The Rennillia Series: Volumes 1-5

by M. Sembera

  I looked at Jackson once more as Fiore leaned to his ear, whispering something. Turning my back to them, I followed Ignacio around the corner to the back of the building.

  In one swift movement, Ignacio pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it and took a long drag before questioning, “Why did you call us?”

  “Let Jackson go,” I blurted.

  Flicking the ash, he took another drag, informing, “We received a call after our meeting.”

  “Well good for you,” I snapped before saying, “Now tell your brother to get his hands off Jackson.”

  Rubbing his chin with his hand, Ignacio informed, “It concerned you.”

  Swallowing hard, he now had my full attention.

  After another long drag from his cigarette, he stated, “We declined.”

  Slowly nodding, I asked, “So what now?”

  Leaning his head down, he glared at me and said, “Now you tell me why I got the call.”

  Shrugging, I shook my head.

  Ignacio cleared his throat before staring directly into my eyes, questioning, “Why call us?”

  With a light sigh I explained, “You and your brother were in Salvador Perazzi’s file.”

  Narrowing his eyes, he took a step back, flicked his cigarette away and asked, “Is that so?”

  Nodding, I reached into my purse.

  Pulling out The Brothers’ file, I handed it to him and replied, “Consider it a gift.”

  Taking the file, Ignacio stared at it as if he couldn’t believe what was in his hands.

  I stood there watching Ignacio’s eyes as they seemed to gleam at the sight of the file in his grasp.

  “Now, please tell your brother to let go of Jackson and I will call when I need your assistance,” I stated.

  Looking up from the file, his eyes met mine as he shared, “Trust is difficult to acquire.”

  “And rarely deserved,” I added.

  Ignacio gave a concerned expression as he warned, “We can’t protect you.”

  Exhaling loudly, I assured, “If everything goes right, I won’t need anyone to.”

  Nodding at me, Ignacio seemed to understand.

  Ignacio motioned for me to go first as we made our way around to the side of the Law Office. The expression on Jackson’s face, when he saw me, made it hard to look at him. Guilt swelled in my heart when I imagined what he was thinking.

  “Easy now,” Fiore said as he released his grip on Jackson.

  Focusing his glare on me, Jackson straightened his shirt.

  “Our apologies,” Ignacio expressed before they walked out of sight.

  I started to take a step closer to Jackson. Shaking his head at me, he walked straight to his car. After taking a moment to collect my thoughts, I followed. Walking towards it, I could see him in the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel. Working at not hyperventilating, I opened the passenger side door and slid in. Wishing he would say something, I could deal with almost anything, if I only knew what he was thinking.

  When Jackson finally stopped the car, it was in the parking lot of his apartment complex. Without a word, Jackson got out and slammed his car door before walking to his apartment door. I watched him open it and walk in. Taking a few deep breaths, I stared at the door he left open. The entire way into his apartment, fear of what was fixing to happen to our friendship pulsed in my stomach.

  Stepping into his apartment, I slowly closed the door behind myself. Turning back to face him, I tried to prepare myself. Jackson took a few deep breaths then grabbed the back of my head and pressed his lips against mine. Before I had a chance to react, he pulled away and covering almost every inch of my face in kisses.

  Hugging me tight, he whispered, “I thought…”

  Unprepared for that reaction, I consoled, “It’s okay.”

  Shaking his head, Jackson held me tighter. The moment brought back every feeling I had the day I thought I lost him. All of a sudden, other feelings began to surface. Feelings, that far exceeded the boundaries of any friendship, even ours.

  Before the danger of forgetting myself became too great for me to overcome, I slid my hands to his chest.

  Pushing myself away, I whispered, “You need to let go.”

  Jackson pulled me back against himself, saying, “No.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment before reminding him, “I’m still a married woman Jacks.”

  Jackson took a step back allowing space between us.

  Sliding his hands down, he rested them on my waist asking, “What about after?”

  My heart started pounding in my chest.

