Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Did he even listen to her? “Yes, I want you to take this lawyer who will make sure you don’t say anything that might incriminate you before you have an immunity deal.”
Jensen nodded and leaned over, brushing his lips to her forehead. “Then that’s what I’ll do.” He turned and looked at the intimidating men dotting his childhood lawn. “Mr. O’Malley, I’ll follow your lead. Mr. Dawson, I hope we have a chance to talk. Unreasonable Dad… Sorry, that’s what she calls you when she’s not angry. Uhm, I think you’re cool and I’d like to help you figure out new ways to torture assholes who hurt her.”
Her dad’s smile was entirely predatory. “Sure. We can talk about the things that scare you.”
Jensen nodded and then sighed. “He’s planning to torture me, isn’t he?”
“The first smart thing that kid has said all night,” her dad remarked. “I think I’ll sit in on the interrogation.” He turned and walked toward the house.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t cause a fight,” Papa said, slapping Uncle Lucas on the back. “Come on. Let’s get some of that coffee.”
Jensen followed the men, and he was halfway to the house before he seemed to realize something was wrong. He turned and looked to Niall. “Dude, she’s going to want to talk to her mom and she’s going to cry and say a lot of shit about both of us, and she won’t care that you’re listening but later on she’ll feel bad about it.” He winked Harlow’s way. “You say whatever you need to say. She’s your mom. You get to cry on her shoulder all you like.”
Niall kissed her and jogged to catch up.
“Oh, baby, I like them,” her mom said.
“I do, too, and I think I have to leave them.” She turned and her mom hugged her and it finally felt okay to cry.
Chapter Fourteen
Jensen sat in the small kitchen where he’d eaten most of his meals during his formative years and wondered when it started to feel like an interrogation room. Probably when he was surrounded by Harlow’s family. He knew the light above wasn’t brighter than it had been before, but the damn thing felt like a spotlight on him.
What the hell was he going to do about Harlow? Hamilton was playing hard if he was setting him up like this. If Hamilton was willing to lose a million dollars to make him look bad, what would he do if he realized what Harlow meant to him? If Hamilton figured out that he would do anything for Harlow…
The thought of her in Hamilton’s hands made him want to throw up. It would be his fault this time. He had worked his way into feeling like maybe it wasn’t his fault Tommy died, but he would be serving up Harlow on a silver platter if he stayed close to her.
His gut clenched. How had his life gotten to this place? Where this man he had never actually met held so much fucking power over him? And he’d been the one to give it to him. He’d been a fool and gotten them all into this mess. He should have done exactly what Niall had advised him to. Become a total pain in the police detectives’ asses. Done whatever it took to find justice for his brother. Not revenge. Revenge was for him. Not for Tommy.
“Do you understand what Special Agent O’Malley is saying?” The lawyer—who looked like an older version of Special Agent O’Malley—had taken the seat beside him while Niall leaned against the kitchen countertop where they used to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for their lunches. Sometimes they stole jelly packets from the local diner because Mom forgot to buy groceries or couldn’t afford them.
So many memories in this house, and they were all hitting him hard tonight.
Harlow came from a different world. A world he might never fit into. A world she would be safe in.
“Really, Papa? Special Agent?” Jack’s eyes rolled. He was doing that a lot tonight. Since his father had arrived, Jack had acted a bit like a sullen teenager.
Lucas O’Malley, on the other hand, seemed chipper even though it was two in the morning. “I’m keeping it professional. You should call me counselor or Mr. O’Malley. Also, we’re not agreeing to any data transfer until you give us a deal on paper signed by the ADA handling the case.”
Jack’s head swiveled, and he looked to Jensen. “He’s a corporate attorney, you know. He doesn’t do criminal defense. He checks contracts to make sure his brother’s company doesn’t get fucked over.”
“Hey, I have a degree in criminal law. It’s called twenty seasons of Law and Order,” Lucas quipped. “And you know I’m right.”
“If this goes any further, we’ll hire a criminal defense attorney for you, Jensen. Lucas will liaise with a firm in Dallas to hire someone good.” Ben Dawson was a carbon copy of his brother when it came to looks. The only difference he could tell was his hair was slightly shaggier than his brother’s. Attitude wise they were polar opposites. Like one was a dark mirror of the other. “But I trust Lucas to manage this portion.”