Page 48 of Absolution

Thirteen

Luciano Salvatore

Not a lot of things surprise me, but when Ivan knocks on my door and announces that Kerry Jackson is standing outside my gates, requesting to see me, my jaw drops. Miss Kerry fucking Jackson who went completely off grid with her baby, our newest Russo addition, in tow. Christian has looked for her ever since, for more than a year, and come up with nothing.

“Let’s see what she wants, then.” I nod for him to go get her. “Bring in the young lady.”

Ivan doesn’t let one single emotion cross his face as he backs out, talking in his radio.

I stand and walk over to the window. Staring at the robot lawn mower as it zig-zags across the well-trimmed green surface, my thoughts sprawl in all different directions. How long has she been in town? Did Christian know this? Did something happen to the kid? If she’s endangered the child, she’ll be really sorry she came back.

Christian lies in a bed attached to a ventilator, in a medically induced coma in a hospital in New York. He’ll pull through, but the fucking doctors won’t give us any useful information about his future. We still don’t know what happened to him and how the fuck he ended up in the near-wilderness in rural Canada, but I have lost one of my best men, that much is clear. If I can find out the hows and whys of that, if there’s someone I can make pay for the damages to the closest thing I have to a brother, then I’ll destroy that person with my own bare hands.

A knock brings me out of my reverie, and I spin around in time to see the little redhead entering my office. Her hair isn’t red anymore, though, it’s black with red roots, short and choppy. It looks terrible. She’s thinner than before, with dark circles under her eyes and hollow cheeks. Her beauty lingers under the surface, more fragile than ever, again awakening the predator in me. Weakness is to be exploited and my mind immediately begins to process how I can use that. I’m not a good man. I don’t protect the weak, I crush them.

“Miss Jackson. To say that this is a surprise doesn’t quite cover it.”

Her eyes widen and it’s obvious she’s terrified. She jumps when the door whisks shut behind her. I move up to her, past her, and discreetly lock it, pocketing the key.

“What are you—” she gasps, staring up at me as I tower over her.

“You and I need to have a word. And I don’t want to be disturbed.”

Her eyes dart around the office, no doubt taking in the other two doors, one leading deeper into my mansion, the other to a bathroom.

“I came here of my own free will. You said you weren’t gonna hurt me!”

“That was over two fucking years ago, Miss Jackson. Things change. People change.”

She pales and takes a step back. I don’t follow.

“I have a child. Please!”

“State your business. Why are you here?”

Her mouth opens and closes a couple of times. “Please unlock the door.”

“No.”

“Are you—”

“Focus,” I snap.

Her cheeks turn red in an instant. “I can’t focus on anything except you locking me in!”

I purse my lips as I regard this little hellion, then I grab her arm and pull her with me toward my desk.

“Hey!”

“Sit!” I push her down on a chair. “Explain yourself. Simple words will do. I’m not a morning person and I’ve only had one fucking cup of coffee, so get to it.”

She presses her lips into a thin line, staring back at me in defiance. Something dark wells up in my chest. Her baby might be family, but Kerry isn’t as safe as she thinks she is. I lean in close, nose to nose, making her recoil.

“Look, young lady, I’m no stranger to hurting a woman. I’m no gentleman, that’s not how I’ve built my business. Where the fuck did you go? Why did you disappear? Why have you come back?”

Her eyes dart between mine and the door. I grab the back of her neck and force her to meet my gaze. “Forget about the fucking door,” I growl.

“I ran,” she whimpers. “I ran for my life. I thought Christian was going to kill us!”

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