Page 16 of Mine to Keep

Chapter Ten

Was it theft if you’re screwing the brains out of the owner of the car?Veronica asked herself, as she stomped on the brakes of Robert’s car and ground the gears. She glared at the gearshift and decided it definitely wasn’t stealing when it was a stupid standard transmission, something she hadn’t driven in years. She was in a damn hurry and she had to re-teach herself how to drive stick shift. She sighed and put the Porsche in first gear before attempting to floor it off the line again. Some guy in a sports car next to her was grinning in amusement.

Veronica grumbled and made her way angrily down to the dockyard, hoping that Jay would be there. If he was with Allison last night he might be either at his apartment or still out of the province. Still, she had to try. If he wasn’t at the dockyard, she’d try his home next. She hadn’t bothered calling him. He’d know that daughter would’ve called mother by now and mama bear would be on the warpath.

“You better duck and cover, asshole,” she mumbled as the car stalled again at the entrance of the dockyard, sending her bad mood soaring even higher.

She wanted to bang her head on the steering wheel when she saw several guys craning their heads to see who was driving so badly. With a huff, she turned the key in the ignition and floored it, sending the tires spinning in the mud. Satisfaction surged through her as the car shot forward. She maneuvered around shipping containers and vehicles, laying on the horn and waving guys out of her path of potential destruction, until she was able to park next to Jay’s office. Heaving a sigh of relief, she unlatched the seatbelt and leapt out of the car.

Jay met her at the door, a look of cool expectation on his stoic features. He looked tired. His arms were crossed loosely over his chest, the tattoos on his fingers and hands standing out starkly against his tanned skin. His dark hair was already starting to grey at the age of thirty-two. He was a hard man, with enemies at his back and the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was climbing his way up a vicious and bloody ladder in a very dangerous place. Her heart went out to him a little. But he shouldn’t’ve messed with her little girl.

Veronica knew why he did it, of course. There were two people he cared about in the world. One he could live without if he had to, the other he couldn’t. If anything happened to Allison, he would lay down his life.

He stood back and allowed her entrance into his office, only raising an eyebrow at the car in acknowledgment of her possible theft. She glared at him. She wasn’t going to defend herself. It definitely wasn’t stealing when it was stick shift. Those things should be outlawed.

“I’m not changing my mind,” Jay said, not bothering to pretend he didn’t know why she was there.

She whirled on him. “She has less than eight months left to go, Jay. Are you really going to pull her out of school now?”

“You’re the one that chose not to tell me what she was doing with her education, Veronica,” he said coldly. “You kept this from me on purpose.”

“It was never your choice to make! It’s Allie’s and Allie’s alone!”

“No, it’s not,” he snarled, stalking toward her. Veronica backed up, sensing something bad coming. Jay could be just as vicious with words as he could with actions. He backed her up until she was pressed against one of the walls. She wasn’t afraid of him physically. Jay had never harmed a hair on her head. In fact, he’d done nothing but save her life repeatedly. But she still feared the words. “Her choices are mine, Veronica. All mine. They always were and always will be.”

She gasped, paling. She knew how he felt about her daughter. Everyone did. Jay had stalked the streets since Allison’s birth shadowing her, first as a surrogate brother, a protector and a friend. As she’d grown though, from a child into a girl, then a teenager and finally into a beautiful young woman, he’d watched her every move. Finally, it had been the pressure of business and the reality of what he did for a living and brutality of the streets that had forced his hand. He’d done the right thing and sent Allison away. But his words proved how much he suffered in setting her free. He was like a wounded predator watching his prey escape.

Veronica reached out to touch him. “Her choices are not yours to make, Jay. You have to let her go. You have to let my girl go be free to live her life the way she wants.”

He turned on her. “No!” he snarled. “She’ll never be free of me! She belongs to me. You want her to make choices that’ll get her fucking killed? You want her to get shot at? Stabbed? That’s what’ll happen to your precious girl in the types of places addiction workers end up in.”

“That’s not true!” Veronica cried out. “She’s smart, she’ll stay safe!”

“What the fuck do you care?” he roared. “You’re too busy fucking your protection to give a shit what your daughter is running around doing. Why don’t you be a good mother and fly out there? Find out what she’s up to. She could be fucking half of that university for all you know.”

“Jay!” Veronica gasped, shocked. He’d never spoken to her that way before. It was like he was so broken up and confused over Allison he couldn’t control what he was saying.

His grey eyes were flashing and his fists were clenched as he loomed over her. “How much are you worth these days? How much is he paying you for a fuck? I hope it’s worth the money because Senator won’t stick around long. He’s the love them and leave them type.”

Veronica’s mouth fell open, her eyes filling with tears at his cruelty. She could barely comprehend that her best friend would speak to her this way when the door hit the wall so hard the entire office shook. Robert stood seething in the door for about two seconds before he launched himself at Jay. Veronica gasped in terror and backed up against the wall as they crashed to the floor.

She watched for a few seconds, wondering if she should do something. Then she decided she definitely should not do anything. They were both heavily armed and combined probably outweighed her by a solid four hundred or so pounds. Spinning on her heel she headed for the door. Hopefully they would shoot each other. She was done with men for a while.

With a groan of annoyance, she climbed back in the Porsche, turned the key and floored it. When it stalled, she seriously considered just driving off the pier and putting the car out of its misery. But that would ruin her dramatic exit and possibly drown her in the process. So, she did her best to make a dignified exit with as few embarrassing gear grinds as possible.

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