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“Oh, right. And you came all this way to talk to my grandfather? Out of all the people in the world?” Liam asked, his distrust was more than evident in his harsh tone and the inflated chest he directed toward Jackson.
“No. I came because your sister convinced me to. She told me her sister-in-law was in danger, and I was probably the only one who could help. You know how convincing your sister can be. The last time I saw her, she was maybe fifteen? And even then, she could always persuade anyone into doing what she wanted.” Max scoffed from behind Jackson at his remark, the three of us now looking at him. An awkward silence settled in the room while we waited for an elaboration on the mockery, but it never came.
“Find anything amusing?”
“Actually, I did. The fact that a fifteen-year-old bent your will is pretty telling, don’t you think?” Max replied with a strange hint of rage in his tone.
“I don’t think you’ve ever met Alison.”
“I’ve met her just fine.” Max’s gritted teeth told me he was more than ready to pounce onto Jackson, but right now, we needed him to talk.
“Huh hum.” I cleared my throat, trying to bring them both to the matter at hand.
“I had no idea you were the sister-in-law.” Jackson continued, turning back towards me.
“Yeah. That’s a huge coincidence no one saw coming.” I agreed.
“I came here to help. Especially now that I know you are the one in danger. I also came here to tell Matt I was wrong. To explain and apologize, not that it will make that big of a difference. After what just happened, I’m guessing that chance flew out the fucking window.”
“Probably,” Liam replied before I could. “I’ve never seen Matt so love-struck like he’s been since he met Francesca.” It was clear to me that Liam was guarding his brother’s ‘property’ with that sentence, making sure Jackson knew that our marriage was more than just a contract.
“I can see that. And it’s not one-sided, either. I can still see tears behind those eyes.” Jackson said, a small sympathetic smile growing on his face. The same one I had seen years ago when he tried to pull me from the dark pit I was spiraling into.
“Jackson, can you tell me why someone from the Yakuza, someone from your family, wants to find me and take me?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been getting these notes with the Naoki family symbol on them. Someone telling me that they are coming to get me. From what we know, whoever it is, they want me unharmed. They also tried to trick me into thinking Matt was cheating on me.”
“Bad move. Matt would never do that. Wife or not, if he’s with you, he won’t even look at anyone else. I saw him turn down very fine pieces of ass, practically laying on a silver platter for him to choose from just because he was fucking some other girl at the time.”
My stomach flipped while my heart clenched at the flashing images painted by those words. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it was too bitter to budge. Even Jackson knew how respectful Matt was, and I was the first to doubt him.
When will I be able to free myself from the past? How can I even start?
“Can you help shine a light on some of this? This is why my grandfather thought you could help.” Liam’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“I don’t see any reason why my father would want to kidnap you. It’s strange, to say the least. Even if it’s someone else from the Naoki Clan, my father would have to sign off on it. He’s an Oyabun now, which means he’s something like the big boss, almighty fucking ruler.” He mocked condescendingly. “Nothing happens without him knowing, that’s for sure.”
Jackson paused to think for a while, trying to figure out the puzzle, looking attentively at the floor as if it held the answer. “Unless he wants to harm Matt.”
“No, that can’t be it. One of his guys had the opportunity and didn’t take it.” Max clarified.
“And you are?” Jackson asked.
“The little red dot on the back of your skull if you fuck up.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jackson’s tone was anything but amicable.
“Let’s tone down on the testosterone, shall we?” I scolded them while Liam was clearly enjoying the show, his smirk almost turning into a chuckle. “Jackson, can you try to find out?”
“I’ll have to have a look into it. I haven’t been in touch with my father for quite some time now. He tries to stay away from me at all costs.” He chuckled, which was strange after everything he did to Matt because of his father. “But I’ll see what I can find out. If Matt trusts me to, that is.”
“We’ll see what we can do about that,” Liam replied, looking at me as if secretly giving me that mission. Even if Matt wanted to talk to me right now, it was clear that anything even remotely related to Jackson wasn't about to be the subject.
Either way, I needed to find him. I needed to apologize. I needed to tell him that besides what he might think, he was always the first on my mind.
“That can wait for now. I have to find him, Liam. Where did he go?”
