Undercover (Crossing Lines Book 1) by Barbara Winkes

Author:Barbara Winkes [Winkes, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2022-04-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

By noon, I have about two dozen text messages and missed calls from Jimmy. During the day, I can see that he’s slowly giving up, which is fine with me as I’m having lunch with Luca and Claudia at Adria.

Taking action is calming, though not enough to chase the restless antsy feeling from my body. The double espresso at the end of the meal brings it back in full force.

This isn’t over yet. I can’t even be sure that Jimmy did a thorough job on Jess’s background. I ask Claudia to follow up while Luca has been dealing with Jimmy.

“He’s pissed,” Luca says when my phone is vibrating again.

“Pissed enough to do something stupid?”

Like, go to the police?

“I could convince him not to, though he thinks you owe him an explanation in person.”

“He wants an explanation?” I shake my head. “He attacked Jessica, in the women’s restroom at headquarters. I don’t have to give him any more of an explanation, but if he insists, how about stealing from the family? If Dad had known, he’d have kicked him out on his ass much sooner.”

“I’m sure,” Luca says. “He didn’t steal during those days, because he was still hoping you’d marry him.”

“Stop it. Not you too.”

“I’m not going to say anything…other than, I’ve always admired you for standing up to the less evolved members of our family.”

“Thanks, I guess. I was never going to marry him, even if I was straight.”

“Yeah, you were lucky, too. Al and Angela had views very different from my father.”

Various implications hang in the air for a moment. It’s not a good time to follow up on them.

“We were all lucky to have them in our lives when we did. All right. I have work to do. Just make sure Jimmy doesn’t act out, okay?”

He nods. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

* * * *

Maybe I’m crazy, but I still hope we can figure this out somehow. Jess could have given the information to her boss and run, but she didn’t. In fact, she’s at her apartment, getting ready for our weekend away.

I still want to fulfill my duties to my family, the promise to my mother.

More than ever before, I’ve realized during the past few weeks that I also want what they had. My mother didn’t come from a connected family, so she didn’t know details in the beginning. They were in love. They decided that this was what mattered most to them, up until death first separated, and then reunited them.

It’s rare, it’s not promised, but what if it exists for me, too? I’ll press Jess for answers in a place where she’ll have nowhere to go. If I don’t forgive her for these little white lies, I might never know who she could be in my life.

* * * *

Time flies when you have a business to run. I’m about to leave my office when both Luca and Claudia come inside. They both look serious, and my first thought is that Jimmy went off the rails.

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