Page 88 of Carry Me Home
My eyes rolled to the back of my head. Classic.
And then Rupert strode in.
“My client will not be signingthis farce of a contract.” Rupert’s lawyer tossed the stapled pages aside.
Brax smiled pleasantly. “You seem to be under the mistaken notion that this is a negotiation. It’s not. Senator Warren will sign before we leave here today, or we will settle this in court. A verypubliccourt.”
Rupert flinched at the word. “Don’t do this, Janie. It’s not the money. I can triple what you’re asking for, if that’s what you want. But the clause regarding Maya must be reinstated. So much is at stake here. You understand that. You’ve always understood that, Janie.” His tone was gentle and kind. A perfectly reasonable man appealing to my better nature.
God, he was insufferable.
The contract I signed in the hospital was basically a gag order. It required me to keep Maya out of public photographs until ten years after her father’s death, whenever that date might be, including yearbooks. She couldn’t be within five hundred feet of him at any time. Attending the parties and fundraisers my parents threw was obviously out of the question.
The new contract guaranteed that I would never publicly name Rupert as her father and left it at that. Whatever people discovered on their own was not my problem. I had no desire to ruin his life or lay claim to his name in any way, but I was done keeping Maya hidden like she was a dirty little secret. She was the best thing that had ever happened to me, and I would never let her feel otherwise.
“Do not address my client.” Brax’s voice was sharp enough to cut steel. “Do not even look at her.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Rupert spat.
I laid a quelling hand on Brax’s arm for the sole purpose of keeping him out of jail and looked Rupert dead in the eye.
“Why should I be ashamed? Did I seduce an impressionable intern twenty years younger than me, lie about being separated from my spouse, and hide the resulting baby while holding myself up as a paragon of virtue to the world? No, wait, that was you.” I tilted my head. “I’d sayyoushould be ashamed of yourself, but why waste my breath? You can’t feel shame without having a moral compass, and the only thing inside you is a rotted soul.”
If glares could incinerate people, I’d be nothing but a pile of ash. If he thought he could intimidate me, he was mistaken. I wasn’t twenty-one anymore. Whatever pull he’d had on me then, it was long gone now. Jack’s voice was in my head, cheering me on.Attagirl, Ace. Let your bad out.
“I’ve made myself silent to keep your secrets safe. I’ve made my life small so that yours could be big. I have been so damngood. And I. Am.Done.” I tapped the table with each word. “Sign the papers, Rupert. Because if you don’t, the next thing I’m going to make myself is a whole ass problem.”
Mom gasped. Dad coughed. Brax snorted.
Rupert signed the papers.
I stoodoutside the Painted Cat, staring through the window at Jack so hard that he felt the weight of it and whipped in my direction. Adam, Zack, and Steven turned a second later, but Jack had already vaulted over the bar.God. My heart hammered against my ribs as he barreled out the door, nearly taking it off its hinges.
He stopped inches from me, chest heaving. For a moment I thought he might grab me, but then he put his hands on his hips. “Hey.”
I burst into tears.
“Shit,” he muttered. His arms ghosted around me and when I didn’t protest, he pulled me tightly against his chest and kissed my temple. “It’s okay, honey. I know how to make death look like an accident.”
I laughed in spite of myself. “You don’t have to do that. Everything is good. It’s adrenaline, that’s all.”
“Jack.” I wiped my face on the sleeve of my fancy wool blazer. “I love you.”
His irises flared and then narrowed. “Why does that sound like there’s abutcoming?”
“But if you want to be with me so you can fix me, this is never going to work.” No matter how hot the whole bar-vaulting thing was. “I can’t be your mission.”
He pulled back, his forehead furrowed. “What?”
“I know you’ve been feeling lost since you left the military, Jack. I get it. But trying to fix my life isn’t the answer. I don’twant you to save me and I…” My voice cracked on a sob. “I can’t save anyone. I’m still trying to figure out my own shit.”
“Huh.” He mulled that for a moment. “Wait here, okay?”
Before I could ask why, he jogged inside. A moment later he was back with something in his hand.
“For you.” The plastic paper crinkled as he slapped it into my hand.
I looked down and my stomach flipped. “Jack,” I said slowly. “Why are you giving me M&Ms?”
