Rule Number Four (Rule Breakers Book 4)

by Nicky Shanks

  I laugh into the phone. “You used your one phone call on me? How did you even get my number? Haven’t you done enough damage to me already?”

  He laughs. “I’m not callin’ to fight. I’m callin’ to talk about your good-for-nothing mother.”

  “What about her? Shouldn’t you two just steer clear of each other until all of your legal bullshit dies down? You just fucking kidnapped someone.”

  He coughs and it sounds like a hollow drum in his lungs. “Your piss-ant brother made some kind of deal and got that bitch out for narcing on me for other shit.”

  “Sounds like a bad fucking deal,” I snarl, starting to take the phone from my ear.

  “I think it’s time you learn the truth about your whore of a mother.” He lowers his voice. “Got the time?”

  “I have company coming.” I suck air in through my teeth at the information I shouldn’t have given him. “Maybe another time.”

  “Fine,” he growls. “But you’re gonna wanna know sooner or later. You’re entitled to more than you realize.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Veronica

  The night sky taunts me.

  It hates me too, and I guess I don’t blame it. Everything around me has fallen to pieces and I have no one to blame but myself. I can’t even blame Mac because all he did was pretend to love me when I thought no one else really did. Colin always loved me; from the moment he looked at me, I knew my entire life was going to change. I didn’t care about the same things anymore, I didn’t enjoy life like I thought I would.

  Oliver and Julie are talking about me as I walk away from them; Julie wants to find it in her heart to help me but honestly, I can’t be helped. I’ve tried to help myself—Colin tried to save me and even Colin’s father, Vic, wanted to keep me around. They hiss at each other and once I hit the dark pavement of the main road, my left foot is barely usable from being caught in the crossfire of a prison fight. It drags behind me a little, creating a scraping sound on the pavement.

  I keep thinking Julie is going to call for me and the sun will come out, shining down on the three of us and angels would sing.

  Hallelujah!

  But they don’t.

  None of that happens.

  Oliver rushes her inside and I know I have to hold up my end of the bargain. I told Oliver I would be leaving town and I intend to do right by him at least once in my life. Once I’m far enough away from their eyesight and I find a bright streetlamp, I take the thick envelope from my bag and start to count the money inside.

  Twenty thousand dollars.

  That’s exactly what he offered me.

  He must really want me gone.

  My heart burns and I shove the money back into the white envelope. I want to be the kind of person to march right back up there and stick it in his mailbox, but that’s not even close to who I am. I want this money and I still feel like I deserve it. Colin promised to take care of me for life and that means something to me even after his death.

  I see Colin Jackson everywhere I go.

  For the first few years after he died, people on the street looked like him. I couldn’t walk in the French Quarter without him haunting me. He followed me everywhere I went: every city we moved to and every town we passed through. He would wave at me from the side of the road, pass me in the grocery store, and find me in my dreams to tell me how ashamed he was to even know me.

  I’ll never forget the last thing he said to me before he died. A week before his accident, we met at that ritzy place, Dilaggio’s, for our annual payment dinner. I agreed to have a nice dinner with him in exchange for that year’s payoff money. The last dinner we had, he announced that since Oliver was old enough to make his own decisions about me, he wouldn’t be providing any more money.

  ***

  “You’re fucking kidding me,” I growl at him. “You’ve been paying me to stay away for ten years.”

  Colin shrugs and picks up his wine glass. “Oliver is old enough to make up his own mind now. I haven’t spoken badly of you and neither has Mrs. Atchley.”

  “What about your father?”

  “I’m not sure I can say the same about him.” He sucks in air through his teeth. “I hate to be so cold about this, but I can’t keep giving you money. My father has frozen everything we both own and I’m left with my savings, which can’t cover a yearly agreement anymore if I want to send Oliver to college.”

  I smack my hands on the table. “You can’t do this to me! Mac will be pissed if I come back empty-handed, don’t you care about me? I thought you loved me?”

  “I did love you.”

  My heart burns in my chest. I fucking hate this sometimes but, in the end, I get what I want.

  Always.

  “Don’t you care about Oliver?” He coughs and drinks from his wine glass again. “If you insist on taking this money, his life will change and he won’t be able to attend college.”

  “Your father will give in by then.”

  Colin shakes his head. “No, he won’t. He’s made it perfectly clear that unless I stop giving you money, Oliver and I will be cut off. I can’t do that to my son.”

  I take a drink of water to chill my insides. “Our son.”

  “You can’t claim him if you wouldn’t be able to recognize him in a room full of people.”

  “Why are you doing this, really?”

  He taps his fingers on the table. “I met someone.”

  A fire burns inside of me and I feel guilty for being jealous. I don’t have a claim on him anymore, and the ten years I’ve spent apart from him haven’t exactly been kind to me. Three hospital trips, six arrests, and a handful of dark secrets I’ll take to my grave can make a person look mangled and torn.

  That’s me.

  Veronica Anastacia Bennett.

  “She hasn’t met Oliver yet, but we’re headed that way. I met her in Florida on business and we’ve been dating for almost a year. Not that I have anything to explain to you, but I wanted you to know.”

