Jardin's Gamble (Haven, Texas 9)

Her cash supply was hidden safely away from his greedy hands.

On his way out the door, he grabbed the nearly empty bottle of bourbon, drank the rest then threw it against the wall. It landed with a crash, but she didn’t even flinch. Small price to pay.

Her entire body shaking from the aftermath, she used a chair to pull herself onto her feet. Her hand was throbbing, her throat ached. But he was gone. She tugged the ends of her shirt together. Great. Seemed her best outfit was now ruined.

After quickly checking on the boys, who’d followed her instructions exactly and hidden themselves under the bed with their tablets and headphones, which she’d had to work an extra job for months to afford. She managed to get them out, telling them it was bedtime. Without a word, they got into their pj’s and got into bed.

Then she popped some painkillers before hopping in the shower. By the time she got out, her trembling had ceased and the throbbing in her hand was down to a dull ro

ar.

After getting into her pajamas, she put some more cream on her hand. She’d leave the bandage off to let it breathe for a bit. Another blister had popped. She’d need to be careful not to let it get infected.

She examined her neck in the mirror. Fuck, was it going to bruise? She’d have to find something high-necked in her closet. This wasn’t her first rodeo so she had a couple of possible tops she could use.

After checking on the boys, who were fast asleep, she slid into bed and grabbed her phone, surprised to find two voice messages. One from an unknown number. The other from her boss.

She played the one from the unknown number first.

“Hi, Thea. This is Carrick. From earlier. I’m the guy with your car.” He cleared his throat and she had to grin at the note of nervousness in his voice. “Anyway, wanted to let you know I started working on it tonight. It’s got a blown head gasket and worn disc brakes. Hopefully, it will be fixed by this weekend and we can go on that date. Anyway, uh, I’ll call tomorrow night with an update. Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite . . . Jesus, can’t believe I just said that.”

The call ended, and, despite the day she’d had, she found herself grinning.

Then she played the next message, tensing up, unsure why her boss would be calling.

“Thea. It’s Jardin. Malone.”

Her eyebrows rose. Her normally unflappable boss sounded almost unsure of himself.

“I called to tell you that I won’t be in until ten as I’m meeting with Eric Henderson.”

She frowned. Had he forgotten she did his schedule? She already knew this.

“Make sure you’re in on time.”

Thea rolled her eyes with a sigh. Be late one time . . . what about all the times she’d been early? Did they count for nothing?

“And, uh, make sure you put cream on that hand and get some air on it. Then bandage it again. Good night.”

Well, that was weird.

6

Shit. Shit. Shit.

She placed her forehead down on the desk after ending the call with the school. After taking a bus to get the boys to school she’d gotten into an argument with one of the bitch moms. She’d had the fucking audacity to complain that Keir had been picking on her son during lunchtime. More like she was just bitter because Keir beat her little Arthur out for the top math prize last term. But all that had meant that Thea barely managed to get to work on time.

And now . . . shit. A fight? Her boys wouldn’t have started a fight, right?

With all the violence they’d witnessed at home, most people would say it was inevitable. But she knew her brothers. They were good kids, despite all the shit thrown at them.

First things first. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to Jardin’s office and knocked.

“Yes?” he called out.

She opened the door and peeked in. He was sitting at his desk, looking at some papers. “Um, Jardin you busy?”

Stupid question, Thea.