Chapter 25
Jasmina
IT WAS ONLY A few days later that Mia asked me to go to the country club with her. She’d helped me unearth the lullaby I finally remembered, so I felt like I might owe her.
Or maybe I felt like I needed someone on the inside of the Diamonds.
Surely, it wasn’t because I wanted a friend. She would never be that, I reminded myself, but I told her I would go if she could get us to the library first. She agreed and didn’t even ask why.
I hated that I was using her as a tool, but I didn’t have much of a choice.
When Callahan waltzed in without knocking, I glared at him from the seat at my vanity. “Next time you walk in here without knocking, I hope I’m naked for every one of your men out there to see.”
He immediately glanced over his shoulder as if he did need to protect me from wandering eyes and then whipped back around. “If they’re looking, they’ll lose their eyes, Jas.”
I chuckled, because I had to admit I loved his protective comments even though we weren’t even sleeping together yet. “It’d be your fault, not theirs.”
“Do you really not like them outside your door?” He seemed confused.
Leave it to a man to not listen to exactly what I said.
“Of course I don’t, but I also don’t like you just opening my door without knocking.”
“Why not?” His hands were on his hips now.
“Because what if I’m doing something privately?”
“There’s going to be nothing private between us as husband and wife, Viper.”
I rolled my eyes, not willing to get into it with him today. I had other goals. “Never mind. You don’t have to work in here today, actually.”
“Why? Where are we going?”
“I’m going to the country club to meet Mia for tennis.”
“You’re going to the country club to meet Mia for tennis?” He echoed like he was in shock. Then he blubbered, “Wait, what?”
“Exactly what you said.”
“You didn’t inform me or Archer.” He rocked back on his heels, dressed in slacks and a collared shirt and looking like a businessman that was about to take control. “If you’re going somewhere, you need security, Jas. If I haven’t made that clear—”
“Why? Paradise Grove is secure. Is it not?” I asked him. It wasn’t an issue I’d pushed until now.
I had my tool that helped. Mia wanting to be my friend gave me all the reason to not want to be followed around by Callahan and Archer. She might have been my only hope in getting away from them long enough to do more digging.
“For Diamonds,” he said.
“I’m about to be a Diamond, am I not?”
He gave me a look. “You’re pushing the limits. You saw what happened at the gates—”
“And you saw I could handle myself, no? You can’t watch me forever, Callahan.”
He growled, “Archer goes with.”
I sighed. “How will I explain that to Mia?”
He dialed a number in his phone. “If you’re taking my fiancée to the club, you’re having security on you.” He waited as Mia must have said something more. “Why can’t you go to the library later?” And then … “Fine. Archer can drive.”
He hung up and barked at Archer outside my door that I needed an escort around town before he turned to me and said, “All set. Guess she wanted to go to the library again to return books.”
“Great.” I grabbed my purse and started to walk past him, but his hand was at my throat, pulling me close before I walked by. “Don’t try to run off, Viper.”
His tone, his hand on my neck, the way his thumb rubbed up and down on my pulse like it was a soothing grip rather than a mean one had shivers racking my body. “I’m under contract now, Knight.”
“And even still, I worry about losing you.”
I met his eyes. “Don’t you have to have me to lose me, Callahan?”
He hummed. “I’m earning you, Viper. Earning every bit of you before I take you.”
Then he let me go, and I went on my shaky legs because my knees were definitely weak.
Mia might have been the best tool I’d ever had. She brought Marian with and had Archer immediately at her side over another fake crisis.
“Archer, it’s honestly nothing,” Marian said.
“Are you sure?” he frowned at her as we walked into the library, and Mia told them, “We’re going to look at the romance section.”
Archer didn’t even glance our way this time.
As we walked off, I said, “I feel like I should thank you for that.”
“I hated when Jameson put security on me all the time.”
I chewed on my cheek, not sure how to get rid of her now. “I see.”
“And I figure you might definitely hate it if you’re looking for something they don’t know about.”
Our eyes met.
She held up her hands. “I’m not prying. As long as it doesn’t hurt my family, I’m fine with it.” She waved me on and said, “Just don’t make me regret it.”
I hesitated, needing to know, “Why are you helping me?”
“Because I think my brother-in-law likes you, I think you’re misunderstood here …” She paused to think more. “I think people deserve the benefit of the doubt even when the odds are stacked against them, and maybe I’m wanting to right a wrong I may have inadvertently caused.”
“Whatever happened between you and Lex, I don’t blame you for,” I told her because I really didn’t. “Protecting your family came first, and Lex had never been a part of mine.”
She relaxed like it was a weight being lifted. “Archer says you’re not bad, and I want friends rather than enemies around … or at least your respect. If I can earn it by doing this, so be it. Plus, Fran really wants us to walk our pets together.”
I laughed. “That poor girl needs a cat.”
“Yeah, I’m working on it.” Mia smiled and then waved me on. “Go do what you need to, but be quick. The guys are going to be at that country club in about half an hour. I know my future husband.”
I started to hurry away from her toward the computers, but I stopped to say, “You’ve earned more than respect. You’ve earned my friendship, Mia. I won’t make you regret it.”
Well, I really hoped I wouldn’t. How could I be sure when I didn’t know what I would find?
I sat down at the computer and moved the mouse to wake it up. I glanced around, and before I could stop myself, I popped the SD card in.
It only took a few moments for the files to pop up, and when I clicked them, a line for a password came up.
I was pretty sure I knew the password. Yet, I didn’t type it in. My fingers hovered over the keys, thinking, waiting.
Paolo had lied about the trafficking, my aunt glossed over it, and I considered what I might have to do to make it right.
I considered what else I might find too.
The fear of the unknown stopped me. The fear of losing my family and them being something I didn’t want them to be stopped me too.
I shut my eyes tight, furious with how cowardly I was being, but even with my eyes closed, I yanked the SD card out of the computer.
I needed more time. I needed more strength.
Until then, I knew I was doing the absolutely wrong thing by avoiding it and not pushing through.
Sometimes, though, the mind did stupid things to protect itself and survive.
It wasn’t smart or strong. But it was human.