Page 13 of Happily Never After

“There’s one other thing too.” He glanced uneasily at Tanya.

Awesome. What were the odds that the “one more thing” was he was planning to buy a family beach house? Though if Jack was buying, it was more likely to be a tactical nuclear bunker.

“I—” he stopped.

Claire and Bri exchanged a worried look before. Jack had never been lost for words before. What was he about to divulge? The suspense was killing her.

Tanya cleared her throat. “Your father thinks it’s his fault.”

“What’s his fault?” Brianna narrowed her eyes.

“He thinks ESA is targeting our family because he’s in charge of the task force.” Tanya’s voice was barely above a whisper.

Claire’s heart leapt into her throat. She had always assumed ESA was pissed at her because she had put one of their members in prison. And then of course they had used her for their heinous training program for new recruits. But did it go even deeper than that? Were they punishing Jack for trying to take them down?

It was almost a relief to have someone else to blame.

“My partner’s daughters also received some threats. They’re not the type usually targeted by the group, so we know it’s personal. I’m sorry.” He had found his voice at last.

“It’s not your fault,” Brianna piped up. “Scumbags will always be scumbags.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

Claire bit her lip. What was she supposed to do with this new information? If ESA was targeting Brianna, it was only a matter of time before they crept back into her life. She had been responsible for shutting down an entire branch of theirorganization, after all. She was a dead woman walking. It wasn’t over. It wasnevergoing to be over.

“We want you to have these,” Tanya said. She reached under the table and drew out two midnight blue velvet bags.Thunk. The mystery contents must have been heavy.

“Crystals—uh, helpful as they may be—” Jack said with a glance at Tanya, “are no replacement for a bodyguard.”

Brianna sighed.

“Did you tell Charlie your concerns?” Claire blurted out.

He shook his head. “She won’t take my calls.”

“I guess I’ll pass along the message.” Claire stood up from the table. Charlie was likely to be unfazed, but Alice was going to flip shit. It was time to leave before he could divulge anything else that would permanently threaten her blended family fantasy.

After half a dozen prayers of protection from Tanya, Brianna and Claire were released. They staggered down the driveway, weighed down by a pound of vegan spaghetti apiece and their bags of mystery crystals.

“Hey,” Claire began, searching the fence line for an enemy that probably wasn’t there. But now that Brianna was being targeted, she couldn’t be too careful. “I know Jack is being a little intense about the whole bodyguard thing. But you really should consider it. I think you know how big of a deal this is. ESA isn’t some crazy fourteen-year-old who’s in love with you. They’re organized, they’re connected. If they want you, they will try to take you. I had a police officer tailing me most of the time, and a single sociopath all by himself was able to kidnap me. You need to keep yourself safe. If not for you, then for us.”

Brianna sighed and leaned against her car, head tilted toward the sky as though she were looking to the stars for answers. She pulled a cigarette from her purse and lit it in the darkness, sparks from the lighter illuminating her face. Suddenly her younger sister seemed years older. The sunshine was gone,replaced by a world-weary woman just trying to get through the day.

“I thought you quit.” Claire helped Rosie into the back seat. She would never expose her tiny lungs to secondhand smoke.

“I did. Then I got the letter.”

Claire approached and laid a hand on her shoulder. The smoke tickled her throat. “I know that hiring someone means admitting that all of this is real. That you’re in real danger. I know how tempting it is to keep pretending like everything’s normal. Hire a bodyguard. Please. Don’t make it easy for them.”

Brianna sighed, exhaling a long, thin stream of smoke. Not even Mark Jacobs could cover up the casino bathroom smell. “I will. As soon as I get back.”

“Good. I’ll be in LA in a couple of weeks for Brad’s proposal. I’ll visit. I love you.” Claire leaned in and squeezed her sister, praying that it wouldn’t be the last time.

She shuffled those thoughts to the back of her mind as she got in her car and began to pull a three-point turn. As she passed her sister, she rolled the window down.

“And throw those away,” she said sternly, gesturing to the pack of cigarettes. “It’s gross, and you’re better than that.”

“Yes, Mom.” Brianna smiled for the first time since dinner.

CHAPTER FOUR

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