AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“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 is 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 goodwill 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 entirely, anyway.
But this shit right here? The happy people? The transformed businesses?
They were all a great fucking start.
CHAPTERTWENTY-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, which I wanted for her as well.
“We’ll look into it, but we still need heightened security.”
Jasper was unusually quiet, staring at me with a question in his eyes.
“Bullshit, Sadie. Why, exactly, do we need enhanced security for Kat’s wedding? Truthfully.”
Quenching my thirst for vengeance wasn’t a conversation I was willing to have with my son at the moment, so I stared at him for a few seconds, hoping for a distraction.
Luckily, one came in the form of an intruder. The French doors to my office opened, and almost simultaneously, Jasper and Terry had guns in their hands aimed at the door.
Jameson froze where he stood, a smile on his face, hands slowly lifted like we were the fucking police. “Hello, Ashbys.”
“What the fuck, Ellison?” Jasper was furious, his face growing redder by the second as he holstered his gun. “How the fuck did you get onto the property without being spotted?”
“Or sounding the alarms,” Terry added as he angrily holstered his own weapon. “I was really hoping to shoot someone.”
“It’s not too late,” Jasper muttered, his questioning gaze still trained on Jameson. “I hope you came with something that will make me forget about kicking your ass for this breach in security.”
