers messed with my head so bad I can’t even think straight.”

  We’re both quiet for several very long minutes. Garret has both hands on the wheel, his head hung between them. I’ve never seen him this upset, this panicked. It’s even worse than when I saw him at his house during spring break when he was trying to break up with me. Back then, he’d shut down. He’d accepted his fate, thinking it was the only way to save me.

  But now, he’s panicking because he doesn’t know what this means. For him or for me.

  I finally say what I know he’s thinking. “They’re here to stop the wedding, aren’t they?”

  A tear runs down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away before Garret can see it.

  He shifts in his seat to face me. “They’re not stopping anything, Jade. We’ll elope if we have to. We’ll catch a flight to Vegas tonight and get married.” He takes my hand and locks his eyes on mine. “I’m marrying you. And nobody’s going to stop me. Not my dad. Not the organization. Nobody.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Garret. Don’t tell me what you know I want to hear. If you know this is ending, just tell me. Just be honest.” Another tear runs down my cheek. “I’m begging you. Just tell me the truth.”

  He nods, wiping my cheek with his thumb. “I don’t know what them being here means. I really don’t. I’m sorry, Jade. I wish I could say they’re having a meeting and that’s it. I fucking want to tell you that so ba
d. But I can’t. Because I don’t know. I don’t why they’re here. If it were other members, like the regular members, I wouldn’t worry about it. But having Roth show up here? And the other two?” He pauses. “I honestly don’t know what that means.”

  I nod and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to stop the tears that are forming.

  “Let’s just go,” Garret says.

  I look at him. “Go where?”

  “Let’s fly to Vegas and get married tonight.”

  “What? I don’t want to get married in Vegas. I want to get married here, in front of Frank and Ryan. And Grace. And Harper and Sean.”

  “We’ll still have the wedding with everyone else. But tonight we’ll make it legal. Only you and I will know.”

  “If they want to keep us from getting married, they’ll do it. They’ll follow us to Vegas and make sure we don’t go through with it. You just told me how powerful those men are. If that’s true, and if they really are trying to stop us from getting married, they’ll find a way to do it.”

  Garret sighs and pulls me into him across the seat. “I don’t know why they’re doing this. I don’t understand. They let me go. This was supposed to be over.”

  I sit back. “Maybe it is. Maybe we’re reading too much into this. You need to talk to your dad. Find out what this meeting is about and why they’re having it here. And why they’re having it this week.”

  “It’s not a coincidence, Jade. They could’ve had the meeting in LA. They didn’t need to have it here.”

  “But Harper’s parents are coming to the wedding. So maybe her dad just suggested they meet here instead of LA.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. They’re meeting on Wednesday. The wedding is Saturday.”

  I look out the side window, trying to breathe and calm myself down. A young couple approaches the car next to me, laughing as the man helps the woman into the passenger side. They look like they don’t have a care in the world. Why can’t that be Garret and me? Why can’t we just be a normal couple? Why can’t people just leave us alone and let us be together?

  I turn back to Garret, who’s now swiping the screen on his phone. “Can I ask you something?”

  He sets the phone down. “Go ahead.”

  “Is Harper’s dad, um—is he part of the organization?” It’s a question I’ve been wanting to ask but never did because I know Garret’s not allowed to tell me. He’s not supposed to give out the identities of the members. To anyone. Ever.

  “I don’t know for sure but I don’t think so.”

  “Why don’t you think so?”

  “Because you’re born into it. And he wasn’t. Harper said her dad grew up poor. His family would’ve had plenty of money if they were part of it.”

  “Then why is Kiefer involved with them? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Yeah, it does. He makes movies. He makes people believe shit that’s not true.”

  “So they’re using him to make fake videos? Fake news stories? Is this for the election? Or something else?”

  “I don’t know. And I don’t want to know. We shouldn’t even be talking about this.”

  The car gets quiet again. I wait for Garret to say something but when he doesn’t I ask, “What are we going to do about what just happened?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I need to think about it.” Garret starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot.

  We don’t talk the whole way back. When we get home, I see Harper’s SUV parked in her driveway. She and Sean must’ve just got back from San Francisco.

  As I get out of the car, she runs outside. “Jade! Where were you guys?” She gives me a hug.

  “Just out having lunch.” I smile, but it’s hard to do after the incident at the restaurant.

  “Lunch? It’s 4 in the afternoon.”

  “It was a late lunch. You need help taking your stuff inside?”

  “We already unpacked everything. Come sit down.” She drags me to her deck, turning back to yell at Garret. “Sean wants to surf if you’re up for it.”

  “Sure,” Garret says. “Send him over whenever he’s ready.”

  “Wait here,” Harper says to me, pointing to the table. “I’ll grab you a soda.”

  Garret comes over while she’s inside. “You okay?”

  “Not really. I feel kind of sick.”

  He sits down, moving his chair so it’s facing mine. “Let’s just tell those guys we’re busy and we’ll see them tomorrow.”

