Page 94 of Darkest Retribution

My reassurances do nothing to calm the worry filling my mind. But then I hear her voice from the living room, strong and clear, and I blow out a breath of relief.

“. . . if you think my brother is going to reward you for killing me, you’re wrong.”

“I—”

“Save it for someone who cares. Now get out and stop wasting my time. I’ll text him with an updated timeline once I have one.”

Killing her? A timeline? What the hell is she talking about?

I step into the kitchen, staying just out of view of the living room. The sliding door opens and closes, and then I hear the telltaleclickof Jade locking it and then closing the curtains.

Just as I step further into view, I see her bury her face in her hands.

“Fuck,” she mutters.

“Jade?”

She jumps, letting out a little yelp before glaring at me. “What the hell are you doing in my house? And Jesus Christ, grumpy, why do you have a fucking gun?”

I set it on the counter before moving into the living room. “Probably because your niece was just pounding on my front door, terrified for your life because she saw some man in here threatening you. What’s going on, Jade?”

“Fuck,” she whispers, running her hands through her hair. “I should’ve known she didn’t fall asleep. Wait, where is she? Did you bring her back?”

“No, I had her lock herself in my downstairs bathroom. She mentioned a gun. I didn’t want to put her in any danger. Who was he? And what did he want?”

“There—I—” She presses her lips into a thin line, breathing deeply through her nose. Then, “There wasn’t a man. She’s just tired, stayed up too late watching movies. Probably had a nightmare. Her whole routine got messed up, and then I got home early from work, and that probably threw her off, too. You know kids. Overactive imaginations and all.”

“I heard a voice, Jade.”

“You heard wrong,” she snaps.

It stings—not her tone, but the fact that she’s so obviously lying to me. I don’t need another reminder that I care about her more than she cares about me, yet I keep getting smacked in the face with them.

“I’m sorry she woke you,” Jade says, brushing past me. “I’ll go get her.”

I grab her arm. “Jade, if you’re in some kind of trouble—”

“I’mnot.Just let me go, Dom. Rosie’s probably terrified. I don’t want to leave her alone.”

I release her, but I don’t move to follow her as she heads out of the house. When she comes back, she has Rosie in her arms while the little girl cries into her shirt.

“Shh, honey, I’m sorry I scared you. Everything’s okay. I’m safe. You’re safe. We’re gonna be okay. I promise.”

Rosie starts crying harder, and Jade tightens her hold on her.

“Nothing like this is ever gonna happen again. I’ll make sure of it, hon. You don’t have to worry.”

“I want Mister Dominic to stay,” Rosie wails.

We both freeze. When Jade looks at me, there’s only one thing on her face. It blasts a hole wide open in my heart.

Regret.

“Fine,” Jade says. Then she tears her eyes away from mine and heads upstairs. “Now let’s get you back to sleep.”

I wait downstairs while Jade puts Rosie to bed, pacing the length of the kitchen and living room. When Jade comes back downstairs, I move to her, put she holds up a hand.

“You can’t stay.”

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