Page 30 of Saved By My Buyers

Gareth simply smirks as Jack slams the door behind me.

“I’m fine, I’m out,” I whisper as I walk, talking to myself as much as Jack. My ankle rolls, almost wiping me out, and Jack lifts me as if I weigh nothing, continuing to walk with me at his side.

“I do not like this,” Jack rumbles. This close, his voice rolls through my body, making me twitch. “You’ve been keeping secrets, and I’ve been letting it go for too fucking long. Talk to me, Dolly.”

“I can’t,” I say, breathing hard. “He said he’d hurt Mom and Bee, and I can’t?—”

I’m having trouble getting air into my lungs, and Jack deposits me into the SUV. Running around the front, he jumps in and speeds away, shoving my head between my legs.

“I don’t have a paper bag, but this sometimes helps. Breathe for me,” he grunts as he drives. “You have some explaining to do.”

“I can’t,” I rasp, begging my airways to open. “Jack, it’s so bad.”

“Move in with me,” he says. “I have a house, there are two other bedrooms, and while I’m not home all the time, it’ll be safer.”

My chest is still heaving to pull in as much oxygen as possible, and I lean back into my chair.

“He’s been threatening Bee and Mom,” I whisper. “If I told you everything, you’d kill him. It sounds dramatic, but you and Bee are the only ones keeping me sane. You can’t go to jail.”

“Dahlia,” he says, his voice breaking as I flinch. It always sounds like I’m in trouble when he uses my full name. “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at that fucker for manipulating you. What is he saying?”

Swallowing hard, I tell him about the threats, though I hold back the word vomit that wants to tell him everything. I can’t. He’d fucking lose it if he knew.

“You shouldn’t be in that house anymore, but I don’t have a legal leg to stand on,” he grumbles. “I’m your deceased dad’s friend, which doesn’t mean shit to a judge. I’m not a blood relation.”

“I know,” I agree, taking a shuddering breath. “I can deal. It’s just a couple more years of school and then I can go to college. I can get a scholarship with my grades.”

“Two years, Dolly, is a lot,” Jack says, shaking his head. “This all feels as if it’s escalating. What does Bee know?”

“Nothing,” I whisper. “She adores her father, Jack. She does whatever he wants, which is why she’s been out of town for two weeks. Dinners with Gareth and Mom are fucking creepy, but I can deal.”

“You’re the most stubborn human I’ve ever met,” he mutters. “That’s saying a lot, you know.”

“Since you’re so old and all,” I say with a giggle.

“God, I can only say that,” he complains. “I just turned forty-three this year, okay?”

I know that, because I sent cupcakes to his hotel to surprise him, since he was traveling. Jack does so much for me, there’s no way I’d forget his birthday.

“Look, it’s a shitty situation, but there’s not much I can do about it,” I remind him. “What I can do though, is focus on what I can control.”

“Which would be to have an incredible birthday,” Jack rumbles.

“Ding ding ding. Who’s the smart one now?” I tease.

Giggling as he rolls his eyes at me, I find the tension I’ve been holding inside slowly dissipating. A lot of parts in my life are shitty, but this part isn’t.

“Alright,” he says. “How comfortable are those sandals?”

“I can walk,” I say. “I know my ankle rolled earlier, but it’s not from the shoes.”

“I’m going to park downtown and we’ll try a new burger place that’s supposed to be amazing,” he begins. “I got some recommendations, since there’s a satellite office that just opened up now that I’m living here. It’ll ensure I can be in town more often.”

Jack and I don’t talk a lot about his job, but I know he’s a bigger deal than he lets on.

“Okay, big shot,” I say with a giggle. “Lay it on me.”

Rolling his eyes, he nods. “After lunch, there’s a dessert trolley that’ll take us through the city while it feeds us. We can jump off and on as needed, and play tourists,” he explains.

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