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Keeping busy is the best way to take my mind off the fact that I believe I just agreed to go out with Hammer. What was I thinking? This can only end in disaster. He’s super cool, and I’m a super dork. I’m used to people who talk about nothing and make it sound important. Hammer deals with bringing criminals back to face justice. He takes care of his family and his friends because that’s who he is, not out of obligation.
It’s tough to admit, but true nonetheless: I saw Jessop to keep up appearances. I didn’t like the man. I never respected him, but I did it anyway, all because I cared about what other people thought of me.
Fake! I was totally fake, and all I accomplished was letting Jessop become a leech and suck all that was good and pure out of my life. I’m grateful that Grandad Ian saw Jessop for what he was and protected our interests.
The lawyers say that the rumors will die down and everything will eventually return to normal. The family investments have already started to bounce back, and we’ve been able to avoid layoffs and cutbacks. I should be relieved, but I’m not.
Feeling restless, I go to my happy place: my porch.
SIX
Don’t Leave
FRANCESCA
I’m not sure how long I’ve been outside, but the rumble of pipes turns my attention to the road leading into my driveway. Hammer looks like a white knight on a steel horse.
He said he’d be back, and he is. He’s a man of his word. That’s a novelty for me. I’m used to men saying what they think I want to hear, or out-and-out lies.
Hammer struts up the walkway and leans his shoulder on the pillar at the top of the steps, arms crossed over his chest, staring straight at me like he’s seeing me for the very first time.
“I’ve spent years thinking about my time in the military. After a while, it all seemed so useless to me. Men losing limbs and dying before my eyes. They missed their wives, girlfriends, and their families. Lots of them never made it home. I started wondering what the hell I was doing there. I always pulled myself together by thinking I was fighting for freedom. I was fighting for my country. Then one day, me and a few guys from my unit were driving and there was a kid blocking the road with a gun in his hand.” He shakes his head. “I couldn’t believe it. A fucking kid pointing a gun at us.” He sighs.
His pained expression is foreboding, and I know this story isn’t going to end well. “Hammer?—”
“There I was, thinking I could talk this kid down. I got out of the jeep, and as soon as I started toward him, he aimed the gun right at me. He would have pulled the trigger if my buddy hadn’t taken the kid out. I spent weeks, months, trying to figure out what went wrong that day. My buddy is still in therapy because he shot that child. And all I keep thinking about is, what the hell am I doing this for?”
I try again. “Honey.”
Hammer doesn’t stop. He takes another step forward, looming over me. “Now I have the answer,” he murmurs. I tilt my head to one side and wait for him to finish. “One day, I was going to find a pretty girl with golden hair and soulful blue eyes who looks at me like I matter. She sees who I am and accepts the good and not so good parts of me. I want her to have the freedom I fought for. A future where she can breathe easy knowing that she’s safe. It makes sense to me now.”
My words are caught in my throat, tears forming in my eyes. “I—I don’t know what to say.” I sniffle.
“There’s nothing to say. It just is.” He shrugs, then takes hold of my hand and hauls me up to my feet. “Let’s go inside.” We go in, and Hammer leads me to my cuddle chair in the corner, where he sits and pulls me down onto his lap.
He’s quiet, his fingers strumming gently up and down my arm.
“Did you have a good meeting?” I ask.
“Yeah. The Pride knows that we’re together. You’re one of us now.”
“Pardon?” I search his face, utterly confused.
“It’s part of our code, baby. We protect our own,” he says matter-of-factly.
“They don’t even know me.”
“You mean something to me, and that means you mean something to all of us. That shouldn’t surprise you, Frankie. The women were over today and welcomed you into their brood. They’ve already claimed you as one of their own. It just so happens that I think you’re the shit and want you for myself,” he says with a smile.
I grin along with him. “You think I’m the shit? That’s good, right?”
“Yeah, babe, that’s good. I got a girl who’s stronger than she thinks, smarter than she knows, and sweet as honey. And I bet there’s a whole lot more to her, and I want to know all about her.”
“My name is Francesca Marie Penelope Deleigh. My father named me Francesca because he loved the name, but Mom gave me the name Marie after my great-grandmother. Penelope came from a book she was reading, and it stuck.”
He chuckles, and I feel the rumble move through his body. “That’s great, babe. But why are you telling me this?”
“I just want you to know more about me. Seemed right to start with my name.”
