Chapter 13 #2
I’m not sure why I chose now to tell someone the truth. It doesn’t feel better getting it off my chest. But there’s something about Jett Cross. And it wasn’t because he begged me to tell him about Andrei or that he promised to keep me safe or even that he cooked for me. It started before that.
It’s especially not the way he looks at me. I’m so sick of men looking at me, I could pluck my eyes out.
But with Jett, it’s different
With him, it’s the way he sees me.
No one has bothered to see me in a long time.
That and I’m out of options. Andrei found me. If Jett is going to step in and pretend we’re together, he needs to know what he’s dealing with.
Jett’s grip on my hands tightens. “Murder?”
My heart races at the memory. “The captain. I didn’t set out to kill him.
When we were at port, I was always locked in my room.
Months earlier, I found a way to break through the window.
I was almost free, but he was monitoring the cameras and caught me.
And once I was caught, that was it. My choices were fight to get away or live with the consequences Andrei swore to six years earlier.
I’d rather die fighting for my freedom than subject myself to their violence.
He tried to lock me in a room, but I fought back.
He beat me so bad, I could barely see out of one eye.
But I finally found a knife that was left out in the kitchen.
It was so ugly, but I finally hurt him enough that he fell back and hit his head. He was unconscious.”
Jett scoots closer to me on the bed and frames the side of my face with his hand. His touch feels just as good as earlier. No. Better. “That’s not murder. That’s self-defense.”
I place my hand over his on my face because I don’t want to lose it.
“I might have hurt him, but he wasn’t dead.
I couldn’t take a chance of him coming to and calling Andrei.
I knew he’d be gone throughout the night.
I needed a head start. The captain was dead weight—even though he was very much alive at the time.
I managed to push him overboard. When I finally left, he was floating face down in the water. I killed him.”
“You did what you had to do to survive. There isn’t a judge or jury who will fault you for that, no matter how Petrov tries to spin it.”
“I’m sure Andrei would like to torture me right now but never involve the cops. He has his own brand of justice system that he lives by. He’s looking for something else. He came all this way when he hates the U.S. But that shows how desperate he is.”
Jett’s tone takes a sharp turn from comforting to heated. “What the hell could he want other than you?”
“Jewels.”
Jett’s brows shoot up. “You stole jewels from him?”
My lips press into a thin line. Why is this so much harder to talk about than killing a man?
Jett pierces me with a pleading stare. “Don’t stop talking to me now.”
“It was a last-minute rash decision. I was beaten, afraid, and wasn’t thinking straight. I’ve regretted it every moment since I did it. It’s why I’ll never be safe. Andrei won’t rest until he gets back what is his. The jewels weren’t his.”
“Whose were they?”
“One of his clients. See, he’s in the business of loans and funneling money.
A week earlier, someone left the jewels with him as collateral.
I heard the entire meeting. Those jewels are rare and worth millions.
Andrei even brought in an appraiser. He’d never loaned out that much money before.
I’m sure by now the client is ready to pay up and want their collateral back.
Andrei stole my freedom from me. His money is his freedom.
I wanted to make sure he felt as trapped as he kept me. ”
I can’t tell if Jett looks confused or impressed. “How did you do that?”
“The jewels were kept in a safe. I saw him open it years ago when he didn’t know I was in the room. I memorized the code. When I was about to step off that damn boat for the first time in six years, something made me go back. I took the jewels and enough cash to get me across the country.”
Jett scrutinizes me like I’m an alien creature. I don’t blame him. Who in their right mind would go back when they were about to escape years of hell. “Impressive. And brave. Where are the jewels?”
I bite my lip. “They’re safe here in the manor. But now that I have them, I don’t know what to do. They put a target on my back. There’s no chance of him leaving me alone until he gets those precious gems back.”
“He’s not going to touch you, Lennon. I’ll make sure of it.”
I flop back onto one of his thick pillows and stare at the wood paneled ceiling. “Thank you for letting me tell you. I had no idea it was weighing on me like that. It doesn’t change the fact Andrei will always be after me until he gets what he wants, but it does feel good to get that off my chest.”
Jett takes the tray of food and moves it to a table across the room.
The next thing he does surprises me. He drags his sweater over his head leaving him in an undershirt that fits him like a second skin.
I don’t even pretend not to appreciate the sight in front of me.
Then he flops down next to me on the other pillow.
He crosses his feet at the ankles and rests his hands behind his head. “You’re one surprise after another.”
I turn my gaze back to the ceiling. “I shouldn’t have taken the jewels. I couldn’t help myself in the moment. The only thing I could think about was revenge. I knew it would be the only way to stop him.”
“He deserves so much more than that. We need to figure out how to take him down so you can live in peace.”
I roll to the side to face him. This feels intimate and familiar even though there’s nothing familiar about us. “Who knew having millions of dollars in gemstones would cause so many problems for a woman on the run?”
He tips his head to the side to look at me. “You’re sitting on a fortune while you live in the basement of the library and drive that junker of a car.”
I shake my head and don’t refute him. “It’s not like I can sell them without attracting all kinds of attention I don’t want. It doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t want the fortune. I just don’t want him to have it.”
“Spiteful with a moral compass. I like it.” His lips tip up on the side. “Everything is making sense now, but I need to know one more thing. Did you steal your car in Alabama?”
I bite my lip. “How did you find out?”
He reaches over and brushes a strand of hair away. “Clive at the garage found out it was stolen. I’ll talk to him. That’s the last thing you need to worry about.”
I speak through a yawn. “I don’t know what to do with the jewels. The last thing I want to do is give them back to Andrei, but he’ll never leave me alone if I don’t.”
“Andrei Petrov won’t lay a finger on you. I’ll make sure of it.”