Free Forever Distraction (Distraction #3) by Stephanie Jean Page A

it wasn’t a shock he didn’t want to continue without him.
    I glanced at Gracey in the corner with Smith before I spoke. “I am busy this week, but I am free next weekend if you want to show me. We could fly to Louisiana first, and then New York. You can show me what you have completed, and we can take a peek at the new sites. I would love to take some pictures to show at the charity event. As far as this being your last year, why don’t we wait and have another meeting with everyone about that topic halfway through the project.” I stood up and caught a glimpse of the door. Smith shook his head slightly, indicating for me to slow down. Father Nickels stood up tall next to me and wrapped his arms around me, embracing me tightly. The action was so quick I didn’t see it coming, didn’t have time to dodge it, or prepare myself for the forced closeness.
    “I can tell you’re lost , child. Make sure you get some sleep,” he whispered in my ear, and I eased away from him, feeling awkward about the whole interaction. More people pushed up from their seats, all good people hand chosen by my grandfather. This foundation was his baby. One-by-one, like a pack of wolves smelling fresh blood, they made their way over to hug me. I squared my shoulders and propelled myself toward the door, avoiding all the unwanted touching. Smith’s giant body loomed in the corner, leaning against it. He eyed me suspiciously until he recognized the panic in my eyes, and immediately opened the door, but grabbed my upper right arm in the process. This was my life now—no running, no hiding from the beast who was latched onto my arm .
    I was being punished for running earlier. He escorted me to the car like that, Father Nickels catching up with me before I disappeared again. “Next Friday morning, 6 am, I’ll meet you at the airport then. I’ll arrange everything once we arrive there, and thank you, Katarina. I know James left this charity in good hands.” I brightened at his thanks; I could tell he was sincere and it warmed my heart. I nodded my head and repeated, “6 am.”
    Smith finally let go of my arm when I was buckled, and I let out an exaggerated sigh. I removed my jacket and twisted my body to face the window. After driving a while, Smith cleared his throat. “Are you hungry?” I didn’t acknowledge him. I hated his pity for me, even more than his anger. It didn’t faze him. “We are headed back to the beach house, but that should take over an hour. If you’re hungry, I’ll tell them to stop somewhere.” I remained silent and kept my eyes focused on the passing buildings outside my window. I heard him settle in his seat next to me. He bumped my arm, handing me my phone. I snatched it and glanced at the screen. I’d missed some texts from Heather, but didn’t open them; I just shoved my phone in my purse and went back to gazing out the window. “I…I was there that night,” he stuttered, and I heard emotion fill his low, gritty voice, “the…the night the girl died.”
    His admission told me two things : one—that my eavesdropping bodyguard felt the need to share something valuable about a conversation that didn’t regard him, and two—my grandfather really was involved in Jacy’s death. I slowly turned in his direction, attempting to pull off casualness, while my heart sped up and thundered at a fast pace. I was nervous and scared about what he was about to divulge. My eyes eased up and found his sunglasses masking his expression. I battled in my head to face back toward the window to mask mine as well, but he swiftly removed his glasses, surrendering his facial shield.
    The action was stiff, and he inhaled as though even remembering was difficult, and speaking about it was even worse. “Your grandfather bought a new car for your mother. He was driving it…wanted to make sure everything worked right. I followed in a car directly behind him. We were stopped at a light when it happened. The red Civic came flying