Silence Reveals Hidden Answers’ by Michael Anderson novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Jennifer Maric

I turn and it’s Baxter.

BAXTER PRESCOTT.

Tackling some guy in a hoodie to the ground. For a second, I genuinely think my brain is glitching. Like I blinked too hard or imagined it, because what is he doing here? And why is he throwing punches in the middle of an amusement park?

I watch his arm swing again, hard enough that the guy cries out and something slips from his grip and clatters onto the grass. A camera.

You were taking pictures of her, huh?” Baxter yells. “You freaking creep!”

Harvey moves closer, fast, while I stay frozen beside the arcade game I was about to play. My hands hover uselessly in the air. I’m still trying to understand what’s happening…why Baxter attacking some random guy? And who is ‘her‘?

“Let go!” the guy on the ground yelps.

“Give me the camera! Now!” Baxter demands.

“Baxter, what the hell?” Harvey steps in, trying to pull Baxter back as people start to stare and parents hurry their kids away from the scene.

“You weren’t paying attention!” Baxter yells right in Harvey’s face. “He was taking pictures of Jennifer! Her skirt is short, and

didn’t even notice you’re acting like some big–shot gangster, but you

environment!” your own

That’s when I see the moment Harvey’s arms become tense at the guy on the floor. We’re not in the villa anymore and there are no family rules here. He could easily start brawling the creep right in the middle of this crowded park. Without thinking, I reach out and place my hand on Harvey’s arm because I swear, I don’t want to see blood.

Baxter notices immediately. His eyes drop to where my hand rests on Harvey, and he scoffs.

Harvey leans down and snatches the camera from the guy’s hand. He flips through the images on the screen.

The man looks up at Harvey and whatever he sees on Harvey’s face drains the color straight out of him. He rests on his knees and starts begging.

Who is Harvey here in Italy that a stranger would look at him like he’s some guardian of hell? And what exactly did he see on that camera?

“I’m sorry, I swear…” the guy blurts out. “She–she paid me five hundred bucks to do it. I wasn’t trying to hurt the lady or take any crazy pictures, I was just-”

“She?” My eyes flick between him and Harvey. “Who is she?”

Before he can answer, Harvey brings his boot down on the camera until it’s just broken plastic. He crouches immediately after, calm in a terrifying way, and pulls the memory card out of the wreckage.

“Get the fuck out of here,” Harvey says quietly, deadly calm, “before I put you to sleep.”

The guy in the hoodie doesn’t need to be told twice. He scrambles up and bolts into the crowd like his life depends on it.

“Are you just supposed to let him go like that?” I ask. “What did he mean by ‘she‘?”

Baxter chuckles beside us. “That’s what you get when you hang out with my half–brother. He’s got all these fucking secrets.”

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Chapter 23

He glares at Harvey, who just looks back at me with a heavy sigh, his lips softening like he’s trying not to scare me. Oh God, That look does something to me. I think I’m getting obsessed with Harvey. I don’t want Baxter’s words getting into my head, but if that guy was just taking pictures, shouldn’t we have called the cops?

“Harvey,” I say quietly, stepping closer. “What is going on?”

“It’s stupid shit.” he replies immediately. “Stuff you shouldn’t even be worrying about. The pictures weren’t explicit. If they were, I’d have broken his bones or handed him to the police.” He pauses, searching my face. “Do you trust me?”

I look at him…at all the danger signs, the secrets, the way that guy looked at him like he was death itself and even though every sane part of me is screaming, I find myself nodding. “I trust you.”

Baxter throws his hands up. “Are you both kidding me!?”

We both turn to look at him.

“You followed us here?” Harvey asks, his tone sharp now. “Why?”

“I was here before you two.”

“So after the shoot,” I say, crossing my arms, “you just decided to come to an amusement park. Alone?”

Baxter blinks. Like he didn’t expect me to call it out.

Harvey steps slightly in front of me, as if he doesn’t even want Baxter looking in my direction. “You. In an amusement park. What happened to the club?”

“And what happened to you getting the hell out of Italy after pointing a gun at my face and missing by an inch?” Baxter

retorts.

“What happened to you telling the truth? Honestly, you should be grateful I don’t care how I’m represented in the family.”

“Crazy how you look at my family with disgust, but you’re out here building clubs with our money.”

