The Truest Thing - Hart's Boardwalk

The sound of Jack’s name halted him just as he was about to open the door to leave. Turning, he watched Sullivan hurry down the steps.

“You okay?” he asked gruffly.

Jack nodded.

“Just a heads-up.” Sullivan leaned in, lowering his voice. “The feds are working to freeze your father’s and brother’s assets, but for now, they posted bail.”

Jack tensed. “What the fuck? I thought that bail would be set at an impossible amount.”

Sullivan grimaced. “The bail judge was Judge Kent.”

Anger coursed through him at the news. “I gave you evidence that Kent has been taking bribes from Ian for years. Why the hell would he be allowed to set bail?”

“Because the feds can’t move on that evidence just yet. I’m sorry.”

“How long until their assets are frozen?”

“It should happen today. It might already have happened. Once it does, they can say goodbye to their fancy defense attorney.”

“Even so … they’re still out until this goes to trial.” Jack bit back a curse. “How do I protect my mother now?”

Rosalie had refused to move out of the mansion and into Jack’s place in South Hartwell, terrified of Ian. Jack had hope that once his father was behind bars, he’d be able to convince his mom to take that step.

“Look, I’m not supposed to do this, but if your mom wants to leave that house, I can accompany you to get her. In an unofficial capacity. As a friend.”

Jack appreciated the offer but he couldn’t put Sullivan in that position. “Thanks, but I … I’ll figure it out.”

“Be careful, Jack,” Sullivan warned. “Ian knows the evidence is stacked against him and he seems like the kind of ruthless bastard that won’t take this lying down. He comes at you, I want you to call me immediately. Don’t deal with it yourself. Call me. I’ll come and slap some cuffs on him with pleasure.”

Jack nodded goodbye, his heart racing a little faster as he marched to his car.

“Fuck,” he bit out in frustration when he reached it. And then something occurred to him. “Rebecca.”

* * *

Jack broke the speed limit driving to his house in North Hartwell where he and Rebecca were staying. They’d already moved there, hoping Rosalie and Jamie would move into the South Hartwell home.

Practically flying out of the car, Jack took the porch steps three at a time and launched himself into the house. “Becs!” he yelled as he hurried through the lounge and into the kitchen. It was empty.

“Becs!”

No reply.

Shit.

Jack strode through the kitchen, planning to look upstairs, when a piece of paper pinned to the fridge caught his eye. He removed the tourist magnet holding it.

Gone for a walk along the beach. I have my cell if you need me.

Becs xx

Jack reached into his suit pocket for his phone. He wanted her back here where he could keep an eye on her.

“Relax. There’s nothing we can do to little sister now that hasn’t already been done.”

Rage, frustration, disappointment, all of it moved through him at the sound of his brother Kerr’s voice.

Jack turned to face him.

Kerr leaned against the doorway to the kitchen, a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes on his face. His fury was palpable.

Jack didn’t care. Kerr was the eldest, the one who should have protected them from their father. But he was too like the old man. Selfish to the core. Probably why he’d never married. Thank God for that. Jack almost flinched at the sight of him. Of all of them, Kerr was almost the spitting image of Stu. And the memory of Stu filled Jack with guilt, regret, and confusion.

“No, despite her fucking everything up, I feel like little Rebecca has been through enough. And to be fair, she will probably see some jail time for this, and anything that happens to her in prison will be worse than what we could ever do to her.” Kerr chuckled, pushing off the jamb. “Dad agreed.”

Jack stared blankly at his brother, knowing his ability to not react pissed him off. “So? I’m supposed to be scared that you’ve come for me? The star witness in your case. Are you that fucking dumb?”

“You know you’ve royally screwed us, right?” Kerr glared. “We got the call that they froze everything. Mick Rooney, that fucking slimy bastard, is leaving us to swing in the wind.”

Mick Rooney was their high-powered defense attorney. Jack smirked. “If you don’t have the money to pay him, that’s kind of the deal.”

“You smug cocksucker.” Malice flashed in Kerr’s eyes. “That means we have nothing left to lose. We’re going away for this. Probably for a long time … so we might as well take you down before we go.”

“I’m not afraid of you, Kerr.”

“No, I know that. Why do you think Dad hates you so much? He can’t stand that you’re not afraid of him, that you don’t respect him. I think you’ve finally pushed him over the edge, though, little bro. And since he knows you’re not afraid of anything that might happen to you … we decided to hit you where it’ll actually fucking hurt.”