We watched from afar as Jess parked and went inside to get the children. It was a minute wait until the door burst open and a little girl sprinted for the SUV. The front door was opened. Jess’s aunt got out and caught up to her kid, and they both moved into the back seat.
Ashton chuckled next to me. “Looks like Jess is chauffeur now.”
Thirty seconds later, two more kids came out, each holding a bag awkwardly, half dragging on the ground. A boy had one arm inside his jacket and was struggling to get his arm through the other. I watched as Jess stopped him, knelt, and slowly and very patiently helped him get his other arm through the sleeve. Once the jacket was in place, she zipped him up and took the bag he’d been trying to carry. He didn’t thank her but looked up briefly before taking off and climbing into the back door of the SUV. The last girl had red hair, and she was zipped up already, carrying two bags herself.
Jess glanced back, checking on her. The little girl stopped. Jess held a hand out to her, saying something, but the little girl’s head lowered before she shook it from side to side. Jess looked at her for one second; then the girl darted around her, also clambering up into the back seat.
“Aren’t there laws about child seats?”
I gave Ashton a look. “That’s your concern this morning?”
He gave a shrug, half smirking. “Don’t want her to get stopped.”
“I have a feeling Jess will handle it if she does.”
“Cops are assholes.”
“Says the guy who’s got how many on his family’s payroll?”
“That’s why I can say it. I know.”
“Jess is a parole officer.”
“There’s a distinction there if you want to start considering it.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
He continued to watch how Jess now had the reverse lights on and was backing out of the driveway onto the street. “I know where this is going. You know where it’s going. So does she. Might make it easier if you stop thinking of her as a cop.”
My stomach churned. “I do and that’s when someone will get burned.”
“You already got her. Her aunt murdered her abuser. Demetri is covering it up right now. We have the gun. We know where the body will be. Relax on her. She would’ve raised the alarm then and there if she was going to.”
I gave his comments some thought.
“And if she doesn’t play ball, we still have the brother card to pull.”
That was enough. “Stop talking.”
He snorted but complied.
We’d started following behind Jess when I called her.
A part of me didn’t want her to answer. A part of me wanted her to drive straight to the nearest police station and everything would get handled from there, but I knew she wouldn’t because it was too late. If she did that, they’d go to the house. Our cover-up job wouldn’t be complete, and my family would be implicated. I knew what my uncle would do. But, and that was a big but, everything could be stopped. It’d be messy but doable, and somehow I’d try and make sure Jess would make it out alive. Her aunt wouldn’t. I didn’t know who else Stephano would kill, but not Jess. If that happened, Jess would still have her soul. She could still do her job and not be compromised, but there’d be no us.
Maybe there shouldn’t be an us.
If I had anything good in me, I would walk away from her. I’d call her now, tell her to drive to the station, and we’d handle it from there.
I didn’t do that because she was too deep in me. And I was selfish.
It was already too late for me. So why the hell was I even thinking about this?
When she turned onto the main road, I pulled out my phone and dialed.
She picked up. “Yeah?”
“Get off this road.”
I was a little surprised when she put on her right blinker, slowing. She complied with everything I said, turning onto a smaller road.
There were houses around us. I added, “Keep going.”
“How far?”
“Just keep going.”
Once we were out of the town, past houses, and the road looked desolate, I told her to pull over.
We both did.
Ashton was out of the car in a heartbeat. He went up to her side, opened the door, and motioned for her to get out. She did. He gave my vehicle a nod, and slowly, reluctantly, she came toward my SUV. I got out and went around the front, giving her a nod to take my passenger seat. She did, giving the other SUV a lingering look as I got behind the wheel.
“Get in. Those kids don’t know you either. They’ll take cues from your aunt, and your aunt isn’t dumb. She’ll do as she’s told.”
She looked at me, her eyes flashing before her mouth flattened into a hard line, and she swung up into the SUV. She shut the door, yanking on it harder than was necessary.
My phone buzzed.
D: All good. Heading back now.
Me: Drive her car to the cleaners, then return it to her place.
D: Will do.
“What now?” She’d been watching me text.
Ashton’s SUV was already gone.
I texted Ashton.
Me: Take them to the family safe house.
Ashton: She’s saying they had a shelter lined up for them.
Me: I don’t care.
Ashton: Ten-four, buddy. Might want to turn your phone off. Uncle Steph is going to want to know where the uncle is.
Me: I’ll be in touch later today.
He knew what that meant, and after that, I powered down the phone, then headed off.
Once we got to the city, Jess and I were going to have a way more in-depth conversation.
I shifted the car into drive and started off. “You can sleep while I drive us back.”
“What about my aunt?”
“We’ll talk when we get there.”
“Tristian—”
“Trace.”
“What?”
“I hate the name Tristian. Call me Trace.”
She didn’t respond. I only heard her let out a soft sigh, but a few minutes later, she was sleeping. She must’ve needed it.