That’s when it clicks. Oh. He didn’t know. Baxter didn’t know the Saints club belongs to Harvey. And now I see it…that’s what’s eating him alive.

“You talking about the Kings casino?” Harvey asks coolly, “The place I built from zero to a hundred?” Harvey knows exactly how to twist the knife. Not only does he say it, but he lights a cigarette right in Baxter’s face while saying it.

“You-”

“Eighty percent of the money you get to throw around for your wedding comes straight from the casino’s profit. You hear me?”

Baxter turns to me. “Jennifer, really? A guy who smokes like this, runs a club, and probably has way more enemies….like that creep in the hoodie is the sort of person you want to be exploring with?”

I let out a long, tired breath. “What’s it with you and who I explore?” I snap, then remember him trying to kiss me. That seals it. “You know what? If I need to say it loud and clear for a second time, I will. Yes, Baxter. Yes. I am choosing to explore with Harvey. And with all due respect, it has nothing to do with you. I don’t appreciate you lying-”

“Lying?” Baxter snaps. “You think I’m lying?”

Harvey scoffs. “Bro, she’s telling you to fix your story because it’s full of holes. Are you dumb?”

Baxter’s jaw tightens. I can literally see him grinding his teeth.

“Jennifer, you really think I’m lying? You think I’m stupid enough to hurt myself? To shoot a bullet and pretend—”

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“By the way.” Harvey adds casually, turning to me, “that’s exactly what he did. Don’t you feel stupid every time you pull shit like that, Bax?

I see Baxter’s whole–body tense like he’s about to hunge, so I quickly step between them, putting my hands up on Harvey’s chest like that’ll actually stop two men like this.

“I want you gone from Italy!” Baxter snarls over my shoulder.

“Oh, do you even think you’ll be in Italy if your dad finds out you and Nisha are contract fiancés?”

“You won’t dare.” Baxter growls.

I am losing patience so I snap.

“Then tell your parents it was a mistake! Tell them what happened between you and Harvey was a misunderstanding. That you were drunk, that you thought something happened…I don’t care! Say something that stops everyone from thinking Harvey tried to hurt you.”

“Why the fuck would I do that?” Baxter looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.

Harvey exhales slowly. “Okay. I will leave for New York but you will also be leaving with me because your little secret will be out.”

Harvey told me he wouldn’t do that. He told me he wanted Baxter and Nisha to get married. I open my mouth to say something, but Baxter’s face is already twisting.

I don’t even understand why he’s fake–marrying Nisha in the first place. And honestly? Right now, I don’t care.

“Good.” Harvey says when Baxter stays silent. “I thought so too.”

Baxter’s eyes are on me, then back to Harvey. “So… both of you are fucking now? That’s why you brought her to Italy? To fuck her-”

Everything happens too fast.

Harvey closes the distance aggressively, forgetting I’m even there. I stumble backward, my foot catching on the grass, and suddenly I’m falling.

Hard. I land on my side with breath knocked clean out of me. People are staring. A kid points. Someone mutters. I just sit there on the damp grass while they are locked in a staring contest like I don’t exist.

I push myself up. I don’t even want to be there when they fight. I don’t care how bad it would get…it’s already getting on my

nerves.

What the hell is wrong with Baxter?

A bunch of kids run past me screaming, almost knocking me over, and I keep walking, the air thick with sugar and cotton candy. Or maybe cotton candy is the sugar I’m smelling. Whatever.

As I was saying… Baxter. What, does he suddenly like me now? Or does he just think he has the right to add me to his long list of girls he’s slept with because I’m not the ugly duckling anymore? Of course that’s what it is!

He keeps getting between Harvey and me and it’s….god, it’s annoying.

Harvey… another thing that’s crazy for me to say, is Harvey is a different type of smooth talker, and—

Oof. I get bumped again by another sprinting kid.

Shoot. Where am I even going? I stop and look around the huge, sprawling amusement park, biting my lip as I try to retrace

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my steps. That’s when I see a clown. Standing perfectly still, its painted smile wide and garish under the colored lights. And it’s looking right at me!

I hate clowns. I’ve always hated clowns, ever since I was little. I learned that if you don’t act scared, they usually leave you alone. So I force myself to turn and walk calmly in the opposite direction.

I hear more kids scream and it’s not happy screaming. I glance over my shoulder to see that the clown has started walking. And it’s following me.

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