Page 105 of Inexplicable

We’d be flying back to Michigan. Jenna was staying with me until we resolved our living situation.

I wasn’t going to leave her alone ever again.

I’d done that once and she’d ended up with the man she’d feared since her kidnapping.

As unlikely as it seemed, Rico had gone after Jenna, and I wasn’t going to forgive myself for her second kidnapping for a very long time.

“I never thought the fucker would go after her again,” I told Conner.

“He made the mistake of telling his boss about her before he delivered,” Conner explained. “It’s generally not a good idea to disappoint a bloodthirsty cartel leader. His boss is psycho. He made his displeasure known painfully, so Rico went after her.”

“How often do traffickers go after a victim in another country?” I asked angrily.

I didn’t like knowing that the boss was psycho.

“Almost never,” Conner replied. “This was a special case.”

“I need to know that nobody will come after her again,” I insisted as I met Conner’s eyes. “If his boss is obsessed with getting his hands on Jenna, he’s going to be a problem, too.”

Christ! Conner had changed.

He was completely unemotional, and the eyes that used to be full of mirth were now shaded with darkness.

He was only a year or two younger than me, and our shared trauma had happened seventeen years ago, but it was hard to believe that there was nothing left of the man that he used to be.

Hell, maybe I just didn’t want to believe it.

He and I had spoken every year or two, but we hadn’t been close for a really long time.

Honestly, I didn’t know him anymore, but I was probably never going to be convinced that there wasn’t a little bit of good left in Conner.

He didn’t deal in trafficking, even though it was probably extremely profitable, so that was one thing in his favor.

Conner shot me a somber look. “You’ll never have to worry about her safety again,” he vowed. “Not from anyone in this trafficking outfit.”

“I believe you,” I said honestly. “I’m just worried about Jenna. I rescued her and she got taken a second time. I hate myself for that right now.”

Maybe I still considered Conner a friend, but I wasn’t about to share Jenna’s history with him.

“You’re good, Brock, but you’re not superhuman,” Conner reminded me grimly. “She won’t be harmed this time. Just take her home and keep her safe.”

I glared at him. “What if we didn’t know each other? What if we had never shared a history?”

I didn’t even want to think about that scenario.

Conner smirked. “I guess you finally have to appreciate having a friend that’s a hardened criminal in organized crime. I might be on the wrong side of the law, but I can get shit done. Even if I didn’t owe you my life, I would have helped you anyway.”

“We covered each other’s asses more than once, Conner. You didn’t really owe me.”

“I did,” Conner said offhandedly. “I don’t anymore. We’ll be even.”

“Sometimes I wish we could still stay in touch more often.”

“We can’t,” Conner said harshly. “I’ll always consider you a friend unless you fuck me over, but we’re from two completely different worlds now. You’ve found your brotherhood and I’ve found mine. Light and dark can’t comingle in the same world.”

“I hate that,” I told him.

Ordinarily, I hated criminals. I’d fought against bad behavior and shitheads my entire life.