Edge Of Retaliation : Books 1-3

by Bella Jewel

  “Go and talk to him,” Jo encourages. “I’m exhausted anyway, I need sleep.”

  “Have you called Pat?” I ask her.

  She shakes her head. “No, no, I haven’t, and I don’t even know if I will. I think ... I think I’m done, Callie.”

  I squeeze her hand. “It’s about damn time.”

  She smiles and stands. “Thank you, for finding us.”

  “Thank you for coming back to me.”

  She nods, her eyes a little distant, and then she whispers, “I’m sorry, for the fight we had before you got shot. I feel terrible, it was ...”

  “It’s over with,” I say to her, cutting her off. “We’ve been through a lot, Jo, it’s bound to happen occasionally. Please, don’t worry about it. Go and get some rest, we’ll talk more in the morning.”

  She nods and then disappears into the bedroom. I glance back out at Tanner, and I wonder what he’s thinking. I stand and walk out quietly, finding a seat and dragging it over, sitting beside him. I look to him and say, carefully, “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

  “It was a set up,” he murmurs, his voice low.

  “I know.”

  “The cops got him, he’ll go away, but if they don’t find anythin', which there is a chance they won’t, it won’t be for long. He’s smart, really fuckin’ smart, he likely knew they’d be comin' for him and tied all his lose ends.”

  “I’m sure they’ll find something, and he’ll stay away ...”

  “They shouldn’t have called the cops, doing that started a war.”

  “How so?” I whisper. “They’re locked away, Tanner. They can’t do anything.”

  He laughs, bitterly. “You’re naïve, Callie. For someone who has been behind bars.”

  That feels a little like a slap to the face, and in a sharp voice, I growl, “What happened out there? Instead of insulting me, maybe you’ll try telling me.”

  He looks over to me, his eyes locking onto mine. “Not insultin' you at all. I’m pointin' out the obvious. You’re all thinkin’ it’s over, but it’s only just beginning.”

  “How?” I grind out, frustrated.

  He’s not explaining himself; he’s talking in riddles.

  “When they were lockin' him up, he told me he’s comin' for us when he’s out, and he’ll make us wish we were never born. I take a threat like that seriously, men like him don’t just roll over when someone does what we just did, they come back harder, stronger, and I have no doubt he’ll make us wish we were never born. If you all had let me take care of him, this wouldn’t be happenin'.”

  I blink, confused.

  I didn’t think of that.

  I don’t know why.

  I guess the naïve part of me did believe it was over if they got locked up, but Tanner is right, men like that don’t just lie down and take something like what we did, they get revenge, and that revenge is usually bloody and graphic.

  “We’re not safe,” I say, and it’s not a question, it’s reality.

  “No, we’re not fuckin’ safe. For now, we are, dependin' how long he gets, but when he gets out, he’ll come after us. All of us, not just me, and he’ll make us wish we took another path.”

  I close my eyes, exhaling. “Have you talked to Tatum about this?”

  “No, haven’t spoken to anyone. What the fuck are they goin’ to do about it?”

  “I don’t know, have him hit in prison?”

  Tanner does that chuckle again. “Once again, if only it were that easy. He’ll make sure he’s covered, in case that happens, he’s clever.”

  Of course.

  “What about if we change our names and start somewhere new. All of us...”

  “You’re goin’ to ask everyone to change their lives, move away from those they love? I doubt it. Even then, you think they won’t go after our families until they find us? He knows who we are. He knows everything there is to know. We don’t run from this, Callie, we have to wait, and we have to face it.”

  I exhale and put my head in my hands.

  Just when I thought it was over.

  Just when I thought I might finally be free.

  Just when I thought I could finally breathe.

  Just when I thought it would all be okay.

  I find out it won’t be.

  It’s so far from okay.

  It’s all starting again, only this time it feels much, much worse.

  Damn you, Fate.

  You sadistic bitch.