  “Neither one of us should be thinking like that,” I replied sliding my hands off his chest before crossing them against my own.

  A slight smile formed as he shared, “I wasn’t until you brought it up.”

  “I was,” I said.

  Smiling wide before his expression grew serious Jackson moved his hands away from me.

  “What did they want?” he asked, moving our conversation in a different direction.

  I stared at him for a moment before saying, “Nothing.”

  Nodding, he questioned, “Two of the most notorious men in ‘special service’ just stopped by to say hi?”

  “Mmhmm,” I lied.

  Stepping farther away from me, Jackson shook his head.

  Thinking The Brothers had horrible timing, I wished they would have caught up with me when I was alone. I wanted to keep Jacks out of the situation as much as possible but I knew he wasn’t going to just let this go.

  With a heavy sigh, I shared, “It really wasn’t a big deal. Ignacio …” before he threw his hands over his ears and yelled, “How the hell do you know his name?”

  All I could do was stare at the horrified look on his face.

  “Hert doesn’t even know their actual names!” he yelled before questioning, “Did you ask him his name?”

  As I shook my head he asked, “He just told you?”

  Nodding silently, I wondered what the big deal was, Dr. Chepelli knew their names.

  “He pulled you around to the back of the building to introduce himself?” he snapped.

  Feeling a bit irritated, I snapped back, “He didn’t pull me anywhere and no, when I went to their house.”

  Back to his we’re all gonna die expression, Jacks shouted, “What?!”

  Rolling my eyes at him, I said, “Oh my gosh, calm down.”

  Seemingly on the verge of a breakdown, he griped, “I’m not gonna calm down. Do you even know what they do for a living?”

  “Yes, that is why I hired them,” I replied.

  Serious, he questioned, “And you want that on your conscience?”

  With a heavy sigh, I explained, “I didn’t hire them for that. Hert said most of the time, their presence is all that is necessary.”

  “He told you to hire them?” Jacks asked.

  Shaking my head, I snapped, “No, no one told me to. I’m trying to accomplish something here.”

  Almost as if he was ashamed of me, Jackson said, “I don’t think you understand how dangerous of a situation you’re putting yourself in with them.”

  Feeling this conversation would never end, I tried to think of something to say that would give him some peace of mind.

  As I reflected on my current situation, I couldn’t help but start laughing. Never in my wildest imagination would I have pictured myself in this position.

  Glaring at me, he stated, “This isn’t funny.”

  In complete and total agreement with him, it dawned on me, no matter what I had done before this, eventually I would have ended up here.

  With a light smile I said, “Okay look, you knew what my father was like and you were even at The Bar with me when Salvador showed up. When haven’t I been in danger?”

  Watching Jackson glance around the room, I started to get a bad feeling. The expression on his face was solemn. I knew what he was about to say before he opened his mouth.

  “I can’t do this with you,” he
whispered.

  Nodding, I thought it was about time he came to his senses.

  Saddened by his own revelation, he started to say, “I’m sorry, I know I said…” before I stopped him, assuring, “Jacks, if I had the option, I’d take it too.”

  Looking up, he shook his head, saying, “Let me know when the papers for Sophia are ready and I’ll go sign them.”

  Tears pooled in my eyes as I asked, “We’re still friends though, right?”

  Wrapping his arms around me, Jacks held me close.

  It was hard to let go. As Jackson whispered and swore different things to me, I nodded into his chest. Feeling his heart beat against my cheek, thinking of The Wren that sat upon it, I reminded myself this was for the best. Pulling away, I forced a smile and we left his apartment to go pick up Sophia.

  Chapter 8

  Lying in bed, I put off getting up and starting my day. Recalling the look on Jackson’s face when he dropped me off after we picked Sophia up, I rolled onto my side. He looked so guilty. I felt bad for him. Everyone has their breaking point and it took The Brothers to finally make him see how wrong I was for him. Still, I was going to miss him so much. Jackson swore he would always be my friend no matter what and as much as I wanted that, I knew the best thing for him was something I should have done years ago. I was going to have to let him go.

