Sweet Jayne (24 page)

When she starts to sob hysterically, realization of the situation washing over her, I hug her to me. If this were my sister who had died and Ashley were here, she’d be the one consoling me. Ash was a good girl and my fucking stupid-ass stepfather killed her.

He killed my friend’s wife and her baby.

And now I’m going to kill him.

“I don’t feel so well.”

Her whispered words are my only warning before she passes out in my arms. With a grunt, I scoop her light frame into my arms and stalk off toward the exit. She’s been through too much.

“Kasper!”

I frown when I see Rhodes’s parents rushing into the building. “Jason’s with her,” I clip out. “I’m sorry but your daughter-in-law—”

“No.” His mother bites out the word, in denial about the death of her son’s wife and child, and pushes past me. “Don’t you dare say it.”

“I’m sorry,” I tell his dad whose face crumples with despair. “Her sister isn’t well and I’m taking her to my place until she feels better. Call me if I can do something.”

He nods once and trots after his wife.

Amethyst doesn’t stir until I’m buckling her back into my car. “W-What are we doing?”

“I’m taking you home to rest. You’re in shock I think.”

She fumbles for the seatbelt but I firmly pull her hand away. “There’s nothing you can do for Jason right now. His parents are there. Let them help him through this. You’ll be better prepared to function after some food and a good night’s rest.”

Her tears the entire way home douse my flames of hate for Dale like a torrential rain of gasoline. For once in my life, I’m not fixated on my hate for the loss of my sister. Right now, I pour everything into the fact that I will exact revenge on Dale for Rhodes and his family. I’m not sure how yet, but I will destroy him for hurting them.

A warm hand on my chest awakens me. I cover it with my own and reach for the person in the darkness. My fingers thread into the soft locks of her hair which causes her to sigh. The sadness and desperation in her voice guts me.

“What’s wrong?” I demand, my voice hoarse from sleep.

I’d left her to spend the night in the guest bedroom but now she’s standing in my bedroom beside my bed.

“Everything.”

“Do you need something?”

In the darkness, I can feel her nod. “I need a hug.”

I smile, despite myself, and tug her to me. She wastes no time and crawls practically on top of me. Her slender arm curls around my ribcage as she clutches on, digging her fingernails into my flesh. I pull her against my side and press a kiss to the top of her head.

Comforting someone isn’t something I’m used to.

In fact, I should feel extremely out of place here. Obsessing over shit I can’t change. Plotting ways to kill Dale. Hating Nadia for ruining my entire life.

But for some reason, I can’t not help Amethyst. My family is responsible for the ruin of hers. She’s a nice girl who had an equally nice sister. This woman has lost someone she loves in the blink of an eye. I owe it to her to give back where I can.

Not because I have to, but I feel a strong urge to do so. Because I want her sunshine again. That brief glimpse of light in the airport she shone upon me was like a sunburn. It burned my soul a little but was worth basking in it. After a decade of cold, dark shadows, it’s nice to feel a flicker of warmth, and not just in my cock. From time to time, I fuck women and it makes me feel human if only for a brief moment. And with my new plan to fuck with Nadia, I’d felt a hot fire of lust in my dick—an arousal sparked on by the desire for retribution and vengeance.

But with this woman sniffling in my arms, the heat that is warming me from the inside out is coming right from where she’s resting her head against my heart.

“You can hit on her. Just don’t sleep with her. She’s better than a weekend fling.”

Ashley’s words are still fresh on my mind from earlier this evening. She’d kill me if she knew her sister was in my bed the very first night of her being here. My chest aches from the loss of Ash and the baby.

“I can’t promise I won’t look after her. If she’s your family, then she’s my family too.”

My own statement carves itself as a mantra into my soul. I will look after this woman while she’s here mourning her sister. I’ll do it because I cared about Ashley and it’s what she would have wanted.

“So you’re a cop with Jason?” Her voice is soft and tickles the hair on my chest.

“Lieutenant.”

“Ash told me I might meet you while on my visit.” She lets out a small sob at the mention of her sister. Her voice is shaky and she sniffles but continues bravely along. “I’ve been studying abroad for the past few years in Peru. Thought about staying in Montana where we’re from but now I’m not so sure. It’s not like I can’t be a mineralogist here. There are mines and mountains everywhere.”

I absently stroke at her hair, the urge to comfort her almost natural. “Won’t your parents miss you?”

“We never knew our dad and Mom died when we were teenagers from cancer. Ash met Jason on a college ski trip several years ago and ended up staying indefinitely. I’d planned on taking care of Mom’s land in Montana but with my sister dying, I think I should be near Jason and help him through it. She would have wanted him to have someone to lean on.”

