Chapter 18
Jackson
There was only one thing in my life that I regretted, and that was falling in love with Kiera. After she shattered my heart, I spent years putting the jagged pieces back together, knowing that the organ would forever be covered in the scars caused by her betrayal.
Over time, I learned how to ignore her, shutting down memories of our past whenever James mentioned her name, and blocking out any random thoughts of her that would pop into my mind. It took time and energy, but eventually, she dissolved into nothing but a shadow of my past.
But in recent weeks, she’d stepped out of the shadows, materializing in front of my eyes as clear as day, and no matter how hard I tried to push her back into the darkness, she remained in my head.
It was my own fault. I never should have started playing the games with her. I should have ignored her at that party and gotten on with my night, pretending that I hadn’t seen her.
Now, it was too late. Now, all I could think about was how close I’d come to kissing her in the kitchen.
Our mouths had almost been touching, and if it hadn’t been for Alec barging in on us, I was certain we would have kissed.
In that moment, I didn’t have the willpower to move away from her, desperate to remember how it felt to have her lips on mine.
I barely refrained from kissing her later on when I fucked her over the couch.
My resolve was weakening, not helped by witnessing firsthand how Alec treated Kiera. Throughout the entire evening, a quiet rage pumped through me as I observed how he acted toward her. He hardly acknowledged her, and when he did, it was either with a scowl on his face or contempt in his voice.
And then there was the bruise.
The purple and yellow mark on her face was etched into my psyche, tormenting me whenever my gaze dropped to it, and I was certain Alec had caused it.
Determined to find the proof, I dragged my ass out of bed around noon the following day and loaded up the database where all the footage recorded from the cameras dotted around Kiera’s house was stored.
The bruise hadn’t been there when I took her to my cottage, and only two days had passed until I turned up on her doorstep for dinner. All I needed to do was scan through two days of footage to find the moment the cunt laid a hand on her.
Easy.
What I was going to do with the footage once I had it, I wasn’t sure. The obvious solution was to somehow get James to see it, without giving away that I was responsible for the cameras. If James got wind of Alec hurting Kiera, Alec wouldn’t live to see another day.
Yet, something deep inside me wasn’t happy with that, and I didn’t want to acknowledge the reason why I wanted to be the one to murder Alec for putting his hands on Kiera.
Figuring I’d decide what to do once I found the footage, I loaded up the live feed to check on Kiera before delving into the archives. I flicked through the cameras, but it quickly became apparent that Kiera wasn’t home, and a check of the tracker I’d added to her car confirmed she was at the mall.
Just as I was about to log out, my attention snagged on a little figure skipping along the hallway to the kitchen. A fond smile creased my lips. No wonder James adored Billie so much; she really was an incredible kid.
I knew a little about her battle with leukemia, but from the energetic, happy girl at dinner last night, you’d never have known that only a year ago, she was fighting for her life.
She had me howling with laughter, her confidence surprising me.
I had to admire Kiera for the young woman Billie was turning into.
Even if it came at the expense of Kiera’s happiness.
Before I could click out of the live feed, Alec stormed into the kitchen.
My attention piqued at the way Billie’s eyes widened, and she shrank into the corner of the kitchen, almost like she didn’t want him to notice her.
The familiar bolt of rage flowed through me once more at realizing she was scared of Alec.
Fuck. If he hurt her as well as Kiera, I’d ensure James and I made the prick suffer the most excruciating death known to man.
Wishing the cameras had sound, I waited to see what he was going to do. His mouth moved as he spoke to her, and she gave the faintest nod before he stomped from the kitchen.
Changing to a different camera, I watched with my brows furrowed as he tugged the front door open, slammed it closed behind him, and got into his car. Seconds later, the outside camera showed him reversing out of the driveway and flooring it away from the house.
The asshole had left Billie all alone.
Before I could talk myself out of what I was doing, I tapped my fist against the front door, hoping I didn’t scare the shit out of Billie. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure why I was that bothered about her being home alone. Ten-year-olds were capable of looking after themselves, right?
But the fear on her face when Alec spoke to her was ingrained in my brain. She’d looked just like Kiera did when she was younger, and was hiding at my house because she was terrified of her father.