  I take another drink of water. “You mean, you wanted to rub it in my face.”

  “You left me. Let’s not get it twisted around here.”

  His voice is so calm and unnerving that it pisses me off. “I bet she’s the typical Colin Jackson type.”

  “And what does that mean?”

  I take in a deep breath, ready to throw daggered words at him. “You know, blonde and willing with fake boobs and a red-lipstick smile.”

  “Like you, you mean?”

  I lick the water from my dry lips. “Maybe in my younger days. I don’t have fake boobs, though.”

  “I know that.” He smiles and looks down at his empty plate. “But your smile was captivating.”

  The hardness of his voice shakes me to my core. “There must be something about me that you still love, Colin.”

  He shakes his head. “You’re a stranger to me now. I’m still in love with the old you and I always will be. You pulled me from a life of greed and privilege and showed me the real side of things. You showed me true love, no matter for how long, and there was a time when I really felt like you weren’t like everyone else. You showed me different. You wanted what I could buy you, not what was inside my heart and soul. Our life would have been perfect if you hadn’t done what you’ve done.”

  “So it’s all my fault? I’m to blame for everything?”

  He stands up and hands a few bills to the waiter to pay for dinner. He knows better than to leave it on the table because I’ll snatch it before I run. When his dark brown eyes look down at me, for the first time since we’ve met, he looks ashamed of me.

  “Yes.” His hands shove into his pockets. “You’ve created this mess, now you deal with it.”

  ***

  To be fair, Colin wasn’t always this cold toward me. He was right—I created the mess and instead of dealing with it, I went to his father to get what I wanted. I had to do some pretty unimaginable things to and with Vic before he gave me triple the amount I usually got from Co
lin to leave until he died. His clear instructions were that he would leave me more in his will so I could leave and never come back. I was never to speak of what we did to anyone—or the fact that we did it more times after that—and there’s no way in hell I would want to. Vic died taking our secret to the grave…all of our secrets.

  I’m too chicken to end my misery.

  But I don’t want to be this complete disaster anymore.

  I’m done with excuses and I’m done with pity. No one owes me anything and the sooner I start to realize that, the better. I have to stand on my own two feet and stop blaming Colin for dragging me into this mess when I know damn good and well Mac and I were snorting shit before Oliver even came about.

  Kissing him for the first time was magical.

  Sex with Colin Jackson was…cosmic.

  He always wanted more and the hungry look in his chocolate eyes melted me every single damn time. I know what it’s like to not be able to resist a Jackson man; Julie has her work cut out for her in the future when Oliver starts working around beautiful women and jealousy roars its ugly head.

  Maybe she won’t. Maybe Julie isn’t like me at all.

  I see myself in her innocence and it’s heart breaking.

  Not realizing how far I’ve hobbled, the lights of a strip of businesses still open burns my eyes. A salon with multiple women underneath hair dryers is the first building I pass. I decide not to go in because I’m almost positive I look homeless or like I just got out of prison.

  I did just get out of prison, thanks to Oliver.

  He got me a deal to narc on Mac so I’d go free with a lesser charge and fines, then gave me money to run away.

  That’s what I’m the best at.

  The next space is a karate school and my heart starts to burn again. I lean against the cold wall and watch my faint breath in the icy air, remembering the time Mac and I sat outside Casey’s karate class and the first time he made me feel actually less than human.

  ***

  “That’s the kid?” Mac points across the parking lot from the dojo several ten-year-olds are piling out of. Their parents are smiling and having wonderful, comedic conversations about their children and trying to one-up the other people’s kids. “He’s fucking short.”

  I scoff and light a cigarette. The smoke fills my lungs and stings, burns then goes ice cold. “Who cares how tall he is? You’re short and he’s just like you.”

  “He ain’t mine.”

  I throw the lighter at him. “He’s yours, asshole.”

  “I know you were fuckin’ Colin Jackson, I know that little jerk-off ain’t mine. He’s either his or—” Mac snorts and unzips his pants, letting his pudgy limpness fall out of his tattered jeans. “—why don’t you show me how you fucked Grandpa Jackson?”

  My entire body shivers. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I seen you and I know it wasn’t just once.”

  The shame that consumes me nearly bursts from my skin. “You’re disgusting, put that small dick away and leave me be. I didn’t do anything like that, you sick fuck.”

  Mac snorts and pulls me toward him, his rough hands gripping the back of my hair and tugging backward. “I know you fucked him for more money, don’t fucking lie to me anymore. If you wanted to be a whore, why didn’t you say so? I would’ve put you to work a long time ago.”

  My fist meets his mouth and I grab as much cash from the glove box as I can before I run.

  I don’t realize what I’ve done until I’m halfway through the parking lot and I’m running toward the group of parents, screaming and flailing my arms. A sandy-haired man stops me and notices Mac running up behind me with anger bursting from every surface of his face.

  “Give her back to me,” he growls. “Don’t be messing in other people’s business.”

  The man pushes my broken body behind his. “Look, man, I don’t know what’s going on here, but she looks scared and you look pissed. Why don’t you just walk away and give her some space?”