The idea of her staying shoots a tiny thrill through me but I quickly snuff it out. I think her staying for Rhodes would be a good idea. Someone will need to help him process the death of his entire world. And as much as he’d probably like for that someone to be me, I know I’m not emotionally capable.

“I’m sure he’d like that,” I assure her.

We grow quiet for some time, her tears long since dried. I like the way her silky hair feels when I run my fingertips through it. I’ve almost fallen asleep when she speaks again.

“Who is Nadia Jayne?”

My entire body jolts at her words. The old, familiar rage that had always fueled me like an efficient machine fires to life, all engines blasting. Kasey, like Ashley, won’t go on to have a long life.

“My boss’s fiancée. Why do you ask?”

She lifts up to peer down at me even though we’re in the dark. Her shoulder-length hair tickles my throat and my dick twitches.

“I was looking for you and accidentally went into your office. There was a file open on your desk with her picture and name on it. Why do you have a file on your boss’s future wife?”

I groan and urge to push her away from me so I can pace around the room. Nadia is my little secret—a secret project I don’t need the noses of anyone else into.

“Uh, I was just doing a background check on her and—”

Her fingertips graze over my lips silencing me. “If we’re going to be friends, Kaspy, don’t lie to me.”

“Kaspy?” The lopsided grin on my lips is immediate and I can’t stifle my laugh.

“You’re so serious. I wanted you to lighten up. And apparently you like being called Kaspy,” she teases, a smile in her voice.

I smirk. “You’re insane.”

“I’m serious, though. Why do you have a file on your boss’s future wife?”

The death of her sister may have broken her heart—maybe her soul even—but she’s resilient and powers through, attempting to control what she can. Just like Ash had said. She’s trying to burrow her way inside of me and I’m already willing to flay myself open for her to see the blackness that lives inside. Ashley warned me her sister loved a project.

Why do I feel like I’m about to become her next one?

“It’s not important.” My tone is gruff but at least it isn’t a lie. I would like to be her friend just so I can fucking pet her like I am now. I want to be her friend so she can burn me with her wholesome rays of sweetness. I’d love to be her friend so I can clutch onto her tiny ray of hope she’s given me that I may one day have a life that isn’t driven by revenge.

“It’s important to me,” she murmurs.

I let out a rush of air but she waits patiently, ignoring my huffing and puffing. “She was a witness to a kidnapping ten years ago.”

“Oh…so what does that have to do with now?”

“Because I think she knows something she hasn’t told the police. I feel like she’s responsible for the girl never turning up.” The bitterness in my voice can’t be disguised. In the darkness, my hate wafts around us, suffocating us with its black stench.

“It’s a cold case, though, right? I mean, ten years…”

I grip her wrist and pull it from my face. “If you could bring back your sister, wouldn’t you chase down every opportunity to do so?” I question, my voice low and menacing. “No matter how crazy it made you?”

She lets out a choked gasp, her tears splashing my face like a rainfall from heaven, and I release her arm. The moment I do, she surprises me by bringing her lips to my ear, whispering her words in one quick, hot breath. “I absolutely would.”

And suddenly I’m once again warmed by her heat.

Something unfamiliar and foreign surges through me, from my chest all the way down to my toes. Pride? No. Justification? Maybe. Confidence in another soul—a soul I barely know? Most likely.

As a weight lifts, I hug her back to me and inhale her hair. We don’t say anymore on the subject. What’s more to say?

Nadia Jayne should be pursued and badgered.
Or should she?

I will get answers from her.
Or will I?

Either way, Nadia won’t get off easy. I’ll find out what she’s hiding, even if all she’s hiding is an abusive relationship with my boss. If my findings exonerate her in the process, so be it. If it implicates her instead, then I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. Regardless, Nadia is still on my radar.

Amethyst’s breathing levels out as she falls asleep but my eyes are wide open in the dark. I like her, but she’s shown up a few months too soon. She’s the type of girl a man settles down with and marries. And right now, I’m not settled. Not one fucking bit. The very idea of juggling her friendship and my plans to figure out Nadia threatens to rip me in two. A ragged divide between hate of the past that fuels every cell in my body and hope for peace that seems to tickle and tease me. For once I’d love to push away the anger and focus on something sweet and good. Just once.

Amethyst lets out a sigh in her sleep and I find myself smiling. I stroke her soft hair as I wonder what it would feel like to do this every night. Is this what normal people who aren’t blinded by revenge do? Is this what Jason and Ashley did every night?

The smile falls from my lips as I begin to drift off. I make a silent vow to myself that I’ll find the answers I’m looking for so that I may finally move on. Even if that means helping Donovan tear Nadia from Logan’s steely clutches in the process. With Ames in my arms and the death of my friend’s wife on my mind, it’s easy to let go of some of the anger. To realize life is short. It’s time to sort this shit out once and for all. And finally move on.

Get ready, Nadia. I’m coming for you…