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“How the fuck do you know my name?” I turned to Harper who had her eyes closed, but I couldn’t tell if it was from shame or guilt.
“You don’t see the family resemblance?” he asked me, and I shook my head.
“I don’t have a Jayson in my family as far as I know. I—"
“Not yours. Hers.” When I looked between the two, there were some familiarities. “Harper is my cousin.”
I turned to Harper, and she opened her eyes. I didn’t understand what was going on. “If it’s not money you want, what is it?”
He grinned, then stepped away from her, but not enough for me to try to make any attempt to save her. The man took off his gloves and my eyes immediately latched onto the large ring he was wearing, one whose imprint was currently splayed across Harper’s left cheek.
This bastard had struck her, and repeatedly from what I could tell. I then noticed something else and the color drained from my face. I wobbled slightly as I zeroed in on the large tattoo on the top of his hand. It was a rose with a sword through the center. Below on the top knuckles were letters I realized would spell two words if presented properly.
I had seen them before. As I wracked my head, it suddenly dawned on me where. When Harper had told me she moved on with another guy, the pictures of her in those compromising positions had been with an inked man. The one in those photographs had the same rose tattoo and the words “self made” across his knuckles.
I couldn’t believe I’d even forgotten about that because those images taunted me for years. Whenever I would think about her, I wasn’t able to see the girl who’d left me, but the one spread naked on a bed letting another man touch what was mine. If he was her cousin, though, it could only mean...
I looked over at Harper and mouthed, “Was this him?”
She managed to nod and it was like being hit with a ton of bricks all over again.
“Did he hurt you before?” I mouthed as Jayson removed his other glove, completely oblivious of our secret conversation.
She didn’t have to answer me even with a nod. I saw not only the truth in her eyes, but utter fear reflected in them as well. Everything now made so much sense.
She’d left Chicago and practically changed into someone else almost immediately. She’d become withdrawn and blamed it on trying to get acclimated to Portland and her new school. All along, this fucking monster had been hurting her, and she couldn’t tell me.
It was like a knife to the chest knowing she didn’t trust me. Maybe, it wasn’t even that. She might’ve thought I couldn’t help her so she’d suffered alone. I staggered backward and scrubbed one hand down the front of my face.
I’d gone from loving her unconditionally to hating her because I thought she’d betrayed me. Now, I was finding out that was the farthest thing from the truth. Even after all this time passed, I treated her badly because of some preconceived assumption. She’d needed me then and I failed her, just as she did now.
I tried to hide any recognition as I glanced back over at Jayson. “What is it that you want then?”
“You’re in possession of something I want, and I suppose I have something of interest to you. Do —”
“If you’re talking about that whore, you’re wrong,” I lied, and I winced slightly at the sound of her muffled cry. I didn’t dare look at her because I didn’t want to see the pain I was further causing her.
“I think you’re bluffing,” Jayson called out correctly.
“After cheating on me years ago, she’s been all over my dick since returning to Chicago. Probably me, and many others. Like I said, she’s a decent lay, but that’s about it.”
I prayed she would forgive me for all of this later if there was one.
Jayson was still not convinced and I watched him as he moved back behind Harper and yanked her head back by her hair.
I looked down at her neck and I could see what appeared to be rope marks and my blood began to boil.
“I’m calling bullshit,” he said, and I held back my growl.
Negotiations were part of my job. I did them for a living. I had to be able to keep a poker face at all times as I got the best terms for my clients, and be fully prepared to walk away when needed, even if the athletes were depending on me landing them the contracts.
It was very different haggling for a few extra concessions than trying to save the only girl I had ever loved when I’d been unable to do so before.
“Call it what you like,” I responded. “If it’s not money you want, then what is it? I’ve got places to be.”
My impatience wasn’t an act, even if the reasons I showed it was. Jayson trailed the tip of the gun over her bloodied cheek, then dug it into the side of her face.
“Have you ever seen what someone looks like after having their brains splattered all over the wall?”