  The years I spent with HIM caused us to separate but that was before I knew how he really felt about me. Or before I realized how I really felt about him. Deciding lying in bed feeling sorry for myself was getting me nowhere but depressed, I started to get up. There was a knock on my door before I heard Hert’s voice.

  Slowly opening my door, I asked, “What?”

  “Something came up and I have to go out of town,” he replied.

  Nodding, I asked, “For how long?”

  “It shouldn’t take longer than a week,” he replied before asking, “Are you okay?”

  Narrowing my eyes at him, I snapped, “Yea, why?”

  “You look sad,” he shared.

  Instantly angry with him, I griped, “What would I have to be sad about Hert?”

  Making a face at me, he answered, “Jackson hasn’t been by, did ya’ll breakup?”

  Wanting to slap the smirk that was forming, right off his face, I replied, “Are you trying to be funny?”

  “Am I laughing,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

  Finding it hard not to just start shouting at him, I questioned, “Don’t you have business to attend to?”

  With a sarcastic grin, Hert replied, “Yes ma’am. By the way, there are papers on my desk that need your signature, boss lady.”

  Frustrated, I clinched my fists, made a loud irritated groan and slammed my door in his face.

  It wasn’t long before Sophia was up and we sat at the kitchen table. Giggling as she placed each Cheerio in her mouth, I laughed a little noticing she was trying to copy each bite I took.

  “You’re such a silly girl,” I cheered as Emerson walked in.

  Emerson appeared sad.

  Giving him a soft smile, I asked, “Are you hungry?”

  “Is Jackson coming back?” he replied.

  I shook my head and continued eating my cereal.

  “I’m sorry Ren,” he said before I looked back over at him saying, “That was messed up, what you did, but I’m the reason he’s not here.”

  Frowning at me, he asked, “What if I told him it was all my fault?”

  Shaking my head, I disagreed, “But Em, it’s not,” before I shared, “This situation is way more than who said what about something. I gave Jackson the option to bow out and he took it.”

  Emerson started to get up then froze when the doorbell rang.

  Quickly on my feet, I told Emerson to take Sophia upstairs to her room and wait there until I came up to get them. Taking a few deep breaths, I walked to the front door and barely opened it. Seminol Ramsden was standing there with an unusually pleasant look on his face.

  “Mrs. Herterand,” he greeted.

  Narrowing my eyes at him, I snapped, “My husband is not here.”

  With a slight sigh he said, “I am aware, may I come in?”

  “No,” I snapped before sharing, “You have no business here in this house.”

  Smiling, he replied, “Wrong again, Mrs. Herterand.”

  If his pleasant disposition wasn’t enough to weird me out, now he was smiling at me.

  “What do you want?” I questioned.

  Clearing his throat, he informed, “An urgent matter has come to my attention and I’m afraid, you are the only means to correct it.” As I glared at him he added, “I will return in one hour. Make yourself presentable.”

  Rolling my eyes at him, I shut the door and locked it before running upstairs.

  Flinging Sophia’s bedroom door open, I watched Em jump a little.

  “That was Ramsden. I have to go to a meeting or something with him.”

  Shaking his head, Emerson warned, “I have a bad feeling about this Ren, why do you have to go?”

  Shrugging, I said, “Hert’s out of town for a week so I guess…” before he stopped me, saying, “Ren, he’s the one who told me why Hert married you.”

  Confused, I asked, “Then why does he keep sending Hert to look for you?”

  “Other reasons,” he admitted.

  Nodding, I said, “Well, here’s my chance to find out, I knew he was up to something.”

  “Just be careful, okay…” Em replied.

  Almost excited now, I put my hand on his arm and assured, “I will be.”

  There was only one problem. I couldn’t leave Sophia with him.

  With a soft smile, I said, “Em, I have to call Mrs. Thomas to come get Sophia.”

  “You don’t want me to watch her?” he frowned.

