Broken: The MISTAKEN Series Complete Second Season (25 page)

I
checked
my phone again for the millionth time. Melissa was already almost two hours late.
Ten more minutes
. That was it—and if she wasn’t here by then, I was leaving.

My knee was bouncing, and I wasn’t sure if it was from the third cup of iced coffee I had sitting in front of me or from the growing nervousness I had about my upcoming trip. Krystal had already emailed me my tickets to D.C. I didn’t even have sixteen hours before my flight left, and I was sitting here alone in a coffee shop with no plan for how to get out of it. And no Melissa to help me. And not as much as a text from Brandon.

I had remembered to go to the ATM, at least. I took out as much cash as the machine would let me, and the nervousness I was feeling about having that much money in my purse wasn’t helping with the knee-bouncing problem.

I crunched the ice around in my cup again before taking another sip and looking around the coffee shop. Cade was sitting in the corner, keeping a close eye on me as usual, but there was still no sign of Melissa. It wasn’t worth waiting any longer. I needed to come up with a plan and get my ass out of San Francisco—somewhere where no one could find me.

As soon as I stood up, Mel waltzed in the door. There was something different about her now—an air of something. If I didn’t know better, I would have said that Amanda’s snootiness was rubbing off on her.

I thought it was just my imagination until she dipped her head to kiss me on each cheek. Definitely different.

She plopped down in the chair next to me with a sigh, putting her sunglasses on top of her head. “Sorry I’m late. Traffic was a bitch.”

Even when traffic was a bitch from Palo Alto to San Francisco, I knew it didn’t take over two hours. I looked her up and down. Her clothes were a lot nicer now—I hadn’t noticed it when we were at lunch the other day, but she had clearly been shopping recently. And it was somewhere even fancier than the boutique we had shopped at a few months ago.

“So, I guess I didn’t say I was sorry about the whole Robin thing. You were just the easiest person to ask.”

I had to be the bigger person here. I could see the Agostino snobbishness was rubbing off on her, and I was sure it was probably the last apology I would ever hear from her. “It’s fine. I probably overreacted.”

“You did. Overreact, I mean.” She grabbed what was left of my coffee and took a sip. “That’s disgusting.”

I shrugged. “How have you been?”

“The usual. Running Amanda’s stupid errands for her. I had to run up here for some fountain she needs for tonight, anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal.”

Except for being two hours late. But I’m sure my time wasn’t as important as Amanda’s. “Party tonight?”

She nodded. “At her house this time. It’s supposed to be a small dinner party, so I need to make sure it doesn’t get too out of control. You know how Amanda gets with these things.”

“Sure.” I had no idea. I’d never been to one of Amanda’s parties and I had no intention of
ever
going. “How’s Ryan?”

“Fine. Busy. You ever hear from lover boy?”

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t told her. So much had happened in just the past few days—things I would have normally been texting her about non-stop. But she was so distant now, so unavailable. I finally nodded. “It’s a long story.”

“Back together?”

I shrugged. I didn’t know if I could call it that, not given what was about to turn my life upside down. “So we ran into Daniel in Sacramento.”

Her eyebrows shot up and it looked like her eyes could pop out of her head. “Daniel? As in the guy who kidnapped you, Daniel?”

I nodded. “The same.”

She shook her head and stirred the ice around my cup. “Crazy. What did he want?”

I let out a long sigh. “To tell me he’s being publicly resurrected on Monday.”

“No shit?” She took another sip from the little bit of coffee that was left in the cup, almost slurping it up. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping you’d have an idea.” I leaned back in my chair, praying that she actually
would
have an idea.

“An idea about what? It’s not like you really have a choice, right? I mean, technically, you’re still engaged…”

I lifted a brow. “Technically, we’re not anything. It isn’t like being engaged is a legal status or anything.”

“Hmph.” She looked over at Cade. “So your rent-a-cop is still following you around?”

I looked over at him, too, and saw his hand lift in the air to acknowledge me. I lifted my hand in return. “Yeah. Brandon tried to beat him up for not being there that night. You know,
that
night.”

She nodded. “Did he? Beat him up?”

