Chapter Twenty-Three
Elena
The hatred spinning inside me was unbearable. How did I let this man trick me into believing his kind of justice was the good kind?
Even when I looked into his eyes now, it looked like I was seeing a different person, a man who no longer cared whether he ever saw me again.
“Tell me why you pulled that trigger,” I repeated, my blood boiling. “He was nothing more than a floral delivery driver.”
His lip curled slightly.
“If only that were true.” He scratched his chin and shook his head.
I knew he wouldn’t take this information well, but I guess I didn’t expect to see this kind of response. I owed my sister’s life to this man, a debt I’d never be able to repay. He gave my family my sister back, but he also took away my cousin.
“Sure,” he began. “He delivered flowers and just about anything else you could sniff, snort, inhale, or shoot.”
“Joey wasn’t a drug dealer.”
“Indeed, he was, but that’s not what got him killed.”
I took in a breath, not realizing it was shaky. I saw a dart of sorrow splash through Jaxson’s gaze, but it vanished instantly.
Or was it in my head?
“Your cousin, Joey, began casing people’s homes while delivering flowers. Weeks and months later, he would come back to those homes and commit armed burglary. One night, things didn’t go as planned, and he murdered an entire family of four.”
“That’s not true. He wasn’t capable of that.” My entire body trembled as his words continued to loop through my mind. “There’s no way Joey did that.”
“The Joey you knew wasn’t the Joey I knew.”
“How could you be sure?” I shook my head, unwilling to believe the horror he was relaying.
“Your cousin had a habit of videotaping his exploits.”
My heart dropped. Joey always loved to record everything. Everything. I knew of a relationship he’d had that had blown up because she found out he’d taped her while they had sex.
“What?” Jaxson’s voice remained lifeless. “Did I strike a chord?”
“He always recorded everything since we were kids.”
“Not the smartest move.”
“No, it’s not,” I agreed, unable to look at Jaxson any longer.
“I have the video, but I’d advise against seeing it.”
I stood in silence, trying to navigate everything he’d told me. Jaxson had never lied to me before. He might have withheld information, but he’d never lied.
I finally brought my gaze up to his.
“I believe you.”
Relief spread through his gaze, but he quickly pushed it away.
“It looks like they’re headed to the hospital with your sister.” Jax pointed behind me and I turned around to look.
“I need to go to the hospital.”
“I know.”
I turned around and didn’t look back. I couldn’t look back.
Every emotion I’d had in the last twenty-four hours was scratching at the surface, begging to flow out. There were so many times I’d let myself believe that I’d lost my sister, only to promise myself that she was still alive and that I’d get to see her again.
I’d let myself fall under Jaxson’s spell and I’d let myself be vulnerable during a time I needed comfort more than I ever knew.
And he was there to provide it.
I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs and smile and cry simultaneously. Nothing made sense, but one thing was for sure. Jaxson wanted nothing to do with me.
My sister’s ambulance pulled away as I found a medic who told me where they were headed with her.
I jogged to the car I’d borrowed from Jaxson and decided one more time wouldn’t hurt. I needed to see my sister, this was the only car I had keys for, and it was how I got here anyway.
The hospital they took her to was less than fifteen minutes away, and I quickly found a parking spot and ran into the emergency room. Several police officers were congregating in the waiting room while I went up to the admissions desk to explain who I was.
“We’ll let you see her as soon as she’s stabilized.”
“But—”
“It won’t be long. Please, have a seat.” I marched over to the waiting area and found a seat by the window.
I pulled out my phone to see several texts from my mother. Jaxson’s mom was driving them here. She wanted to make sure I was okay.
My chest tightened at the thought of having to deal with Jaxson’s mother at the moment. I’d barely been able to cling to the idea that my sister was actually alive and my cousin wasn’t half the man I thought he was. I didn’t need any lectures . . . or worse.
I stared mindlessly at the television showing some home and garden channel as I waited impatiently for them to allow me to see my sister. The police officers who had been standing in the waiting room were called back, and I wondered if it was to see my sister. Did that mean she was awake?
As I stood to go to the admissions desk, my mom and dad stepped through the automatic doors with Mrs. Volkov right behind. I avoided any eye contact with her, which didn’t seem to faze her as she took a seat in the waiting room, leaving my parents and me to embrace.
“I can’t believe she’s alive,” my mom cried into my shoulder. “We owe so much to the Volkovs.”
