Page 14 of Thaddeus

“She doesn’t work for anyone,” Tatiana spoke. “What did you plan on doing with Jefferson?”

“I told—”

“Cut the shit,” Tatiana spoke over her. “No one’s going to torture you. Thad brought you here for your protection. Once Jefferson and his bodyguard were down, you’d be free game and you know it. No one’s holding you against your will, either. Jefferson Garcia was taken out because he was a scumbag. He bought and sold women, among other things. But you already knew that. Why were you with him at the dog fight tonight?”

I heard something clatter on the tile and my eyes cut to Emerson. She’d slipped off her heels, both now laying haphazardly on the floor in front of her. Her hands were now working at her ear, as she angrily removed one earring then moved to the other side and took out the other one.

“I was there because he was meeting with someone and I wanted to sit in on the meeting,” Emerson finally answered.

“Why would he allow you to sit in on a meeting?” I asked before I thought better of it.

“Because he likes to show off his pretty girlfriend to his business associates,” she snarled.

My body jerked at her response and I was so pissed I couldn’t hide my reaction. I’d figured Emerson was Garcia’s woman. But hearing her say it was like a punch to the gut.

Motherfucker.

“Who was he meeting with?” Kyle asked.

“No clue. He didn’t discuss business with me.”

“But he allowed you to sit in on meetings?” I inquired.

Why the hell was I speaking to her? I shouldn’t even have been in the room. The team could interrogate her without my help.

“Some of them, yes. I was to charm them, then sit next to Jefferson with my mouth shut. Sometimes, after small talk and pleasantries were exchanged, I was asked to leave the room. That happened a lot. All Jefferson wanted was to walk into the meeting with me on his arm, he didn’t care what happened after that. But, however the meeting went down, he never discussed his business with me. Even when, like tonight, he was visibly upset, he still didn’t confide in me.”

“So you don’t know what made him upset tonight?” Declan took over the questioning.

“I didn’t say I didn’t know. I said, he didn’t talk to me about it.”

“Christ, agápi mou, stop talking in fucking circles and just spit it the fuck out already, would you?”

Her old nickname rolled off my tongue before I could stop it. Jesus. Emerson’s eyes widened in shock at my outburst, then hurt flashed.

Goddammit.

Fuck it all to hell.

Fuck her. All of this was her fault. If she hadn’t left me the way she had, we would’ve had it all. I’d been prepared to make her my wife and fill our home with all the kids she’d talked about having. I’d been ready to lay the world at her feet.

So, no, I didn’t give the first fuck she’d tattooed my name on her skin. Or that she was fucking a gang leader who sold drugs and women. And lastly, I didn’t fucking care she was standing three feet away from me with blood and throw-up caked in her hair and on her expensive dress, looking like I’d just smacked her across her pretty face.

Fuck her. Fuck her. Fuck her.

My eyes slid back to her flashy sandals, knowing I would’ve never been able to afford to give those to her on my second-class pay. I did this thinking I’d never known Emerson. There was no way my sweet girl who’d lived in flip-flops, worn-out cut-off shorts, had a heart so big she couldn’t walk past a homeless person without giving them money, the woman who’d been studying to be an elementary school teacher would ever wear a pair of shoes like those.

Fuck me. I’d been played.

Emerson

Hearing Thaddeus slip and call me by the nickname he’d always called me was agonizing. Kick in the gut, slap in the face, rip my heart from my chest agonizing. I’d spent a lot of time wishing my life had turned out differently. Coveting every memory of Thad, craving one more day with him so I could cherish every last second. But now, I’d rather have my fingernails torn out with pliers than ever hear him call me “my love” again.

I was not his anything.

I did that.

Even if it wasn’t what I’d wanted, I still left him.