I shrugged. “He was pretty drunk. I don’t think he even landed a punch.”

Melissa snickered. “Boys are so dumb.”

“No kidding.” I leaned back again, folding my arms over my chest. “So ideas? For how to get me out of going to D.C. tomorrow?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Just don’t go. What are they going to do, drag you there?”

“Probably.” I half expected Krystal to show up at my doorstep around four tomorrow morning to make sure I made my flight safely. In fact, I was pretty sure
someone
would be sure my ass was accounted for on that flight when it left in the morning.

“They could drug you like Daniel did.”

I felt the color drain from my face. My stomach flipped a few times and my chest felt tight.

She winced. “Too soon. That wasn’t funny.” She reached her arm out to take my hand in hers. “Sorry, Jenna. That wasn’t funny.”

“No.” It really wasn’t funny. It was still too fresh in my mind. It was still giving me nightmares and making me unable to sleep—and now my father wanted me to hold the man’s hand and stand in front of God and everyone to profess my undying support for him. It wasn’t going to happen. It
couldn’t
happen.

“You can’t go. I mean… You can’t.” She squeezed my hand. “You want me to go? I can pretend I’m you. I’ll get one of those keyboards that has the music already programmed into it and I’ll play a song for the press. They’ll never even know the difference.”

My old Melissa. Finally. “Cute.” I gave her hand a squeeze. “They’d know when you missed the notes.”

She rolled her eyes. “Hell, I thought they’d know by my beautiful hazel eyes. And my blonde hair…” She ran her hands through her short, blonde curls. “And that I’m about six inches shorter than you. But other than that, I’ll totally have them fooled.”

I smiled. “He
did
ask me to dye my hair before I came back to D.C. tomorrow. You don’t have an extra box of blonde on you, do you?”

She opened her mouth in fake shock, running her hand through her locks again. “I’ll have you know this comes from a bottle. Not a box. Jesus, Jenna, what kind of girl do you think I am?”

We both broke into giggles, just like we always did, and my chest felt almost instantly lighter just laughing with her.
This
was what I needed. Not the men who wanted to control my life—just this. Just being able to sit in a coffee shop like a normal person—well, except for my bodyguard in the corner. Being a normal person doing normal things and not worrying about how I looked to the press. Not worrying about how it would look if I wasn’t standing next to a man I hated with every fiber of my being, only because it was what my father wanted. I just wanted
normal
. Just normal. I’d give up every penny in my trust fund to have a normal existence.

She squeezed my hand again. “So, hey. Ryan is out of town
again.
You want to do something fun tonight?”

I lifted a brow. “It depends what you define as ‘fun.’”

She gave me a gleaming smile—one I knew instantly was fake and for my benefit alone. “Well…”

I rolled my eyes. “I swear to God, Mel, if this has anything to do with Robin Axelrod—I mean anything…”

“No, no, no. Nothing to do with her, I swear. That party is still two weeks away. I was thinking that maybe
tonight
…”

“Oh, God, not an Amanda party. Please tell me you aren’t asking me to an Amanda party.”

She shook her head. “It won’t be as bad as you think. This one is going to be really small by her standards. And it’s in her house, so you know there won’t be that many people there…”

She was wrong—I had been to her house many times to give her son piano lessons. There was nothing small about the place she called a “house.” It was a mansion, but it wasn’t worth arguing about. “Amanda hates me, Mel. She wouldn’t want me there.”

“Oh, she doesn’t hate you. Hate is not the right word, Jenna. Obsessed … obsessed is a closer word for what she feels about you.”

I shook my head. “Bullshit. She isn’t obsessed with me—the woman hates me. She only tolerates me because I’m giving her son piano lessons.”

“Oh, about that…” She bit her lip through her sheepish grin. “She wants to increase them to two a week.”

I pulled my hand away from hers. “No way. The kid hates one lesson a week enough. I’ve seen enough tears from that poor kid…”

“Okay, okay. We can talk about it later. You can talk to Mason about it tonight, if you want. He’s actually going to be there for this one. He’s giving a little concert, so as his teacher, you
should
be there anyway.”

