Black Jack (Advantage Play #5) - Kelsie Rae Page 0,72
situation is the tip of the iceberg. Shit like that happens on a daily basis. When I was a cop, I arrested this fucking asshole who’d sexually assaulted a nine year old. He got out of jail a week later. A week. All on some bullshit technicality. I wanted to hunt him down and kill him for what he did to her. But I couldn’t. My hands were tied. Now, my hands won’t be tied anymore. When something’s wrong, it’s wrong. And I’ll be able to do something about it.”
“With Kingston’s approval,” I point out, carefully.
Jack smiles. “Kingston’s a good guy, Bianca. He’s been cleaning things up since his dad died. I saw it firsthand when I was living under his roof.”
“He’s the Dark King, Jack.”
“I’ve learned a lot in my life, Bianca. But one of the main things I always struggled to understand was the meaning of loyalty and family. He’s not like your brother or your father. He respects his men. Kingston had my back when no one else did. We might not be able to control our pasts, but we can control our futures, and I want ours to be surrounded by people I can trust.”
“Do you trust King?”
“Yeah. I really do.”
“And what about me?” I ask, hating the way my voice quivers. I look out the window as my shame threatens to swallow me whole. But he needs to know the truth, and what it would mean for us to be around the Romano family. “I…I have a history with them.”
He squeezes my hand again. “I know about your history, Bianca. I don’t give a shit, and neither do they.”
“But I’m a Castello––”
“Not anymore,” Jack interrupts. “When we came to our agreement, Kingston extended the offer to you too.”
My jaw drops. “H-he did?”
“Yeah. We’re a package deal, babe. You’re kind of stuck with me now.”
A weight feels like it’s been lifted off my chest, and I laugh. “Then I guess it’s a good thing that I love you, huh?”
With a grin, he presses another kiss to the back of my hand. “Very good. ‘Cause if you didn’t, I’d have a hell of a time quitting my guilty pleasure.”
My eyes burn with unshed tears––happy ones––but I blink them back. “Same, Jack,” I murmur. “You’ll always be my guilty pleasure.”
I’m a little terrified of our future, but I know I’ll be okay as long as I have him.
The silence in the cab of his car is only drowned out by the occasional rev of his engine as I continue to dissect our situation from every angle before I realize where we’re headed.
“We’re going back? To Wallace and Melissa’s?” I ask.
“Yeah. And we don’t know about Reed yet, either. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then, when the dust settles, we’re going back to Kingston’s estate.”
“And you’ll be a soldier.”
“Yes.”
Heaven help us all.
30
Jack
A few weeks later
Embry offered my job back to me, but I didn’t take it. I couldn’t. Not because of my promise to King, but because of how vastly different my life turned out to be. And even though I felt like my entire world was spiraling out of control when Bianca planted that cell in my desk, I wound up exactly where I was supposed to be.
With her.
On paper, you’d think I was the one who saved her, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. And I’m ready to face whatever the hell our future will bring as long as she’s by my side.
“You ready for this?” Bianca asks from the passenger seat.
The car climbs the last few feet of the driveway before I shove it into park then turn off the ignition. “Yeah. I am. Are you?”
“I’m nervous,” she admits, chewing on her lower lip as she stares at the massive house looming in front of us.
“Why?”
“That they’ll treat me differently.” She clears her throat and glances over at me. “Because of my…my history with them.”
“Your past made you who you are today. And even though it kills me to think about you with someone that isn’t me, I’m not going to hold it against you, and neither are they.”
She blinks back the moisture in her eyes and dares to look over at me. “Promise?”
“Always.”
With our fingers tangled together, we walk up to Kingston’s estate, and I raise my hand to knock, but Bianca pulls me back.
“What is it?” I ask.
Her eyes are wide with fear. “What if…what if they hate me?”
“How could they hate you?”
“Maybe this is a bad idea. I know we’ve already talked about this and