Drix stares in shock, her mouth literally hanging open as I do the same.
Who is this amazing man?
Mom’s hand falls to her chest again as she sucks in a deep breath. “Oh, my word,” she whispers, her eyes filling with tears. “Do you realize that I come with a whole lot of baggage?”
Roman laughs and squeezes Mom’s other hand. “You realize that I have just about the same amount of baggage that you have.”
Mom’s gaze flicks to me. “I highly doubt that,” she says with a shy chuckle, looking back at him. “Am I insane for wanting to say yes?”
“Just as insane as I am for asking.”
Mom lets out a shaky breath, keeping her eyes on Roman. “Are you going to hold it against me if I said that I need to think about it? It’s all so sudden.”
“Of course not, my dear. I wouldn’t have expected anything else. It’s a huge decision, and I want you to be certain if you were to accept my offer. I just want you to know where I stand. I’m not messing around here.”
Mom nods. “I know,” she murmurs as a beaming smile spreads across her face. “Neither am I.”
The waiter chooses this particular moment to show up at our table with our meals. Roman moves back to his seat, and the two of them find it impossible to tear their gaze from the other.
Our dinner is placed down, and an awkward silence follows as everyone glances around, wondering if that really just happened. I meet Colton’s stare, and he raises a knowing brow as if to say ‘you’re next.’ I can't help but roll my eyes. “You’re an idiot,” I tell him. “You’re going to need a bigger rock than that to win me over.”
Colton laughs, knowing damn well that it has absolutely nothing to do with the size of the diamond sitting on my finger. We're only eighteen, we have time. I try to ignore him as I look back across the table at Drix to find a cheesy as fuck grin on her face. She looks as though she can barely hold herself together, and despite my mother’s lack of response, she throws herself to her feet. “WE’RE GOING TO BE SISTERS!”
Oh, fuck. This is going to be interesting.
Three hours later, I sit with Mom on the couch in our pool house as she stares at a blank wall, completely speechless and unsure of how to even react.
“Well?” I ask, knowing that she’s been desperate to start talking about it since the second the words slipped out of Roman’s mouth. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that it’s crazy,” she says with a scoff, turning to look at me. “It’s crazy, right? I’m not just being dramatic?”
“No,” I laugh. “It’s totally crazy, but it’s not completely insane. I saw the way he was looking at you, and I know it’s only been a few weeks, but it’s obvious that his feelings are genuine and real.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yeah,” I say, leaning into her side as she puts her arm around me. “I really do.”
“Would you be weirded out if I was to say yes?”
I shrug my shoulders, not really having given it any thought yet. “I mean, I don’t know. I’d probably have to get to know him a little better to really know how I’d feel. I can’t say I’ve really spent much time with the man, but he seems alright. At least, that’s what Drix keeps telling me. But you realize that marrying this guy means that you’d be moving in with him?”
Her eyes bug out of her head. “Oh, I … um … I guess I hadn’t really considered that yet.”
“Do you think you’re ready to live with another man?”
Her lips press into a tight line as she thinks it over. “I mean, I’m not really sure. I have a feeling that living with a guy like Roman Jennings isn’t going to be like anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
“You’ve got that right,” I say with a grunt, knowing all too well what it means to have a rich, alpha male suddenly appear in my life. “Take a look at Colton and this big ass house. You’ll be the boss of all that shit.”
Mom shakes her head. “Oh, I hardly think so,” she says, her voice low and a little horrified. “That’s … that’s too much pressure. I’d be happy just being the woman at his side. Besides, I have a feeling that Hendrix is already running things over there.”
“I don’t doubt that,” I laugh. “She probably has Roman wrapped around her little finger.”
“Oh, she does,” Mom says, gushing. “You should hear the way he talks about her.”
A wide smile spreads across my face, and I hold Mom a little tighter. “You’re going to say yes, aren’t you?”
