Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

AUSTIN

K ennedy shook like a leaf in my arms, her sobs muffled by my sweater as she cried into my chest. Every so often, I felt her expand and I knew she was breathing in deep, trying to regain control of herself, but it didn’t seem to be working.

I couldn’t blame her. I was pretty shaken up myself, wrath poisoning my veins and begging me to go after the assholes who had done this to her. In the end, she was more important to me, though. They would get what was coming to them.

Between the cops and event security, more than a few of the vandals had been apprehended and all that I could do was hope that they got more than just a slap on the wrist for this. I knew it was unlikely, but I still hoped at least a couple of them would face proper justice.

What they’d done to Kennedy was unfathomable to me. I just couldn’t understand why they would target the float of a small hotel and restaurant that wasn’t even open yet. It didn’t make a lick of sense, and meanwhile, her heart had shattered into smithereens. They’d viciously ripped apart a moment that she had been working toward for years by ruining the first glimpse the public would get of her business. If her float had simply been caught in the crossfire, then I would’ve understood it a little bit better, but it hadn’t been.

None of the other floats had gotten so much as a speck of paint on them. This had been an attack on Kennedy’s float—on the Dahlia Hotel and Restaurant—and I really just didn’t understand it.

As I held her, a throat cleared behind us and I glanced over my shoulder to see a uniformed police officer standing there. When my gaze met his, he started forward, a tight but apologetic smile on his lips.

“Mr. Merrick?” he guessed out loud after glancing at his notepad. “Ms. Sweet?”

“That’s us,” I confirmed, giving Kenny one last squeeze before releasing her out of the hug. I gently took one of her hands to let her know I was still right there for her.

“This float belongs to you, is that correct?” he asked lightly, inclining his head toward the wreck.

I nodded. “Unfortunately. Do you guys have any idea yet what happened?”

“Yes, sir,” the man answered immediately, glancing at the float and grimacing as he shook his head. “We’ll need to take your statements, but I’m happy to report that we have managed to get an explanation for you from one of the vandals who was arrested.”

“What is it?” I asked, my tone clipped. “Why did they target this specific float?”

The officer sighed. “It seems they’re a group of local history buffs who have heard that there’s an event taking place at an old heritage house. They believe it’s a crime against the building and that it should be stopped.”

Kenny let out a string of curses under her breath. “Did they see what that heritage house looked like before? That was a crime, not this. We’re cleaning it up and fixing it.”

“It’s ridiculous,” I agreed, but it looked like Kennedy wanted to know more.

“Is the house protected in some way?” she asked. “Was there some red tape we crossed without knowing about it? Because from where I’m standing, history buffs should be happy about what we’re doing instead of sabotaging us. That place was going to the dogs before we stepped in.”

“Everything you’ve done has been legal, ma’am,” he assured her. “We looked into it with our liaison in the city council and they confirmed that you’ve dotted your ‘i’s and crossed your ‘t’s.”

“There’s nothing wrong with what we’re doing, Kenny,” I murmured, sliding an arm around her shoulders and squeezing her tight. “Even if we did miss something, it wouldn’t have justified them ruining the float.”

“I really do need to get your statements,” the officer said. “We can talk more at the station. I’m sure we’ll get more answers as the suspects are questioned.”

Kennedy and I followed him there, but the mood between us felt like we were part of a funeral procession. The officers were all very kind to Kenny when we arrived, taking our statements before the officer who’d brought us here elaborated on what they’d found.

“My guys have been questioning the historians while we’ve been talking,” he said. “It sounds like one of the vandals was particularly miffed that the house was being used to host yet another glamorous event for the ultra-wealthy and that ordinary locals still don’t have access.”

Kenny sighed. “We’re only doing the fundraiser for investors, but after that, it’ll be open to everyone.”

The man gave her an understanding nod, shrugging one of his shoulders. “These people don’t always think clearly, Ms. Sweet. We see it all the time, folks getting caught up in one cause or another and not listening to reason until they do something stupid first.”

She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders caving as she let her hair form a curtain between herself and the outside world. I rubbed her back where I sat beside her, glancing at the officer when it appeared she’d heard everything she’d wanted to hear.

“Is the rest of the parade continuing?”

“Yes, sir,” he said. “There are already negative ripple effects being felt by the event as a whole, though. If only these vandals would realize the harm they’re causing is more than just flinging some paint at a float.”

As he said it, it occurred to me that our dinner party was about to get a whole lot of bad press. Events like this never happened in a vacuum, and whether the historians had intended for it to go down this way or not, they’d just opened a can of worms.