“I’m sure my invitation was lost in the mail.” I had to admit, it would be kind of cute to watch him play the little bit I’d been able to teach him. Watching the little ones play had always been my favorite part about going to recitals.

“I’m sure it was. Will you come? It’s just a quiet, little dinner party—not very many people were even invited. You can be my personal date. I’ll protect you from big, bad Amanda. And we can talk later and try to figure out what to do about the Daniel thing.”

I let out a long sigh. I didn’t need protecting from evil Amanda. I really only needed the second part of her offer. “Fine.”

“Fine? Really? You’ll come?” She was almost squealing with delight.

I sighed again, my words flat. “Yes, I’ll come.” I had to admit, it would almost be nice to be in Mel’s company for the evening, especially if Ryan wasn’t there.

I
should have known
this was no quiet dinner party when I had to park two blocks away from Amanda’s house.

Aside from the lack of brain-thumping party music, it reminded me of the one and only high school party I had ever gone to. I wound my way through the crowded entryway of the house, looking around desperately for Melissa. Cade was edging through the crowd with me and pointed toward the kitchen, the obvious signal that he was going in search of food.
Great
.

I knew there was no way I would be able to stay here. The sheer number of people crowded into the house was already making me feel like the walls were closing in on me. I figured I would just find Melissa, tell her how pissed off I was that she tried to pass this off as a “quiet” party and then get the hell out of there. I had a suitcase to pack, after all, and a flight to D.C. that was only a few short hours away.

Just walking into that party, I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I was stuck this time. If I wanted anything to do with my family ever again, I was stuck. I would just do what my father wanted—stand next to Daniel when his father re-introduced him to the world. If I could just get through the next week or so, I could figure out how to get out of it. It wasn’t as though my parents could force me to say, “I do,” at the wedding. And it wasn’t like I was going to let Daniel anywhere near me without at least a chaperone. Cade had already agreed to come with me, so at least I would have him—whatever that was worth.

I made my way into the living room and spotted Melissa in a corner, talking to a woman who looked suspiciously like Robin Axelrod from behind. I felt my stomach turn and I tried to back away. Melissa made eye contact with me before I finally turned and headed out of the room.

“Jenna, wait!” I heard Mel’s voice over the crowd.

I shouldered through the crowd into the slightly less crowded hallway and pressed my back against the wall. Hot tears stung behind my eyes, and I waited to hear Melissa’s explanation for
this
betrayal. Because there was no excuse that would be good enough for this one—the only person who even came close to making me feel as sick to my stomach as Daniel did, was Robin. And Mel knew it.

“Jenna … Jenna, shit, I tried to call you.” Melissa made her way through the crowd over to where I was standing.

My knees felt like they might buckle under me, and I was fighting to keep myself upright. I felt dizzy, like I might pass out. Every person in my life was out to betray me. I couldn’t even trust Melissa—someone who wasn’t even a part of the life I was so desperate to leave. I knew I was alone. Completely and totally alone.

“I invited the wrong list, Jenna. Amanda is going to kill me. I don’t know what to do…”

I shook my head. I didn’t even know what she was talking about—
the wrong list
? “I can’t believe you did this. You’re just like them…”

“Jenna, did you hear what I said?” She raised her voice above the roar of the crowd around us. “I sent the invitations to the birthday list—not the dinner party list. There were only supposed to be fifty people here. The caterers … there isn’t enough food. There isn’t enough booze, either. What am I supposed to do? If I can ever find Amanda, she’s going to kill me!” I could see her own eyes swimming and I knew she wasn’t trying to play me. She had screwed up—made a huge mistake that was likely going to cost her this job with Amanda.

I don’t know how my mind worked as quickly as it did, particularly since I had just been having one hell of a pity party. “There’s a grocery store down the street, right?”

She nodded and swiped away a few tears that had slid down her cheek.

“Go clear out their deli … buy some booze. No one here will notice the difference. Amanda won’t care.” I knew she
would
care, but Melissa could deal with the aftermath in the morning.

