“Not even if it gets you both away from that giant monster?”
I narrowed my eyes, staring at his stoic expression. “Tell me what happens if your plan works.”
Jack perked up, his arms flexing as he gestured over his head. “I’ll bring that bastard to his knees. I’ll chop everything out from under him until he’s got nothing to stand on, nothing to keep him above our heads. Then when he realizes he has to do as I say or he’ll lose more than his reputation, I’ll make him sign the Golden Goose over to me.”
“The club? Why do you want that place?”
“Because it belongs to me.” His fists balled up, knuckles straining, bloodless. “He promised it would be ours together. Then he betrayed me. After everything else, I’m getting what’s owed to me.”
“And then?”
Jack’s eyes were foggy, like he was somewhere else. His tone was pure acid. “Death is too good for him. He’ll go to prison, and with any luck, be tortured by people who learn how evil he is.”
The man in front of me wasn’t the one I’d tangled with in the club. Certainly not the man who’d emerged from the darkness to rescue me in the parking lot. Jack’s aura burned the color of death; there was no way he’d consider Cena’s safety or my own on his path towards vengeance.
I thought about the mantra Mister Big had spit at me since I began working for his club. No court will award custody of an eight year old to a dirty stripper. Just try me. I’ve got friends in high places.
“It won’t work. If anything happens to him, Cena will get put into the system. I won’t see her for years, I won’t be able to keep her safe. Leave,” I whispered. “Just leave.”
For a minute I thought he wouldn’t. He shot one quick look over his shoulder, towards the hallway bathroom. The wrinkles around his forehead deepened. Jack stood so still he could have stopped breathing, and I wondered what he was thinking about.
Finally he brushed passed me. “I’ll go, but if you think I’m done, you’re wrong. The only way this ends is with him in a broken pile at my feet.” He looked at everything in the hallway but my face. “You’re willing to let yourself be hurt in order to save her. But she’s not as safe as you assume. As long as he can reach her… she never will be.”
Then he was gone.
Chapter Six
Harper
Jack was going to kidnap my sister.
No—past tense was wrong. Why would he call off his plan? The guy was single minded; just thinking about him reliving his past as he told me it had my adrenaline racing. He’d been so passionate about destroying my stepfather. He’d made it sound easy. I was too smart to think taking down Mister Big was anything close to the word “easy.”
In the elevator, I tapped my hand on the metal wall. I’d never forgive myself if I assumed Jack would change his plan. Did Callum really take everything from him? Remembering Jack’s bloody body in the alley seven years ago, I shivered.
I understood his desire.
I really, truly did.
But Cena… she was my heart. I couldn’t put her in danger. Besides, I’d lasted this long, I knew what Callum could do to me. The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.
And I didn’t know Jack.
The elevator dinged; I jumped out, scanning the lobby. The security desk was empty—that wasn’t strange, Hector was usually lax in his duties. What mattered to me was that Jack was nowhere in sight. Good, I wanted him gone. Even if I wanted to grab his hands and talk him out of his suicidal mission, to tell him to give up on revenge and just waste time with me… I knew it was foolish.
Breathing faster by the second, I stormed down the sidewalk in the warm air. I didn’t breathe easier until an hour later when, as I stood sentry outside her school, my sister walked outside. Her eyes lit up at the sight of me. “Hap! Look what I made!” She ran to me, lifting some sort of paper bag with hearts on it. “It’s a homemade kaleidoscope—oh!” Cena couldn’t finish because I’d crouched down, scooping her up and squeezing her tight.
She’s safe. For now, she’s safe.
“Hap?” she asked, muffled in my chest.
“Sorry!” I set her down, but my hand stayed on her shoulder. “Just happy to see you.”
She searched my face. The perfect pink bow of her mouth became a thin line. “Something’s wrong.”
“No, no, I’m just having a weird day.”
“Hm.”
Pulling her with me, I eyeballed every person on the street as we walked back towards the condo. “Tell me about school.”
“Wait, where’s lover boy?”
A tiny flutter corrupted my heart. “Jack is busy. Don’t worry about him.”
“I like him. He seems nice, even if he does have a lot of tattoos.”
A smile escaped me. The sickness in my stomach overwhelmed the small burst of joy. “Hey, how about we do some errands together?”
“Sounds boring.”
“Drat. I didn’t know ice cream at the Dairy Queen near the bank was boring. Guess I’ll have to think of something else.”
Whatever distrust she’d wielded faded away. “Wait! I take it back!”
Laughing, I hoisted her onto my shoulders. It was a quick jog to the condo, and as I passed the doors, I couldn’t keep myself from looking inside at the lobby desk. Is Hector STILL gone? The lack of security, in my current state, infuriated me.
“Can I get whipped cream?”
“Huh?” I asked, pulled from my thoughts.
“And chocolate syrup,” Cena said, buckling herself in. “I’ve been very good lately. I probably deserve it.”
Pursing my lips, I turned the engine over and drove my Taurus out of the lot. “You’re right, Cena. You deserve whatever you want.”
I meant it.
*
When I finished handing over my envelopes of cash to the scrutinizing bank clerk, I headed back to Cena. She was sitting in one of the fluffy chairs along the wall, trying to wrap two lollipop sticks together. Her tongue was blue when she smiled. “Was it still there?”
I knew she was talking about more than the money I was stowing away for our future. “Of course it was. As pretty as ever.”
“I can’t wait until I can wear it.” She hopped down, following me out the doors into the sun. “But I’m not supposed to until I’m older, right?”
“Right,” I said seriously. “It’s a necklace for adults.” Frankly, the emerald necklace wasn’t meant for anyone. Mom had worn it only twice that I’d seen. I was shocked to find it buried deep in her dresser, beneath her old pregnancy clothes. It had to be worth a fortune. I’d been uncertain about Cena’s future and my own back then, so stashing the necklace in a secret bank box was my only solution.
One day, Cena found a photo of mom wearing the necklace and cuddling a newborn version of her. Cena’s chubby hand was grasping an emerald. She’d thought it was beautiful, magical… so I’d taken her to the bank. When I saw how huge her eyes had gotten at the sight of the necklace… I’d promised it would be hers.
But she had to keep it a secret.