was not who she was, someone who traded in deals and favors. She believed in honesty and fairness, speaking up for those without a voice. Doing the right thing, no matter what.
And this was not right. Not by a mile.
Silence descended and she could sense Jack’s confusion as he stared at her. She ached at the sight of his handsome face, those piercing blue eyes that could steal a woman’s soul.
As they’d almost stolen hers.
There was only one thing to do. “I apologize, but I must refuse the position.”
Both men gaped at her, but Jack recovered first. “Refuse it? But this is what you wanted.”
Under no circumstances did she wish to have this conversation in front of Keller. She stood and held out her hand. “Mr. Keller, thank you for your time. I am sorry it was in vain.”
Keller rose slowly, gaze darting over to Jack for a brief second before he shook Justine’s hand. “Ah, well. I understand. If you change your mind, please come and see me.”
“I won’t but I appreciate the offer.”
Jack sighed heavily and came to his feet. “Keller, thank you for coming down.”
“Anytime, Mulligan.” He shoved his derby on his head, touching the brim. “Miss Greene.” Without looking back, he disappeared out the door.
Silence descended and Justine forged ahead.
Drawing in a deep breath, she faced Jack. “I cannot see you anymore.”
Jack froze, certain he’d misheard. “You cannot see me anymore?”
“Correct.”
Was she feeling all right? She’d just turned down an appointment to police detective, the one thing she’d truly wanted, and now she was breaking things off with him. What had he missed? “I don’t understand. You’re angry with me about meeting with Keller?”
“No. I asked you to meet with him. I am angry with myself for not foreseeing what that request meant.”
“And what did that request mean?”
“That you would intimidate or blackmail Keller into giving me what I wanted.”
“I did neither, actually.” He had merely asked—because Keller was smart enough to know what happened if he refused.
“Because you are Jack Mulligan. The intimidation and blackmail are assumed.”
Annoyance and confusion melded in his brain, yet he struggled for calm. “Which you were perfectly aware of when you asked me to speak to him on your behalf.”
“Perhaps, which is why I am truly disappointed in myself.”
“So you’re disappointed I approached Keller?”
“No, Jack. Don’t you see? I am disappointed that I asked you to intervene. That I would trip down this path of favors and bribes with you, remaining convinced it doesn’t touch me. Yet it does. Until now, I have managed to justify your help because it benefitted other people.”
Shame washed over him but he beat it down. He would not apologize for his life, his empire. He’d been a boy born with nothing, tossed out on the street like garbage before his voice had even changed. From that he’d grown into one of the city’s most powerful and richest men. Almost two thousand under his command, nearly everything downtown under his thumb. And he’d built it all his way, the only way he knew how.
If she wished for him to regret it, she would be disappointed.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “This path of favors and bribes as you call it has done a lot of good over the years. Including for you.”
“I realize that and I am grateful for what you’ve done up to this point. However, you once told me not to ask how the soup was made if I liked the way it tasted. I cannot do that any longer—not even if I get what I want.”
She’s slipping away. Say something. Do something. You are going to lose her.
He came around the desk and drew closer. “Mon ange,” he said quietly, “I only want to make things easier for you. I wasn’t attempting to corrupt you or take away your choices. But if I went too far, then I’ll stop. I won’t interfere in your cases any longer.”
She started shaking her head before he even ceased speaking, moving away from him as if he were diseased. “I cannot do this anymore. The temptation will always be there. I won’t be able to keep from talking about my problems and you won’t be able to keep from solving them. I cannot keep eating the soup. At some point it’ll change me—if it hasn’t already.”
Anger built in his chest, a rising tide he had worked hard to control in recent years. He’d been so angry in those early days on the streets. Fighting had