by Shae Mallak
"Greg is a very reliable man," Jonah defended. "and he loves kids." I rolled my eyes at him as he squeezed past me and kicked the man's boot. "Greg," he called.
Greg startled awake, bolting to his feet, his hand automatically reaching for his gun then instantly relaxed when he registered who it was that woke him up. "Joe," he smiled lazily. "Didn't expect to see you down here."
"Long story," Jonah grunted, then nodded at the closed bedroom door. "How are they?" he asked, taking the words from my mouth. I stepped forward beside Jonah to hear the answer.
"Angels," Greg grinned. I gave a hearty laugh at his word choice. "You must be the sister," he smiled, extending a hand to me and giving it a firm shake. "Ava and Addis adore you."
"They do?" I cocked my head curiously. "This is the first I'm hearing of it," I chuckled. "They tend to be on their best behavior for everyone else but me."
"Doesn't mean they don't adore you," he replied. "Ava wouldn't stop talking about her big sister and her new boyfriend." Greg gave Jonah a knowing look.
"He's not my boyfriend," I muttered.
"We're not dating," Jonah said at the same time.
Greg gave us both a goofy grin. "Uh-huh," he appeased.
"But they're okay?" I pressed him. "Ava and Addis? They're fed and bathed and finished their homework and—"
"They're fine, Miss Aberdeen," he smiled. "Just asleep."
"Thanks, Greg," Jonah said, shaking the man's hand. "I'll take it from here."
"If you say so, sir," Greg nodded. "I'm happy to stay if you need me to."
"That's alright," Jonah assured him. "We'll be staying the night anyway. Go on home, Greg."
"Nothing to go home to, really," he shrugged. "But I'll be glad for a real bed nonetheless. Even if it is empty." He gave me another goofy grin and a wink and earned a threatening growl from Jonah. "Easy, boss," Greg chuckled.
He was un-phased by Jonah's angry snarl—amused even! I was starting to like this guy, laughing myself as Greg assured him I was most certainly not his type, which made me laugh even harder.
"It was nice to meet you at last, Miss Aberdeen," Greg said to me. He held out his hand and I took it for a handshake and was surprised when he pulled me into a hug.
"Oh!" I gasped. "Nice to meet you too, Greg," I replied, stumbling backward again. "Although I can't say at last as I was unaware Jonah even had friends," I smirked, making us both chuckle and getting a double glare out of Jonah.
"Friends is one word for it," Greg agreed. "Any time you need a babysitter, call me up. The twins are—"
"Don't say angels," I groaned. "Because it's a flat-out lie and I don't want your high expectations to be shattered beyond repair."
"They're good kids," Greg assured me. "They've been through a lot in their short little lives, but they're tough and remarkably resilient. They'll come out alright."
"I hope so," I murmured seriously.
"They will," Greg repeated confidently, patting me on the shoulder in assurance. "Jonah knows how to contact me if you ever need me," he said, then slipped past us and down the stairs.
I waited until I heard the door shut behind him before I turned to Jonah. "I like him," I admitted. "He's fun. How in the world are you two friends?" I teased. I didn't give him a chance to reply, slipping over to the bedroom door and easing it open to peek at the twins.
The lights were off except for the night-light shining between their beds, casting deep shadows across the room. I made out the outlines of their sleeping profiles, satisfied they were okay, and shut the door again as quietly as I could.
"You know," Jonah said quietly. "At some point in your life, you're going to have to stop mothering them and just be their sister."
"At some point," I acknowledged reluctantly with a frown. "But not today. Thank you, by the way," I said, distancing myself from their bedroom door so our conversation wouldn't wake them up. "For bringing me back here tonight."
"You've had a rough day," he said. "It felt cruel to deny you."
"Well, thank you," I repeated, sliding past him and down the stairs toward the kitchen. I was starving!
"You know," Jonah sighed, "I don't like keeping you from your family. You need to know that."
I stopped, turning on the stairwell and giving him my full attention. He stood a few steps above me, accentuating the height difference between us and making me have to crane my neck to keep from staring at his crotch, with which I was at eye-level.
"Then why do it?" I asked.
"I've told you the answer to that," he replied wearily. "I'm trying to protect you."
I sighed. Back to the same old dance. I wasn't sure if it was worth the wasted energy anymore—or if I even really knew the steps like I thought I did. After that night, with Kinney and then the dragon in the forest...
Was it really a dragon? Was it possible I imagined the entire thing? After all, dragons weren't real! Right? But then what was the giant black creature flying over me, chasing me down, and breathing columns of fire that lit up the night sky? Because if it wasn't for the rational, logical side of my brain, I would've sworn I had come face to face with the real deal. I mean..legends had to come from somewhere, right?
But if that was part of whatever Jonah and Dad and Kinney were all wrapped up in, I wasn't so sure I wanted to know the answers to my questions. Wasn't naivety better? Maybe not safer, but better? Less anxiety, at the very least. Not that my stress and anxiety levels weren't already at their peak after the last twenty-four hours. Hell, after the last three hours!