  Shaking my head, I answered, “It’s not that. Em, you can’t leave this house. What if something happens? I have to have her in a safe place, with…” before he cut me off saying, “It’s okay Ren, I understand.”

  My heart went out to him as I said, “Really Em, I’m sorry.”

  I could see the disappointment on his face as he nodded, saying, “I know, I’ll keep an eye on her while you get ready.”

  Nodding back, I patted Sophia and stepped out of her room.

  After getting no answer when I called Mrs. Thomas, I had no alternative other than calling Jackson. Working at preparing myself for my outing with Ramsden, I pulled my dress on over my head and buttoned the front. I tried to forget how uncomfortable my phone conversation with Jackson was. I didn’t feel makeup was necessary for an Office meeting, so I had time to straighten out my hair. Hoping the fact that my dress, high necked and A-line with a collar, was professional enough, I grabbed my heels and turned to walk out of my room.

  Running right into Jackson at the top of the stairs, I said, “Oh, you’re already here.”

  Quickly stepping into the hallway, Jacks whispered, “Where are you going?”

  “I just have a meeting to go to,” I replied.

  Softly holding onto the top of my arm, he stressed, “If you need me to take Sophia to my apartment, then it’s not just some meeting.”

  Jerking my arm away, I stated, “It doesn’t concern you.”

  Stepping very close, he whispered, “Don’t be like that Ren.”

  “I’m not discussing this with you. You made your decision and I understand. I’m not mad or upset with you, so take Sophia and have a nice day with her. I’ll call you when I’m back,” I informed.

  Letting his hand brush against mine, he asked, “How am I supposed to let you go?”

  Wondering if he was asking about the meeting or me in general, I replied, “I hope you and Sophia have a nice time, I will call you when I am done.”

  Turning away from him, I walked back to Sophia’s room.

  I realized Jackson was right behind me, when I saw Sophia’s face light up as she started to squirm away from Emerson.

  Starting to pack her bag fo
r the day, I heard Jackson ask Emerson, “Can you take her downstairs to wait for me please.”

  There was no answer just the sound of her door closing.

  Walking up beside me, he whispered, “Stop for a minute,” as he took my hand.

  Pulling my hand away, I said, “You made a good decision. Don’t go back on it.”

  Shaking his head at me, Jackson urged, “Maybe it wasn’t. That’s not what I want.”

  “It’s what I want. So please Jacks, don’t make this any harder than it has to be,” I pleaded.

  In disbelief, he questioned, “This can’t be what you want.”

  Patting him on the shoulder, I said, “Bye Jacks.”

  Blinking frantically to keep from crying, I hurried downstairs.

  Luckily the driver arrived before Jackson came down. Giving Sophia a hug and a kiss, I informed Emerson he was not to say a word to Jackson about Ramsden. The driver opened the back door for me. Sliding into the back seat, I noticed Ramsden was still in a good mood.

  On our way, I asked, “Are we going to The Office?”

  “The old building,” he replied.

  Nodding, I questioned, “So what is this meeting about?”

  “The future of M.R. Industries,” he answered.

  Curious, I said, “And that has to do with me.”

  An eerie smile formed as he explained, “Mr. Herterand would not be fond of my idea. I can only accomplish what is needed through you.”

  “Is Salvador going to be there?” I questioned.

  Turning to face me, he replied, “Sal would be unhappy also.”

  Wondering what the hell he was up to, I thought I might as well stop dancing around the subject and get down to it.

  “What exactly are we doing?” I snapped.

  As if he had been waiting for me to ask, he shared, “You’re meeting with our new accountant.”

  Confused, I questioned, “Why?”

  “Jackson is resigning. I have someone in mind but he has to prove himself first,” he answered.

  Guessing he didn’t know about Jackson’s accounting program, I said, “Mr. Ramsden, I don’t know anything about accounting.”

  Leaning over, he assured, “Loyalty always exceeds skill in my opinion. I’m sure once you are in there, you will think of something.”