AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After I pull back, I rub my hands over my face. “I should get dressed and see what else I can find.” I can’t quite meet his eyes.
“Irene dropped some clothes off for you a little while ago. They’re on the sofa. She said she’ll check in with you later since she had to get back to the café.”
I nod. “Thanks. I think I’ll take a quick shower before I get started. I can still smell the smoke. It’s in my hair.” I walk into the living room.
“Let me know if you need anything. I’m serious,” he says.
The sincerity in his voice stops me. I turn to face him again. “Thanks, Jack. I don’t know where I would be without you.”
I give a shy smile, and my mind immediately goes back to our kiss before the fire. The best kiss of my life morphed into the worst night of my life. It’s too much to even start to unravel.
“Honestly, Andrea, I think you’d be just fine either way, but I’m glad to help… And I’m glad you’re here,” he replies with a sweet smile.
My phone rings, breaking the tension between us. I hurry to grab it, and I see it’s Addy!
I flip the phone open and put it on speaker so Jack can hear, too. “Hey, Addy,” I answer.
“Andrea.”
Jack’s face hardens at the sound of a man’s voice, but my face brightens. It isn’t Adalyn…it’s Andrew.
“Andrew,” I say, unsure how to react.
“Thank God you’re okay. I’m sorry, Andrea,” Andrew blurts out in a rush, relief evident in his voice.
Jack’s eyes dart to mine, and his lips are set in a hard line.
“Are you?” I ask automatically, not giving the question a second thought before asking.
“Of course, I am,” he says, more calmly than I expected. “I never wanted any of this to happen. I thought I was doing the right thing. All this time, all these years, I thought it was the right thing. You’ll never know how sorry I am. But I’ll do my best to show you. I’ve already started working on it. I’m sorry, and I love you.”
Jack and I look at each other, both puzzled as to what the hell any of that means.
Before I can respond, muffled noises echo through the speaker as the phone changes hands.
“Hey, Andrea.” Addy’s voice is on the line now.
Jack has moved closer to me, eyeing my every reaction. I realize my hand is trembling from the sheer magnitude of everything going on and the relief that my brother is on my side. I didn’t realize how much I needed my brother until this moment.
Jack reaches out, taking my hand in his. He mouths the words,“We’ve got this. It’s ok.”
I squeeze his hand, not letting go.
“Are you okay?” I ask Addy.
While I feel relieved my brother is on our side, there’s still no way to know if it’s real. I’m still unsure if I can trust Andrew. As much as I want to, I still just don’t know.
“I’m fine. Andrew wants to help us. He wants to make this right. He explained a lot of things to me. Unimaginable things. He wants to talk to you about it in person, but now isn’t the time,” she says.
“No, it’s not. You’re right. Have you found anything else?” I ask, hoping like hell she has.
“I think we have. Andrew says he has a connection in San Francisco, and they’ve seized Swank’s accounts. The account Swank funneled the stolen money into is in the name of a company owned by both Swank and Christopher. I don’t know if it’s enough, but it’ssomething,” she says, obvious anxiety in her voice.
“That’s good; that’s good news,” I say.
I realize I’m still clinging to Jack’s hand, so I release my grip…but he doesn’t. When he laces his fingers with mine, I don’t pull away.
“Andrew is saying we have to be careful with some of the proof we already have. If police dig into it any more, it could implicate more people than just Christopher,” she says. Andrew says something to her in the background that I can’t make out. Addy then continues. “He also said there are loose ends that haven’t been tied up, so we need to be aware of that.”
