Page 27 of Last Breath

‘No.’ He’d said it harshly. Even at eighteen, she’d known to shut up.

Now, sitting inside Bessy, Jett sighed. ‘It was a lifetime ago.’ He dug his thumbs into the stitching of the steering wheel but didn’t make any movement to drive off.

He clearly didn’t think she was capable of holding any more about his past in the foster system. Did he talk to Grey about it? To her brothers?

‘I’m sorry you went through that. And I know sometimes suicide seems to come out of nowhere, but I’m telling you, Clarkson didn’t do this to himself. Ian says there was a belt around his neck.’

Jett stared ahead, not engaging.

‘He wasn’t wearing a belt, Jett. He was in chinos.’

He raised an eyebrow slightly but she knew he still didn’t buy it.

‘Coincidences don’t exist,’ she continued. ‘The La Marcas sue my family, Clarkson comes in, starts snooping around in everyone’s dirty laundry and ten seconds later he’s dead. Why am I the only one who sees what’s going on here?’

Jett was looking at her the way she never wanted anyone to look at her, ever.Poor, disillusioned Nella with her rich-girl baggage, seeing murder everywhere, trying to stir up drama, making everything about her.

‘It’s not about me,’ she said, before he could. Although maybe that wasn’t entirely true.I knew him. He passed all the challenges. I can’t have been that wrong about a person twice in my life.

‘How close were you?’ Jett asked.

‘Why does everyone keep asking me that? What do you and Avery actually mean when you ask that? Was I fucking him? Or did I kill him?’

He dropped his head towards the wheel. ‘Sometimes a question’s just a bloody question, Nella. Not everyone has sinister motivations to take advantage of you. Especially not me.’

‘Especially because now you’re leaving.’

‘Exactly.’

They fell silent, their breath fogging up the car on this unnaturally cool February night.

‘Did you know Clarkson was already working for Dad before Tom brought him onto this case?’ Nella said eventually, silencing her phone as another call came through.

Jett traced random patterns in the fog. ‘No.’

‘You remember the green notebook he was carrying all day?’

He drew a star. ‘Yeah.’

‘It’s missing.’

‘Could just be in evidence.’

‘Avery said it’s not.’

‘Avery’s barely out of the academy. He should be handling DUIs and locking up aggressive night-clubbers in the city, but because of the cop shortages they’ve given him a detective badge when he’s barely out of training wheels.’

Nella couldn’t help smiling a little. ‘He did spit the proverbial dummy when I called him on his bullshit. He accused me of being a manipulative bitch, using the force or whatever to get everyone to do what I want. Said it was an “art”.’

Jett tapped his finger on the wheel.

Nella frowned. ‘What?’

‘Well.’ He shifted.

‘Yes?’ The word hissed out like a tyre going flat.

‘Come on.’ He raised an eyebrow, dark eyes burrowing into her. ‘You know exactly what he’s talking about.’