It would take hours to calm Kiera down, and the thought of Billie, alone and afraid, didn’t sit right with me. I could’ve called Kiera and told her to get her ass home, giving some bullshit excuse that I didn’t want her out, so she didn’t figure out I had cameras around her place.
I could’ve called James and asked him to check in on his niece, but that would have been way too suspicious. So here I was, waiting for the door to be opened.
Minutes passed, and I started to wonder if Billie wouldn’t open, until the lock turning rang out and the door was cracked open a fraction.
Wide eyes peered through, and for the first time, I acknowledged how much Billie looked like Kiera. The two of them had the same eyes, not just the same shade of brown, but both held a hint of wariness to them, as if they knew they couldn’t trust anyone.
Everything from Billie’s bone structure to skin tone was almost identical to Kiera, and while I didn’t know who her father was, it was difficult to see a hint of anyone but her mom in her features.
“Hey, Billie,” I said, waving. “It’s Jackson. From dinner last night.”
She opened the door wider, her worried frown twisting into relief. “Hi, Jackson. Alec isn’t here.”
I feigned disappointment. “Oh, damn. I was hoping to catch him. Do you know where he is?”
“I think he went to work. He said he’d be gone for a couple of hours.”
A muscle in my jaw twitched, and the urge to pummel Alec’s ugly fucking face in was all-consuming. Not wanting to scare Billie, though, I schooled my features.
“What about your mom? Is she home?” I asked, knowing full well Kiera was still at the mall.
I’d checked her tracker before knocking.
Billie shrugged. “She had to go to the mall to pick up some new shirts for Alec. I don’t know how long she’ll be.”
I somehow managed to refrain from rolling my eyes. Alec really had turned Kiera into a fucking doormat.
“So you’re here alone?” Fear crept over Billie’s face as hesitation lit up her eyes. I raised my hand in a placating gesture. “It’s fine if you are. I just…I’m not sure your uncle J will be pleased about you being here on your own. Can I come in and wait with you until your mom gets home?”
“Uh…I’m not sure. Alec made me promise not to answer the door.”
I leaned in closer, holding my hand up to my mouth to whisper conspiratorially to her.
“I hate to break it to you, kid, but you kinda broke that promise.” She giggled, a laugh so much like her mom’s was at her age, but hesitance still shone in her eyes.
“I’ll make you a deal,” I added, hoping to bargain with her.
“I won’t tell Alec you opened the door if you let me come in and wait for your mom. ”
“What if Alec gets back first?”
I lifted two fingers to my head in a salute. “Then I’ll sneak out, and he’ll never know I was here. Scout’s honor.”
Her eyes darted around as if she was checking none of the neighbors had witnessed her breaking her promise to Alec. Satisfied she was in the clear, she stepped aside, waving for me to come in.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I slammed my cards down with a huff and folded my arms across my chest.
Billie smirked. “I did warn you.” Leaning over the table, she grabbed the stack of chips I’d moved into the middle of the table, stupidly believing that this was the round of poker I’d make my money back from the little menace.
With the colorful chips on her side, she held out her hand. “Come on, pay up.”
“One more round,” I replied, refusing to accept that a ten-year-old was kicking my ass.
She raised an eyebrow. “Do you not like money or something?”
I snorted. For the last two hours, the kid had given me nothing but attitude. “Deal the cards, Bilbo.”
She poked her tongue at me as she collected the cards. I’d given her the nickname Bilbo Baggins after I’d suggested we watch The Lord Of The Rings, my favorite movie, only for her to tell me that she thought it sucked.
Dealing the cards, the front door slammed. Billie’s panicked gaze shot to mine, but before I could even get out of my seat, Kiera walked into the living room, freezing at the sight of Billie and me sitting on the floor with poker chips spread out between us.
“What on earth is going on?” Kiera hissed, looking from Billie to me, disapproval written on her face.
Noting the panic still on Billie’s face, I offered her a reassuring smile before getting to my feet and crossing to Kiera. “Let’s talk.”
I nodded to the kitchen, not waiting for her reply as I headed that way. Kiera followed, and the second she closed the door behind her, she rounded on me. “What the fuck do you think you’re playing at, Jackson? There’s one thing using Alec to get to me, but I will not have you using my daughter.”