  “Harper wants to talk about her trip. I have to talk to her for at least a little while or she’ll know something’s up. Just go surfing with Sean. I’ll tell Harper we want some alone time tonight. She’ll understand. Besides, I’m sure those guys are tired from the trip and want to get to bed early.”

  “I’ll only stay out there an hour, okay?” He reaches over and his hand skims my face, his thumb gently rubbing my cheek.

  I nod.

  He kisses my forehead. “I love you.”

  I smile. “I know.”

  “I swear, you guys are way too in love,” Harper says as she sets our sodas on the table.

  Garret keeps his eyes on mine, and slowly lowers his hand. I nod again, letting him know I’m okay. He stands up, putting his chair back in its place.

  “I leave Jade alone for one second and you’re already over here kissing her,” Harper says to Garret. “You two are just like my parents. Always kissing each other, touching each other.”

  “Ready to get out there?” Sean appears in his wetsuit.

  Garret looks surprised. “Oh, I didn’t know we were going right this minute. Let me change quick. I’ll be right out.” He heads back to our place.

  Sean gives Harper a kiss that makes me turn my head. He usually just gives her a peck on the mouth but this is a longer, more intimate kiss.

  They finally break apart.

  “We won’t be long,” Sean says, taking off toward the beach.

  “Have fun!” She waves goodbye.

  “So how was the trip?” I ask her.

  “Amazing,” she says dreamily. “San Francisco is so romantic. I feel like Sean and I totally reconnected. I feel so much better about our relationship now.”

  “That’s great! See? You two just needed to get away for a few days without Garret and me bugging you.”

  “Don’t be crazy. We love you guys.” She bobs her straw up and down in her soda. “But it was good to get away from Sean’s work and the wedding stuff.”

  “Wedding stuff? Harper, you should’ve said something. I would’ve helped out more. You always act like everything’s taken care of.”

  “It is. Everything’s good. I didn’t mean to say that. I just stress myself out because I want your wedding to be perfect.”

  “It doesn’t need to be perfect, so stop stressing about it. I’m the bride and I’m not stressing about it.” Actually, I’m a nervous wreck after what happened at lunch, but I can’t tell Harper that.

  “Yeah. I know. Everything will be fine. Plus, my mom will be here to help with any last minute details so that’s good.”

  “So your parents are coming here on Tuesday?”

  “Yeah. Probably late afternoon. Sean and I are going out to dinner with them Tuesday night. And Wednesday my mom and I are going shopping. You’re totally welcome to come with us if you want.”

  “What’s your dad going to do while you two are shopping?”

  “He has a meeting at a hotel here in town. I don’t know what it’s about, but it’s all day Wednesday. It’s probably for a commercial or something. He does some freelance commercial work sometimes. Mostly for people he knows or people he owes favors to. The entertainment business is all about who you know and who you owe.” She laughs. “My dad says that all the time. It’s funnier when he says it.”

  She seems to have no clue about this secret group. If she did, I would know. Harper isn’t very good at keeping secrets. I can always tell when she’s lying.

  “What did you and Garret do while we were gone?”


  “Not much. We went hiking one day. Drove up the coast another day. Took a walk on the beach this morning.”

  “Sounds relaxing.”

  “So tell me more about San Francisco.”

  Harper gives me a detailed account of the whole trip. What they saw, what they ate, where they stayed. She’s a talker. She can talk nonstop about anything. But she wraps up her stories an hour later when Sean and Garret return.

  “Where do you guys want to go for dinner?” Harper asks us.

  Sean motions to Garret. “He isn’t feeling so great and I’m not that hungry, so let’s just call it a night and meet up tomorrow sometime.”

  “Sure,” Harper says. “Sorry you aren’t feeling well, Garret. Jade didn’t say you were sick.”

  I get up from the table. “He’s probably just tired. We’ll see you guys later.”

  Garret and I go back to our place and I follow him up to our bedroom. “You’re not really sick, are you?”

  “No. I just needed an excuse because Sean said Harper really wanted us to go out with them tonight.”

  Garret goes in the bathroom to shower while I change into my pajamas. It’s too early to go to sleep but right now I just want to hide in bed and pretend this day never happened.

  He comes out a few minutes later. “Why are you in your pajamas?”

  “I’m tired.”

  “Don’t you want to have dinner?”

  “I don’t feel like eating.” I lie on my back and stare up at the ceiling. The ocean breeze is blowing through the window. It’s warm with just a hint of coolness. It feels perfect. Just like my life felt until earlier today.

  “Jade, stop worrying about this.” Garret puts his pajama pants on and lies next to me.

  “They’re going to ruin it, Garret. They’re going to ruin everything. I was so happy. I’ve never been happier in my entire life. And now it’s all going to end. They’re going to take you away from me.”

  He shifts on his back and puts his arm out above my head. “Come over here.” I slip under his arm and snuggle up next to him. “They can’t take me. We have a deal. And that group is all about deals. They take them very seriously. When a decision’s been made, it’s done.”