“I doubt she’s sleeping.” My mother raised an eyebrow.
“I’ll go talk to her…” I nodded and walked down the hallway—mom was right—Charley was wide awake.
“You said you wouldn’t be gone long!” She sat up in bed immediately.
“I know, baby.” I walked to the bed and sat down. “Something came up. I promise it’s going to be better soon.”
“When you work there?” Charley pointed to the picture she drew of me in front of a big office building.
“That’s right.” I smiled and hugged her. “Things will be all better once I graduate from college and start working at Alcott Inc.”
I hope that’s the truth, but I have a feeling that we’re going to have a lot more challenges before I ever get to rest my head on a pillow without worrying about what could be coming the next day…
After I got Charley settled and tucked in, I returned to the living room so that I could talk to my mother. I told her about the visit with Jackson, how badly it went—and I think she would have castrated him if he was in the room when she saw the bruise he left on my arm. Mom was never a fan of Jackson, to begin with. She thought he was a spoiled prick and believed I was way too good for an asshole like him.
I never saw him from her point of view—but that certainly changed—and I didn’t want him anywhere near Charley. I just had to find a way to get rid of him, and that could come down to a legal battle. My mother took pictures of my bruises to be safe and tried to convince me to file a police report, but I was scared to go that far. I wanted to believe that there was a shred of decency in him, and he would crawl back into whatever hole he came from after realizing that I wasn’t interested in rekindling our relationship.
It would be my word against his and just invite the police to get involved—I’d prefer to leave them out of it unless it’s necessary.
Chapter Twelve
Jon
The next day
“I have a meeting.” I walked out of my office and adjusted my suit jacket. “I’ll be back after lunch.”
“You do?” Gina looked up at me and tilted her head. “I don’t see anything on your calendar. Did I forget to add something? If I did, I’m sorry!”
“No, this is a personal matter.” I shook my head back and forth as I walked towards the elevators.
Bryant mentioned using Craven Security for his wedding, and it was a good choice—but we both knew that Leo Craven could do more than just provide a security detail. He had a lot of former cops on his payroll, and if one of Carson Cove’s finest wanted to make some extra money when they weren’t on duty, he was the guy to see.
Leo wasn’t a bad guy by any means, but he didn’t always operate within the letter of the law when he was hired for a job. He utilized his resources wisely, and as long as he didn’t hurt anyone, the Chief of Police looked the other way. I needed someone that could find Melanie’s ex, and Leo was my best bet—plus, he was a friend. Back when Bryant and I were tearing up the football field on offense, Leo was leading the defense to make sure the points we scored were enough to win us the game.
“Jon!” Leo stood up and extended his hand—he was still built like a linebacker, even though it had been a long time since he sacked a quarterback.
“Hey man.” I shook his hand. “Thanks for seeing me on short notice.”
“Of course—anytime.” He motioned to the chair in front of him. “Want a drink? You still like whiskey?”
“I’m good, thanks.” I held up my hand and shook my head.
“Sorry to hear about the divorce. I never thought I’d see the day you and Mary split up.” He leaned back in his chair. “Did she get custody of the girls?”
“Yeah…” I sighed. “I get them every other weekend—not even that much these days.”
“Damn. Yeah, divorce is hard. If you’re here to ask me to dig up some dirt, I’ll see what I can find—but you should have hired me before you signed the paperwork.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Nah, this isn’t about that.” I shook my head back and forth.
“Alright, well whatever you need—you know I’m your man,” he assured me.
“I need you to find someone for me.” I pulled out my phone. “This may require you to send one of your guys to the city…”
“I can do that.” He nodded.
“This is Melanie Monroe.” I showed him a picture of her from Taylor’s Facebook page. “I need you to figure out who she dated in high school…”<