Page 38 of The Editor’s Choice

During that time, I had decided to stick around. Honestly, I felt sorry for the guy. I had no idea he would rebound and become entirely ruthless in the process. Prior to the downfall, he actually had a little bit of empathy for people and put a ladder down into the holes they had dug for themselves to try to help them get back on their feet.

He stayed with me for a couple months, until he was able to collect on a few debts and get some money rolling again. Once that happened, he bought this place for pennies on the dollar after the businesses around it went under. Since then, he’s been absolutely heartless, leaving a bloody trail everywhere he goes.

The memory is still fresh in my mind when he speaks again. “So what’s this favor you’re after?” he asks, a sly smile slithering across his face. “And what’s it worth to you?” He steeples his fingers on the desk in front of him, looking every bit the predator I know him to be.

“I’m calling in a favor, James. I’m not looking to make one of your deals today,” I say, doing my best to keep the shake out of my voice. I both fear and respect this man, and I’ve been heavily dreading the day I needed to cash in on this.

“Oh? And how would you think to get out of a deal?” His eyebrow raises, confusion lacing his eyes.

“You know as well as I do. You remember the conversation we had about you owing me one all those years ago, James. I’d rather not bring up the details with company.” He’s challenging me, wanting to see if I’ll stick to my guns instead of falling to my knees before him like most of his men do. But this time, I will. There’s too much at stake, and I can’t repay whatever price he would put on this one.

“That’s fair,” he agrees after a few tense seconds. I can feel the sweat that had beaded along my neck start to cool now, a little less anxious than I was five seconds ago. “What do you need?” He leans back in his chair, the metal making an awful screeching sound that has me wanting to cover my ears.

“I need you to be open-minded with this one,” I start, nervous about how he’s going to take all of this.

He nods, eyes cautious, but he doesn’t stop me.

“Here goes,” I say on an exhale. “This is my friend, Jade,” I continue, looking over to her. She looks more terrified than I’ve ever seen her, but she stands as tall as she can, not wanting to give that away. She knows fear is a weakness in this world, so she’s putting her bravest face on, despite how she feels.

“She managed to get herself into a really fucked up situation a little while back. But here’s where I need you to be open-minded and hear me out,” I explain, pausing until his eyes return to mine.

“She killed her best friend. Normally I don’t agree with the whole ‘it was self-defense’ bullshit excuse, but I’ve looked over every shred of evidence and gone through all the details personally. This one truly was self-defense. She didn’t have any other option.” I pause for another second before adding the sentence that could send this whole plan into a heaping disaster.

“Her best friend was Emily St. John.” I can damn near see the other shoe drop as his face contorts with a rage I haven’t often seen from him. The sound that rips from his lungs is otherworldly, a roar of anger and pain so intense I feel it as it makes its way through my body.

Not only have I completely failed my mission, therefore failing him, but I also brought the woman who killed his best friend’s daughter into his warehouse to ask for a favor. To protect her nonetheless.

I should’ve known better.

“What the FUCK do you mean she killed Emily?! And that it was self-defense?! Have you lost your fucking mind, Roman?” he screams, the sound echoing off the walls.

For several tense seconds, I let him rage. I let him feel whatever emotions are coursing through his body right now as he takes the information in.

Once he starts to slow, the anger seeping from his pores instead of radiating from them now, I try again.

“James, you’re a logical man. I know that. I brought some of the information with me on this thumb drive,” I say, pulling the device from the front pocket of my jeans. “I knew you wouldn’t take my word for it, but let me show you.”

I reach out toward the desk cautiously, placing the thumb drive on the edge, not daring to put my limbs any closer to this man than is absolutely necessary. I watched him chop a man’s hand off in less than a second once before, and while I don’t see any weapons capable of that within reach, I don’t want to take the chance. I wouldn’t look good with a pirate hook for a hand.

He takes the thumb drive, eyeing me with a mix of curiosity and doubt, along with maybe a dash of hatred. Plugging it in, he clicks the file that pops up.

“You’ll find the texts between Emily and Jade’s ex-boyfriend, Dawson. The texts allude to some other plan, aside from the cheating. You’ll also find the coroner’s report, police report, and cell phone location reports for both Emily and Jade’s phones during that day.” I give him a few minutes to look through everything before mentioning the final piece of evidence I was able to pull together last night when I wasn’t able to sleep.

“Lastly, you’ll find Emily’s text messages. Pick any number of them, they’re all basically the same. In those, you’ll find that she was making arrangements with Cain to sell Jade as a repayment for her debts.” The shock on his face is undeniable, only growing in intensity as he reads those incriminating messages.

“Damn,” he says finally, closing the laptop. “I’ve seen enough. I don’t want to think of her that way, not when I watched that kid grow up.” He stops for a moment, seemingly lost in the memories of her childhood. “I was supposed to protect her,” he says, pulling his head up in resignation. “But I can see she was way farther gone than I could’ve ever seen coming.”

“I’m so sorry,” I say sincerely, hating that everyone in this room has been harmed in some way by her selfish actions. Jade has tears in her eyes now, but she holds her head high, refusing to allow them to fall for her former life.

“I came here to ask you for protection for Jade. I know Emily is gone, meaning there’s no real reason for Cain to try to come for Jade now, but I don’t trust it. He’s fucked up. I was hoping for protection, and maybe a little helping throwing the police off her trail, should they get close to figuring it all out,” I rush out, not sure I’d be able to continue if I stopped at any point.

He takes his time considering my proposition, rising from his chair and leisurely strolling around the room. Even that simple act feels threatening. I can feel the fury still coming from him, though it’s been diluted now. The betrayal cuts deep.

“Stand,” he orders, both of us immediately rising from our chairs. He pulls me into a long hug, almost fatherly, before quickly hugging Jade as well. “I’m very sorry for what happened to you. For all you’ve gone through. Truly, I am. However, I can’t offer you my protection,” he says, looking torn but sticking to his guns. “Emily was like a daughter to me. I’m shocked at the things she did, but I can’t offer protection or help to the one responsible for her death.”

My jaw goes slack, shocked that he’s denying her even after all the evidence I provided, showing him exactly who Emily was at the end. Fuck.

“I can’t help you, but I won’t harm you either,” he continues, offering a salve for the sting of rejection. “I won’t hunt you down or hurt you in any way. I won’t help the police find you. There’s not much I could do to cover your tracks, but I won’t aid in you being found out.” He hugs her again, longer this time.