Page 91 of Together We Burn
“She’s my sister, and I can do what the fuck I want, Will.”
“And you are my employee—”
“She’s my family!”
“This is a business matter, Stevie, and I will decide how we handle this.”
Stefany’s jaw clenched as she ground her teeth together, biting back whatever she was itching to say to the man towering over her.
Will’s usually perfectly gelled back hair was now askew, almost like he’d run his hands through it before leaving the venue. His eyes blazed as he stared her down, almost daring her to defy him.
The valet pulled up to the curb with my SUV and hopped out, rounding the car to open the passenger side door. Will put his hand on the small of Stefany’s back and ushered her to the car, handing his ticket to the young boy as he passed.
“Jacob, take her home and keep her there,” he said, directing his words to me while shoving Stefany into the car like a cop does to a suspect. She gnashed her teeth together as he slammed the door. “Bring her, Alex, and the kid to my office first thing tomorrow morning. I will have a plan on how to handle Emilia then.”
I nodded and jogged to the open driver’s door, sliding inside. Stefany had her hands in balls, resting on her lap, her knuckles white, and I knew she’d have indentations from how hard she was squeezing her nails into the palms of her hands.
I reached over, prying her hands apart and holding them in mine, palms facing up. Bringing them to my lips, I dropped a kiss on the inside, one at a time, then swiped my thumbs across the middle.
“You can’t trade that little boy for his mother, Stefany,” I whispered, rubbing the upside-down half-moons punched into her skin.
Pulling her hands free, she moved to face me. “Do you really think I would do that to Chris? Or Nate, even?” She looked pained that I would have considered it for even a second. “I would never do that to either of them. Everyone thinks Chris is my biggest weakness, that I’d give everything up for her to keep her safe. But they don’t realise she’s also the source of my strength.
“My dad, Henry Jones, Will, Emilia–they look at me and see a trained killer, an assassin for hire, whose only job is to point and shoot. They don’t notice I’m observing, listening, calculating, not only my next moves, but theirs.
"My mother is a bitch, choosing a legacy over her children. William is an egotistical asshole, who let power rot his mind. And maybe if you weren’t a distraction, I wouldn’t have been blindsided. I would have been more prepared.”
“Are you saying this is my fault, baby?” I asked, a hint of amusement lacing my tone.
She dropped her gaze, smiling small and barely noticeable, but it was there.
“Yes,” she huffed with a laugh before sobering and looking back into my eyes. “I may have been forced into this life, but I didn’t stay for the paycheck, Jake. I’m still here because it gives me the skills and the freedom to remove scum from the face of the Earth. I should have known Emilia would have done something to keep her legacy alive when she waltzed back into our lives, but I didn’t think she would stoop this low.
"Chris was hurt before, and I took a vow a long time ago that I’d never let anything happen to her again. I will get her back. And I will kill my mother just like I should have killed my dad.”
Alex was pacing when we arrived home. His back was to us, shoulders rounded but tense, as he stormed down the hall. He spun as soon as the metal elevator doors opened and flew toward Stefany, engulfing her in his arms and burying his head into the crook of her neck.
If the situation wasn’t such a shitshow, I would have bristled at him clinging onto her like that, but it was obvious the guy was dying inside.
“I don’t know what happened, Stevie,” he said, releasing his hold and resuming pacing. “One minute, she was sitting at a table, reading her book, right outside the cages where I could see her, and the next…” He trailed off when Nate walked into the living room, dressed in his pjs with Rocky following behind.
“Aunt Stefy,” he beamed, detouring from the sofa to wrap his arms around her waist, resting his head on her stomach. “I beat Uncle Alex at the batting cages.”
“You did?” she asked, brushing his hair away from his face.
“Uh-huh. I think he needs to practise more. The last time we went, he won.”
Stefany’s gaze darted to mine as she caught onto thelast timepart.
Nate let go of his aunt and rubbed his eyes. It was getting late, and the poor boy had to have been tired. He turned to Alex while threading his fingers into Rocky’s dark thick coat.
“Have you heard from my mom yet?”
Alex blanched, a reaction I’d never seen the big guy do before as he regarded Nate. He shook his head. “No, buddy, but she’s fine. She’s just out with friends.”
“But she left without saying goodbye first.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Maybe you were having too much fun to hear to her.”
