Sean stuck out his tongue. “Fucking spoilsport.”
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“No. He lied to me. I’ve been a mess for a month. I will kick his old-man ass.”
“You wish.”
He didn’t reply and instead, we both stared off into the distance as the gravity of Thomas’ actions settled. Eventually, Sean let out a long breath before he spoke again. “As we’re having a heart-to-heart, you wanna tell me what’s going on with you and Jax? The poor fucker looks as broken as we feel.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Helly, rumour has it that he just searched through the morgue thinking you were in there. People don’t do that unless they really care. Have you ever seen a dead body?”
I recoiled. “No!”
“Well, I have and I know Jax will have as well. No one chooses to do that unless they have to.”
I took another sip of my drink, letting the kick burn my throat, hoping it would distract me from how much my heart hurt. It didn’t work.
“We had a thing. It’s over.”
“But he’s still searching through dead people to find you.” Sean looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“He lied to me. Everything he ever told me feels like a lie. He tried to explain, but even that feels…” My fingers tapped the lid of my cup. “Sorry, I don’t even know what I’m saying. I’m exhausted, and it’s all… God, it all just feels like another story he’s feeding me to… well, actually, I don’t know what he’d get from lying to me.”
Sean turned, leaning his elbow over the back of the bench. “Let me guess. Does it have something to do with his medical records?”
I slammed the cup down next to me, glaring at Sean. “You knew and you didn’t tell me? What the fuck? Why is everyone keeping secrets from me? I thought I was surrounded by amazing men, who trusted me and had my back.” My words were broken with emotion. Sean took my hand in his and brought it to his chest.
“There are very few people I trust, Helly, but you, you are one. I know Thomas feels the same way. Don’t ever doubt that.” I huffed. “Thomas found out when he did his background check on Jax. He told me before he went to Ireland because he was worried you didn’t know everything and wanted me to keep an eye on you in case anything happened to him.” Sean groaned as if his conversations with our boss before his fake death were all making sense. “Fucking asshole,” he muttered.
“Jax told me something, but I don’t think it’s the whole story. What do you know?”
Sean squeezed my hand and then released his hold on me. “There are a lot of things Thomas is good at. One is knowingeverything, always. The other is knowing when to share that information. Jax’s story isn’t mine to share just because I know it.”
My eyes narrowed. “Thanks, Sean.”
“Don’t look at me like that, otherwise I will sack your ass.”
“Yeap, only Thomas can sack me. He’s the boss.”
Sean winked. “Apparently not. He’s taking a step back, and he wants me to take over.”
“What?” I gasped. “He’s retiring?”
“I give him a month and he’ll change his mind, but in the meantime, I get to run the show.”
I laughed. “God help us all.”
Jax
My foot tapped nervously as I stood on her doorstep, waiting to see if she’d answer. It took a few minutes, but Helen eventually opened the door, dressed in dark green pyjamas covered in tiny flamingos.
“Hi. Sorry, did I wake you?”
She frowned. “It’s four in the afternoon.”
“Yeah, but last night… this morning, it was eventful.”
