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I sighed. “I don’t have time for this.”
“You do,” he insisted and guided me down the winding wrought-iron staircase.
“You think you should be doing something else, but the fact is that you’re doing what those yoga, charity, church types never could, hell never would even think about. You’re turning the Green Zone into a place where less fortunate people can live and thrive. They can be safe when they walk down the streets, when they let their kids play at the park. You’ve given a fucking lot, Sadie. Believe that.”
“That’s not all I’m doing.” I didn’t want him or anyone else looking at me like I was some sort of do-gooder. I wasn’t. This was a good plan that would make me a lot of money, give me more power and influence, and help me demolish any competition that wanted to come at me again.
“It doesn’t matter. We all have our reasons for doing the shit we do, and most of us don’t turn a whole fucking town around, Sadie Rose.”
We hit the bottom step, and Hulu, Evan, Mace and Provo fell into a diamond shape around us. Provo pushed the door open to the street, and the men’s formation shifted so that I was always protected. I reached for my sunglasses, and Thomas took them from me.
“What the fuck?”
“See this, Sadie. See it with clear eyes.”
“I can’t see shit with all this sun.”
He laughed and pocketed my sunglasses anyway.
“You see tits and dicks, but these people who live in the Green Zone, they see something else. They see hope.”
I wanted to say something sarcastic, but as we progressed down the street, I couldn’t find it in me to do it.
“See that liquor store over there? Your loan allowed him to put in cameras and hire a security guard so he can stay open later.”
“Which guarantees he’ll be able to pay back the loan.” I smiled.
Thomas continued the tour of the neighborhood, ignoring my comment. “That building right there, it’s going to be a pharmacy because you’re providing security to keep tweakers away.” He pointed to an older woman who waved at me with a smile.
“Now, Miss Edna doesn’t have to take two buses just to get her high blood pressure medication.”
I waved back, more good will in my social bank account.
“See, Sadie,” Thomas said, like Chamber of Commerce cheerleader, “the laundromat has new machines, bigger ones too, so the motel up the street can hire them instead of the overpriced vendors who serve Vegas and Glitz.”
I stopped and turned in a slow circle at all the people who’d come out of their business and their homes, with smiles and waves. For me. “These people seem happy.”
“They do, and it’s because of you, Sadie. This isn’t just tits and dicks; it’s a whole community.”
That’s what Thomas saw because he fancied himself in love with me, but what he didn’t see, what I couldn’t help but see, was the few glaring faces in the crowd. Those faces belonged to people who knew the current state of the Green Zone was on me. They knew I was the one who’d let it get bad, let The Crusaders creep in because I couldn’t be bothered with a constant battle, which I ended up with anyway. They knew the truth, and they weren’t happy. No, they wore an expression I could decipher easily.
It’s about fucking time.
“You did this, Sadie.” Thomas’ words were so heartfelt, so genuine that instead of making me feel better, it made me feel guilty. Yeah, I was helping out these people, but it wasn’t charity. It was business.
Those loans would have to be repaid, and I would get a cut of every business in the Green Zone. This was my life. My business. I may be a reformed woman, but a woman like me can never be redeemed, not fully anyway.
But this shit right here? The happy people? The transformed businesses?
They were all a great fucking start.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sadie
“We need to talk about security for the wedding.” My pursuit of revenge would no doubt piss off a few people, Savannah Rhymer, or whatever she was calling herself these days, was at the top of my list. Judging by the surprised looks both Jasper and Terry wore, they didn’t agree.
“Why?” Terry’s worried expression flashed before he covered it with a blank stare.
“Because, Terry, we are the Ashby family, and we have a lot of enemies. Wouldn’t you strike your enemies at a wedding when everyone’s all in the same place? We could be taken out all at the same time.”
“Fuck,” he grunted and pushed out of his chair to start pacing. “This is why we should choose a more intimate venue. Kat doesn’t give a shit about all those guests.”
I smiled at his words. Terry, for all his tough-guy badassery, loved my daughter with everything he had. He wanted her to be happy, and that was what I wanted for her.
