44. Jane
44
JANE
I t was like I was in the middle of a film. But not the feel-good romcoms that I loved. This was closer to a thriller. Actually, a horror movie would be a more accurate description.
I tried to take everything in.
I was staying at the library.
I fell asleep on the sofa.
Then when I woke up, Jackson was carrying me outside. Because he said someone had tried to set fire to the library.
Jackson saved me.
If he hadn’t have carried me outside, I could’ve died.
Jackson.
Wait.
As I came to my senses, I realised that he’d gone back inside the building.
Snapping out of my trance, I bolted towards the doors, only realising once I felt the cold concrete beneath my feet that I didn’t have any shoes on. I was wearing socks and my nightdress. Didn’t matter . Jackson needed me.
‘You can’t go inside, love.’ A man I recognised as one of the locals held his arm out to stop me passing. ‘It’s not safe.’
‘But my boyfriend! Jackson’s in there! I have to get him! I can’t leave him! I have to tell him that I love him! I didn’t tell him!’
I started sobbing uncontrollably. It was all coming back to me now. I’d wanted to go and tell him how I felt, but after I couldn’t find a way to get to him safely, I’d decided to tell him in the morning and gone to sleep.
And now it might be too late.
I might’ve been dreaming, but I thought Jackson had told me he loved me before he went back into the library.
He loved me . And I loved him.
I couldn’t leave him alone in the library.
I sprinted past the man and just as I got to the doors, Jackson ran out, clutching an armful of fire extinguishers.
‘Thank God you’re okay!’ I threw my arms around his back, clutching him tightly.
‘Jane! What were you doing? You can’t go back into the building!’ He kissed the top of my head. ‘You could’ve been hurt.’
‘So could you! I had to make sure you were okay.’
‘I’m fine, beautiful. But I need to take these round the back and help Theo. He’s restraining the person who did this.’
I quickly released Jackson, who raced away, and when I followed him, I saw Theo pinning someone dressed in black on the ground, whilst Jess and several residents were trying to put the fire out .
Jackson handed out the extra extinguishers and we all got to work.
Minutes later, multiple firemen appeared.
‘Everyone stand back,’ a fireman commanded and we cleared the area.
‘The library!’ Jess sobbed before racing over to Theo. ‘I’m taking off the mask!’
‘Maybe we should wait for the police,’ he said.
‘No!’ Jess shouted. ‘I need to know who did this!’
Jackson helped to restrain the perpetrator whilst Jess tugged at the mask. The person tried to resist, but Theo and Jackson held them still whilst Jess yanked off the black balaclava.
‘ You! ’ she gasped.
‘You know him?’ Theo asked.
‘He’s Mrs Davis’s son!’
‘Her son ?’ Theo frowned. ‘But why? Why the fuck would you do something like this? Why would you want to burn down something that your mother dreamed about? This was her dying wish!’
‘That bitch stole my inheritance.’ He glared at Jess.
‘What did you fucking say?’ Theo lifted his fist, his nostrils flaring.
‘Don’t!’ Jackson said, blocking Theo’s hand. ‘He wants you to hit him. Don’t give this bastard the satisfaction.’
‘Talk about my lady like that again and I’ll fucking end you,’ Theo growled.
‘Fuck you!’ he spat. ‘The money my mother gave her for this stupid place should’ve been mine! I told you at the will reading that I wouldn’t let you get away with it and I always keep my promises. ’
‘You’ve just fucked with the wrong people, arsehole,’ Theo spat.
‘Damn right!’ Jackson added. ‘No one threatens our library and gets away with it. Your mother obviously knew you didn’t deserve the money, that’s why you didn’t get it. And money won’t matter anymore, because you’re going straight to prison.’
Two policemen hurried around the corner and their eyes widened when they saw the man pinned to the ground.
‘That evil sod tried to burn down our library!’ I shouted. ‘He’s a book murderer!’
‘Yeah!’ Jess said. ‘What kind of monster tries to burn a place dedicated to love? Sicko!’
Jackson and Theo pulled the man to his feet and after the police read him his rights, they handcuffed him and led him away.
Whilst Jackson wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in closer, Jess collapsed on Theo’s chest.
‘I can’t believe it,’ she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
‘I know.’ He rubbed her back. ‘It could’ve been a lot worse, though. From what I can tell, the fire didn’t reach the library or the bookshop. Because we acted quickly, hopefully there won’t be too much damage.’
‘What about the signing tomorrow?’ she sobbed. ‘We’ve got so many people coming! And Jackson worked so hard to get D.D. to come. And Maddie has made hundreds of biscuits and…’
‘Don’t worry, Jess,’ I said softly. ‘It’s gonna be okay. We can fix this.’
‘Yeah,’ Jackson added. ‘The important thing is that no one was hurt. I’ll send D.D. and her agent an email now to let them know what’s happened and if it’s not possible to go ahead with the signing, we’ll get straight to work on notifying the guests and sorting everything out. Like Jane said, we’re gonna be fine.’
