“I don’t want to worry you, but I thought you should know.”
“Thanks for the heads up. I’ll keep an eye out for him.”
“The reason I was calling was to tell you that I have a name for you.”
I instantly felt more energized. “Who is it?”
“His name is James Keen. His name popped up when I was searching contacts for Office Supply. I have an address for you when you’re ready.”
I scrambled around my room until I had a pen and a scrap of paper ready. “Go ahead.”
“He’s at 430 Wellington Avenue. I don’t really know much about the guy, so be cautious. I don’t know what we’re getting into here.”
“Awesome, thanks. I’ll talk to him and update you with my findings.”
“I think it’s best if he doesn’t know that you’re a reporter. As far as I know, he’s still very much involved with his company. Maybe just stake him out for a while and talk to people in the area. Don’t give him a reason to panic.”
“Got it. I’ll check him out tonight.”
“Jane,” he warned. “Go before it gets dark.”
“Okay, fine.” I conceded.
Reconciling with Bryce would have to wait. Maybe a little time to cool down would help him come around to listening to me. He knew so much about me now that I truly believed that he would understand why I did the things that I did.
From what I could remember of last night, it was an incredible time. I felt so relieved to finally reveal my inner demons to someone that I liked. I felt a little exposed and mildly embarrassed, but mostly liberated.
Plus, we were certainly compatible in bed. Never once did we fumble around carelessly. We were wasted, but it was all in good fun. We could turn off our brains and let our bodies do the work. Sex with Bryce felt so effortless, so second-nature.
I threw on a fresh outfit to stake out James Keen while keeping Bryce in mind. I chose a knee-length flowy skirt and a low-cut button down blouse. I looked professional enough that I could go into the office if need be, but it was also something that would be fun for Bryce to take off me. I imagined his fingers frantically working the tiny buttons and his hands sliding up under my skirt.
That would have to wait. It was time to focus on my work. Besides, I had no way of knowing if Bryce would ever speak to me again. Once I had my info on Keen, I could try to make amends with Bryce. Work came first, though. I was so close to exposing everyone involved, it made me tremble with anticipation.
Plus, with Max Malone released back into civilization, I knew that it was only a matter of time before he paid me a visit.
After making my hung-over self look halfway decent, I snatched the scrap of paper with Keen’s address on it and got in my car. I drove away from the house I could hardly call a home. But, for some odd reason, I never felt at home in that place as I did with Bryce at my kitchen table.
Self-Destruct
Bryce
Instead of going home to change, I just went straight to work. Since I only worked out back in the garage, it hardly mattered what time I showed up, so long as I put in my hours. My coworkers had long given up on making any real friendships with me. I was known as the quiet guy who worked hard for eight hours and then went home. I was basically invisible, which made it the perfect place to hide out.
I was absolutely gutted by the news that Jane was the type of person to use her body to get work done. The concept didn’t necessarily bother me, but the fact that I was unwittingly involved with it made my chest feel tight. I had sex with her because I had fallen for her over the last few days of running around town, searching for clues. She had sex with me because I gave her all the information I had. I shared my darkest memories with her and in return, she made love to me.
It just wasn’t what I wanted from her. I started helping her with her investigation because I was afraid of what she would do if I didn’t. Once I learned that she just wanted to do the right thing, I got behind her. I wanted to help and support anyone who was trying to make the city a safer place. She made me feel like there were still people out there that wanted to help low-life people like me.
As I worked, I thought of all the things I would say to her if I ever crossed paths with her again. She knew that I was stuck here so long as my daughter was in danger, but I had the right to ignore her. I could cut Jane out of my life like I cut everyone I knew from my past. I didn’t need people.
The worst part was, that I wanted to forgive her. I wanted to be with Jane so badly. I loved everything about her from the way she looked to the way she took control of her life. She was a tough, independent woman with an edge to her. Most importantly, she understood me. I wanted to be strong and tell her to fuck off, but I knew that if I saw her, I would go crawling back to her.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. Since Emily died, I never felt like seeing other women. Now, I felt like I was finally ready to open up to someone, and we were both in grave danger. She knew I was cursed. She’d be crazy to want me back, knowing we could get taken out at any moment. It hurt too much to like her, so I would have to keep my distance until the feeling passed.
I was so distracted by my thoughts about Jane that the hours passed by. At two, I decided that I had better things to do than to hide out in the back of a shop, so I just left, knowing that no one would notice my absence. I drove to the only place I wanted to be. I needed to be close to my daughter.
Just like before, the moment I pulled into the adjacent street, Andrea approached me. I nodded in recognition when I saw her and leaned over the passenger seat to invite her in.
“I had a feeling you’d be back,” she smiled. “Did you have second thoughts about seeing your daughter?”
“She’ll be home from school in about an hour, right?” I confirmed. “I just want to make sure she made it home all right.”
“Sure,” Andrea said. “Is something wrong?”
