Page 45 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

“She can do whatever the fuck she wants,” I spat.

“And you’ll just ignore her?”

“This isn’t a real marriage!” I shouted. “I don’t want her. The only reason I married her is because I fucking had to. She’s a fucking liability. Instead of having Patrick by my side, I have to leave him behind to fucking babysit her, because if anything happens to her, Ambrose will have my head! If I could get her out of the picture, I would do it in a heartbeat!”

Chase winced, ducking his head as he sucked in a breath. I spun around and saw Jade staring at me with hatred in her eyes. That whole thing about having fight in her? I was seeing it right now. And as much as I hated that it was directed at me, it was better this way.

She turned on her heel and started walking away. Chase shoved me in her direction, but the last thing I wanted was to go after her. All the things I just said put the perfect distance between us.

“You’re a fucking asshole sometimes.”

“This works out better for me,” I said, turning away from him. “We leave this afternoon.”

I stalked away from him, trying to erase the look of hate on Jade’s face from my memory. A sharp pain formed in my chest knowing that I hurt her. She’d been through enough shit as it was, and I was only making it worse. But I couldn’t see a way to make any of this work with us. She clearly hated this life, and I was being forced to live it, now attached to her for the rest of my life. It was going to suck, but if we lived our own lives, we might have a chance at not being miserable.

I called Cash for the last time. “I’m sending your guys back to you.”

“Already? I thought they would be there for the week.”

“Plans change.”

“Listen—”

“No, I’m not working for you on this. We’re playing it my way. You said I was alone if I took this job, and that’s the way I need to handle this.”

“Fine, but when you get close to taking them down, you fucking call me.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” I said, ending the call.

I continued to the bungalow to pack my shit. I wouldn’t be calling anyone. No one else was going to get involved and risk their lives for this shit. I took on the job, and I was going to be the one to end it.

18

JADE

I was so fucking stupid. The idea that I could actually have something with Asher was beyond ridiculous. But over the past few days, I’d seen a side to him that I thought was starting to change my mind. But I was nothing but an inconvenience to him.

I stormed back to the bungalow, doing my best not to let the tears fall until I was in the peace and quiet of my own space. I shouldn’t care what he thought of me, but it still cut deep. There was not a single person in this world that actually cared for me, aside from Margaret. My mother wasn’t really with us anymore, and no matter how much I prayed that she would get better, I knew she was lost to us.

I hated that I had allowed myself to believe there was even a small piece of Asher that was redeemable. He was just like my father, money-driven and power-hungry. I was just the ticket to help him along the way.

If I could get her out of the picture, I would do it in a heartbeat!

The rage I saw on his face because he was stuck in this marriage made the bottom fall out of my stomach. And it brought back the reality that Patrick was only doing his job. Sure, he was nice to me, but it was all for Asher. He wasn’t doing an important job for Asher. He was babysitting me. I was the annoyance that he had to deal with.

I finally reached the bungalow and ran inside, bypassing Patrick, who was sitting with his feet up in the corner of the room. He immediately jumped to his feet and pointed the remote at the TV.

“Hey, I got the next movie ready!”

“Fuck off!” I snapped.

“That’s not nice! I stayed with you when you were sick!”

I was just about to slam the bathroom door when I decided against it. I stormed back out into the room, feeling some of that old fire return to my veins. “You’re doing a job, okay? I get it, you’re stuck babysitting the wife and it sucks. That doesn’t mean I need you to hold my hand or entertain me. Go find something better to do than follow me around like a lost puppy.”

He frowned. “That’s just not cool. Lost puppies just want homes.”

“Yeah? Well, you’re not going to find one with me. I’m not your family or your friend. I’m the chess piece in this fucked up alliance.”

---