Nodding, Jack kept his weapon on Callum and tossed me a roll of tape. “Tie him to his chair. We’ll call the police so he can make his confession.”
I moved quickly, rolling the thick tape around my stepfather’s wrists. He didn’t struggle, he just stared straight ahead, his skin a sallow cheese color. “Harper,” he said under his breath. I didn’t slow down, the tape squeaking. “Harper… listen closely. That man’s insane. I didn’t take those pictures. I—”
Slapping a chunk of tape over his mouth, I turned the chair so he was facing me. “She was beautiful, amazing, she risked everything to try and save Cena and I from your twisted shit. This whole time, I blamed myself for her death. How could you kill her?”
With his mouth sealed he couldn’t answer. That was fine; nothing he could say would satisfy me.
Jack was talking on his phone in the doorway. I caught the words, “Child molester.” And also, “Ready to confess, tied him up so he won’t change his mind.”
There was blood on my hand from where I’d stabbed Callum. Scrubbing my skin on my jeans, I gestured for Jack to come with me. “The police on their way?”
“Yeah. Said they’re sending a car now.”
The second we entered the hallway, the door cracked just so it lit up the dark walls, he pounced on me. Fingers grasped madly for my face, my hair, my hips; Jack kissed me with such heat I forgot my own name.
This is real. This isn’t a dream.
“You almost died,” he gasped out. I saw my reflection in his glistening stare. “When I saw you on the rug in there, the bruises on your throat…” I touched my tender skin as he mentioned it; how bad did it look? “Harper, I had all these plans. Clear, factual pieces on a map. But the second I saw how he’d hurt you… fuck, I nearly shot him. It would have ruined everything but I came so fucking close.”
“But you didn’t.” Holding his head steady, I made him look at me. His eyes were rabid. “You didn’t kill anyone. Jack, you got your revenge. Beyond that, you saved me and Cena. I can’t thank you enough.”
“I’m the one who needs to thank you.” His fingers flexed in my hair; open and shut. “I nearly kidnapped a kid. How the fuck could I be such a broken monster?” His head hung low, voice stirring the air between us as my chin rested on his scalp. “Harper… I hate that man in there for so many reasons. But I almost became just like him.”
“You’re nothing like him, Jack.”
“I said almost.” When I tried to pull him up, he fought me. “I nearly hurt a kid. Just like that piece of shit.”
“Jack!” Grappling with his jaw, I forced him upwards. He let me this time, or maybe I was finally strong enough. There was a shine in his eyes. I worried he’d cry, because my heart would surely crumble from the pain. “Callum did something unforgivable. There’s no reason to do what he does.” Those damn photos. I had the urge to go back inside and kick him in the teeth. “Kidnapping Cena would have been wrong, but you had a reason, and what matters is you didn’t go through with it.”
“It was because of you that I stopped myself.” His arms circled me until I lost all the air in my lungs. His kiss was the only source of oxygen. The only beam of life-giving light. “I love you,” he whispered, the words tattooing on my soul. “I’ve loved you since the day you saved my life.”
Then there were tears. The salt burned my eyes, it tasted bitter as we kissed, somehow savory and addictive. If this was what love tasted like… felt like… I was content to become a glutton. “I love you too, Jack. It’s not been long, it makes no sense—”
“Love never has to make sense.”
“—But it’s true. I love you with everything I have, all my broken bits.” I imagined if you took all our pieces, you could glue enough of the good ones together and make something whole… maybe something beautiful.
We held each other as the sirens grew in the distance. “Promise me something,” he whispered.
“Anything.”
“Callum is gone. There’s no reason not to sing again.”
I tightened up like a cannon ready to fire. “It feels strange. Wrong, to think I could do it out in the open again.”
“It’s not like before.” He brushed the new tears from my eyes. “Hell, it wasn’t ever like it seemed. It wasn’t your fault that your mother met Callum. Your talent isn’t a curse, but not using it surely is.”
Thinking it through brought me pain. Old scars split open, spitting out memories I’d stowed away to make it easier to live each day. Singing with my mother when I was just four… learning the words to Christmas songs… harmonizing with the most stunning woman I’d ever had the pleasure of knowing, and who Cena reminded me of each day.
I linked my fingers with his. “You have to promise me something, too.”
“The world, the moon, all the treasure in existence.”
My smile felt like I’d never worn it before. “I’ll sing, but you’ll have to be there to listen.”
Jack’s laughter rumbled through his chest and into mine. It created buttery heat, a sensation in my mouth like I’d eaten too much cream. It was addicting. “I’ve waited seven years to hear you sing again, Harper.” His lips tickled across mine until I shivered. “I won’t miss another musical note if it means I have to tie myself to you by the hip.”
And I knew he meant it.
Epilogue
Harper
“Do you think this will grow into anything?” Cena asked, gently pouring dirt over the hole.
Jack scrubbed sweat from his brow. “What do you want it to become?”
My sister tapped her chin, eyeballing the clouds. “Hm. A rose bush. Or a huge beanstalk! Or… some moon flowers. Did you know those only bloom at night?”
I laughed into the back of my hand, spreading more soil and patting it down. “Jewels don’t normally grow like seeds.”
“True,” Jack said seriously, “But this necklace is special.”
“Special how?” she gasped.
He crouched next to her, his wide, strong hand gently brushing over the gravestone beside us. “The woman who wore this had a dream about prosperity. She wanted nothing more than to keep her son happy and alive. That emotion went into the necklace. Emotion can create magic.”
Cena was caught up in his tale. Sitting on her heels, she took extra care when scraping her small shovel over the dirt mound. When it was finished, she ran towards our car to get paper towels to wash herself off.
I watched her go, loving how light she moved—how her hair flipped in the sun. “Do you really believe that?” I asked.
Standing up, he stretched with a groan. “That emotion can create magic? Of course I believe it. I’ve experienced it in person.”
He looked at me intently. Blushing, I darted my eyes back to the ground. “Your mom would be very proud of you.”
“Yours, too,” he said, circling a forearm around my middle. It fit perfectly. “Do you need to do anything tonight before your show at the Golden Goose?”
Biting the inside of my lip, I watched Cena running back towards us. “It feels weird to invite her to my first real performance.”