Page 20 of Peaceful Chaos

The words are a jumbled mess in my head, and I fidget with my phone while I try to voice what I'm thinking. "I'm thinking about calling Carina and seeing if she can get us a legal team."

"Are you thinking you shouldn't take the deal? Isn't it too late?"

"I don't trust your uncle. He's too black and white when it comes to the law. Now that he doesn't see Lucien and me as victims, I think he's going to try and find a loophole to lock us up when this is done."

She inhales slowly. "Don't call Carina."

My phone slips from my hand. I won't go against her. I'll just have to take the chance that Holbrook keeps his word.

Raven picks up my phone and puts it back in my hand. "Call your dad."

My eyebrows fly up. "Arthur? Why would I do that?"

"Because despite the shitty things he's done, he's your father. He's nothing like Damien. I believe Arthur loves you, but he acted from a place of fear. He owes you this. Give him the chance to make amends. Besides, he's got enough power to actually have a chance at protecting you."

Calling Carina for a favor is something I feel comfortable doing, but Arthur tried to take away the one person I need most. I'm not sure her suggestion isn't trading one pair of shackles for another.

She sees the indecision flash across my face and smiles encouragingly at me. "I'll be right here with you." She reaches out to cover my hand and squeezes my fingers around my phone.

Before I can overthink what I'm about to do, I choose the number I didn't think I'd ever use.

"Jackson? I'm surprised to hear from you, son. Is everything okay?"

I fight the urge to clench my teeth. "I need a favor."

"Anything," he swears, relief evident in his tone.

"Might want to hear me out before you promise that. What I'm going to ask might hurt your campaign."

"You're more important than an office, Ja—Sin. I'm sorry I made you feel otherwise."

So I tell him how Holbrook reacted to the death of Jesse, about how he's called me a criminal, and my fears that he'll try and turn on us after he's done going after Damien.

I can hear Arthur sigh into the phone. "That's a lot. You should never have taken that deal without a lawyer looking it over. If you are in agreement, I'd like to engage the top legal defense team and have them look over the deal and make sure he doesn't try and jam you up like you think he's going to."

"What about Lucien?" For this to work, for me to even consider it, my brother has to be safe too.

"I'll see if the legal team can cover all three of you. Raven might have some exposure after Kyle's death. If not, I'll find the three best legal teams in the country," he answers without hesitation.

I'm nodding before it occurs to me he can't see me. "Yeah, okay."

"Your mother told me she spoke to Javier. While I've often disagreed with her family’s business, I think it's a good plan to loop him in. You're right, the law isn't going to best Damien Blackthorne. I know, I've tried for decades."

We're quiet for several moments. Everything is too new between us, peace too fragile, and neither of us are quite comfortable with each other.

He breaks the silence first. His voice is gentle. "Son, how are you doing?"

I laugh before I can contain it. "I'm going fucking crazy. This house is too small for all the people staying here. We can't go to school. Ford hasn't been to practice in days. Raven and I are pretty much hiding in our room to have any privacy."

"I can imagine. Maybe we can all have dinner soon."

The hope I was beginning to feel sinks. "We can't do any photo ops with you right now. Not with Damien out free and threatening to sell his own daughter if we step out of line."

"Sin, I didn't mean in public. Your mother and I will come to you. Close the deal with the house you told your mother about and we'll join you there."

"There will be more space, but there are still a lot of people around," I warn him.

"Good, we would love to meet your friends."

"Okay then, I guess it's a plan," I agree.

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