Page 24 of Mine, Forever

How dare he use that as an excuse. He had no right to know about my past, let alone use it as an excuse to give me treatments against my will.

“No, you wanted me quiet. I remember things, and then I can’t remember things. You took my memories from me. You had no right to do that.”

He bowed his head, which made me want to reach out and touch him to let him know I wasn’t angry. Well, I was, but I wasn’t as angry as I was coming across. There were memories which I knew were gone that had caused me a great deal of pain, so for that, I could thank him, but I didn't want to.

“When can I leave?”

“Soon,” he said, finally looking up at me. “I just need to clear some things up first, and then it’ll be safe for you.”

“Will you send me away?”

He was quiet, intently watching me before finally sitting back in the chair. “No, I want you here. You belong here.”

The way he said that made me feel a jolt of excitement. Did he want me close by because he liked me? Was this all a ploy to keep me to himself? I decided to change the subject because I knew I didn't want to think about what he possibly could be thinking. He was still intimidating as fuck.

“What do you need to look after?”

“Your safety and mine. It may be a few more weeks.”

“Jett?”

He looked over at me, those green eyes haunted by something. “Why did you do this to me?”

Until I had said it, I wasn’t even sure I was thinking it, but it was a valid point. Why had he done this? He seemed to care about me at times, like now, and then others he didn’t seem to care too much. I was so confused.

“I have to go.”

He was gone before I could rebut. Maybe he was only playing games with me, and that's why he didn't want to answer me. I was never going to get out of here.

What if this was all a ploy to get me away from the city and to torment my family so he could reign supreme in the city forever? If he'd bothered to get to properly know me, he would have figured out I could have helped him dispose of Giordy in the most brutal way.

I began to sob, desperately angry at Jett for leaving me here, and angry that I’d have to go back in there with the thought of never getting away from this misery.

JETT

I couldn’t believe I’d almost broken her out of the asylum just based on those black eyes I couldn’t get enough of—I was turning soft. The boys had been right. She was a distraction, one I knew I shouldn't keep around. They had never seen me soft before. It had been months since I killed anyone, and yet all I thought about was her.

She was changing. Her fire was dissipating. That had been the best part about her, and the one thing I’d hoped would stay. Maria had told me my visits lifted her spirits for a time before she turned back into the fighting and animalistic patient she had been.Did that mean Ebony was as enthralled by me as I was of her?This had to end. I couldn’t get soft on this chick. When I released her from Serenity, she wouldn't stay with me—she would flee which meant I would be able to focus on my life again. I would regain my organization’s trust again. All would be good.

The efforts to track down my father hadn’t yielded any results. Even York was struggling. If York couldn’t find someone, then they really didn’t want to be found, but I also wasn't trying very hard. Ebony occupied every bit of my brain activity—she was in my dreams, and she was in my waking thoughts. She was everywhere.

I moved through the office stopping when I found Duncan talking to someone in the hall. He wasn’t happy judging by his animated arm waving, the other men behind him were agreeing. I stayed hidden, listening in on him.

“…he’s lost his edge, Dunc. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he hasn’t shot any of us… not in months.”

Even the men saw my weakness.Fuck.I waited for them to push off so it didn’t look suss that I may have been listening. Their voices started to fade as they moved off toward the carpark. I made sure they were all gone and headed for the office. York was sitting at my computer searching for something, his brows creased in thought as he looked at the screen.

“Boss.”

“York, what is it?”

He looked distracted, which I knew was never a good thing. York prided himself on being on the ball, twenty-four-seven.

“John Lambert has popped up in town. I put a hit on his social security, and it’s just pinged close by.”

“How close?”

He typed, and I saw something pop up I didn’t want to see.

---