“We owe them everything,” I whispered.
My mother took a step back, dabbing her eyes as my father held her tight.
“Have you seen her yet?” she asked.
“I only saw her briefly when they were taking her to the ambulance. They said she was dehydrated, but since I got here, I haven’t been able to see her.”
My mom nodded knowingly and marched up to the desk I’d been turned away from.
They gave her the same spiel, but my mom didn’t seem deterred.
“They’ve got five minutes or I’m just going back there.” She made her way over to Mrs. Volkov, leaving my dad and me standing near the door.
“Sometimes, the people we love will disappoint us,” my father said quietly.
My eyes moved to his, and I tilted my head in confusion.
“Excuse me?”
“When you put someone on a pedestal, they’re bound to fall off. Don’t you think?” My dad’s voice was soft and concerned. “But you can’t blame the world and you can’t blame yourself. You also can’t blame others for doing what they thought was right.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Joey. I’m talking about Joey.”
“You knew?”
“Your mother and I both knew he’d gotten into some trouble, and we were aware how he died and what led up to his death.”
I glanced at my mom. “And you never told me?”
“We didn’t want to ruin the good memories you held onto so tightly.” My father looked around the hospital waiting room. “Apparently, we were wrong in that decision.”
I felt utterly alone.
“The world is rarely made up of good people and bad people. Sometimes, good people do bad things, and sometimes, bad people do good things just to throw us off.”
“I just can’t believe my Joey would do what Jaxson said he did.”
“Honey, my guess is that Jaxson gave you the watered-down version. In fact, I know he did because he called me to tell me what he told you.”
I let out a sigh.
“Don’t blame Jaxson in all of this.”
My father’s words surprised me.
I shook my head. “I think I hurt him more than—”
“He knew. He knew for quite some time.”
“Then why didn’t he say something?”
“He likes you.”
My mother bolted from her seat and grinned at me. “Okay, time’s up.”
I held in a chuckle as I watched my mom walk up to the admission lady, who told her the same thing she apparently tells everyone, every time.
The sliding door opened behind me, and I saw Jaxson and his brothers filing into the hospital just as I heard a commotion in the other direction as my mom barged through the emergency room doors to find her daughter.
I guess the apple didn’t fall from the tree. I halfway expected to see security or police escorting her back through the doors, but it seemed as if the doors swallowed her up.
My father rubbed my shoulders and let out a long breath. “I suppose I should go in after her.”
“It’s the husbandly thing to do.” I smiled and watched my father trundle off in the same direction, pushing the doors open to find his wife and daughter.
Jaxson’s brothers had found seats near their mother, but Jaxson stayed close to me.
With all the emotions running so wildly through me, I was honestly worried that if I looked at him, I’d start crying. I felt like a horrible person who had a good mission. Or maybe I was a good person who had a horrible mission.
“I’m sorry for acting like such an ass back at the warehouse.”
He touched my chin, tilting it up so I had no choice but to see him.
“You had every right to be.”
His gaze lulled me in place, calming all of my worries. From the moment I’d met him, I knew he would protect me, and he’d never failed.
“I had absolutely no right to be.” He shook his head. “I’d thought about having that conversation since I found out who you were, and it never went quite that way.”
“Surprises are endless around us.”
“Apparently.” He took a step closer and kept his gaze on mine. “I thought if I pushed you away, it would be better for you. You wouldn’t see your cousin every time you looked at me. You wouldn’t have pent-up anger every time we spoke. I just thought it would be better if I ended it before we had a chance to begin.”
“What changed your mind?”
“I knew I’d be far too miserable of a bastard if I stayed away.” He smiled and glanced at his brothers.
“They told you that you were being a miserable bastard.”
“In so many words.” He brought his gaze back to mine. “I know my lifestyle isn’t for everyone, and I understand if you might not want—”
“I want.” I grabbed his hand. “I really want.”
I looked over at Mama V, who was watching us carefully.
“But I’m not sure she wants,” I whispered.
“She’ll come around.” Jaxson brought me into him. “And if not, then we’ll just cross that bridge when we get to it.”
I laughed, feeling safe in his arms once more. “You know, you play that whole icy, ruthless mobster a little too well. I truly believed you never wanted to see me again.”
“Well, I promise never to play that role with you again.”
“That’s not the only promise you’re going to have to make.”