I release a breath. “Okay.”
“Your main objective here, Juliette, is to get him to admit to trying to hurt you but if he won’t do that, steer the conversation toward the money and see if he’ll take the bait.”
I nod. “Got it.”
“Okay. Make the call and hit me up when you’re done so we can figure out a plan going forward.”
We all agree and once we end the call with Rodriguez, I pull my phone out and bring up Gavin’s number. Blaze sets his phone in the middle of the table and presses record before nodding at me. As I suck in a breath, I dial his number and put the call on speaker.
“Jules?” he answers on the third ring.
“Hi, Gavin. I need to talk to you.”
He releases a breath. “Of course. I’ll meet you anywhere.”
“No,” I reply, shaking my head. “Just over the phone for now.”
“Okay… what’s up?”
Sawyer rubs my back and my stomach rolls.
“Do you have anything to do with the fire at Sawyer’s house? Or me almost getting shot in the woods? Or the accident?”
He’s silent for a moment and my gaze flicks around the room as my heart races.
“It’s complicated, baby. Maybe if we meet up, I could explain it to you.”
I shake my head. “That’s not going to happen. I remember you locking me in that bathroom.”
“Oh, God…. No, you don’t understand…”
“I understand perfectly, you played me and now you’re trying to kill me.”
“No, no, no… I would never hurt you, Jules. Never.”
I glance over at Blaze who motions for me to move on and I nod.
“Was this always about the money?”
He releases a breath. “No… I mean, it was… but…”
“Look, this is over. You know that so why don’t you just go. Leave me alone and I won’t press this further. You can have a second chance.”
“I… can’t do that.”
Sawyer pulls me down into his lap.
“Why not?”
He doesn’t respond right away and the silence stretches between us before he hisses a curse. “I need the money, Jules. It’s the only way.”
“I knew it,” I scoff. “How much?”
“Give me thirty million and you’ll never see me again.”
Rage boils in my blood as I stare at the wood grain of the table and nod. “I’ll get back to you.”
I hang up before he can say anything else and Blaze stops the recording as Sawyer turns to me with a smile but I shake my head and push off his lap. All of this pain, all of this suffering because of money and it makes me hate the life I’ve lived up until now.
It’s time to end this for good and then it’s time to make some changes because no amount of money is worth the people I love.
* * * *
“Are you nervous?” Sawyer asks, stepping up behind me as I inspect my reflection in the downstairs bathroom mirror. I twist to the side, trying to determine if there is any way to see the wire Rodriguez taped to my body before he left the clubhouse an hour ago. I sigh and turn around to face him as I lean back against the sink. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
“Sawyer,” I whisper, gripping his upper arms as I close my eyes. Last night, after I had calmed down from my call with Gavin and in between rounds of earth shattering sex, Sawyer tried every way he could to convince me not to do this and as much as I love his protectiveness, there is no way in hell I am backing out now. Each time I think about my dad dying over his money or almost losing Sawyer over some damn money, I get so mad I see red. But it doesn’t matter how much I remind him that his life is in just as much danger as mine because his only concern is me.
I can’t keep going like this.
We can’t keep going like this.
Sighing, he holds his hand up. “Okay. I’m done.”
“Thank you.” I push up on my toes and press a kiss to his lips. He hums in approval as he wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me off the floor briefly before setting me back down. I smile as I pull back and look up at him. “I have an important question for you.”
“What?”
“Can you see the wire under my shirt?”
He glances down and shakes his head. “No. Maybe you should open it up a little bit more and I’ll check if I can see it, then.”
“And why would I do that?” I ask with a laugh. He grins.
“Because you love me.”
I shake my head as I playfully narrow my eyes at him. “Maybe later.”
“You ready to do this?” he asks, holding his hand out to me and I nod as I take it and grab the strap of the duffle bag full of money. His fingers intertwine with mine and I take a deep breath, feeling peace flow through me. It’s crazy to think about just how much has happened since I met Sawyer down in Miami and if you had asked me five years ago, I would have told you there’s no way you could fall in love with someone so quickly and so completely but I was wrong. A part of me feels like my mom is hanging out in heaven, watching over me and laughing as she sent Sawyer in my direction because she always believed in love at first sight. I smile as we walk out into the bar. It’s nice to think that she’s been with me this whole time, though.
“Jules!” The voice pierces through my thoughts and my eyes snap open. Blaze, Storm, and Kodiak are fanned out in front of us, their postures rigid and guns aimed at Gavin as he stands just inside the door of the clubhouse with a gun pointed at me. I suck in a breath and Sawyer’s hand tightens.
“Gavin… what are you doing here? We were supposed to meet downtown.”
He nods. “Yeah, that was the plan until your new little boy toy called me and told me to come here.”
“What?” I turn to Sawyer but he refuses to meet my gaze and I rip my hand free. He reaches behind me and I’m just about to jerk away from him when I feel him flip the mic on. He planned all of this? Was everyone else in on it? When Rodriguez left earlier, I assumed he was going to scope out the place we planned to meet but maybe he didn’t. Maybe he never left at all. I glance up at Sawyer and he nods, almost like he can read my thoughts. Sucking in a breath, I turn back to Gavin and hold up the bag of money Rodriguez supplied us with. It seemed a little ridiculous to accept money from the cops when I had plenty of my own to use but he assured me this was the better way to do it since the bills were marked and all the money would go into evidence while Gavin was tried.
I toss the bag past the guys and narrow my eyes at Gavin as his gaze flicks down to it. “There you go. It’s what you always wanted.”
His face crumples as he takes a step forward.
“Not another step,” Storm snaps and Gavin freezes.
“I want you, Jules. I love you.”
Sawyer shakes his head. “Bastard.”
“It’s okay, baby,” I whisper, laying my hand on his arm. I’m more than capable of handling this asshole.
“How about you just take your money and flee like the cockroach that you are, Gavin? You never cared about me because if you had, you never would have been able to kill my father and make two other attempts on my life.”