Saints and Sinners, page 15
part #1 of Jessie St James Adventures Series
“Am I interrupting something?” a familiar voice said from behind her. She turned to find her father standing there, a drink in his hand and a baseball cap on his head. He had taken a few days off after that close call with Randy, and the slower pace looked like it was suiting him. That made Jessie smile.
“Just thinking,” Jessie said.
“Don’t do too much of that. It’s dangerous,” he replied. “Your Aunt Paula and your mom are back from the airport. Why don’t you come see them?”
“ I still can’t believe Aunt Paula decided to take Mom on her planned honeymoon after all of this.” Jessie snorted.
“Why not? It was paid for already,” Clint said. “Besides, she said your mom is, by far, the best vacation partner she’s ever had. Can’t say I disagree with her there.” He patted his daughter’s shoulder. “Come on in, though. I made tacos, and Katie came over.”
“I swear, it’s like Katie has a motion detector where tacos are concerned,” Jessie replied.
“They’re snapper,” Clint said.
“Well then, I can’t say I blame her,” Jessie answered. “You make a hell of a fish taco.” She looked up at her father. “What I did wasn’t Roman’s fault.”
“I know that,” Clint said.
“I’m not saying I want him as a partner, but if it came down to it—”
“It did,” Clint interrupted his daughter.
“What?” she asked.
“It did come down to it,” Clint said. “I made the decision yesterday, and he’s your partner again, whether you like it or not. As it turns out, I like the way you guys work together. I think I was wrong. I think you might bring out the best in each other.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Jessie said, thinking of the man and shaking her head. Still, she smiled a little.
“Luckily, it’s not your job to go that far. It’s mine,” Clint said.
“It’s not your fault either, you know?” Jessie continued, clinking her bottle against her father’s. “I know Randy said a lot of things. I know he thought this was your fault, and he even convinced poor Bill of it, but I know better. I want you to know that. I want you to know that I know the kind of man you are. I know that you’re doing everything in your power to keep this island safe from everything that endangers it, including Edgar Salazar.”
“Thank you,” Clint said, blinking hard. “That means a lot to me.”
“I want you to know something else too, Dad,” Jessie said. “If I have to, I’m going to stop him. I know you told me to keep my distance, and I know you’re working on something. So, I’ll let you do what you need to. I’ll give you the space and time for that. But if that doesn’t work, if after all of this is done, Edgar Salazar is left standing, I’m going to put a stop to him. I mean it.”
Clint looked at his daughter for a long moment. “We’ll cross that bridge when and if we get to it, but okay. I hear you and I understand.” Clint looked down at the ground and then back up at Jessie. There was a quiet but happy look on his face.
“What is it, Dad?” Jessie asked.
“It’s just, I’m so happy to have you back,” Clint said. “And I’m so damn proud of you. I think, somewhere up there, Nate is too.”
Jessie smiled, raising her bottle into the air and looking up. “I sure hope so, Dad. I sure hope so.”
The End
As with all Jessie St. James Adventures, this book can be enjoyed on its own. So, if that’s what you want, please stop reading now. If, however, you’d like a peek at what’s to come in the next book, please keep reading for a little more.
Twelve Years Ago
Sanibel Island, Florida
It had been a long time since Roman Parks had been as excited or nervous about anything as he was about tonight. As he slipped into the front seat of his car, checking out himself in the rearview mirror and deciding that his hair looked just right for tonight’s events, he noticed that his left knee was bobbing up and down.
“Damnit,” he muttered, slapping the palm of his hand down on his knee to stop it. This was something his father used to do anytime he was nervous, and it always drove Roman crazy. Now, as it turned out, he was doing it himself, and why?
He certainly wasn’t nervous about prom. He couldn’t care less about any school dance, let alone this one, the one rife with cliches and expectations. Nah, Roman would just as soon have spent his time out in the gulf or spinning his tires on back roads with a couple of his friends. He would have probably been doing that too if not for one simple thing.
Jessie St. James said yes.
Roman took a deep breath as the girl’s face flashed through his mind. To say she was cute was like saying the Mona Lisa was an ‘okay painting’. Jessie St. James was as gorgeous a human being as Roman Parks had ever laid his eyes on. He had spent most of junior year staring at her from a distance, trying to work up the nerve to talk to her.
