Page 146 of Joey

“Maisy’s mother,” Wald explains.

“She’s not dead, Joe,” Johnny says. “She left. She had to leave just like our mom had to leave.”

And I know there’s a lot to unpack in that sentence. But the one takeaway I have is that he’s not looking at me when he says our mom.

He’s looking at Jesse.

“She’s not dead?” Emma and Jesse say at the same time.

But Johnny has already moved on. Because he’s looking at me again. “I have to go find Charlotte.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Why isn’t the point. Yet. My point is, I have to go find Charlotte, which means you’re in charge now, Joe.”

“No fuckin’ way,” Huck says, stepping away from the wall and standing between Johnny and me. “No fucking way. He’s not—”

“It’s OK, Huck,” I say, placing my hand on his arm.

“It’s not OK,” Huck protests. “It’s not OK. None of this is fucking OK!”

“Look,” I say, leaning into him a little. “It’s the least I can do. Johnny’s been taking care of this shit for the past five years. Alone. I owe him. And if he says he needs my help, then…” I look at Johnny. “You have it.”

“What’s Charlotte got to do with this?” Wald asks. He’s staring at Johnny when he says this, but his eyes turn to me. “We need all the facts before you make this decision.”

“I don’t know yet,” Johnny asks. “But she needs to come back and I’m gonna go make sure that happens.”

“And what about Maisy?” I ask.

“I’ll leave that up to you,” Johnny says. “You don’t really understand what we’re up against.” He looks around. “None of you do. I’m the only one here who knows how big this truly is. And it’s very irresponsible of me to allow this plan to go forward. But…” He sighs a little. “I can’t do this anymore. I sit up here, every day, and think about killing myself to make it stop.”

Everyone is standing now. All eyes on Johnny.

“But I can’t,” he continues. “Because if I did, they’d just come to you next, Joey. That’s why I told you to go away. Get far, far away from this building, and this family, and this… evil. We are the bad guys. And I’ve done my best but I can’t do it anymore. I’d rather die trying to bring it down than live another five years building it up.”

CHAPTER FORTY - BROOKE

Getting a meeting with Michael Conner is not an easy task. But I am nothing if not persistent.

Hell, who am I kidding?

I lied my way in.

“Mr. Conner will see you now,” the perky assistant calls out to me. I’m in his office reception area on an interview. Which kinda makes me internally chuckle. Is it fate that his media conglomerate was headhunting for a new VP of marketing?

Maybe. Or maybe it’s just luck.

Either way, I have a brand-new résumé with almost-real references. Not to mention a ten-year job history that makes me look like some hidden gem freshly chipped off a cave wall in the jungle.

Johnny Boston didn’t quite know what to think about me when I reminded him that he controls the world’s money. He squinted his eyes a lot as I talked. He sat down, stood up, paced his office. Took two phone calls—one he left the room for, the other was the security people downstairs letting him know our new team was on their way up.

And I could not have planned that if I tried. So yeah. Maybe fate has a hand in all this after all.

But when that was all done, just before that last phone call came in, he went back to his chair at the window and planted his boots on the glass. I grabbed a chair of my own, wheeled it over, and joined him.

“You don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“No,” I agreed. “I really don’t. But I don’t care. You can’t do this anymore. And I am in love with your brother and his partners. Something has to be done or we’re all going down. It’s not just you. It’s falling apart, Johnny. And it’s time to make a choice. Which side are you on?”