  Mac steps forward and his fists clench into tight balls.

  He’s going to swing on him. This is all my fault. He’s never spoken like that to me before; he’s been rough and annoying at times, but he’s never treated me like a piece of trash on someone’s freshly cut and manicured lawn before.

  “Mind your fucking business, jackass,” Mac snarls. “Don’t make me fuck you up in front of all these kids and make you look like a loser.”

  The man scoffs. “Walk away, man.”

  Another man steps up and crosses his arms over his chest. “Do what he says, prick.”

  Three more men puff out their chests toward Mac and finally he backs down. The look of death he gives me makes me shake to my very core. I know this isn’t the last I’ve seen of him, but the man who’s guarding me makes me feel safe after what I’ve done.

  “You okay?” He turns and looks down at me. “What happened?”

  My body doesn’t feel good. Once I hit more adrenaline, I’m able to force a smile and shake myself from the man’s grasp. “Just a little spat, that’s all. No need to worry. Thanks for the help.” I start to walk off but he holds out his hands to stop me.

  “That looked like more than just a spat.”

  I frown. “I’d rather just forget it ever happened and run off, if you don’t mind.”

  He looks at me like he knows me. “Can I take you somewhere? I can give you a ride if you need to get to a safe place.” A dirty blonde wraps her arms around his, but he doesn’t miss a beat. “I don’t think you should be walking around Rockford with that crazy jerk on the loose.”

  “We can give you a ride.” The woman nods and smiles. “I’m Elena and this is my husband, Rodney. Oh, and this is our son, Casey.” She broadens her smile and the same ten-year-old I was watching earlier wraps himself around her lower torso in shyness. “Casey, can you say hi?”

  “Hi,” he mutters. “Can we go home now? Oliver said I can come over and play.”

  My body ignites with curiosity. I know I shouldn’t, but I get into the front seat next to Rodney, and Casey and Elena get into the backseat. They giggle and play games as we pull from the parking lot, and I notice that Mac is still seething in our van, creeping out of the parking lot after us.

  I’m in for it now.

  I can’t let these innocent people pay the price for my mistakes.

  “I really don’t need to go that far,” I say and look into the side mirror. Mac is directly behind us and I swear I can see his evil smirk from this far. “You can drop me off there.” I point to a gas station across the road and Rodney pulls into the lot. Before he comes to a complete stop, I hop out and try to save them from Mac. “Thanks for the ride.” I stick my head into the open window once he stops the car. “I appreciate the help.”

  Before any of them can reply, I scurry off into the gas station and wait for them to pull away. Poor little Casey in the backseat is so confused, and he should be.

  His real mother was just two feet from him without him knowing it.

  Without any of them knowing it.

  Mac pulls into the parking lot and I step back outside. I wonder if I should’ve brought him something from inside to ease his mood, but he doesn’t look all that pissed.

  “No more spying on your demon spawns,” he grunts when I hop back into the van with him. I wait for his hand to crash down on me. “Nothing good is coming out of spying on those little jerks. Look what happened just now.”

  I nod. “Okay.”

  “Good. It’s just easier if you do what I say.”

  “Okay, Mac.”

  “That’s more like it. The sooner you learn that I’m in charge here, the better.”

  He’s in charge.

  He’s taken what’s left of my freedom.

  I’m finally a slave to more things than just cocaine and cigarettes.

  I’m a slave to the one person in this world I shouldn’t be around.

  ***

  I push myself off the
dojo’s outer wall and keep slowly walking down the street. I pass a laundromat, an insurance place, and the final building I come to is a place called The Tavern. It’s a large bar with people standing outside smoking and laughing. The burn of alcohol has been absent in my throat for a few days, and I could use something to take the edge off right now.

  Pushing the door open, the place is only half-full inside and I’m able to reach the bar with ease. The cocky, tattooed, and pierced lady bartender eyeballs me but never asks for my order. She keeps passing me by and ignoring me on purpose.

  I snort. “I guess I look worse than I thought.”

  An old, scratchy woman’s voice cuts through my ears. “You do look like you just hopped off the train transporting mental patients. Hello, Veronica.”

  When I look over at her, I can’t believe my eyes.

  Mrs. Atchley.

  “Oh, it’s you.” I cough and tap the bar top with my fingertip. “Don’t worry, I’m leaving town. I just need to wait until the morning when all the buses are back in business.”

  “I know. Oliver called me and asked that I look after you.”

  I blush. “He did? How did he know where I’d be?”

  The older woman downs her double shot of whiskey and glares at me. “He’s a smart kid. I always knew I raised him right. A water for this one.” She looks at the bartender and nods her head toward me.

  “You don’t have to rub it in.” I grind what’s left of my teeth. “I’m trying to be different.”

  Mrs. Atchley laughs loudly. “Same story you’ve had for over twenty years…why is it any different now?”

  “I don’t know, it just is.”

  She looks into my eyes and frowns. “Dammit, I believe you.”

  “You do?”

  She gulps down another double shot and sighs. “For some reason, I do. The look in your eyes isn’t a look I’ve seen on you before when you’d try and come crawling back. I see truth in your eyes.”