Page 55 of All Jacked Up

Kash was the youngest Savelle brother. He’d been in Alabama for four years now. The branch of the family there had taken him in when he had to leave Madison due to his obsession with a female, and his fucking temper had left her stepbrother dead and the blood on his hands. No one knew that but a few people inside the family.

I took one last pull from the cigarette, then went to put the butt in the black stone smoker pole that stood to the left of the patio sofa. “What did Linc say about it?” I asked.

I’d almost thought that Kash would be allowed back after Crosby was killed, but he hadn’t returned. No one had even brought it up.

Forge shrugged as he rested his elbows on his knees with his bottle dangling between his legs from one hand. “Don’t know. Not sure Dad told him.” He blew out a breath. “Mom is pushing hard for it. But I don’t think Dad trusts that he’s moved past whatever the fuck had him so wrapped up about that girl.”

There was only one year between Forge and Kash. They’d been thick as thieves, growing up. Kash being sent to Alabama wasn’teasy on Forge. But there was no other choice. Kash had been twenty-one, and if the truth had come out about his actions, it would have taken Blaise Hughes stepping in to keep him out of prison. Even then, he could have still been sentenced. It wasn’t like it had been an accident.

“She’s back in town. Linc will do his research and see she’s here, and he won’t allow it.” Forge’s tone was heavy.

Shewas the female who had jacked Kash up.

Cressida Beck. When she had been four years old, Delphi and Hash Beck had fostered and then adopted her. Two years later, they fostered Pirate, her brother who was two years older. Due to his mental state from an abusive home life, they waited over three years before officially adopting him.

When Cressida was a sophomore and Pirate was a senior—after being held back—they moved here. It was Kash’s senior year of high school.

Kash and Cressida had been toxic.

It was at midnight in the Beck home when Kash went to see Cressida because she hadn’t been answering her phone, and he found Pirate in her bed. They’d been asleep, but the sight had been enough to trigger his crazy.

“Reckon that’s for the best,” I finally said.

Forge nodded his head, but the look on his face said he wished it were different.

“She lied for him,” I reminded Forge. “Her lie is what saved his ass. Him seeing her again could be bad.”

Forge sighed and leaned back on the sofa. “I know,” he replied, then took a long drink. “But her lie will never be enough for him. She might not have been the one he killed, but she has been dead to him since he walked into her room that night and found them. I just wish he could get a chance to come home. It’s not right, him not being here with us.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Kash was a Savelle. He belongedhere. But that was a gamble I doubted the family would take.

“He’s grown up. He isn’t that kid anymore,” Forge continued. “If they’d just give him a chance to prove that.”

I nodded, knowing as much as he did that the family wasn’t known for giving chances.

“What’s Oz saying about it?”

Forge shook his head. “Dad hasn’t told him. You know Oz. He thinks Kash is happy in Bama. He’ll haul his ass down there and try to handle it if he knows. Best he doesn’t.”

That was a fucking shit show waiting to happen. We all needed to be ready for the explosion that could potentially blow up in our faces if Kash Savelle ever did move back to Madison.

Nineteen

Noa

Today was a new day. I would keep my head on straight about Ransom. Get my mother’s things boxed up and donated or trashed. Handle the rest of her details and get closer to leaving Madison. Preferably to never return. Distance from Ransom was required. My emotions were all too messed up where he was concerned.

Getting to sleep again last night had been difficult. I ended up putting in my earbuds and listening to an audiobook that my publisher had sent me. They wanted me to give them a blurb for the cover when it released. So far, all it had done was put me to sleep three different times. I doubted that was the kind of blurb they were looking for though.

Trying not to be vain, I didn’t give myself one last look in the mirror to check to make sure everything looked okay. One did not worry about how their friend saw them. They didn’t getup early and take special care to appear attractive. I’d managed to get about fifty percent of that concept this morning while dressing. The other fifty found herself taking extra care that truly wasn’t needed to clean out a trailer that belonged to a junkie.

I had expected the hallway to be empty, so when I saw Ransom leaning against a doorway across from me, texting something on his phone, my breath hitched. Or my breath hitched because he was mouthwatering. He had the hat on again, and when his head shot up and his eyes locked on me, I was sure there wasn’t a woman alive who would blame me for the way I reacted to him. It was hard not to get weak in the knees.

“I was just about to text you,” he said, slipping his phone into his back pocket and shoving away from the doorframe to saunter over to me in that way that made my heart flutter.

Did he have to make every move he made appear so damn sexy?

“I hope you weren’t waiting on me,” I replied. “I thought you’d have gone to work by now.”

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