Page 14 of Mine, Forever

Sleep was not going to come, and I knew that. The adrenaline in my body was pumping so hard, I felt myself shake.

Fuck! Fuckity-fuck! How was I going to get out of this one?

JETT

After hearing Ebony lock herself in the room, I tried not to shoot down the door. There was something about her that annoyed, yet fascinated me. She’d tried to calm me down after I’d had a nightmare even after she knew I wasn’t normal. I didn’t like how that sat with me, and how I hadn’t tried to shoot her when my gun had been within reach.

I was sitting on the porch with Ebony’s sketch pad in my lap. I hadn’t drawn in years, for some reason everything I put to paper was dark and demonic in nature. Perhaps that was because I was the devil incarnate as so many people came to tell me in their last moments on this earth before my bullet severed their brain into pieces.

I loved that people are scared of me and that they never knew what way I was going to go. That was real power, and it was the reason I was so damn successful because I didn’t give a crap about anyone or anything, until now.

York pulled up in my Lincoln and one of the oldest men I had on my payroll, Duncan, got out first. He greeted me and looked down at my drawing. For once, I hadn’t drawn anything dark and depressing. What I’d drawn was beautiful.

It was Ebony sleeping.

It scared me that I had thought it was beautiful, but I knew in my heart she was. She was breathtaking, even as she struggled for breath with my hand wrapped around that tiny throat. Damn, but didn’t that image give me a hard-on.

I slammed the pad closed, angry at myself and looked up at Duncan. “What is it?”

“One of the clubs has been burnt to the ground.”

“Giordy?”

“Yeah.”

Finally, he’s made a move against me.

“Good. Let’s get the boys in. I’ll come into the city in a few hours.”

Duncan nodded. “What about her?”

“Leave her to me.”

“Boss,” Duncan hesitated. I already didn’t like where this was going. “She’s a distraction, probably working as a spy for her uncle.”

“Potentially,” I replied, knowing full well she wasn’t.

“Why is she still alive?”

“That’s none of your concern.”

It took everything in me not to reach for my gun and dump his body in the lake around back. I’ve known Duncan a long time which meant he should know better than to doubt me.

“She’s got you by the balls, Boss.”

I stood, towering over him. “What did you just say?”

Duncan stepped back. “There was a time you wouldn’t care about her. She’s a distraction to you, and a danger to us and the organization we run.”

We?I didn’t verbalize it, but I should have. Did he think he had anything to do with me setting up this organization? He didn’t sell his soul to get this place up and running and for me to become one of the hardest and meanest men in the city.

York knew I was about to reach for a weapon, he always knew. I saw him shake his head from the corner of my eye. I knew he was right—another death would only see the men scatter. I pushed Duncan away from me setting the sketchpad down on the table as York approached me.

“Giordy has gone to the Police Commissioner,” York added. “He apparently wants his niece back.”

“He put a hit out on her.”

“Saying it was you.”

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