‘Why don’t I take you over to the pub, get you warmed up?’ I suggested to Jess.
‘Good idea,’ Theo said. ‘Jackson and I will sort things out here.’
A few hours later, Jackson and I were in a taxi heading back to his place. When he’d come to the pub with Theo to collect me and Jess, Jackson said they’d done all they could for tonight, so the only thing we could do now was get some rest so we’d be ready to start trying to organise things first thing in the morning.
‘What a night,’ Jackson said as I rested my head on his shoulder.
‘I know. I’m still trying to get my head around it all. Turned out that when Jess went to the will reading, Mrs Davis only left her son a chocolate bar and a mirror so that he could ‘take a long hard look at himself’ and he was furious. Jess remembered that he’d said she wouldn’t get away with getting his mum’s money, but at the time she’d just thought he was upset. She hadn’t heard anything since that day, so totally forgot about him. She’d never for a moment considered that it would come to this.’
‘It’s crazy.’ Jackson shook his head.
‘It would’ve been so much worse, though, if you hadn’t come to the library when you did. What made you go there?’
‘I was trying to find you. I needed to tell you something important. I looked everywhere, then realised the library was the only place you’d be.’
‘Thank God you know me so well.’ I took his hand and squeezed it. ‘What did you have to tell me?’
Jackson lifted my chin.
‘That I love you.’ He stroked my cheek.
Every atom in my body came alive. Butterflies danced in my stomach and I swear my heart swelled so much it was in danger of bursting.
Jackson loved me .
Although it was only the passing streetlights illuminating the car, I could still see his face clearly enough and the look in his eyes told me he really meant it.
‘I told you before, when I carried you out of the library, but I wasn’t sure if you heard because you were still waking up. I needed you to know how I felt, before you made your decision about us.’
‘The thing is’—I smiled—‘I wanted to come and tell you the same thing. But I couldn’t get a train or a taxi, so I promised I’d do it in the morning, went to bed, then… well, we both know what happened next.’
‘You wanted to tell me the same thing?’ Jackson tilted his head. ‘Can you clarify exactly what thing you’re talking about?’
‘You know !’ My smile widened. ‘But seeing as you asked for clarification, Jackson Joseph Campbell, I L-O-V-E you!’
‘I’m sorry, what?’ He smirked. ‘I seem to have lost the ability to spell.’
‘I said I love you!’
‘Fuck!’ He beamed like a studious child who’d just been told they were top of the class. ‘Those are the sweetest words I’ve ever heard in my life. Did you hear that, mate?’ Jackson tapped the driver on the shoulder. ‘The woman of my dreams, the girl I’ve loved since I was a gangly, nerdy teenager, just said she loves me!’
‘Congratulations!’ The driver laughed good-naturedly.
Jackson pulled me into him and pressed his lips onto mine, and heat flooded my veins.
The kiss was gentle, but the intensity was enough to light up an entire city. Everything in the way that Jackson’s mouth moved against mine told me that this was it. Jackson was the man for me.
But then again, I’d always known that.
‘We’re here,’ the driver called out.
It still took several seconds for us to break the kiss. I didn’t want it to end.
After we’d thanked the driver, we headed inside Jackson’s place.
‘So.’ He took off his shoes. ‘I know you said you were coming to tell me that you love me, but were you also coming to tell me that you’d made a decision about us?’
‘Yes.’ I took his hand and led him to the sofa. ‘I wanted to tell you that I don’t care about the videos. Do whatever you need to do to keep your mum safe and well. I’ll support you, no matter what. I meant what I said. I love you. And I want us to be together.’
Jackson’s eyes watered as he shook his head like he was trying to take in everything I’d said.
‘Really?’ he asked.
‘Really!’
He threw his arms around me and squeezed me so tight I thought my bones were going to break.
‘Thank you,’ he whispered into my hair .
‘No, thank you . Thank you for loving me, for supporting me. And for saving my life tonight. You’re like a real-life book hero!’
Jackson pulled away slowly and smiled.
‘Like a real-life book hero, eh? That’s high praise. I’ll take that!’
‘It’s true!’
‘You wanna know something?’ He brushed a strand of hair away from my face.
‘Go on.’ I pushed up my glasses.
‘When I was coming to find you, I was worried because I thought I hadn’t planned anything big for the moment I told you that I loved you. I thought that seeing as you were a romance book lover, I needed some kind of grand gesture to win your heart.’
‘Well, grand gestures don’t get much better than the hero saving the heroine’s life! But just so you know, you didn’t need to do anything flashy. You’ve already won my heart.’
‘God, I love you, Jane Riley.’
‘I love you too.’
‘Right now, I’d love to carry you to bed, spread your legs and drop to my knees to show you just how much I fucking worship you, but we should probably get some sleep.’
‘You’re right,’ I sighed. ‘We’ve got a library and an epic book signing to save.’