  I STARE OUT THE WINDOW of the truck as it moves down the highway, all of us sitting in dead silence. I thought this trip home would be filled with the sensation of freedom, but it’s filled with nothing but fear, and guilt, and regret. It’s filled with the unknown. I was meant to be bringing Chase back to face his actions, and I am doing that, only I’m bringing back so much more, too.

  Chase is coming back with us, after spending a week in the hospital. He’s doing better, and much to his dismay, is coming back to tell the truth. It seems ... I don’t know, empty now. Like it no longer matters the way it used to. We thought it would let Celia rest, but instead her demons are going to chase us down until they finally meet with us again.

  We don’t know when that will be.

  All we know is that it’ll happen, and it’ll change our lives.

  I haven’t spoken much to Chase. Mostly, we make eye contact and so many unspoken words pass between us. Everything else has been so hectic, it has been hard to find the right time to sit with him and ask the million questions I want to ask. He avoids me if we’re ever alone together, and I get it.

  I do.

  I’d be scared, too.

  He’s riding with Tatum, mostly because Tanner stares at him like he wants to rip his throat out. He blames Chase, for all of this, and he wouldn’t be wrong. If Chase didn’t do what he did, none of us would be in this mess right now. We wouldn’t be wondering when a fucking gang is going to come and seek their revenge.

  We’d be free.

  God only knows where we’d be, probably happy, with Celia still alive and everyone having never met and never gone through this.

  I glance at Tanner

  He’s staring out the window, not saying anything, I mean, what is there to say, after all? We’ve all spoken until there are no more words to speak. We all know the fate that awaits us. It could be years, months—either way we’re going to have a war on our hands soon that we’re unlikely to be able to fight. That’s terrifying. On so many levels.

  “Are you okay?” I ask him.

  He shrugs, his big shoulders rising and falling. I glance back at Ethan, who is asleep in the back seat, his hands resting beneath his cheek. Poor Ethan didn’t deserve to be dragged into all of this. He has a good career, a good job, this isn’t the kind of thing he should be putting up with.

  “Are you thinking about what’s going to happen when he gets out of prison?” I ask, even though it’s pretty clear Tanner doesn’t seem to want to talk.

  “Yeah,” he says, his voice low. “Thinkin’ about how the fuck we’re gettin’ out of this with our lives in check. It’ll end in blood, and I don’t like blood. I’d rather have clean fuckin’ hands. Could have done this smarter, but we didn’t, and now we’re all fucked.”

  I swallow and nod, looking out the window. “Maybe there will be a way to hide, I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

  My idea is pitiful, at best. I know there is no hiding, and even if we did, they’d track down our families and get us out of hiding really, really quickly. Especially considering they’ve got revenge in their minds. They know that we know, they’re not going to forget that anytime soon.

  “Already told you there is no way of hiding. We gotta face this, I’m just tryin’ to figure out the safest way to do that.”

  “I’m sorry,” I say, my smile weak and pathetic. “If it wasn’t for me, none of this would be happening.”

  “Wrong,” he says, his voice hard. “If it wasn’t for Chase, none of this would be happen
ing. I’d love to serve him up to them, make a deal, finish this once and for all, but Tatum will never let that happen.”

  “You can’t expect him to want to give up his brother, you wouldn’t—”

  Tanner’s jaw ticks. “Never said I did expect that from him, but Chase should be the one who takes the blunt end of this, considerin’ he’s the one who got Celia killed.”

  Celia.

  Her name still brings prickles to my skin.

  “All I wanted was for Celia to rest in peace, the way she should. I never wanted any of this.”

  “Can’t always get what we want, Callie. Things always go south, gotta know that by now. In the end, though, we’ll get what Celia deserves, we just have to take the long way around to get it.”

  The really fucking long way.

  “What do you think is going to happen when we get back home?” I ask.

  He laughs, bitterly.