Worry infused my bloodstream. Losing the float so early in the parade had been bad enough. I didn’t even want to think about how Kenny was going to feel once she realized that the worst was yet to come.

“Alright,” I said, giving the officer a tight smile as I pushed back my chair. “If there’s anything else, you’ll call us?”

“Of course,” he said, rising and waving a hand to the door. “You’re free to go. I’ll keep you updated as the investigation continues.”

“Thank you,” I replied, taking Kenny’s hand when she lifted her head and got up. “Let’s go, baby. It’s been a long morning.”

She nodded, giving the officer her best attempt at a smile after saying goodbye. “I can’t believe I have Thanksgiving dinner with Winrey, Benji, and my parents tonight. I have no idea how I’m going to face that after all this.”

“Cancel?” I suggested. “I’m sure your sister will understand.”

Kenny shook her head, her expression glum and miserable. She slid her sunglasses over her eyes as we emerged from the police station. It had turned into a cold but fine day, and I was grateful that it wasn’t raining on top of everything else as we strolled back down the block to where I’d parked.

“Now that we’re done with the cops,” I said, wishing I had better news. “I feel like I should warn you that there’s probably going to be some backlash from this.”

She frowned, the crease between her eyebrows visible despite the sunglasses. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that there were a lot of cameras aimed at those vandals and the officer said the parade was already starting to feel the ripple effects. I’m willing to bet that he was talking about online bashing and that people starting to bicker about whether or not the historians did the right thing. At the very least, all those videos being uploaded is going to bring the wrong kind of attention to the hotel.”

Her footsteps faltered and I practically saw the gears turning in her brain before her lips mashed into a hard, firm line. “God, I don’t even want to know what they’re saying.”

“Whatever it is, we know the truth. We just need to ride out this storm and decide where to go from here. We’re not doing anything wrong.”

She snorted. “So you keep saying, but clearly, there are a lot of people who think we are.”

“Well, they’re wrong,” I said simply.

Spinning to face me, she scoffed and shook her head, her expression hard. “You should’ve thought about this.”

My jaw nearly fell off, it dropped so fast. “Excuse me?”

“This was all your idea, Austin. I never even thought about getting a float in this damn parade until you brought it up. Then you didn’t even talk to me about it again before you got the float and Anita and her team onboard.”

I blinked rapidly, really struggling to understand what was happening. “What exactly are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you didn’t consider all the potential consequences, and now my business is probably dead in the water before it ever even existed.”

“Are you really trying to blame me for this?” I asked incredulously as I began to piece it together. “I somehow should’ve foreseen that a bunch of poor historians were going to evade all the security at the parade to fling paint at your float, all because they’re not wealthy enough to be invited to a fundraiser and they’re angry that they can’t have immediate access to a house they’ve never had access to?” I scoffed and shook my head. “I’m sorry, Kenny, but how was I supposed to foresee that? I was trying to help you. If those guys had bothered to contact us first, perhaps we could’ve told them that they’d be more than welcome, invited even, once the hotel opens. We might also have been able to explain that we can’t invite them to the first party because we need the rich people to give us the money we need to open the hotel so that everyone can enjoy that house.”

After pausing for a beat, she wrapped her arms around herself and blew out a heavy breath through her nostrils. “I just feel guilty. Because of us, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was ruined. Do you have any idea how bad that is? People are going to remember this forever.”

“We. Did. Not. Do. Anything. Wrong,” I reiterated slowly. “How can I get that through to you? The city even confirmed to the police that we did our due diligence. We’re jumping through all their hoops. If they received any protests from these historians, they would’ve told the cops about them now even if they somehow forgot to let us know before.”

“So?”

“So this isn’t our fault.” I darted a piercing glare at the sky. “If these people were serious historians with serious concerns, their first instinct wouldn’t have been to vandalize a Thanksgiving parade. They would’ve tried to lodge formal complaints first. They could’ve reached out to us. They could’ve picketed at the damn house or they could’ve followed any number of other avenues available to them. None of us knew anything about this. All they wanted to do was make a dramatic statement.”

“Yeah, well, they succeeded.” Finally taking a step back from me, she waved a hand absently down the street. “I’ll just take the subway home. I need some time to figure out how to feel. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Without waiting for me to respond, she turned and strode away, quickly disappearing into the crowds of people peeling away from the parade now that it had passed this part of town. I stared at her retreating back until she was swallowed up by the bodies. Then I scoffed and shook my head, wishing that I’d at least had the opportunity to wish her luck with her folks tonight.

She sure was going to need it.