Page 80 of Bitter Truth
The tape recorder clicks off. Jake and I stand. As we move to the door, her voice rings out behind us, “Agent Knox?”
I turn back to face her, eyebrows raised. “You did good work here. Made our town a little bit safer and I want to thank you for that. But you should know that chances are you’ve upset some very dangerous people. The trouble might not be over.”
“It never is,” I say, and head out the door.
Wrapping an arm around me, Jake guides me through the station and out to the parking lot. Once we’re outside, he says, “I can’t believe you climbed out through the roof.”
“I can’t believe you put a tracking device on the car.”
He gives me that grin of his, his hand lowering from my waist to my hip. “I’ll gladly accept whatever punishment you feel fits the crime.”
“Since it all worked out in the end, I won’t go too hard on you.”
I laugh at his expression of mock disappointment.
Turning serious, he says, “There’s just one thing I don’t understand.”
“What’s that?”
He glances over his shoulder, checking that no oneis within hearing distance.
“Why didn’t you save yourself all that trouble and just kill him in the first place?”
“I don’t kill for sport, Jake. It’s not something that I enjoy doing.”
“I know, but still…”
Exhaling loudly, I confess, “From the pictures I found online, it was clear that the two of you were related, but I wasn’t sure how. Until I got to the warehouse and saw him in person and was able to gauge his age, I thought maybe he could have been your brother.”
“He was my uncle,” Jake says. “Though I hadn’t seen him in decades, since before my mom left. But even if he’d been some sibling I never knew about, I’d still choose you, Cassie. Always will.”
“But you don’thaveto choose,” I say. “That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to understand. I don’t want you to. Even normal families are complicated. If you want to see—or support—either of your parents, then please do. I know it doesn’t mean you love me any less.”
He stops and pulls me to him. As he gives me a kiss that makes my knees weak and my toes curl, I tell myself that I meant what I just said. Which I do. There just needs to be some ground rules first. But not with him.
Janine’s in store for a little visit. And honestly? I can’t help kind of looking forward to it.
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 areyoudoing here?” she snarls as she dropsheavily 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?”
