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The life dissipates from his body, and he sinks down to the ground, blood pouring out of the wound in his neck, quickly soaking through his clothes and onto the ground. I take a step backward, my shoulder hitting the door frame as I look up and find Declan fighting with my dad. My father doesn’t stand a chance, of course, and Declan has him unarmed and on the ground in seconds. He pulls out the needle and injects him with the sedative.
When I turn my attention back to Harrold, I find his hand on my arm. His eyes are soft, his touch gentle. It’s unexpected and confuses me.
“Are you okay, Jessa?” Concern and something that sounds a lot like guilt fills his voice.
Why does he feel guilty?
“Yes, I think so...why did you help us?” Confusion. That’s all I feel at this moment.
“Your mom asked me to keep you safe. That’s the only reason I’ve worked for this prick for as long as I have,” he admits and for some reason his confession brings tears to my eyes. I’m not even sure why I’m crying. Is it because I just about died, or because someone in my old life actually did care about me this whole time, or am I crying simply because I’m reminded of my mother?
“You knew my mom?” I question.
“Yes…Jessa, there is no time to explain all that I know right now. Maybe one day I’ll be able to tell you the whole story. Just know that your mom loved you very much and she did everything she could to keep you safe, and that’s what got her killed in the end. Now go on and get out of here.”
I’m so shocked by his statement that the actual meaning of the words doesn’t sink in right away. Got her killed? My mom died in an accident. Why did he say it like that? Was she murdered?
Declan walks up to us, dragging my father’s passed-out body behind him.
Harrold’s gaze sweeps over Declan. “And you are lucky my guys were able to recover some of the footage of what happened at the compound or I would have put a bullet in your brain the moment I spotted you today,” he snaps.
For a moment I think Declan might fight him or at least make a move to threaten him, but instead he just says, “Fair enough. I’m glad Jessa has someone who watched out for her growing up. I can assure you that you don’t have to worry about her anymore. She is safe with us and we won’t let anything happen to her…ever. Jessa’s safety and happiness is our number one priority.”
Harrold nods and Declan motions for me to walk out. An engine revs in the distance and a car comes flying around the corner just as we step out. Trey, I know it’s him as soon as I see the car, and not only because of the plan, but because only Trey can navigate a car the way that he just did. He stops a few feet away from us and Declan opens the back hatch and tosses my father in while I run around to the side of the SUV and get into the back seat.
“You okay, Princess?” Trey asks as soon as my ass hits the leather seat.
“No, but I will be.” I glance at the back door hoping to see Harrold again, but the door is already shut, Harrold having already disappeared from view. I can’t stop thinking about what he said. He knew my mom, he promised her that he would keep me safe. I don’t understand what any of it means. I barely remember my mom. I was so young when she died in a car crash, or at least that’s what my father told me happened. Harrold didn’t start working for my father until one or two years after that, so how did he know my mother? In my mind, things aren’t adding up.
I’m so lost in thought, I barely notice Declan getting in beside me and Trey speeding off and around the corner, where he briefly stops to pick up Wes. Once we are all four in the car, Trey floors it. Rubber burning against the road as we speed off as fast as we can.
“We did it!” Wes exclaims. “We fucking did it.”
A peaceful silence settles over the vehicle. Only when he turns his head to look back at me does his smile fall. “What’s wrong, Princess?”
“We were attacked by one of the guards we didn’t know was there,” Declan explains. “Harrold, her father’s head of security, helped us get away.”
“Oh shit, are you hurt? Did he hurt you?” Wes’s voice fills with panic, his brown eyes warm, sincere.
“No, I’m fine…it’s just something Harrold said that has me confused,” I admit. A large hand finds mine and engulfs my smaller one in warmth and comfort as soon as the words are out. I move my gaze to Declan’s and find him staring directly at me.
“We’ll figure it out, Jessa. If there is an answer out there, then we’ll find it for you,” Declan promises, and I give him a weak smile in return. The brothers finding me that night was a godsend, as much as it was a terror.
The rest of the drive the brothers remain silent, and I’m more than grateful for it. I have too many questions and emotions swirling around inside my head right now to focus on an actual conversation. I’m so lost in thought trying to come up with all my own questions for my father that I don’t even realize we’ve made it home until Trey parks the car and kills the engine. We all sit inside the car for another moment, the sound of our breathing the only thing being heard.
“Why don’t we take you upstairs before we get your father out of the back?” Wes suggests, interrupting the silence.
“No, I want to be with you guys when you interrogate him.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Princess,” Declan says, his features darkening, and I know he is right. Even after everything, I don’t think I can stomach to see him being hurt.
“You’re right, but I want to talk to him before you guys do anything. I want to be there when he wakes up and I want to ask him some questions of my own. I know you guys have your own agenda with him, but I need closure too.”
Trey twists around in his seat. “Whatever you want, we will give it to you. We just don’t want you there when it comes time to kill him. You don’t need to see that.”
Warmth encompasses me. Even with them wanting to exact their revenge, they also want to protect me. But they don’t need to protect me. They don’t need to protect me from the dark anymore, because I would gladly walk through it with them. I would go anywhere that they are. I would go through anything to be with them.
“Let’s do this,” Wes says and gets out of the car first. We all follow suit, but even as they open the back hatch and my father’s face comes into view, all I can think about is my mother and all the unknowns that surround her death.
