The barrel dips down. “You need me?”
“I need you.” He touches her belly. “The baby needs you too. Can you be strong for us, Jax?”
The gun lowers completely. “Fucking hell, girl. I missed you.”
“We’re not getting back together,” Kady says, glaring at him. “You still fucked up.”
“I know I did.”
“This doesn’t mean I forgive you.”
“That’s all right. I don’t expect you to.”
“But you can help us. If you want.”
He grins and gestures. “Come on in, ladies. It’s not much, but at least it’s safe.”
He turns and disappears inside.
“What do you think?” I ask her quietly as we approach.
“Not as nice as Nolan’s place, but it’ll be safe, I guess.”
“Can we trust him?”
“For now.” She shrugs and smiles at me sadly. “What choice do we have? We need a place to stay for a little while.”
“Maybe we can get jobs nearby. Find our own place.”
“Yeah, Cora, maybe.” She looks resigned as she heads into the cabin.
I linger out on the porch for a minute, looking out at the woods. I see the lake through the trees, glittering blue and white as the wind blows the choppy waves. The smell of cooking onions and garlic wafts out through the door and I’m reminded that I haven’t had a proper meal in days and my legs are sore from sitting and driving for so long and my heart’s a fucking mess from missing Nolan.
I grab our bags and head inside. The place is a little old, a little rundown, and its main decorative theme is hunting lodge with lots of wood and paintings of ducks and little fish statues, but it’s surprisingly cozy. The TV’s tuned to football and Jaxson’s standing in the kitchen cooking pierogis while Kady sits nearby, salivating over the food.
“There’s a room you two can share next to mine,” Jaxson says. “It has a couple of twin beds. Sorry, best I can do, only two bedrooms.”
“Better than sleeping in the car,” Kady says.
I find the room and drop our stuff inside. There’s only one bathroom for the three of us, and while I don’t love the idea of sharing with Jaxson, I can’t exactly complain. He’s taking a risk by letting us stay here and I have to keep reminding myself of that.
Even though it’s his stupid ass that got us into this mess to begin with.
Kady eats and Jaxson drinks a beer and I sit there and watch my sister looking the happiest I’ve seen in days. She and Jaxson have a connection, and it’s obvious the second I see them together, and even though I hate Jaxson with a burning passion, at least we’re safe and indoors and she’s eating.
“You two really do have good timing,” Jaxson says and leans up against the counter. “I planned on moving on in a couple days.”
“Really?” I ask, head cocked. “Why? This place seems pretty secluded and comfortable.”
“You didn’t hear?” His eyebrows raise. “Shit’s getting bad back home.”
“How bad?” My heart rate doubles and Kady looks at me with a worried frown.
“Your boyfriend murdered Hugh Tondo, the second-in-command of the ORB, then the ORB hit them back and killed one of their guys, someone named Troy. Then Nolan’s crew burned down one of our bars, and our guys tried to burn down the Cat but Nolan fought them off, then one of Nolan’s guys got shot and is in the hospital—”
“Hold on,” Kady says. “How the hell do you know all this?”
Jaxson hesitates and shifts foot to foot. “I’ve been texting with Craig.”
I groan and bury my face in my hands. “You stupid asshole.”
“It’s okay, seriously, I haven’t told him where I am. This is his uncle’s cabin, you know.”
“Oh, god damn it,” Kady says, dropping her fork like she lost her appetite. “Jaxson, you never told me that.”
“You never asked! But it’s fine, Craig’s busy with what’s happening back in Marietta. Nobody’s even looking for me.”
“How long is that gonna last, huh?” I look from him to Kady and shake my head. “Maybe we should move on to somewhere else.”
“With what money?” Kady asks. “I can’t imagine he has anything.”
“I’ve got some cash,” Jaxson protests. “I’ve got about three hundred bucks.”
“Great, three hundred won’t do a damn thing for us.”
“Hey, I didn’t make you come here,” he says, getting defensive.
“All right, hold on,” Kady says, holding up her hands. “Both of you take a breath.”
I glare at Jaxson and he glares back, but I don’t say anything and he doesn’t either. Kady picks up her fork and takes another bite of the pierogis before sighing and shaking her head. With her mouth half full, she says, “Maybe we can stay here for a while. At least a week or two.”
“I’m telling you, Craig doesn’t know I’m here. I told him I went up to Michigan to be with family.”
“He knows that’s bullshit, you idiot. He’s your cousin.” I want to punch Jaxson in the face so badly it hurts. He must be the dumbest man in existence. I can’t believe my sister let him get her pregnant.