The Enforcer - Kelli Callahan Page 0,39

go in there. I didn’t even try. I was too scared. And they died.”

“Jake,” she whispers. I look down at her and see tears streaming down her face. “How old were you?”

“I don’t know. I can’t quite remember honestly. Thirteen or fourteen?”

“You were just a kid,” she whispers.

“Just a kid, but the consequences of those actions have impacted me for the rest of my life. I can’t see a fire without thinking of them. I couldn’t just leave you there, as I had left them. Maybe I couldn’t save them. But I could save you.” I look up at the ceiling. “I don’t know that it makes up for anything. But it’s made some difference, hasn’t it?” I turn to face her. “What I’ve done for you has made a difference in your life?”

“Of course it has, Jake,” she says, leaning over and kissing me hard on the mouth. “If it weren’t for you, my only child would be an orphan. Her stepfather in prison. She would have no one healthy to turn to. No one would take her in.”

“Don’t you have other family?”

“Well sure, I have family. But we both know the trauma that family can cause. My parents have her now, but only because they know it’s temporary. They wouldn’t be able to handle getting her through the school year or off to college. I mean, look at what happened to me,” she says.

I nod my head in understanding.

“So what happened to you?” she asks. “After the fire.”

“Noah happened to me,” I chuckle, “Noah found me a place to stay, kept me in school. He gave me steady work,”

“I’m glad he could be there for you,” she says.

I’m impressed that she can say that without judgment. “I am, too,” I whisper. “Few people are as lucky as I have been in life. And I know that if I didn’t have Noah there, I would have ended up so much worse. God knows where I’d be. Tossed into the foster system. Some deadbeat... And while I’m saying this, I can appreciate the irony, knowing that I still became a criminal. But I’m not the everyday criminal. Yes, I have the reputation, but I don’t just beat-up people for kicks and giggles,” I say, and she snorts out laughter.

“Kicks and giggles! I can’t believe you just said that.”

“Well, you know what I mean,” I say. “I don’t just hurt people for the fun of it. I’ve never hurt a woman, never hurt a child. I have my own moral code of conduct. I’m a good person. And Noah is a good person. Just because we do things our own way, doesn’t mean we aren’t helpful or kind.”

“I know that,” she whispers.

“And I’m glad that you know that, too. You weren’t at all what I thought you would be.”

“No?” I ask, “And what did you think of me?”

“Well, after the wedding, I thought you were incredibly handsome and charming. Definitely scary. In a tall, Goliath-towering-over-you kind of way.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh. But mostly I thought you were trying to decide whose pants you were going to get into― that pretty Latina’s, or if you were going to go after me.”

“What?” I pretend to be appalled. “Am I completely transparent?”

“Honestly?” she asks, and I stare over at her. “I don’t really know what to say because, on the one hand, I think it’s a perfectly natural urge to have. At the same time, it feels kind of appalling.”

“Maybe, but not quite as vulgar as you’re putting it,” I say, staring at the ceiling.

“Sorry, how would you put it?”

“I would put it as she was the girl I was with. She seems like the kind of person to cut loose, which is pretty much what you do at weddings,” I say, trying to keep it nonchalant.

“Yeah, so, and when you danced with me?”

“Well, we just danced. And if I made it seem like I wanted more…”

“What would you have done?” she asks.

“I can’t honestly say,” I murmur. “I don’t know how I would have responded. Maybe I’d have agreed to it.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, I think I would have. Just because, well, look at you,” I say, gesturing to her.

“Ah. Are you saying you think I’m pretty?” she asks, and I have to roll my eyes.

“You’re more than pretty, Diana. You’re freaking gorgeous.”

“Are you always this sweet on the inside, Jake?” she asks, running her hand up and down my chest.

“Maybe. But don’t tell anyone.”

“Okay. We’ll keep it our little secret?” she asks.

“Yeah. I can’t have word