Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“Plane? To where?” And how had he purchased the tickets?
“I used your credit card while you slept last night. We leave in an hour for the airport.”
“What the fuck, Jack? You can’t just expect me to go off with you and leave my dad.”
“But I can,” he snarled in a low voice. “I have kept my promise to you. Your father will be safe. He is healed. And now you will come with me.”
I was still in shock over seeing my dad bouncing around the kitchen. I wasn’t even sure this was real.
“We have a deal,” Jack added. “And I do not look upon welshers kindly.” This time, he let me know exactly how he was feeling. In a nonverbal way.
Still, I couldn’t leave my dad. Not after coming home to find him like that. “Jack, I’m sorry, but I can’t go with you.”
“What happened to helping me?”
“I can’t leave him. I have to take care of—”
“But you do not. He is perfectly capable. No longer in pain. Able to work. Safe. However, if you insist on remaining here, I could undo all that.”
Fucker.
“I warned you, Jeni; I am not a good man.” Again, his words held no emotion, which I found all the more frightening, and he knew it. He knew how to push my buttons. Proof being how he’d gotten me to do everything he’d asked so far—driving away from the port, going to the police station, heading to my motel and coming here. And he knew I’d go with him because there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my dad. Especially now that Jack had performed some sort of miracle.
I looked away. “Fine. I’ll go.”
“That wasn’t so hard, now was it? Let us get going. We have people to hunt down and punish.” He left the room, and a cold chill moved through me. I knew how he punished people. Randall’s screams were still fresh in my mind, and I wanted no part in whatever Jack had planned.
But how did a girl walk away from a man like him?
It was beyond strange. My dad acted like he’d never been in an accident. When I brought up his sudden recovery, he laughed and served me another pancake. Not a word about how he’d woken up brand new. Then he thanked Jack for bringing me home. I surmised that Jack had told him we were together—dating. Met on the job or something like that. I went along, not wanting to worry my dad, though I did tell him I’d had to leave Ripley Construction.
“There was a murder,” Jack explained to Dad. “Quite violent, right there in the port. Jeni no longer felt safe.”
“Terrible. I’m going to call Mr. Ripley.” Dad frowned.
“No. Don’t. It’s fine,” I protested. “But if they call looking for me, let them know I’m not going back.”
I honestly didn’t understand why Jack brought it up. Maybe he figured my dad would hear something from the company. He probably would.
“I thought it would be nice to take Jeni to San Francisco to get her mind off the matter,” said Jack. “We’ll only be gone a few days at the most.”
“San Francisco?” Dad sounded pleased. “It’s been years since Jeni’s taken a vacation. A wonderful idea.”
I smiled tightly. My dad had been brainwashed into trusting whatever Jack said, but I knew better. If we were going to San Francisco, he had his reasons.
“Well, it was a pleasure meeting you,” Dad said.
“Likewise, Mel.” Jack dipped his head of thick black hair.
I reached for the plates on the counter. “I’ll get these washed before we leav—”
“No. No.” My dad waved us out. “You two need to get to the airport. I’ve got this.” He gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, “He’s a keeper, Jeni.”
My stomach rolled. It was one thing that Jack had gotten inside my dad’s head to put him at ease, but now he was urging me to “keep” Jack? A little much.
Standing behind my dad, Jack flashed a dark look my way.
Sorry, buddy. But you’re the one who said you’re not a good man. He made a point to remind me of it every ten minutes.
I took a quick shower, packed my small red duffel bag with fresh clothes, and said goodbye to my dad. Every part of me ached with guilt over leaving him again, but Jack wasn’t leaving me much of a choice.
While Jack loaded his new suitcase into the trunk, I got behind the wheel of my car. Since it was a rental, supplied by the construction company, I would turn it in at the airport.
He finally got in on the passenger side and stared expectantly, waiting for me to start the engine, but I needed to get something off my chest.
“Before we leave,” I cleared my throat, “I just want to say thank you. I don’t know how you did it, but you’ve changed my dad’s life.” I didn’t bother looking at Jack. I didn’t want to say these kind words and stare into his vibrant blue eyes. I couldn’t risk allowing feelings of affection to blossom, which wasn’t easy. He’d performed a miracle.