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As I ended the call, giving Zane back his phone, I headed to my bedroom to change.
I’d allowed the control to get away from me years before. Never again. It was time for them to follow my rules.
Or face my wrath.
CHAPTER16
Jade
I was running out of clothes. I was also running out of patience. And I had a terrible feeling that Constantine was going to be arrested. It was bad form for a prosecutor to confront a man he believed to be guilty until everything was in place. The case could be thrown out before it got started because of the man’s interference. Perhaps he was arrogant enough to believe Constantine wouldn’t cry foul.
After pacing the floor for a few minutes, I yanked out my duffle from the closet, tossing it onto the bed. As I riffled through what clothes I had left, I thought about what I’d told him about my father, suddenly remembering something else he’d told me long before he disappeared. He’d done so in passing, but as a direct answer to the same question I’d asked him at least twenty times before. I’d been eight, maybe nine at the time, still enamored by the man, acting as if whatever profession he had that took him away for months at a time was glamorous.
“What do you do for a living, Daddy?”
He sat down beside me on the bed, remaining quiet for a few seconds. “I try and make certain this world is a safer place to live.”
“Does that make you a superhero?”
Laughing, he winked at me. “Maybe a little.”
A safer place to live. I tugged on another sweater and the cleanest, tightest pair of jeans, running into the bathroom to brush my teeth and apply a little makeup as fast as possible. What had he meant by that? An assassin? That would certainly make sense, especially the way my mother acted, changing the subject every time I asked about him.
I brushed out my hair, grabbing a tube of lipstick. While I wasn’t certain how I could help, I refused to stay in the background any longer. It was obvious I’d been manipulated at eighteen. That wasn’t going to happen this go-around.
As I jogged down the stairs, I heard their terse voices and anger swelled within me. I’d been the girl to believe in right and wrong but had learned over the years there were morally gray dilemmas that couldn’t warrant a simple answer. This was one of them. Did I believe what Constantine had told me about the man he’d murdered? Yes, I did. The anger and pain in his eyes when he’d told me about the victim’s cravings couldn’t be faked.
Zane immediately headed in my direction, pulling me away from the room. “What do you think you’re doing, Ms. Rollins?”
“I’m not going to scream that I’ve been kidnapped if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I can’t let you go in there. That’s not what Mr. Thorn wanted.”
I did what I could to keep my voice low, growing angrier by the minute at the accusations being tossed at Constantine. “Maybe not, but this is something I need to do. You need to trust me. I’m not going to hurt him.” I almost laughed at the worst time possible for trying to convince him that I wouldn’t attempt to have his boss arrested. What a bizarre moment. But I couldn’t allow the man I loved to get hurt.
Love.
What had happened to me? When had I fallen so hard for the man? How? Why? At least some of the answers were easy. He’d allowed me to see inside of him. He’d broken down his walls, opening up more than I’d thought he would. And I sensed he genuinely cared about me.
He was also the sexiest man on earth, and I couldn’t imagine spending a day of my life without him.
Get a grip.
“I love him, Zane. It’s crazy and maybe I’m losing my mind, but I do. That asshole in there intends to have him arrested. Let me help. Please.”
He hesitated, darting his eyes in the direction of the room. “He’ll be angry.”
“Then I’ll take the entire brunt of that anger. I need to do this.”
Zane exhaled audibly then released his hold.
I took a few seconds to listen intently to the conversation, realizing that the prosecutor was trying to railroad him.
“I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough, Mr. Thorn.” The man’s voice immediately grated against my nerves.
“Unless you’re here to arrest me or tell me that you found the two people responsible for attacking my brother, then I think we’re finished here, Mr. Banks,” Constantine said.
“You abducted Ms. Wellington from her home,” Mr. Banks stated. There was an entirely different tone to his voice, as if he knew something Constantine didn’t.