  “You think we’ve got a war with that gang, then you haven’t yet faced a family who has been hurting for so many fuckin’ years, who are about to find out not only is the girl who hit their daughter coming, but the man who made her want to die in the first place.”

  My stomach twists, a violent, angry feeling deep inside.

  They’re going to hate me.

  They’re going to hate Chase even more.

  And why shouldn’t they?

  Why the hell shouldn’t they?

  7

  JOANNE

  I’m glad to be home.

  I’m glad to have escaped that nightmare.

  I’m glad that we have Chase and we all somehow made it back alive.

  I’m not glad that we have a gang after us.

  Or that I have to face Patrick.

  Or that I don’t know what the hell to do with my life from this point.

  I’m lost and confused. I don’t know where to go from here.

  I made the choice when I was locked away in that basement to leave Patrick and start again, but in doing that, I’m going to create yet another war to add to the one we’re already fighting. I’m not sure I’m ready for it, but I do know I can’t live a single second more in a relationship I’m not happy with.

  Plus, there’s Tatum.

  The man who saved my life, who has been there when I didn’t think I could go on, who makes my heart flutter in ways I’ve never felt. He’s the man I shouldn’t want, but I do. He’s the man I can’t have. He’s the man that makes me see my world in a different light. A light that doesn’t seem so damned dull.

  I’m not ready to face the music, let alone dance along to the tune.

  But I have to.

  I have to lace those dancing shoes up and get out there.

  “You good?” Tatum asks, as I stare around my apartment which I haven’t seen for a few weeks now.

  “Yeah,” I whisper softly, flicking on a light.

  “Want us to stay with you?”

  I shake my head, not looking at him. “Callie won’t be far behind us; she’ll be here soon. I’m okay. You should get Chase home to rest, he’s had quite a time.”

  “It’s only goin’ to get that much worse for him soon.”

  I turn and look at Tatum, who is standing in my doorway with my bag in his hand. His other hand is bound with a bandage because he fractured a few of his fingers. It could be worse, though. He could have broken them like we thought. He drops my bag, his eyes on mine, and so much passes between us my breath hitches and I try so hard to stuff the feelings back that threaten to rise up and spill out. My heart calls to him, and yet my brain knows damn well that’s a bad idea.

  “He’s got a lot to face,” I whisper, staring into Tatum’s eyes.

  “Yeah, and it ain’t goin’ to be easy.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  For a moment, the air between us gets thick, and I find myself unable to rip my eyes from Tatum’s perfect face. The way his cheeks fill out and narrow down to that gorgeous mouth, or the way his eyes are framed with those thick lashes. He’s perfect in every way someone can be perfect. Even bruised and battered like he is, he’s perfect. I swallow and, noticing it, Tatum steps forward, so much passing between us.

  His hand comes out and tucks a strand of stray hair behind my ear, making my heart go absolutely crazy. I can’t think. Even when he steps a little closer, his body pressing against mine. I won’t lie, I’ve thought of this moment a thousand times, I’ve even tried to justify why it would be okay to just let him kiss me, to pretend I’m not married and I don’t have Patrick in my life.

  But I’m not heartless.

  I’m not Patrick.

  I can’t do that.

  So when he leans toward me, his mouth so close to mine I can taste his masculine breath, I whisper, “Please don’t kiss me. If you kiss me, I won’t be able to turn back. I won’t be able to say no. I won’t be able to fight it any longer. I’ll forever blame myself for being the woman that cheated while she was married. I can’t be that woman, Tatum, even if every ounce of me is screaming to just let you do whatever you want. So please, don’t kiss me. I don’t have the strength to stop you anymore.”

  His eyes hold mine, scanning my face, and then with a lot of hesitation, he steps back, cupping my jaw in his big hand and murmuring, “Leave him, Jo.”

  Then he drops his hand and turns, walking out.

  I press my back against the wall and exhale a shaky breath.

  Can things get any more complicated?

  I’m scared to even think that out loud.

  Because, of course it can.

  And it will.