“Okay. Okay, that’s a good idea.” She looked over her shoulder. “She asked if you were going to be here, Jenna. Robin, I mean. I’m
so
sorry… I never would have asked you to come tonight…”

I shook my head. “It’s fine, but I’m not staying. I’m going to go say goodnight to Mason, then I’ll be going…”

“Oh, shit! Mason! Oh, my God, Jenna. I didn’t even think about that poor kid. He’s holed up in his room. Can you take him? For the night, I mean? He can’t be here for this—and this is totally my fault. I’ll owe you forever if you can just take him for tonight.”

“Fine.” I didn’t know what I was thinking, agreeing to that. I didn’t have a clue what I’d do with the kid tonight, other than feed him a ton of sugar and crap he wasn’t allowed to otherwise have. It was almost like I took some sort of sadistic joy in letting the kid have fun, especially when I knew his mom didn’t want him to…

Melissa stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on my cheek before swiping away another tear. “You really are the best friend I could ever have. I’ll owe you so big for this… I will…” She turned and almost ran through the crowd.

The realization that I had a plane to catch early tomorrow hit me as soon as she had left my view. I couldn’t take him, at least not for the entire night. I pushed my way through the crowd and tried to find her again, but she was already gone.

I pulled out my phone and texted her.
Hey, I forgot about my flight. Can’t keep him all night.

She texted back a few moments later.
Just get him to your place. I’ll come up to get him after.

That seemed like a decent plan. Getting the poor kid out of here would be a kindness to both of us, anyway. I didn’t have much for him to do at my apartment, but he could at least eat all the ice cream he could stuff in his face. And I wouldn’t have to be in this crowd of people.

I walked back through the crowd again and made my way down the hallway to his bedroom. I was only about half-way down the hall when I saw the door of his bedroom swing open. Mason was asleep, cradled over the shoulder of a man who looked like Ryan Agostino.

Ryan is out of town.
I was sure Melissa had told me that—that was the reason
I
was her date tonight and not Ryan. Wasn’t it? But Ryan was his uncle, and if Ryan somehow
had
made it to the party, he was probably looking out for his nephew’s best interests.

I’m not sure what propelled me to go into the room, but I entered and closed the door behind me, thankful for the momentary quiet. I switched on the light and heard a crunch underneath my foot. I bent down to pick up the glasses I had just stepped on—Mason’s glasses. I had broken the frame when I stepped on it, and I set it down on top of his dresser. Something wasn’t right. Mason didn’t leave things lying on the floor—his room always looked like it was ready for a magazine photo layout, even when the little boy was playing in it. I saw his
Encyclopedia Brown
book splayed open on the floor, too. I knelt down and picked it up, my hands shaking, and set the book next to the glasses on the dresser.

My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. Had I just witnessed a kidnapping? That couldn’t be right—Mason’s uncle probably just wanted to get him out of this party, the same as I did. But Ryan and I both knew that Mason needed his glasses to see. And that he wouldn’t go anywhere without his beloved books.

I saw the door of the bathroom was cracked open and the light was on. I slowly began to walk across the room toward the door and I felt a cold breeze brush over my skin. My eyes darted to the window on the other side of the room. It was open. Amanda had some crazy ideas about parenting her child, but I knew freezing him to death wasn’t one of them. It was too cold out to have the window open.

I knew I should have run. I should have called the police. I should have done something other than walk toward that open door—toward that door that was never left open, toward that light that was never left on. My legs were working on their own, pulling me toward that door and what was behind it.

My heart raced faster than it ever had before. I hesitated when I finally got to the door. It was only barely opened, just a crack really. Some part of my brain was screaming at me to get the hell away from there. That I didn’t
want
to know why the door was open. But something else was telling me to give the door a little push. A little push was all it would take to see what was behind there…

I sucked in a breath and pushed. And I saw. I saw exactly what my brain told me I didn’t want to see. I saw something I knew I could never
un
-see, no matter how hard I tried.

Amanda Agostino. It was Amanda—her lifeless body hanging by her neck.

It was only a moment—a moment that would live in my mind forever, but only a second or two had really passed since I had swung the door open. Before I could even open my mouth to scream, a hand clamped over it and another over my eyes.

I felt his hot breath in my ear. A chill of terror ran down my spine and my heart raced like it was trying to escape from my chest, even faster than it had been before.

“Jen, we need to get out of here.”