I ground my teeth, trying not to get too emotional in front of Andrea. “I just want this to be over with, but I don’t know if it will ever be. I want a chance to start over.”
She nodded sympathetically. “Have you talked to Jane yet today?”
“Not really,” I lied. “Why?”
“She told me that Max Malone is out on parole. She said he’s a nightmare, so I should watch out for him.”
“What?” I shouted. “This can’t be possible.”
“Jane said he’s pretty cold and calculating. Do you know him?”
“Not well. Is that all she said about him?”
“We didn’t speak for long. I’m sorry, I just assumed you knew.”
“I have to take Arianna with me. I should explain everything to Lilian and leave town. Shit, maybe we should leave the country.” My breathing sped up. I couldn’t get enough oxygen into my body. I felt like the walls of the car were closing in on me.
“Take it easy,” Andrea said, taking me by the shoulders and shaking me. “You can’t take your daughter, who doesn’t even know you, away from her guardians to leave the country. You have to calm down.”
“Tilucci is going to take her from me,” I moaned.
“I’m already on it. The second I got the call from Jane, I got another one of my guys on the job. You will have at least one trained, ex-military guard on your daughter always, two watching the house, and a whole network of surveillance. We can account for every second of your daughter’s day.”
I let out a sigh. There was nothing more that could be done. Arianna was in much better care than I could give her myself.
“If it will make you feel any better, we can sit here and wait for her to get home,” she offered.
“That would be nice.” I didn’t have anywhere else to be and I didn’t want to find myself alone with Jane now.
“Do you mind if I ask you something,” Andrea said hesitantly.
“Go ahead.”
“Is there something going on between you and Jane?”
My eyes widened. “Did Jane say something to y
ou?”
She chuckled. “No. You should know by now that she’s not the type to give away personal information so easily.”
I smirked. It was only a handful of hours ago, that she told me her whole life story over a few bottles of wine. “If she didn’t say anything to you, then why do you ask?”
“I thought I was picking up on something between you two when you stopped by the last time. I get the feeling you care a lot about her and she cares about you.”
“What makes you think that?” I pressed. Now I wasn’t asking so I could prove her wrong. I was genuinely interested in what she thought.
“You say that you haven’t talked to her today, yet you seem upset. I’m sure part of that has to do with your daughter, but I get the feeling part of it has to do with Jane. Malone’s out, and you’re worried about her.”
“What do you know about Jane and Max Malone?” I questioned.
“I know that whatever it is, it’s traumatic enough for her not to talk about it. Jane shuts down when she’s scared. I’m guessing she had a bad experience with him.”
“Maybe,” I replied. “It’s hard to tell with Jane.”
“She’s not an easy nut to crack,” she grinned. “So, are you going to make me play guessing games, or do you want to tell me about it?”
“No offense,” I said cautiously, “but I don’t really like to talk about myself. Especially when it’s to people I don’t know very well.”
“You’re right. But, you did put your trust in me to protect your most valuable asset. If we’re just going to sit here anyway, wouldn’t you rather talk about what’s bothering you?”
Maybe I could give talking about my problems another try. Admittedly, it did feel good to talk about stuff with Jane.
“Okay,” I relented. “You know that Jane approached me first, not the other way around. She wanted me to talk about Tilucci so she actually held a gun to my head.”
“Whoa. I’m not entirely surprised, but that’s still a ballsy move.”
I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. “I know. But, we’ve basically spent every day together since. We just want the same things.”
“Shared trauma bonds people together,” Andrea noted. “That’s why Jane and I still talk on occasion. We understand the shit we went through better than anyone else. You and Jane are on the same side of this war with Tilucci. It’s bound to bring you closer together.”
“I don’t think she feels that way about me,” I divulged.
“Do you have feelings for her?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
“What makes you think that she wouldn’t feel the same way about you? You’re gorgeous!”
I rolled my eyes, a little embarrassed by her flattery. “She’s too focused on her job to ever even think about me. She might be physically attracted to me, at most, but she doesn’t want to go any further than that.”
“You may never get that kind of declaration of affection from Jane. She very well may like you, but she’s not going throw everything she worked so hard for out the window, just because there’s a guy she likes. You just have to decide if that’s enough for you.”
“I don’t know,” I said. I hated playing guessing games. Emily was such a warm and nurturing person. I didn’t know if I could love someone who never showed how she felt.
“And that’s okay,” Andrea said. “I think that’s a reason why Jane’s never really had serious relationships. The men she’s been with just don’t understand that she’s not going to change for them. She’s going to put her work first, and everything else comes second.”
I nodded. “Do you think she’s using me?” I asked.
“Using you?” she repeated. “I don’t know. Have you told her everything that can help her with her story?”
“Yeah. I think I gave her everything I knew on that first day we met.”
“Does she need you to take her to talk to other sources?”
“Not really. I think she can manage just fine on her own. I only offered because I thought my presence would make people more likely to talk and not take advantage of her.”
