Page 20 of Hart of Vengeance
If we had stayed in that room any longer, Kelton would’ve fired me instantly. I had been ready to undress myself and show Denim what he’d been missing since high school.
Then again, I was also ready to yell and scream at him for leaving me. I’d gone through some of the stages of grief, but I didn’t think I’d ever landed on hope and acceptance. I still had remnants of anger.
Two beeps from Kelton’s key fob blared in the parking lot, severing my Denim rollercoaster ride. He was like a powerful drug for me. I thought I had detoxed from him and gotten him out of my system. But I felt like I’d just fallen off the wagon and into the web he’d spun around me all those years ago.
It had been a mistake for me to come with Kelton. My only takeaway was that I still had feelings for Denim, and sadly, that had nothing to do with becoming a paralegal.
Pathetic.I could’ve insisted on staying behind, but that would have only shown Kelton that I wasn’t cut out for the job. I could’ve called in sick, but leaving my boss hanging was more embarrassing and maybe grounds for him to fire me or, at the very least, give me a warning in my employee record. I wasn’t my sister. I didn’t rebel or stomp my feet when I didn’t want to do something. That wasn’t me.
Kelton and I got into his car just as the clouds opened up, unleashing a downpour. A hard shiver racked my body. Suddenly, Mom’s voice was in my head, and I couldn’t stop the memory from surfacing.
“Jade, dear, take the dog out before dinner,” she’d said.
“Savannah can do it. I’m doing my homework.” I kicked Savannah, who was lounging on the couch with her headphones on, listening to some metal band she loved.
Savannah snarled as she drilled her brown eyes at me. “What?”
I pulled her headphones off her head. “Take the dog out.”
She swatted at me. “No. It’s your turn.”
Mom rushed into the living room, wiping her hands on her apron. “Girls.” Her motherly tone was hard and commanding. “Jade, I asked you.” She pointed to the kitchen. “Boomer is waiting at the door, and it’s about to storm. So get to it.”
I threw my book on the couch before stomping out. It was pointless to argue. Even if Mom ordered Savannah to take out Boomer, she wouldn’t. She always disobeyed. At thirteen, she was a force to be reckoned with.
I stepped out onto the back porch as Boomer, our two-year-old lab, took off down the steps before I could get his leash on. Normally, we could let him out in the backyard, but our fence had fallen from a summer storm that year.
“Boomer,” I shouted. “Get back here.”
I ran after him as rain began to fall—a cold, hard winter rain.
Kelton snapped his fingers. “Jade.”
I blinked the memory away and silently scolded myself. I had no business wigging out in front of my boss, and during work no less. But sometimes it was hard not to relive the past.
“Close your door,” he said.
“Oh. I’m sorry.” I quickly pulled the door shut until the sound of it closing made me jump.
He turned over the engine. “Are you okay?”
Not at all.But he didn’t need to know the war raging in my head or the fact that sometimes rain triggered too many demons and nightmares about that fateful night.
I strapped myself in. “I’m good.”
Arching a brow, he shifted his Audi into gear. “Liar.”
I shouldn’t be surprised that a lawyer would see right through me. According to Mallory, good lawyers could read people better than they could read themselves.
“The rain makes me jittery.”And Denim is having a field day in my head.
“Want to talk about it?”
I set my purse on the floorboard in between my legs. “Not right now if that’s okay?”
“Fair enough.” He took a left onto a two-lane road. “Nice work in there.”
I stifled a gasp. “Really? I spoke out of turn and let my emotions get in the way.” Maybe he hadn’t heard me say I wanted Denim to throw Duke to the FBI.
