Page 19 of His Sacrifice

Jada shook her head. “I limit myself to one a day. Otherwise, I’d drink a six-pack.”

I chuckled and gathered the garbage. I tossed it in the trash and pulled two bottles of water out of the fridge. “Then water it is.”

“Time to talk?” she asked.

I nodded to the patio. “I figure we can sit out there.”

She grabbed a bottle of water and almost pranced to the patio. “As long as you promise not to toss me over when you get annoyed with me.”

I followed her out but kept the door open. “Careful,” I called as she leaned over the railing.

She glanced back at me over her shoulder. “Please tell me you’re not afraid of heights and live in the penthouse.”

“Not afraid, just aware of how high up we are,” I shrugged.

She turned and leaned against the railing. “The big bad mafia man is afraid of heights. Now I have heard it all,” she teased.

“Why don’t we sit?” I offered. I sat in the chair closest to the door, while Jada folded her arms over her chest and stayed put. “Or you can stay right there,” I muttered. I wasn’t going to force Jada to sit down, but it sure as hell would help me breathe easier if she got away from the railing.

“I am good right here.” She leaned back and closed her eyes. “It’s amazing that we’re in the heart of the city, but I can’t even tell when we’re up here.”

“Another reason why the penthouse appealed to me. I have to be in the city, but sometimes I don’t want to be.”

She looked at me and smiled. “Tatum said you guys have some big ass mansion in Wisconsin.”

I nodded. “Wyndemere. Leo bought the property when his sister hooked up with one of the bikers in Rockton. We’re out there about half of the year.”

“Nice.” She sighed and looked to the side. “Family should be important.”

The breeze blew through her hair, and sadness settled over her.

Jada’s natural beauty is shown in the setting sun.

She pasted a smile on her face and pushed off the railing. She plopped in the chair across from me and tucked her legs under her. “So, it’s time for you to spill the beans on why you came into the bookstore.”

“I told you I wanted to ask you out.”

She pursed her lips. “Am I going to have to coax this out of you?”

I shook my head. I might as well just get it out, and then Jada could decide what she wanted to do. “Has Tatum told you about Candace?” I asked.

Jada nodded. “Some crazy woman who used to work for you guys, but you found out she’s been playing you for a crap ton of years.”

That was putting it frankly. “Yes.”

“Tatum really did tell me everything.” Jada winked.

That at least meant I didn’t need to go back to the beginning and tell Jada everything. “Candace seems to want to torture us. She took Tatum to mess with Murphy, and a while back, her brother messed with Kitty and her dad.”

“Kitty is with Apollo, right?”

I shook my head. “Greer is with Apollo. Princeton belongs to Kitty. Candace wouldn’t mess with Greer. Candace is crazy, but not that crazy.”

Jada clicked her tongue. “Got it, and I also like how you said Princeton belongs to Kitty and not the other way around.”

“I’m not dumb, Jada. Princeton fell hard for Kitty, just like Murphy did for Tatum.” I had learned from the Devil’s Knights that it was just better to accept the fact that when a man fell for a woman, he just went with it. It made life a hell of a lot easier.

“So what does all of this have to do with you wandering into the bookstore?” she asked.

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