Page 2 of Vail

“I don’t want you to go, Vail. Please.”

“Hart…” I leaned forward and put my arms around him.

Hartley held on to me with such strength, his fingers were going to leave bruises.

There wasn’t much I could say to comfort him. Would I leave if I found out Jordan had something to do with this? I would, because if I couldn’t trust him, I couldn’t stay in a relationship with him.

I could look past the shit he did when it didn’t pertain to Hartley and me. Maybe because I could section that part of him away from us. That side didn’t touch us. It could have been foolish and completely unhealthy, but I didn’t care. Trust was a huge thing for me though.

After finally getting away from Gil for good, I told myself a lot of things. I hadn’t been in a relationship since him, until Jordan and Hartley.

Jordan wanted to give me the world. What he didn’t understand was the world wasn’t necessary. He was. Hartley too. Money could buy a lot of things, but it couldn’t give me what was important. The thought of him breaking my trust shattered me inside.

“Lana’s going to meet us back at the building,” Sheldon said, coming in. “She wants to talk to you, Vail.”

Leaning away from Hart, I stood and mentally prepared myself. There was a long story that needed to be told. If Lana was going to defend Jordan properly, she should know what I went through. To do that, I had to pour my soul out in a terrible way in front of not only her, but Hartley too.

“Did she say anything about him?” Hartley asked.

Sheldon shook his head. “She won’t until she talks to him. I doubt he’ll be in there long. Without concrete evidence, they can’t hold him.” His eyes met mine. “He didn’t do this.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “How do you know?”

“I hear everything, remember? I know what goes on and I’m always awake. Jordan spends his time working or with the two of you.”

“He could have had someone else…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. As much as I hated Gil, I meant it when I said Jordan had to stay away from him.

“Think about what you just said. Do you think Jordan is going to hand off the death of the man who hurt someone he cares about as deeply as he does you two? No, he wouldn’t. Jordan would kill him with his own hands.”

My stomach rolled. I knew what Jordan did. How he killed people, tortured them. My imagination was healthy when it came to Jordan. More visuals weren’t necessary. Sheldon had a point though. Jordan would want to take care of Gil. Making him disappear also wasn’t his style from everything I’d overheard since I started seeing him. They set the stage with bodies and a perfectly crafted tale of what occurred. They had evidence to back it up. An expertly orchestrated crime, pointing away from Jordan and his guards.

Still…

Turning, I ran to the closest bathroom. Luckily, I knew where it was. I dropped to my knees and pitched over the toilet to empty the contents of my stomach. Tears burned my eyes as thoughts assailed me.

Jordan sitting in a jail cell, probably more worried about Hartley and me than about himself.

The sheriff and other officers giddy with excitement that they might have finally nailed Jordan for a crime.

JJ was distraught about what he’d witnessed tonight. They’d just gotten on somewhat good terms. They were rebuilding their relationship.

Hartley, who lost his grandfather not that long ago, and now had someone else he cared about pulled from his life.

Gil, dead and covered in blood.

My body heaved again. When it finally calmed, I wiped my mouth with some toilet paper, flushed, and sat on the floor with my back against the wall. My eyes fell closed as I breathed through the burning still in my throat and the pain in my chest. The latter had nothing to do with me being sick and everything to do with Jordan being taken out of here in handcuffs.

A warm hand pressed to my cheek. My eyes fluttered open to find Hartley sitting on the floor, facing me.

He placed a damp cloth on my forehead. “Did it help?”

“Throwing up?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“Not at all.”

“Okay, then I guess I don’t need to try it.”

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