Page 22 of Jared's Redemption

“It’s great to meet you, Amelia.” I say sincerely.

“Come play!” She demands, and I hear a chuckle from the doorway. Markus is standing there with his arms crossed, shaking his head at me.

“You’ve fucked up, now. Once you’re invited to the tea party, you can never escape.” He says with wide, fearful eyes.

“Daddy, bad words.” Amelia chastises him, putting her little hands on her hips. Jared covers his laugh with a cough, and Markus sighs, holding his hand out.

“You’re right, I’m sorry, baby. How about you and I go make some tea for your tea party? Jared and Luna can get everything set up for you.” He offers, and Amelia squeals with delight as she takes his hand and skips out.

“That asshole.” Jared mutters, arranging teacups on the small table in the center of the room. I get up to help him, but he doesn’t acknowledge me.

“He took away your distraction, so now you have to actually face up to what’s bothering you?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

Jared cuts a sharp look at me, everything that’s unsaid between us is written on his face. I grab the last cup from his hand and set it down hard in frustration.

“Just go pack your shit before we ship you off to your new husband.” He says, waving me off. Pain cuts through my chest at his words, but I won’t back down. Not with Isabelle’s words ringing in my head.

“I’m coming back here after it’s done.” I say, my tone full of sincerity and I beg him in my mind to look at me. Jared’s eyes stay trained on the tiny cups sitting on ceramic saucers with little pink flowers painted on them.

“I don’t want you to come back here after you throw yourself at that bastard’s feet.” Jared sneers, standing up and storming from the room. Tears burn at the back of my throat, but I won’t let them fall. Not when a two year old little girl is watching me with confusion in the doorway.

“Hey sweetheart, is this set up right?” I plaster on a fake smile, pointing at the cups arranged around the table. Markus sets a teapot on the table, scratching the back of his head as he searches for the right words. I don’t want to hear bullshit excuses right now, though.

“You sad, Lulu?” Amelia asks, taking my hand and clutching it tightly between both of hers. My mouth opens, but I snap it shut when the threat of tears hits me in a wave.

“It’s okay to be sad. It’s what we do after the tears dry that matters. Right baby?” Isabelle says, walking in and scooping her daughter up. She shares a look with Markus, and he nods once, turning on his heel and walking out of the room while the three of us sit around the too small table.

“I pour!” Amelia jumps up, and I eye the teapot suspiciously. Isabelle leans in with a loud whisper.

“It’s ice tea.” She winks, reassuring me that nobody is going to get burned.

“I think he just dumped me.” I snort, hearing how ridiculous that sounds, considering what we had couldn’t exactly be called a relationship. Isabelle frowns at me, shaking her head slowly.

“He’s scared. Of how he feels for you and of letting you do this. When Jared loves, he loves with his entire being and that usually means wrapping you in a bubble and holding on tight. Something broke him a long time ago, and now he thinks everything good in his life has an impending expiration date.” Isabelle says, watching Amelia pour tea onto her teddy bears face. My mind runs over what happened when I woke Jared, and curiosity gets the better of me.

“He had a nightmare last night. He kept muttering that ‘they’re burning’ and saying he ‘didn’t mean to’. Was there a fire or something?” I say, tilting my head as her brows draw together in confusion.

“As far as I know, he hasn’t lost anyone in a fire. His father and stepmother were horrible people and he never knew his mother. Jared came to work for my husbands’ father when he was young, and James Barone was a monster, to put it nicely. There’s no telling what horrors he put poor Jared through. But their mother took him in, loved him as if he was one of her sons. They looked up to him like a big brother and this was the first family he really had.” Isabelle says, patting my hand.

“You just need to be patient. Somebody broke them long before we came along, and you need to decide if you’re willing to help put the pieces back together.” She says.

“You spilling secrets to outsiders now, princess?” Jared asks, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and an angry expression on his face. Isabelle’s cheeks turn pink, but she sticks her middle finger up at him.

“Mommy!” Amelia gasps, pointing at her mother in accusation.

“Oops.” Isabelle giggles, shrugging.

Jared smiles, until his eyes land on me.

“I’m going out.” Is all Jared says, then he turns and walks away. Again. Markus shakes his head, mouthing ‘sorry’ to me. My hands itched to shake Jared. Or stab him. I wasn’t sure which was more tempting. Amelia demanded we finish our tea party, and I was happy to oblige. But my mind was spinning with the choices I had to make.

Chapter 15- Jared

I punched my pillow, still pissed off after the day we had. Luna had looked at me as if I had kicked her while she laid at my feet begging for my faith in her. I should have been the one on my knees, begging her to come back to me. But how could I do that when I couldn’t even protect her from this sick plan? She wanted to come back to me, after I just sat back and watched her walk out to put her life on the line for a title that should have been her birthright.

That’s why I had to do what I was planning. My phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with two words. “We’re ready.” I stood up from the couch, slipping my boots on before silently turning the knob to peer into the bedroom. Luna’s soft snores filled the room, and my heart begged me to crawl into bed next to her.

Guys like me didn’t deserve the happy ending, though. This was my gift to not only her, but my Barone family as well. It was up to me to take out the threat, even if it cost me my life, I will protect those I love. I pulled my black jacket on, strapping guns to my chest and filling any available pocket on my black cargo pants with knives and ammo.

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