Fondness stretches over her face and as she meets my eyes, she nods. “Yeah, I think I am,” she whispers. “But I’m going to wait a few days. I want to be sure. This is all happening very fast, and I don’t want to rush into it. Your father only passed eight months ago… surely, considering this must be ridiculous.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think it is,” I tell her. “I think he’s looking down on us and can see how happy you are. He’s not around anymore, and no one expects you to just sit back and continue pining over a man who you will never be able to see again. Live your life and be happy. That’s what he’d want, and it sure as hell is what I want.”
A soft knock sounds at the door, and we look up and find Colton standing there, watching us. “I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he murmurs. “If you’re having a moment, I can come back.”
“Oh, no, no, no,” Mom says, pulling herself off the couch. “She’s all yours. It’s getting a bit too late for me, and I have a lot to get through tomorrow. I think it’s time for a shower and bed.”
“Good plan,” I smile, getting up beside her and instantly giving her a big hug. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll figure out what’s best for you.”
“I know, sweet girl,” she says. “I just hope it’s not something that I regret a year or two down the track.”
“You won’t.”
With that, she pulls out of my arms and slinks down the hallway towards the bathroom. I make my way over to Colton, and he instantly puts his hand in mine before tugging me out the door. “Where are we going?” I ask.
“You’ll see.”
I follow Colton as he leads me into the mansion and through the maze of twists and turns before we’re finally walking through to his office. The door gets shut behind us, and for a brief moment, I think he’s about to throw me down and get a little kinky on his desk, that is, until he walks around and sits in his desk chair, pulling me down on his lap.
“Seriously, what are we doing?”
He shakes his head and reaches across me to type in a password for his computer, and not a second later, his screen comes to life. He opens an email, clicks a secure link, and before I know it, we’re watching live footage of the FBI storming through someone’s home.
“What is this?” I ask, my brows furrowed.
“Luca DeCarlo, the eldest of Vincent’s sons.”
“What?” I breathe, leaning in a little closer to the screen, wishing that we could somehow put this up on his flat-screen TV rather than the small desk computer. “What’s he being arrested for?”
“There’s a whole fucking list of things,” he says. “But nailing him down has been the hardest so far.”
“What’s the worst of it?”
“Kidnapping of minors and trading them on the black market,” he tells me, looking sick and pissed off with himself at the same time for taking so long to make this happen. “He’s been selling children to fucking wealthy businessmen across the globe. I can only imagine what’s been happening to these kids.”
“Fuck,” I gasp, watching with wide eyes. “Where are the kids now?”
Colton shakes his head before resting his chin against my shoulder. “Gone, Jade. We couldn’t save them in time, but you fucking bet that he’s going to pay for his crimes.”
A single tear rolls down my cheek as I watch the screen, seeing the exact moment that Luca DeCarlo is found and arrested. Usually, in times like this, I’d be thrilled to see the bad guy being arrested
, but the heaviness sitting against my chest is just too great.”
“Is there anything we can do to try and find them?”
He shakes his head as his arm circles my waist. “I really don’t know,” he tells me. “It’s a long shot, but I can look into it. Maybe there’s a paper trail. These guys had to pay him somehow, and where there’s money, there’s a trail.”
I nod, feeling the smallest bit of hope beginning to rise within me. “Do you think Vincent knew about this?”
“Yeah,” he scoffs. “I don’t doubt that Vincent was one of his first customers. Besides, an operation like that doesn’t come cheap, Luca would have been funded somehow.”
Fuck.
I tear my eyes off the screen, having seen more than enough of this bullshit. I curl into Colton, crushing my face into his chest as he sits silently, watching the screen over my shoulder, making sure that everything goes as planned.
As we sit in silence, I can’t help but think about the baby growing inside of me. I’m going to be this child’s mother, and unfortunately, things like kidnapping and child abuse happen on the regular. How would I feel if that was to happen to my child?
A fierce protectiveness comes over me, and while I still don’t know how I actually feel about having this baby, I know that it’s my job to keep it safe. And just like that, I know exactly what I want to do with my life, and I won’t stop until I make it right.
