“The snips are in the back laundry room. Come inside and I’ll get them for you.” Jessie held open the porch door, the crisp air of the AC surrounding her like she’d just walked into a freezer. Okay, maybe Hawk was right about it being a little too cold for once the baby was born. “Hawk had everything so beautiful when he first brought me here, and now I’ve blown it all apart like a tornado.”
Dakota laughed, his eyes bouncing around all the open boxes. “Yeah, but that’s always how you’ve been.”
Jessie rolled her eyes. “Alright, wise ass. Just for that remark, I’m going to sit on the couch and direct you from there.”
“Like I’d have it any other way. My luck, you’ll drop the baby while I’m the only one around.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. Hawk and Birdie are my team of choice. No offense.”
“Absolutely none taken.” He pointed to the kitchen. “Is the laundry room through there?”
“Yep. Last I saw them, they were sitting on the little table. Just holler if you can’t find them.” She smiled as she pushed a pillow behind her back.
Dakota disappeared into the kitchen while Jessie ran through how the hell she was going to tell him about how thatvase he wanted back was probably right in the middle of a big pile of trash at the Clarence County landfill.
“Bingo!” His voice boomed through the house just a few seconds before he walked back into the living room, waving the tin snips above his head in triumph.
“Good. I’m glad you found them.”
“One item on the list down. Where should I head for the vase?” he asked.
“Dakota, I really am sorry.” Jessie twisted her fingers together. “I wouldn’t have thrown it away had I known it was your mom’s.”
“You… you threw it away.” She watched as Dakota’s eyes went unfocused, his head shaking back and forth. Then his hand tightened around the snips and his eyes focused back on her. “No… no no no no!”
“I’m so sorry. I will call your mom and explain it’s all my fault.” Tears stung her eyes. “I know it must have been so valuable to her if she was asking for it back after such a long time.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the vase, Jessie! It’s over! It’s all fucking over,” he growled.
“What’s over?” God, her voice shook the same way it had in Lachlan’s shop. Because everything from a few weeks ago was rushing back at her. All the signs she didn’t want to see. The guilt in Dakota’s eyes when he realized she was putting the pieces together. “I thought this was about the vase.”
He pulled up his sleeves, crossing his arms. “Shit. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost it like that… It’s just?—”
He hadn’t been fast enough. Because that one move undid every last happy memory that tied Dakota to her family. She’d seen it. The one piece of confirmation she would have never expected to be there.
A dragon tattoo. On his forearm. Her stomach clenched.It was him. Of course. It was his voice she’d heard in thegarage. Dakota stepped closer to her, and once again the smell of smoke hit her. Oh god.He’d been in her bedroom…
“How? How could you do it to him? He almost died!” she screamed as she got to her feet. “He’ll likely never walk again without a mobility device, Dakota!” Her voice was trembling. “You’ve seen him. You’ve been to the hospital! God… was that just your guilty conscience?!”
Every last bit of color drained from his face. “Slow down, Blue Jay. Let me explain.”
“Explain?” she panted, her eyes searching frantically around the room for something to defend herself with, the tin snips in his hand making her heart rate double. She needed to get up, she needed to put space between them. Jessie groaned as she got to her feet, taking two steps towards the kitchen.
“I fucked up. I did. And I’m so fucking sorry for that. But I’ve been trying to protect you, Jessie. You don’tunderstand. I got in over my head and by the time I tried to get out, they just wanted more and more. We tried to save the shop. I tried to save him. I didn’t know they were going to target you too. I didn’t mean for you to have it all this time. I just got this stupid vase with a false bottom and hid the thumb drive. You were meant to keep the flowers at work. I was coming back for it.”
For someone who wanted to explain what had happened, he wasn’t making any sense. “The vase?”
“I thought it might be in your room, that’s why I trashed everything. I was trying to find the fucking vase. I took the laptop to see if you’d opened the file, because you would be in even more danger then.”
“The vase was at Hawk’s.”
“I realized too late. It was all just spiraling. They were going to burn it to the ground, Jess. I needed you to stay away!”
“Why didn’t you just come to us? We’d help you. Whatever this is, we would have helped you!”
“It wasn’t safe. You have no idea who is the real danger here. It’s not me. I would never hurt any of you on purpose. You have to listen?—”
“No. No… you need to turn yourself in. To Colt. You need to GO!”
