Page 57 of Sugar and Skulls

“What happened?”

“We caught her in the midst of murdering a priest,” Dirk says.

My head swings towards him. “What?”

“Remember when I found Raffe in Los Angeles? I’m going to need the same amount of time with her. You going to help me get Bill to see this?”

“Why was she trying to kill a priest? Please tell me she didn’t do it.”

“I finished the job for her.”

My head bounces back and forth between Raffe and Dirk. “What the hell are you two thinking?” I shove them into the conference room and close the door behind me.

“Dan, this is her story to tell and she is never going to tell it if you don’t help me get some time with her.”

“You tell me.”

“No.” Dirk stands toe to toe with me. “I don’t even know the entirety, but I will and then if she chooses, you will hear it from her.”

I push him in the chest sending him stumbling against a chair. He rights himself, glaring at me. “I’ve known her a hell of a lot longer than you, cousin,” I growl.

He holds his hands up in front of him. “Dan, I’m not pretending that I know her better than you. That is exactly why it needs to be me. She wants you to see only what she wants to show you. She wants you to see her as the smart mouth, tough girl that hangs out at your shop. Not because she doesn’t trust you. But, because she loves you, man.”

I drop into a chair. Three years ago, that smart mouth popped into my shop wanting a tattoo. Little did I know how important she would become to me. She’s my friend, my fellow artist, the daughter I never had.

Dirk’s right. Jesse has been in fight or flight mode her entire life. She hasn’t noticed that there are people in her life who care about her, who will help her.She stomps around keeping people at bay with her sharp wit and wicked mouth. She’s used to fighting her battles alone, always hustling to stay ahead.

Jesse needs to slow down and let herself heal.

Dirk saved Raffe from self-destruction maybe he can save Jesse too.

The thought both terrifies and gives me hope. I want to meet the whole Jesse. Is the girl that got left behind still there? Or, did she get buried while trying to survive this dog eat dog world.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jesse

???

Everything is falling apart. Everything. Let’s just start with the fact that I had the wrong man killed. Gabriel wasn’t the one who hurt Katie. Now I have to kill someone else.

“You want to see my treasure?” Katie squeals after she puts the last piece of the puzzle in place.

“Treasure? You guys found it?” I ask, following her over to a box on the coffee table.

My dad laughs. “Katie is a smarty pants. She was the one who figured out most of the clues I gave them.”

I glance over my shoulder at him, smiling. She opens the box, shoving it in my face.

“Oh, wow,” I gush over her newfound treasures. The box is full of candy, beaded necklaces, and a plastic tiara which she plucks out placing it on my head.

She cups a hand over her mouth and leans in to whisper into my ear. “I told you your daddy lived in a castle and you are his princess.” She giggles, pulling back to look at me.

“I’m too old to be a princess. How about you be the princess of the castle.” The tiara catches in my hair as I try to remove it before placing it on her head.

She dips her head and rubs a finger under her nose, sniffling.

“Hey, what’s wrong, sweetie?”

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