"Whatever," I muttered, and spun around again and stalked into the kitchen. I found a container of leftovers in the fridge of whatever Greg made for the twins for supper. It looked delicious and my mouth watered as I popped a bite into my mouth for a little taste before heating it up in the microwave. "You hungry?" I asked Jonah when he finally joined me, watching me from the doorway.
"Yeah, actually," he nodded. "What is there?"
"Whatever this is," I said, pulling the container out of the microwave and grabbing two forks from a drawer. I set it down on the table and took a chair, gesturing to the other with the extra fork. "Greg made it," I added. "In case you were concerned." He cracked a smile and dropped into the other chair. Together we munched on the mystery pasta dish until it was literally licked clean—courtesy of myself—before either of us said anything else.
"I'm sorry," Jonah said eventually, not looking up at me. "For dragging you into all this—into my world," he said. "I never wanted—" he stopped, took a deep breath, and started again. "I've only ever wanted your life to be better," he said. "And at first, for a long time, I thought that meant staying out of it." I frowned at him. How long, exactly, had he been keeping track of me? "But then things changed and...and there was no avoiding it anymore. I was the only one who could help you—who could save you. But I never wanted it to be this way."
"What do you mean?" I asked, completely confused. "What way did you want it, then?"
"I wanted—" he paused again, still avoiding my eyes. He traced old scars in the tabletop, either avoiding the question or trying to think of an answer. After a few minutes, he continued. "I wanted you, Evelyn, but I wanted...I wanted you to want me back. I never wanted to force it like this. If circumstances were different..." he trailed off and didn't finish the sentence.
I was speechless. What could I say to that? I knew he wanted to sleep with me—knew he wanted me in some way or he wouldn't have put the marriage clause in the contract. But I never really expected...well that. It never occurred to me that he didn't like this arrangement either. It was a lot harder to hate him knowing that.
"Tell me," I said after a while. "Tell me—if circumstances were different, what would you have done?" I prompted.
"You really want to know?" he asked uncertainly, glancing up at me at last. I nodded encouragingly. "I probably would've tried to figure out a way to run into you at work," he admitted, starting slowly. "Probably a few times, chatting you up, before asking y
ou out."
"And if I said yes?" I prompted when he was quiet for a while.
Jonah flashed me a wide grin. "Maybe someday I'll take you on a real date and show you."
Part of me wanted to take Jonah up on his offer to take me on a date, but a bigger, louder part couldn't stop thinking about Kinney's Den and their familiarity with him. Just how checkered was his past—and was it even in the past?
There were moments when Jonah seemed genuine and caring; seeing him interact with my brother and sister or laughing with me while trying to teach me poker. Even with Greg, the two seemed to be good friends, easy and relaxed around each other. When he looked at me from across my kitchen table with such sad eyes, apologizing for not dating me properly, I could almost forget the bad bits. Almost.
Nothing had really changed. There was still a contract that said he had legal rights over me—a contract he wrote and initiated and manipulated my father into signing. He still wanted to lock me away on a mountain in the name of protection against the mysterious danger he wouldn't tell me about. Did it have something to do with Travis Kinney and his crude crew? The Den we found Dad in wasn't exactly the cozy, homey type.
The thought of what they were going to do to Dad if Jonah hadn't intervened sent shivers of fear down my spine and would haunt my dreams for a long time. I only saw a small piece of the end result of the beating they already gave him, let alone if they were allowed to actually kill him!
Would they do it quick or draw it out? Something told me Kinney was a man who didn't rush anything, even murder. He was careful. He was obviously still walking the streets a free man instead of behind bars where I had no doubt he belonged. The only reasons for that were because he was either really good at covering his tracks or really good at greasing the palms of important people. Most likely, it was probably both. He said himself the council wouldn't touch him.
But what role did Jonah play in that world? They talked about his "escapade" the last time he was there—whatever it was, it was enough to put Jonah on Kinney's bad side. Didn't that Reggie guy say Kinney was going to kill us? Right before Jonah slammed him against the wall. Did he try to put it all behind him only to have Dad drag him back under? There was so much I didn't know it was making my head hurt! And I didn't even want to go near the subject of the dragon I thought I saw....
"You're in deep thought," Jonah noted curiously. "Did you hear me?"
"How do you know those people?" I asked, suddenly changing the subject from whatever Jonah was saying.
"Huh?" he frowned at me in confusion. "Who? Greg?"
"No," I shook my head. "Kinney and gang," I clarified. "They knew you—knew you well. How do you know them? Were you one of them? Are you one of them?"
"No," he denied. "My only business with Kinney these days is concerning your father, and that's been taken care of."
"These days," I repeated, his choice of words not lost on me. "So you used to be?" I asked. It bothered me a lot that Jonah ever called those people friends or coworkers or whatever they called themselves. Fellow sinners? Kinney's lackeys?