“So, she doesn’t need any more information from you and doesn’t need you to be her bodyguard? If you ask me, I think she has everything she needs from you for her work. Why do you think she’s using you?”
“She’s done it before to other sources. Max Malone, for one. She went undercover with him. Like, way undercover.” I didn’t want to say anything more than that. I wanted to get my point across without dragging Jane through the dirt.
“People can get carried away in those circumstances. I imagine Jane gets in a little too deep when she’s chasing a story. Does she have any reason not to be her authentic self with you?”
“None that I can think of.”
“Then maybe you don’t have as much to worry about as you think you do. If you want her, be patient. Also, don’t expect her to make any moves before her goal is accomplished. She’s got to stay focused and she’ll push you away if you try too hard to tie her down.”
“I can do that,” I responded. “I guess I’m not really ready for a relationship now, anyway.”
Andrea nodded knowingly. “Don’t give her any reason to self-destruct. For that matter, don’t give yourself any reason to do that either. There are far more important things to accomplish first.”
I sat back and let her words sink in. I could come to terms with my feelings for Jane, but it would be wrong to push anything at such a sensitive time. I could admit to myself that I liked Jane and that I shouldn’t feel guilty about it. I still wanted to protect her, and that meant that I needed to do whatever it took to get Tilucci and his crew put away.
A silver SUV pulled into Lilian’s driveway. My heart stopped.
“Is that her?” I asked.
“Yep,” Andrea responded. “Like clockwork.”
I watched as Lilian got out of the car and walked around to the back. She looked nothing like Emily, but still had a lot of the same movements and mannerisms. She opened the door to the backseat and unbuckled the car seat. Then, I watched as she helped my daughter jump down from the vehicle.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I saw the little girl from the pictures right across the street from me. She smiled as she skipped to the front door. I wanted to get out of the car and hold her and ask her about everything I missed in the last five years. She was getting so big and I had missed out on so much.
Just as soon as I saw her, she was gone. Lilian followed close behind and unlocked the door, ushering her inside, holding her son with her free arm.
I sat with my eyes closed, replaying those short minutes again and again. Suddenly, I felt a new burst of motivation within me. I had to make sure we could all move on from this mess—I had a responsibility to take care of my daughter and Jane.
“Feel better?” Andrea asked after a brief period of silence.
“Yeah. Thanks for everything.”
“No problem. I’ll be here if you ever want to come back to chat,” she said, getting out of the car. “I’ll be rooting for you guys.”
She winked as she closed the door and went back to her car. I smiled in return.
I owed Jane an apology. I wanted to continue working alongside her and I didn’t want there to be any negative tension between us. I dialed her number, but there was no answer. I wasn’t surprised. I’d give her another hour to cool down before trying her again. I didn’t want to come on too strong.
With nothing else to do, I drove back to work. I needed as much money as possible if I was going to get Arianna back. Soon, we would be a family again. I was sure of it.
Self-Defense
Jane
After grabbing breakfast, I drove to the address that Pat gave me. James Keen lived in a gorgeous two-story house in an upper-class part of town. His home was surrounded by an iron gate, so I also assumed that he also had security cameras installed. I found a nice, shaded area a few doors down and parked my car. Now, it was only a matte
r of waiting to see what he would do.
For the first thirty minutes, I stared intently at the house. For all I knew, he wasn’t even home. I knew absolutely nothing about the guy, besides the fact that his name popped up when Pat researched Office Supply LLC. If his home was any indication of his wealth, it appears business was good.
Andrea must have had more patience than I because it didn’t take long for me to get restless. I wasn’t good at surveillance. I was already imagining different characters I could become just so I could knock on his door and speak with him. Remembering what Pat told me about keeping my distance, I took a deep breath to calm my racing mind.
Grabbing my phone, I started to do a little research on James Keen. A basic web search didn’t bring up much. I found a social media account that identified him as living nearby. A few photos showed him lounging at fancy tropical resorts and drinking champagne with the elite at charity galas. I wondered if his rich acquaintances had any idea that he was linked to a crime conglomerate.
James was an average-looking man. He appeared to be just under six feet tall and had short, brown hair that he brushed forward with a bit of gel. He couldn’t have been much older than thirty or thirty-five. He had dark brown eyes and a soft face. He wasn’t overweight, but he didn’t have any definition to his form. In these pictures, he was a forgettable face in an expensive suit.
His profile listed him as single, so I downloaded a dating app on my phone and created a fake profile for myself. I became Jessica, a twenty-five-year-old veterinarian. I enjoyed spending time with more mature men and liked to have a good time. I added a real picture of myself that I took at a military ball before my deployment. I looked considerably younger, but the same. I sent Jessica out into the web and swiped through my results.
It didn’t take long before James’ face appeared on my screen. He described himself as a sales executive with an interest in fine wines and spending time at his beach house. His profile picture showed him in a designer suit, casually leaning up against his Lamborghini, parked outside of a shiny high rise.
Her Protection: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Omerta Series Book 2) Page 12