Page 58 of Mine, Forever

“Ebony… princess… your mother doesn’t hate you.”

“You have no idea what I went through when you went away,” I angrily said. “And she let it happen. A mother would never do that to someone she loved.”

He sat forward trying to make eye contact, but I couldn’t. I was on the verge of tears again already, locking eyes with him would send me over the edge if I saw the love and concern in his eyes right now.

“Ebony, what happened?”

“A lot, okay? I did stupid shit. Got caught up in the wrong crowd. I fucked my entire life up at a very young age.”

I hated remembering my past. I hadn’t had to since my treatments at Serenity, and that had been excellent. Jett had been trying to break me, yeah, but in a way, I think he knew I needed to forget. He did this for me.

“Eb…”

I pulled away from his grasp and pushed up out of the chair to pace the small room.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry I got caught, baby girl. I wish I could have been there for you. Life is unfair, but that’s life. We just need to take it with a grain of salt sometimes.”

I looked over at him. There had been so many times I’d imagined seeing him again or if he’d never been arrested at all. This was not one of the scenarios. I never expected to be angry with him.

He stood, slowly coming toward me.

“Daddy…”

Before I fell, his arms wrapped around me, and we dropped to the floor together. It felt so warm and good to have my father hug me, hold me tight to make me realize I wasn’t alone. He kissed me on the top of my head and tightly held me until my sobbing stopped.

“We haven’t got much time left,” I finally said. “Is there something you need in here? Jett can get it for you.”

He laughed. “I’m in solitary, love. I don’t need luxury. Tell me about your life.”

And I did. We sat there on the floor talking about my sisters and the things I got up to in my adolescence leading to my meet with Jett. I knew he wasn’t sure about him, but he didn’t say anything for me to get angry. He didn’t lecture me, rather he just listened and offered some advice where he could. For the first time, I sat with a family member, and I didn’t feel judged by my past or my future.

JETT

The restaurant lighting was dimmed for ‘diner’s comfort’ which was far worse than being alone with Nic. Obviously, York hadn’t been able to get her to agree to a mutual spot, and she’d talked him into coming to her favorite place,Lioness. It reminded me of the times when she’d bring me here and have the entire place shut down for the night. We’d had so many nights where we ran the city together, where she taught me the tricks of the trade—how to get Luca to let down his guard and how to infiltrate a business to my advantage. Honestly, I owed a lot to her, which is why I hadn’t taken her out yet. She knew far too many people that I needed to have on my side.

Nic was sitting in the back booth wearing an incredibly revealing black dress meant to turn men’s eyes. The dress had me wishing I could run for the hills and leave her to Ebony’s wrath. I knew my little hellion would put Nic in her place, but could I afford for her to piss Nic off?Not yet.

Probably best Ebony didn’t find out about this or Nic at all. I had a feeling it wouldn’t go down well for either Nic or me.

“Jett,” she purred in that low voice of hers. “You kept me waiting. You know I don’t like that.”

“I apologize,” I lied while unbuttoning my suit jacket and sitting down. A whiskey was already in front of me.

“Go on,” she said, motioning to the drink. “It’s your favorite.”

I hated that she knew that about me. When we first met, I’d been so fucking young, without a care in the world, and I’d divulged entirely too much information. That was something she had warned me against, a piece of information I had taken to heart ever since.

“How can I know for sure you’ve not had it poisoned?”

“I’m hurt,” she smiled at me. “After all we’ve been through?”

“Why are you here?”

I was in no mood for games right now.

“You knew I would return. After all, I gave you this empire you covet so much. I’d like to see what you’ve done with it since I’ve been gone. Perhaps I could offer my assistance with anypeopleyou may be having problems with.”

My mind raced. Did she know of the problems I was having with Jenkins and Cole? Then I realized her wording meant she had no intention of leaving anytime soon. How the fuck was I going to keep Ebony away from her?

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