CHAPTER 42
It’s clear the instant she steps into the room and her eyes land on me, the pleasant expression pasted on her face morphing into an angry scowl, that I’m not who she was expecting.
She looks past me and scans the room, checking to see who else has come to visit her, but there is no one else. Not Jake, not her lawyer—only me.
The moment she realizes that her mask slips. There’s a flash of disappointment. A brief hint of regret. Both are quickly replaced by the unmistakable stoniness of hatred. She sets her jaw and lifts her head, her nose wrinkling in disgust as she takes a step toward me, then hesitates.
For a moment, I think she’s going to turn around.
Deny the visit and return to her cell. My smile broadens, becomes almost mocking, and she makes her decision.
In the end, I guess her curiosity wins out.
Or maybe she just wants a break from that six-by-eight foot cage they keep her locked in. Either way, the result is the same.
“What are you doing here?” she snarls as she drops heavily into the seat across from me. The legs scrape loudly across the concrete floor, earning her a glance of disapproval from one of the guards stationed nearby.
“I thought it was time for us to have a little chat, Janine.” Her eyes widen as they spot the ring I wear—the one that Jake gave me.
It would be kind of hard for her not to see it, since I purposely raised my left hand to fiddle with the collar of my T-shirt for that very purpose. “Or should I call you Mom?”
“That will never happen,” she hisses.
“Okay,” I say cheerily. “Janine it is, then.”
“Where’s Jake?”
“At home.”
“So, what? You’re keeping him away from me now?”
“Not at all. Whether he chooses to visit you or not is completely up to him.”
“The only visitors I’m allowed are lawyers and immediate family.”
“I know.”
“Then how’d you get in here?”
“Oh, I have my ways.”
Until this point, her gaze has been glued to my ring, but now, she looks up at me with something like fear. Good.
“You should leave,” she snaps.
She twists in her seat, looking for the guard.
“It’s in your best interest to hear me out first before I do.”
Her head jerks back around.
“Is that a threat?”
“No. But this is. This little vendetta you have against me? It ends. Now.”
Rolling her eyes, she huffs a small laugh. “And if it doesn’t?”
“I’m serious, Janine. I’m giving you one warning. You’re going to want to take it.”
“No.” She smirks, shaking her head. “I don’t think that I do.”
“That’s your choice. But I want you to think about how easy it was for me to get in here. And if I can get in to talk to you, I can get in to talk to your fellow prisoners.”
“So?”
“You seem like the kind of woman who might have a hard time making friends. Actually, you seem like the type who might have a whole cellblock of inmates you’ve rubbed the wrong way.
I’m sure one of them would be more than happy to take care of you for an extra couple of jars of peanut butter in their account at the canteen. ”
She swallows hard and my smile grows.
“Obviously, we’re never going to be friends,” I continue. “But trust me when I say that you do not want me as an enemy.”
“You’re a Fed. You wouldn’t dare do anything like that to me.”
“Oh, wouldn’t I?”
Leaning across the table, I lower my voice.
“I’ve already had to cross a couple of lines I never intended to because of you.
I won’t hesitate to cross another. Turns out, it gets a little easier each time, which is good, because I fully intend to enjoy a long, happy life with Jake.
No matter what I have to do to get that chance. ”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“As long as you leave me alone, you don’t have to be.”
With that, I stand to leave. Pause just as I’m passing her, as if I’ve been struck by an afterthought.
“I almost forgot. If you are stupid enough to keep this little… whatever it is, going, you’re going to have to find someone new to do your dirty work for you. Garrett’s retired.”
Bending at the waist, I whisper in her ear, “I’m afraid I had to kill your poor brother. And you better be glad that I did, because he was seconds away from murdering your son. But, I’m willing to let you live as long as you play nice.”
I press a noisy kiss against her cheek and straighten. Look down into her terrified eyes.
“For now,” I say, wiggling my finger in a wave. With that, I walk out of the room.
Would I really cross the line of having her killed? I’m not sure. Who knows what we’re capable of, until we’re pushed to that point. I’d like to think I’d find another way of neutralizing her as a threat. A better way.
But what I do know is that if it does come to that, it’s got to be me who does it, not Jake. His mother has already caused him enough heartache for this lifetime.
And Janine? Well, if she decides to take this that far, I’ll make sure she has the chance to see it coming. Even if I have to hold her eyes open myself.