Chapter 19
I walk down the steps of the Carrington mansion on Monday morning feeling as though this is all just a bad dream. There’s still so much normal in my life, while the rest of it has been flooded with insanity.
I try to put it all to the back of my mind. After all, it’s Monday morning, and I’m going to school like a normal teenager should. There are no gangs, no murder, no terrifying life choices to make, just regular, old school.
Milo’s Aston Martin comes to a stop at the bottom of the grand stair entryway, and I can’t help but smile at him as he hangs his head out of his window and gives me a goofy, lopsided grin. “What’s up, skank?” he calls. “Why do I still need to drive your bitch ass around? I heard someone went and got a sugar daddy who gave her a car.”
I roll my eyes, and I race down the last few stairs. “First of all,” I tell him, walking around the front of his car to get to the passenger side. “If my bitch ass wants a ride to school, then that’s what my bitch ass is going to get. Secondly, I don’t have a sugar daddy, I have a boyfriend who doesn’t know anything about keeping his toys to himself. As soon as I can, I’ll be putting that car back in his name.”
“You know that’s only going to provoke him.”
I groan low, dropping into the Aston Martin and reaching for my seatbelt. “I know,” I grumble. I was up all night trying to figure out a way to get back at him for ‘gifting’ me a car, but all I could come up with was being a stubborn ass and not actually driving it anymore. It’s pathetic, and it’s only going to have him laughing at my attempts, but if I don’t drive it, then I can happily pretend that it isn’t mine.
“You’re an idiot, you know that, right?” Milo laughs, hitting the gas and sending us flying down the long driveway. “But I can’t deny that I love this little thing we’ve got going on. I feel like driving you to school is usually the only time I get to see you anymore. You know, since you decided to bitch out and move to the chick school.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. I belong at the girl school nearly as much as you do,” I tease. “Besides, you’re the one always ditching me now for your super hot, douchey boyfriend.”
“Hey,” Milo snaps, a twinkle sparkling in his eyes. “If you’re going to insult Spence, then do it right. He’s not super hot, he’s steamily hot, and he’s only a douche on Wednesdays.”
I roll my eyes. “Who’s the idiot now?”
Milo laughs and relaxes back into his seat, enjoying the ride to Bellevue Springs private. He stops by Starbucks and orders us both a coffee that seems to hit the spot just right. I sit back and enjoy the ride, sipping on my drink, and feeling the weight of the world slowly begin to rest back on my shoulders.
I guess I was fooling myself by pretending that I could forget about it for a day.
Milo glances over at me and narrows his eyes. “What's going on? You look like someone just ran over your cat and then laughed about it while shaking their ass in your face.”
I press my lips into a tight line as I glance over at him and see the concern in his eyes, and I can't help but realize that I’ve been completely overthinking this. Milo is a real friend, even if he was put into my life or not, there’s no denying it. “There’s something I've been meaning to talk to you about.”
His face scrunches up. “Eh? Me?”
“Yeah,” I say, fighting the smile that threatens to tear across my face at his ridiculous response.
He looks back at the road, focusing on where he’s going. “Go ahead caller, you’re on the air.”
I roll my eyes again. This is supposed to be a serious topic, and yet he has me about ready to crack up into embarrassing snorts of laughter. “I, um … okay, don’t hate me, but I sort of went and saw Russo a few days ago.”
Milo’s eyes bug out of his head, and he swerves off the side of the road as I desperately try to keep my coffee from spilling all over his Aston Martin. “The guy who did this?” he demands, pointing out the still visible bruising that covers my skin. Apparently, I did a really shitty job of trying to cover them up.
“Uhh… yeah,” I cringe.
Milo looks at me as though I've lost my mind before throwing his hand out and feeling my forehead. “Are you feeling okay? You must be getting sick to have done such a stupid thing like that.” He drops his hand and looks back out the windshield, shaking his head. “I mean, who’s the fucking idiot now?”