  “WHERE WERE YOU?” PATRICK demands, storming past me and slamming the front door.

  He hasn’t even looked at me yet. He just waltzed in with his filthy attitude and bad words. As always, Patrick doesn’t think of anyone else but himself. When he finally stops and turns, he takes me in. His eyes scan over my body, and my face, and it’s easy to see that I’ve had a hard time, that I’ve been hurt, that I’m not okay.

  “What happened to you?” he asks, not acting at all concerned. “Who have you been with?”

  He thinks I look like this because I’ve been with someone? My god, of course he thinks something like that.

  “I was helping Callie find someone involved in Celia’s death, and we ran into some trouble. I’m fine, in case you were wondering.”

  “What the hell is wrong with you? What kind of trouble? You’re going to explain yourself, Joanne!”

  “I’m tired, Patrick. You know, I haven’t seen you for a few weeks and you can’t even greet me with kindness, instead you greet me with anger and demands. You wonder why our marriage isn’t working? This is why.”

  He laughs, shaking his head, having the audacity to look like my words have absolutely horrified him. Like the very idea that he has anything to do with our marriage breaking down is just insane. Of course he thinks that, Patrick doesn’t have involvement in anything, it’s always someone else. In work and in play.

  “Our marriage isn’t working because you’re obsessed with Callie and you’ve been a terrible wife. That’s why it hasn’t been working. If you were at home with me, doing the things you should be doing instead of out there doing god knows what, we might be in a different position right now.”

  I shake my head. I’m tired, and I don’t feel like arguing. I’m so sick of arguing. “Look, I’m not in the mood to go over the same argument. We both know that it’s going to be the same words shared, the same fight, the same excuses. We’re both to blame, but right now, I need to rest. I’d appreciate if you’d let me do that.”

  “I will,” he murmurs, crossing his arms, “when you tell me who the fuck it was walking out of your apartment earlier.”

  My eyes widen. “You were watching me?”

  “I drove past to see if you were home yet, and I saw a man walking out. Who the fuck was that? Are you having an affair? If you’re caught having an affair, you’ll lose everything, Jo.”

  Wow.

  O
f course he wants to play that angle. He wants me to admit I’m seeing someone else so it makes it easier for him and he doesn’t have to give anything up if we divorce. In fact, it’s the perfect out for him.

  “I’m not having an affair,” I say, shaking my head. “Though, believe me, I’ve thought about plenty of other men outside of you.”

  My words are scalding, but I’m angry and I’m sick of his shit. To put it mildly.

  Patrick’s eyes widen. “So you’re admitting you’ve had thoughts of being with someone else and you want me to believe that man wasn’t here doing god knows what with you?”

  “I don’t care what you believe. I didn’t and haven’t cheated on you.”

  “Then who was he?”

  “A friend, Patrick.”

  “I don’t believe you!” he snaps, shaking his head angrily. “I don’t fucking believe you. A friend that looks like that? I doubt it. If I find out you’re cheating on me, I’ll make sure you get nothing.”

  “Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? I’m sure it would be the perfect plan.”

  He shakes his head, grabbing his keys and walking toward the door, “I’ll find out what you’re doing, and when I do, I’ll make sure you’re adequately punished for it. You don’t want to mess with me, Joanne. I’ve about had enough.”

  “You’ve had enough?” I laugh bitterly as he reaches the door. “I’m so fucking done I’m about ready to forget your name. It’s over, Patrick. You and I both know it’s time.”

  He stops with his hand on the doorknob. He turns slowly, and says, “You’re ending it?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you expect me to actually believe you haven’t been seeing someone else? The moment I mention it, it’s over?”

  “You’re just looking for something, but it’s not there. I’m ending something that should have been ended years ago and you know it.”

  He narrows his eyes. “I’ll find proof of what you’ve been doing, Joanne. I’ll make you pay for this.”

  “I didn’t cheat on you!” I snap, crossing my arms, my heart racing, my mind spinning.