Page 22 of Jolene's Justice

“They refuse to deliver until they talk to you,” he continued.

“Jesus Christ.”

“I questioned everyone on staff, and no one knew anything about the calls. It didn’t come from one of our people.”

“Shit. Who would do such a thing?”

“Do you think it could have been one of your competitors in the area?”

“I can’t imagine any of them doing something so underhanded. They’ve all been pretty friendly with me.” She thought of the other restaurant owners in Lake Haven. Most were down-to-earth type people focused on making their businesses the best they could be. Some were owned by corporations but run by locals. She’d met most of them and never detected animosity from any of them.

The text messages popped into her head. It had to be related. Which meant those threatsweredirected at her. The last one asked if she was scared. Hell no, she wasn’t scared. She was pissed. How dare some random no-name do this? They were not just hurting her, but her employees as well. If her business failed, everyone was out of a job. Some, like Nan Ryan, who was raising two little ones alone, needed their jobs to make ends meet.

The vendors who depended on her business to survive would also be impacted if she had to shutter her doors. Everything would domino. All because some anonymous shit decided to fuck with her.

No way. The thought of that happening was unacceptable to her. She had failed to defend her career vigorously enough the first time it was threatened. Not again. The memory of what Harrison and his wife had done to her burned in her mind, and she vowed never to let it happen again.

Ox’s voice rose above the din of the bustling customers in the background to say, “I emailed you the list of vendors and phone numbers. As well as the names of those I talked to.”

“Okay. Thanks Ox.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Let me know if I can help in any other way.”

“Sure.”

“Jolene . . .” He hesitated again. “Is everything all right? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. It’s gotta be a misunderstanding. I’ll make some calls and get it straightened out.” Though it was far from true, she tried to sound as convincing as possible, her voice unwavering.

His extended silence made her think the call had been disconnected, except the audible background chatter remained. She crossed her fingers, hoping he wouldn’t question her further. “Okay. Well, if you need anything else from me, let me know.”

“Will do. And thanks Ox.”

“Anytime.”

She hung up and immediately opened her email with a shaky hand. Four of her most reliable vendors were listed at the very top. Whoever had done this went to a hell of a lot of trouble. It wasn’t like her vendors were public knowledge. So how did this person get this information? The conundrum had her stumped, but she refused to let it defeat her and was determined to solve it.

After helping Finch unload the groceries, she excused herself, claiming she had work for the bar to do. Locking herself in her dad’s messy office, she felt the weight of the task ahead of her as she dialed each vendor’s number. She made it clear to them that her business had not suffered any setbacks. Even offered to pay a little extra to get them to deliver as soon as possible.

By the time she was done, she was exhausted and thought nothing of checking the text message that had just come through. The device shook in her hand as she read the message, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease wash over her.

HOW DOES IT FEEL KNOWING YOU ARE ON THE VERGE OF LOSING EVERYTHING?

Something was going on with Jolene that had Finch worried. It went beyond the stress of her father being in the hospital. Beyond the stress of a house that was in less than stellar condition.

She’d spent hours locked away in her father’s office. Occasionally, he could hear her conversation. It sounded like she was trying to clear up some kind of misunderstanding. Instinctively, he knew she wouldn’t tell him if he asked what was going on. He hadn’t earned that right yet. Her trust in him had been shattered since she’d learned about Angelica. And he couldn’t blame her. He’d really fucked up by not telling her he was married but separated and working on a divorce.

As he wiped down the walls in the family room, his mind drifted to the morning after the truth had come out. Her anger had been palpable, and he’d felt like shit for causing her so much hurt.

Finch’s list of rotten days was extensive, but that night after the awards banquet was the worst one yet. Things had been going so well. It thrilled him to have the opportunity to dance with Jolene, and he’d savored every moment. Holding her close. Feeling her body mold to his as they danced. He closed his eyes and savored the memory; it truly had been heaven. And when she’d asked him to come up to her room . . . even now, his dick twitched in response.

Angelica’s appearance caused everything to fall apart. He had gone to great lengths to avoid any kind of personal interaction with her for over a year and had succeeded. Everything had gone through their lawyers. Until that night.

All the media attention surrounding the Nighthawks, including their heroic rescue of Marcus Rayne and receiving an award from the governor, had led Angelica right to him. And she’d pounced, determined to get her claws back into him. She was a miserable woman and took great pleasure in ruining any bit of happiness he could find for himself. As evidenced by her malicious attack that night.

---