Page 68 of These Reckless Hearts

A knock sounds on the door. “Give us a minute,” Stone barks, clearly agitated.

“You have five seconds,” the voice warns, and I recognize it as the leader’s.

Stone helps me with my pants, and they’re barely over my ass when the door flies open, hitting against the opposite wall. My gray-blue eyed boy blocks me and glares.

The leader laughs, sneering at us like pests. “You think I’m afraid of you?”

I pull myself to my feet, holding onto Stone. Now that we’re heading back out there, I’m kicking myself for sleeping instead of making a plan. I should’ve told Stone about the weapon I have in my pocket. Above all, I wish I could tell him not to do anything fucking stupid.

Of course, that’s the first thing he does.

He marches right up to his father and shoves, smacking his head against the wall. The two Jacobs’ square off. “You hurt her,” Stone accuses.

“Technically,” his father growls, “it wasn’t me.” He pushes his son off him and adjusts his suit. “If you two thick-headed children would’ve listened to me in the beginning, this could’ve been avoided. I’m wholeheartedly disappointed in you, Stone.”

“I don’t care what you think. You’re already dead to me.”

Lance glowers, looking more menacing than when he was dealing with me. The leader makes me sit in the corner again.

“Have a seat,” the elder Jacobs orders, gesturing toward the chair opposite mine. “We need to discuss business.”

Stone sits. He’s vibrating in anger, but he softens when his gaze connects with mine. The only guard in the room is the leader, though I have no doubt the rest aren’t too far away and can show up within a moment’s notice.

Jacobs grins at the two of us. “So, here we are. As expected, Stone’s come to save you. Aren’t you happy your stepbrother loves you so much?”

The leader’s eyebrows raise. I’m pretty sure he mumbles “kinky” but I’m too busy rolling my eyes. Lance really hates the fact that his son fell for me. From his point of view, why wouldn’t he? I have nothing that’s important to him—I have no money, my family isn’t big in the business world, and no prestige.

“I guess we’re not talking now, are we? Should we just start with the torture, then?”

I scoff. “You couldn’t watch them cut me up, do you think you’ll be able to stay in the same room when they do it to your son?”

“I find the whole thing barbaric, but if it gets the job done….”

“If someone else gets their hands dirty, you mean.”

Lance places his hand on his son’s shoulder, and Stone flinches away. A growl works its way up my throat as the elder Jacobs squeezes until his knuckles turn white. If I were fast enough, I’d take him out for daring to even touch Stone. But in my current condition, I’d be stopped before I made it a couple steps.

Jacobs huffs. “As I’ve told you before, what does it matter as long as it gets done? We’re not going to sit here and argue over semantics. Are you going to help me find the treasure or not?”

Stone answers for me. “No.”

His father tightens his grip. Stone presses his lips together. Now that we’re sitting directly across from each other with shafts of sunshine streaming through the haphazard blinds, I notice what rough shape Stone is in. He still has smears of brown over his face from the muddy creek, mixing in with some purple-blue bruising on his cheeks. He took some hard knocks while we were in the water. Understatement of the century, considering when I saw him last, he wasn’t breathing. “Don’t touch him.”

“If the idea of you two together didn’t make me want to lose my lunch, I’d be happy my son found someone to love. It’s a shame she’s not good enough for us, Son. You know that, right? Like I told you when I arranged the marriage with Rissa, Dakota Wilder isn’t someone you marry. A mistress, maybe.”

He’s picking at a scab I’ll probably always have. Stoneisbetter than me. There’s no getting around it.

“I am going to marry her,” Stone boasts, staring straight at me. His lips turn up, and I notice the skin around them is discolored. “We’re going to have babies, too, and I don’t care if I have to give up my last name and take hers to do it. I don’t want to be a Jacobs anyway.”

Lance slaps him across the face. “Family is all we have!” he bellows, his face an angry red.

I get to my feet, only to feel a strong arm band around me, then throw me into the chair again. I hit with such force that I teeter on the back legs for a moment before falling forward.

Stone just grins. “You’re right. Family is all we have, and it’s been a long time since you’ve been family to me.”

His father starts to pace again. I can see in his gait and the stiff set of his shoulders that he doesn’t want to hurt his son like this. He still thinks he can gain control somehow.

When he turns back around, he nods at the leader. The toothless, ex-military man whistles again, calling everyone in. Two of the men return to hold me in the chair while the others restrain one of the men I love. We stare at one another, and my heart breaks all over again. I’m so close, but I can’t do anything to help. I’m useless.

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