Chapter Forty-Seven
Kelley sat on the beach close to the hotel where his father had retreated to earlier. Even after vomiting, he still felt sick to his stomach. His mother had made herself a slave to Charles Alexander for seventeen years just not to own up to her own mistakes.
He wondered who Marley’s father was and then another thought trickled into his mind. It could be any of the elite men in Yorkdare Bay or even one of the bastards living in the city. He’d never forget the way she’d crawled towards Charles, begging and pleading.
He had betrayed the girl he loved for her, yet she had never even tried to protect him. If she went to prison though Marley would be left in Charles’s care. He couldn’t let that happen either, Marley was only a year younger, but he couldn’t condemn her to that sort of life, not if he could help it.
It was a sickening cascade of emotions that went through Kelley as he watched the waves. Where in the past the crashing sound had soothed him it now only proved to add to his tumultuous feelings, it raged inside him and he thought that perhaps it always would.
Everything seemed too much to handle but then he heard Jesse’s voice in his head. ‘Good plans take time, kid.’ Even if it was the last thing he did, he’d take down Charles Alexander and anybody else who stood in his way.
Kelley left the beach and drove into Lower Yorkdare Bay. He parked the Escalade on the street and wasn’t surprised to see the light still on in Jesse’s dojo. He opened the door and found Jesse punching a boxing bag, sweat glistening on his back as he moved around it.
“You look like someone stole your dinner.”
“I need to get something off my chest.”
Jesse lowered his arm and for a few seconds, his ragged breath was the only sound in the dojo. Jesse pulled off his gloves and grabbed a bottle of water. Kelley leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.
“Petey Johnson’s going to get away with Jule’s death.”
“Not a chance, kid. We’ve got everything going for us.” Jesse was determined and his eyes glinted.
“I won’t be testifying and the footage of the accident is already gone.”
Jesse’s head turned towards him and his eyes narrowed. “What the hell do you mean you won’t be testifying?”
“I made a deal with Charles.”
“Shit, Kelley … why on God’s green earth would you ever do that?” There was a hint of anger in Jesse’s voice.
“To save my mother, Jesse, to save Marley too.”
“What does he have on her?” Jesse’s voice was calmer now and Kelley glanced at him.
“Seventeen years ago she killed someone. Charles had the evidence. So I made a deal, my silence about Petey for my mother’s freedom.”
Jesse wiped a hand over his face and his hands landed on his hips as he looked at Kelley. “What the hell were you thinking, Kelley? Wrong is wrong and right is right. It doesn’t matter who it is.”
“It’s not as black and white as that, Jesse. I got her out of that marriage to him, cared for and I got Marley away from him too. In my book, that’s a win!”
Jesse shook his head sadly. “Who won, Kelley?”
Kelley looked at Jesse now, his eyes searching Jesse’s. “Shit.”
“Life’s never fair, kid. You’re either on the right side or you’re on the wrong side. Our choices are never easy but that’s what makes us who we are. Men or cowards. I get it, trust me, I get it, Kelley. It was still the wrong choice though.”
“He’s already broken her, I can’t let him break Marley too, even if she is a bitch, she’s still my sister. If I don’t stick to my end of the deal he’ll destroy my mother, he’ll destroy Marley just for the heck of it and then he’ll come after me, Mason, Carey, maybe even you, Lee too. What about Marella? How do I live with myself if I put a target on any of their backs?”
“When you sat there against the wall, Kelley, I asked you what you needed. You told me in no uncertain terms that Petey Johnson had to pay for this. Juliana was innocent. Does she deserve this? Her mother? How will you live with yourself knowing that you let the man who killed her walk free?”
“Charles bought my silence, Jesse, not my revenge.”
Jesse looked at Kelley with new eyes. “No, Kelley. Don’t go down that road.”
“Petey will still pay for what he did to Jule, make no mistake about that.” Kelley pushed himself off the wall and started walking towards the door.
“Kelley! Once you taint yourself with blood, there’s no going back!”
Kelley kept walking, not wanting to hear what Jesse had to say. The reason was quite simple. Jesse was right but Kelley didn’t care anymore, he’d deal with his guilt over that later. He’d already dipped his toe in the water and there was no going back now.
Kelley woke up on Monday morning and knew that today everybody would know that Petey had not been arrested and would not be arraigned. He had spoken to Charles last night and the State Prosecutor had offered Petey Johnson a deal.
Mason and Lee sat at the breakfast table and Kelley made himself a cup of coffee. “I’m not saying that Lee, all I’m saying is that you still have time.”
“Time for what?” Kelley had no idea what they were talking about.
“The police never contacted me for my statement of that night and now I’m thinking something else is going on there, that somehow Petey got himself out of this.”
Kelley sat down at the table and he knew that it was time to come clean. “He did.”
“How do you know?” Mason looked questioningly at him.
“According to Marley, Petey was sober but he took a can of soda from some guy at their party, which was laced with something. His brakes failed and he wasn’t in control of his car. Charles called me last night with the news about the investigation. He wanted me to have closure that it was just an accident.”
“I call bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit, Lee, it’s what the cops found. There will be no trial, it was an accident.”
Lee stared at Kelley and he averted his gaze after a few seconds. “If you say so.”