“I know,” I groan. “Colton’s already given me the rundown of what he thinks about me walking back into that place, but will you just listen? I learned a few things, and I’m trying to work out if you already knew about it.”
Milo’s head whips back to mine. “What? What the fuck are you talking about? How the hell would I know anything about what goes on in a gang? I hardly know about the shit that’s going on in my own life.”
“You see, that’s kinda where the two connect.”
“Okay, you really are losing it. I can promise you that whatever it is, it’s not true, because the thought of having anything gang-related in my life scares the living shit out of me.”
“That’s what I thought,” I tell him. “But I have to be sure.”
He shakes his head, looking more than confused. “What’s going on, Ocean?”
I take a shaky breath, unsure what I’m about to do by telling him this. “When I went into Russo’s office on Saturday, Colton’s mom was in there … in a compromising position.” Milo’s eyes bug out of his head, but I continue with my explanation before he has the chance to start getting all Milo-y on me. “After she left, Russo explained that he had put all these people in my life to keep an eye on me ever since my dad died, and well, he was the reason behind Laurelle coming back to Bellevue Springs and you—”
“You think I’m one of those people?” he demands in outrage. “Holy fuck, Ocean. I can’t fucking believe you. Is that really what you think of me? Even if I didn't know you, I’d never align myself with people like that.”
“No, no, no,” I rush out. “Not you. Russo said that your dad was on his payroll, and well, I guess I’m just wondering if that means that you were maybe put into my life and just didn’t know it or … I don’t know. I guess I don’t really know your dad well enough to make any assumptions.”
Milo shakes his head, looking lost. “My dad? Are you sure?”
I nod, reaching out and squeezing his hand. “Yeah, I’m positive. There were a few others on that list, but your dad was the only one worth mentioning.”
“So, he’s a Wolf or just works for them? What? I don’t get it. My dad would never. He
doesn’t even run in those circles. He’s a businessman, not a gangster.”
“I know, but Laurelle doesn’t exactly scream gang member either,” I tell him. “I don’t think they’re actual members, but I think that Russo would have gone out of his way to make their silence worthwhile. He has a big reach, maybe even bigger than Nic’s.”
Milo lets out a heavy sigh and glances back at me. “I just … I can’t wrap my head around this. I thought I knew everything there was to know about my father. I’ve always known that every now and then he’ll indulge in a dodgy deal, but this? This is too much. He wouldn't. He's better than that.”
I reach out and take Milo’s hand. “I’m sorry, Milo,” I whisper. “I hate that I was the one to tell you that, but maybe it’s not as bad as you think. Maybe he was just asked to keep an eye on me, and that’s it.”
Milo scoffs, scooting down into his seat, looking absolutely devastated that his father isn’t who he always thought him to be. “My father doesn’t get involved in little bullshit games like that,” he explains. “If Russo had contacted him, there would have to be a big payday in it for my father, and I can assure that he would have had more to do with it than just keeping an eye on you.”
“What are you saying?” I question, keeping my gaze locked on his.
“You know my father is on the board of BSA, right?”
“Yeah,” I say, nodding my head, remembering the conversation we’d had where he explained it all to me.
Milo sighs. “I think you’re right. I think I was put into your life.”
“Are you sure?”
Milo’s lips press into a tight line, and he squeezes my hand. “Yeah,” he murmurs. “On your first day at BSA, I wasn’t supposed to be on office duty. I'd already had my turn the month before, and I couldn’t work out why I had to do it again. I just shrugged it off, you know, it didn’t really matter, and it got me out of classes. But now I think that maybe that was my father’s doing. If he really is working for Russo, it’s possible that he had me put in the office to be the first person you met. It wouldn’t have been a long stretch to realize that we would have gotten along. He was always asking me about you, and when the rumor went around that we were dating, he was pushing it really hard.”
Ride or Die: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 4) Page 18