Jonah winced, delaying his answer until I pressed him more insistently. "Sort of," he said with a deep sigh. "I was what you might call...and independent contractor," he hedged.
"Meaning?" I quirked an eyebrow inquiringly. He groaned, obviously not wanting to talk about it, but I already got more out of him than ever and I wasn't going to back down now. Jonah stood, avoiding my gaze, and took the empty Tupperware and forks to the sink, running a little dishwater and scrubbing a little too aggressively on the plastic container. I waited to see if he'd answer me.
"I wasn't part of their group," he said finally, "but," he added with a little groan. "I did do the occasional job for them. For the right price."
"What kind of jobs?" I asked automatically.
"You really don't want to know," he said firmly. So he was an ex-criminal.
"And now?" I prompted hesitantly, not sure if I really wanted to know the answer.
"I'm trying to be better," he said a little too vaguely.
His wishy-washy answer bugged me. What did he mean trying? Was he still doing illegal jobs or not? "Should I be worried about the police showing up at our door, Jonah Carson?" I asked with a scowl. I was using my "mom" voice as Addis called it and I didn't care. I needed to know if the man pledging to keep me and my family safe was in danger himself. There was no clause in the contract about the benefactor going to prison.
"Our?" Jonah smirked over his shoulder at me. I glared at him. "No, Ev," he answered, turning back to the dishes. "You don't have to worry about that. At least not from anything I've done."
"A little comforting I guess," I murmured. "How did you and Greg become friends?" I asked curiously. "He seems a little too...happy for your taste," I chuckled.
"I can be happy," he defended. "It's not my fault my life tends to be full of serious things."
"You say that like you don't have control over your own life," I replied.
"Some things, sure," he shrugged. "But I can't control everything. It's hard to smile around a mouthful lemons." He set the last dried dish in the cabinet and rejoined me at the table. "Figured you would understand that more than anyone," he added.
"I guess I do, yeah," I nodded. "I guess I just assumed...I mean, you're one of the richest, most influential people in town."
"Doesn't mean I'm happy or that I can control certain things any more than anyone else. I can't keep people from dying or making bad decisions." He paused. "I can't make you love me," he whispered. "I can only react and work with what's given to me, same as everyone else in the world."
"But you have to admit you have a lot more at your disposal than most," I pointed out.
"You said yourself," he countered, "Money can't buy everything. The more money you have the more you realize how true that really is," he said seriously.
"You bought me," I scowled at him. I instantly regretted my remark when I saw the pain in his eyes when they met mine.
"I didn't buy you," he grumbled. "I made a deal to—"
"I know, I know," I groaned. "To protect me. I got that part, Jonah. What I don't get is why."
"Why what?"
"Why me?" I clarified.
"Why not you?" he countered. My mouth opened to respond before I realized I had no idea what to say to that. "It's been a long day," Jonah said after a few silent moments. "We should both get some sleep." I readily agreed, neither of us wanting to dive deeper into the subject that night.
We both headed upstairs, Jonah camping in the hallway outside the door like the night before and like Greg was doing when we arrived. I didn't argue or complain about it, merely saying goodnight and shutting the door.
"Sweet dreams, Ev," I heard Jonah murmur on the other side.
I wasn't sure why I couldn't fall asleep. It'd been a long, exhausting day and by some miracle I was back in my own bedroom, snuggled in my own blankets. I should've been able to fall asleep no problem. Instead, I was wide awake, staring at the stars outside my window.
It was a cloudless night, the stars shining clear and bright along with the half moon. There were no clouds to block it out, especially not so completely like I'd seen earlier in the woods. I didn't know of any birds in existence—let alone around Sinclair Falls—that was as big as what I saw...and certainly not any that could spit fire! It couldn't be possible and yet there was no other explanation that made sense. Besides insanity. Jonah was right there—he would've seen it too if it was real! Surely something as unusual as a giant dragon wouldn't go beyond his notice. Not Jonah Carson, Vigilant Protector!
But I didn't feel crazy.... Of course, the insane are always the last to find out. Surely I would've had other symptoms, though, besides just one dragon sighting if I was truly insane...right? Had my little jaunt downtown just pushed me over the edge I was already teetering on? I'd finally gotten some answers about Jonah only to be left with so many more questions! Was my life ever going to make sense?
&nb
sp; My attention was diverted from my thoughts by the soft creak of a door down the hall—one of the twins was awake.
"You should be asleep," I heard Jonah say. I'd crossed my room, about to send whichever sibling it was back to bed myself, but stopped and listened instead.
"No," Ava's voice replied. "I'm supposed to be awake," she said confidently. I suppressed a chuckle at her matter-of-fact tone.
"And why is that?" Jonah asked with amusement.
"Did Greg leave?" Ava asked, avoiding the question. I smiled, although I would've been mad at her if it was me questioning her instead of Jonah.
"Yes," Jonah confirmed. Either he didn't notice her diversion or ignored it. "Did you guys have a good time?"
"Yeah," she replied happily. "He's fun. Can he come back?"