“You asked me what I want. This is what I want. I want fifteen years.”
She lets out a soft, almost mocking laugh. “Be realistic, Ms. Russo. We’re both sensible adults here. Two years is more than fair.”
“No.”
“No?”
“You heard me. No.”
“Are you aware of the sway the Holt name has in this town? Your father is already struggling simply by our withdrawal of financial support for his campaign.” I bite my cheek until blood coats the back of my tongue. “Imagine the strain it would put on your parents if my husband and I decided to truly set our sights on them. I could bury both you and your family. I can make it unbearable for any of you to remain in Richland. All it wouldtake are a few phone calls to the right people, and the entire lot of you would be run right out of town.”
Ice slithers down my spine.
There she is. I knew the apple couldn’t have fallen far from the tree.
“You could.” I’m not naive. I know how much power Austin’s family has. They helped him get away with raping me, after all. “But your son would still be in jail,” I tell her. “You might bring me and my family down, but you’d lose too, and Austin behind bars would be satisfaction enough.”
Jaymin bares her teeth. “Four years.”
“No.”
“You insolent little—” She takes a deep breath and gathers herself. “He is my son.” There’s a plea in her voice, but I’m not buying it.
“He is a monster.”
“That may be,” she confesses. “But he is mine. My monster. For better or worse, I will protect him.”
Then she can go to hell with him.
“You’re likely not aware of this, but Austin is adopted.”
I wasn’t aware, but I also don’t see the point in telling me. He looks so much like his mother; it’s hard to believe she didn’t give birth to him. She must see the disbelief on my face.
“He’s my nephew by blood,” she tells me. “I had an older sister. We were never close. She went one direction in life, and I went the other.” She looks away and picks at a thread in her skirt. “She died shortly after giving birth to Austin. Drug overdose,” she confesses. “We’d already been estranged for years by that point, so I didn’t know Austin existed until he was already four and had been bounced around the foster care system.” She pauses to take a breath. “Nurture vs. nature. That’s what all the experts say, right?” She laughs, but it isn’t real. “I have loved that boy from the moment I laid my eyes on him. But,he had a hard start in life. And nurture can only overcome so much.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?”
Does she expect me to empathize with him? Because I can’t. I won’t. Austin Holt is a monster. His mom dying and being in the system sucks, but there are plenty of people in the world born into shitty situations every day, and they don’t grow up to become rapist assholes.
“I’m telling you so you understand where I’m coming from,” she tells me. “I failed Austin those first few years. I wasn’t there for him when he needed me. My son is not perfect, but I’m all he has in this world, and I won’t allow him to become a product of his upbringing. What he did to you was wrong, but I won’t abandon him when he needs me most. And I won’t stand by while he rots away in a prison cell.”
Our eyes lock, and it’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her I don’t care when she leans forward in her seat, her icy blue eyes holding mine.
“Five years, with the opportunity for parole. He’ll serve jail time. That’s what you said you wanted.”
I shake my head. Five years isn’t nearly enough, but … she was right. Juries don’t like to convict people like him. Austin Holt is the golden boy. Good-looking. Athletic. A model citizen in every sense if you ignore what he did to me. I’m his one black mark. That we know of at least. But with parole, there’s a good chance he’d serve less time. Austin knows how to work the system.
“It isn’t enough.”
Her lips press into a thin line. “What if I can guarantee jail time for the other two boys who were involved?”
My spine straightens.
“How?” Gregory Chambers and Parker Benson were there that night. They … did things to me. They participated. And later,when Austin tried to drown me, they were there for that, too. But they didn’t actively participate. All the police have them on is being present and playing lookout.
My family’s attorney said probation and a fine was the most likely outcome given the circumstances. It was their first offense on the record. I hate them both almost as much as I hate Austin. They deserve to be behind bars too, but until now … I hadn’t really considered it a possibility.
“That’s not for you to worry about,” Jaymin says. “But if I’m able to secure jail time for both parties, two years with the opportunity for parole, will you agree to five years for Austin?”
