Page 110 of Saved By My Buyers

I refuse to take any of this for granted. I know what it means to get a second chance at life.

Five days later, Tuesday

Jack

“I’m sorry I’ve been so slammed,” Greg groans, leaning back against his chair. He video called me, and looks really fucking tired. We’re on a completely secured line, so we can speak freely.

“This client has been a search and rescue, and I had to get boots on the ground and call in some favors. Thankfully, she’s been returned to her family.”

“Good, I’m glad,” I say, and I mean it. Greg’s side of the company is much more hands on in some ways. People come to him when they have no other hope, because he can get into places no one would want to.

“I have my team annoying Gareth, and watching his moves. He goes to work, community fundraiser events, and home. No one has seen much of Dolly’s mom, Lucia, though.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, if the shine has worn off,” Greg grunts. “There may be some possible abuse. Is she still employed at the hospital?”

“It’s the first place I had them look. Records even state that she’s working there,” I sigh. “My priority right now is Dolly, and making sure she’s safe.”

“I’ll take over watching him,” Greg says. “I’ll find a reason to get into the house to snoop. We may be playing the long game with him.”

It’s not exactly what I wanted to hear, but Gareth’s deep pockets and community work make it harder to just kill him. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. Late at night, when I’m watching Bee and Dolly sleep next to me, I want to just blow him off the face of the earth.

I never thought I was a killer, but I’d break my soul apart for both of them.

“Alright,” I say. “How is the family?”

I spend the next few minutes catching up with him, because we’re friends and I’m not a complete asshole.

“I do not know the whole story with Dolly, do I?” Greg asks, and the back of my neck heats. I asked him to look into things, help me erase her in places my team may not be able to reach, but I didn’t explain it all.

“It’s complicated,” I admit. “When Dolly disappeared on her sixteenth birthday, Bee and I were shattered. We didn’t know where she went, or how badly Gareth was abusing her. She disappeared off the face of the earth. Bee and I went to an event almost a month ago, and we found her staring out at us.”

“Holy shit,” he says. “Dude, you stole her girlfriend for all intents and purposes.”

“Don’t be an ass,” I groan as he snickers. God, he can be a dick, but he’s a good guy. “It wasn’t like that, but while she was gone, I started to fantasize about her the last couple of years. It wasn’t in a weird, creepy way?—”

“Nah, you’re not like that,” Greg grunts. “The reason people fall for each other that they’ve known their entire lives is because of the familiarity. You know everything about the other person. Feelings evolve.”

“Exactly,” I say, relieved. “Dolly was standing there, scared, and so damn tiny. I thought a stiff breeze might push her over. She’s been homeless for a couple of years, and then started living in a rough area of Detroit. She had awful roommates that kept stealing from her, so she wasn’t able to take care of her more basic needs.”

“Please tell me that you paid them back for that,” Greg begs. He’s fucking bloodthirsty, but I did love frying Frankie’s nuts.

“Stun gun to his cock,” I mutter. “Fucker pissed himself, but not before he ruined all Dolly’s things while she was gone for the weekend.”

“I hope he can’t ever piss in a straight stream, and his cock is always limp,” Greg snarls. “So, what’s going on now?”

“We decided to see where our relationship would go with the three of us,” I explain. “She’s working at the Melton School of Music, and is also taking classes there. I think Dolly could have a career at song writing, but she needs the framework for it.”

“Sullivan is a good guy,” Greg says warmly. “You’re really in the public eye, Jack. Is this a good idea?”

“I know. Bowen is going to attend the next party with me that the mayor invited me to,” I say. “I’m not hiding our relationship?—”

“No, you’re protecting her,” Greg says. “Make sure you remind her that you’re not hiding her. It can end up feeling like that real fast. Miscommunication fucking sucks.”

His wife had a stalker once, and it nearly destroyed their relationship. The guy was very good at manipulating things, so Greg speaks from experience.

“It does. I’m a fucking caveman, I’ve realized, when it comes to both of them,” I say. “If anyone looks sideways at either of them, I’m practically growling. I don’t know how long it’ll be before someone tries to spin this as me cheating on Bowen.”

“I’ll bury the damn news rag,” Greg promises. “We’ll try to wrap this up as soon as we can. I don’t want anyone to miss him when we do. I’ll start destroying his reputation so no one truly cares that the good doctor is dead.”

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