Jamie looked at the blip on the screen of his phone and recognised the spot where Jenna had parked her car.
Amanda had insisted he plant the tiny devices on both Jenna and Luke’s cars, saying you never knew when they might come in handy. He’d resisted initially, but as usual his sister persisted until he caved in.
‘You know we’ll get there in the end,’ she’d said, hands on hips. ‘So why not just give in at the start and save us both some time.’
‘What? Like you’re the first female pope? Infallible. Has to be obeyed?’
Her answering smirk infuriated him, setting off a full-blown row in which they both said things that were difficult to retreat from. Standing toe to toe in the hallway of their house, screaming at each other, flecks of her spit landing on his face.
She slapped him.
He slapped her back, with just as much force.
She held her hand to her face, eyes wide with disbelief. ‘You hit me,’ she said.
‘This isn’t a movie, sis. A slap in this world earns one right back. Next time I might not be so lenient.’
Her eyes sparked, and he could see a battle going on there. She wanted to hit him again, but trusted his threat. She turned and ran to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. He followed. When he opened the door she was lying on her side, away from him. Anger spent, he edged over the threshold.
‘Okay?’
She mumbled something. Then sat up, facing him, her expression one of resolution.
‘I hate always being the bad one here, Jamie. It’s on both of us to set this right, but I feel I’m losing you to this … this arsehole.’
‘Nonsense. You’re not losing me to anyone.’
‘Aren’t I?’ She leaned forward, demanding. ‘I’m not an idiot, Jamie, I can see you’re not into this with the same enthusiasm. You didn’t even plant the drugs as we agreed. Have you forgotten what he did?
‘No,’ he replied instantly.
‘Sure?’
‘Yes. It’s just…’
‘What?’
‘I think he’s changed.’
‘Black and white, Jamie. He messed up our lives. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have had to whore myself out to that old man. And you wouldn’t have had to go through what you did with that couple. We’re in this together, Jamie. I can’t do this on my own.’ She shook her head wildly. ‘I can’t stand this.’ She moved her hands up and down in front of herself. ‘What he made of me.’ Her face was a looking glass of expression. Never had he seen her so raw, so vulnerable. ‘I loathe what I’ve become.’ Her eyes shone. ‘It was someone’s fault, and they have to pay.’
Jamie didn’t know where to look. He couldn’t deal with the intensity, the honesty, of her pain.
‘C’mere,’ she said, her voice soft. She patted the bed at her side. ‘C’mon, have a seat.’
He approached and sat on the edge of her bed. She inched forward so that the front of her body lined the back of his. She pulled him closer, leaned her head against his shoulder and rested there for a moment. Then she turned to face him. ‘Show me you’re a man, Jamie. That you’re the man of this family.’
He couldn’t say anything, but he felt that strong link between them. Blood calling to blood. A connection so deep that it felt to him like it reached back through a thick, swirling fog to the beginning of time. And the little boy inside him, so starved of affection, relished the touch.
And now, here he was, fingers and toes numb with the cold, standing behind a leafless tree only a few feet from two people, listening attentively while they discovered a dark secret.