Page 76 of Grift

Patrick

I’ve had enough of this. My instincts tell me to wait even though my natural impulse is to claim what's mine. Telling Jessica to go was a mistake. Letting her out of my life is my biggest regret. In a way, I’d thought that her innocence could redeem me. But the reality was, I have to redeem myself. And part of that is seeing that for her, I want to be a better man.

I want her to know, that if she’ll have me, I’ll give her the best life that we can make together.

Keep her safe, protected, and support her dreams. Help her find herself again, after being so lost in the sea of other people’s needs.

But Jessica needs time to process everything that happened. She needs to decide if she can live with the man who not only killed her tormentor, but also her brother. I understand that.

And I will respect whatever she decides.

But the deepest parts of me hope we can find a way forward. My life before Jessica was empty and dark. I didn’t see a way forward. There was no future, no light to move toward. I don't want to go back to my darkness without her light.

I'm fighting the urge to grab my Range Rover and tear down to her apartment, when my phone lights up with a text from Callan.

"Get to the casino. Jessica is here. Emergency.”It reads.

My feet are already hitting the stairs down to ground level and I don't waste time firing off a reply. Cops, speed limits and stop signs are all theoretical as I speed toward the casino and Jessica. Nothing is going to slow me down.

I can’t fathom why she’s there. She hasn’t responded to my texts or calls. Maybe she went there to find me. Maybe my father got to her first.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

It's late in the evening when I arrive at the Trinity. I don't waste time parking in my usual spot in the garage. I barely come to a stop in the valet section, throw keys to one of the guys working the stand, and take off in in a run through the casino.

My father didn't take the news that Jessica and I split up well. My breath comes hard and fast as I think about it.

It had seemed like it was handled. Thinking that eliminating the tapes and the people who made them would be enough to manage the situation have been an oversight. Or maybe just wishful thinking. It is enough for Senator Kensington, who is willing to let bygones be bygones. We would never be friends. I killed his son. But I’d solved a long problem too, and helped ensure the success of what was to come in what’s most important in his life.

And in the process, I had contributed to giving his daughter a new life and that is enough for an uneasy truce between us.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for James Carney. He views the loss of leverage from destroying those tapes and letting Jessica go as the ultimate betrayal. Even when Kensington reiterated to my father he has no interest in pulling his stake out of the casino or pursuing the matter further. It’s almost irrelevant.

My father's fury had nearly matched my own when I’d told him.

The elevator’s ascent to the office space is achingly slow, and my frustration is wound so tight that when the doors stop at a lower floor and slide open to an empty hallway I punch the mirrored wall sheer frustration. It cracks under the force, sending slices of pain radiating through my knuckles and up into my wrist.

Fuck.

Soon enough the doors slide open again and I can hear raised voices coming the end of the hall.

"This has nothing to do with Patrick. This is between you and I now," my father is saying. "My son seems to have made an error in judgment to think that your feelings or needs matter. I'm certain that we can make an adjustment. I don't care if every tape is destroyed. I don't know what game your father is playing but you're not getting out of this so easily."

My hand goes to the weapon that’s tucked into the back of my pants. I’d known on some level that it might come down to this. But I had hope it wouldn’t. Instincts kicked in when I saw Callan’s text.

I'm just about to burst into the office when Callan intercepts me in the hall. There are tight worry lines on his face, and he’s anxiously indicating that I should follow him. He motions for me to be quiet, trying to lead me in the other direction. Obviously, there's something that he wants to say and part of me knows that I should probably hear him out. But I’m done.

I am done apologizing for my father.

I am done taking the easy way out.

I am done helping my brother cover up or excuse his behavior. I give one sharp abrupt shake of the head and then barrel forward into my father's office. The partially open dark wood door flies back, causing my father and Jessica to both look up startled.

The sight of her there is enough to knock the breath from me. Part amazement at this beautiful woman. Part relief at seeing she’s alright. Part rage that she’s sitting next to my father.

At first glance, it looks like he and Jessica are just having a conversation. She is wearing a pink sweater dress and is curled in the side of the couch. He is sitting close – too close – to her, face red and threatening in a way I know all too well.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he barks. Then he gives a nasty half-smile. “Actually, it’s more efficient. It saves me time. Sit down.”

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