When he became a senior, he figured things like that would have come easier to him. As it turned out, he was wrong. In fact, up until two weeks ago, Roman Parks had only ever given Jessie a hard time. That was the way of it. Or, at least, that was the way he had always been taught. You like a girl, you pull her pigtails. You get her all worked up and get the blood rushing to her cheeks. She’d know then, wouldn’t she? She’d have to...otherwise she’d have just thought he was an ass.
Roman shook his head hard. It didn’t matter. She must have been okay with him. She must have known how he felt. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have said yes when he walked up to her, hands in his pocket as he tried to look cool, and asked her to prom. Sure, he said it in a way that could have been interpreted as making a joke. After all, he did say, “You wanna go to this lame prom with me? You know, as a joke?”. Still, she had to know what he meant. She had to know that he had sat up every night for five consecutive nights leading up to that moment as he played and replayed all the ways it could have gone down in his head. She had to know he was serious, and if she didn’t, she would after tonight.
Roman set his jaw and looked at himself again in the rearview mirror. This time, he wasn’t checking his hair or whether or not he had anything in his teeth. He was pumping himself up. Tonight was the night, at long last, that he was going to tell Jessie St. James that he thought she was pretty damn special.
He wasn’t quite sure how he was going to do it. Maybe there would be a slow song and her head would be on his shoulder. Maybe they’d lock eyes over the punch bowl and he’d know the time was right. Maybe he’d just blurt it out the instant he saw her in her doorway. He didn’t know. All Roman knew was that, if he didn’t tell her how he felt tonight, he would almost certainly explode.
Since his tux was rented, that wasn’t really an option.
Roman’s phone buzzed, startling him from his deep thought. A loud, antiquated sounding melody rang from his clunky phone. Loosening his grip from the steering wheel, he looked down at the flip phone. A number ran along the sliver of a screen on the front, and as he took it in, Roman’s blood ran cold.
He swallowed hard, his body practically freezing as he looked down at the device. Why would he be getting a call from him right now? It didn’t make any sense. Roman hadn’t heard from him in months, maybe even a year. Come to think of it, how did the man even get Roman’s number, and what did he want now that he had gone through the trouble of calling?
Whatever it was, history told Roman that it wasn’t any good, not one bit.
Roman thought about not answering the phone, of stuffing it into the glove compartment and going on about his night. He knew it wouldn’t do him any good, though. If the person on the other end of this phone really was reaching out for him, then Roman knew that nothing he did could stop that. He could through his phone into the gulf itself, and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference. This man would still find him, still come for him, and still get what he wanted.
Roman had no choice but to nip this thing in the bud. He would have to answer the phone and tell this man, in no uncertain terms, that things were different than the way they were before. He was no longer under his thumb. He was no longer compelled to jump when this man asked for it.
“Why are you calling me?” Roman asked, his throat tight as he flipped open the phone. “How did you even get this number?”
“The same way I get everything, Roman,” the man said, as cool and collected as he ever was. “Honestly, you shouldn’t be surprised by my reach at this point. The only thing that should surprise you is that it’s taken this long for this call to come.”
“That’s the thing,” Roman said, looking at himself in the rearview mirror again. This time, he was much less impressed by the reflection looking back. “I’m not quite sure why you’re even calling me in the first place. My debt is paid. We’re even.”
“Is that what you think?” the man asked, chuckling hard. “We’re not even until I say we’re even, Roman. Now I have a job for you.”
“No!” Roman said loudly. “Absolutely not! I’m done with that. I’m not ever doing it again.”
“I need you to take a beat and really consider what you’re saying to me, Roman,” the man said. “And while you’re considering it, I want you to remember what I did for you, and I want to remind you that it can be undone. Really think about that, Roman. Think about what that might mean, and then tell me whether or not you’re actually done.”
Roman took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure as the brutal truth of what this man was telling him settled onto his shoulders like a weight.
He was telling the truth. He had Roman by the shorthairs and the boy knew it. So mad that he was practically shaking, Roman swallowed hard.
“What do you want from me?” he asked.
“One thing at a time,” the man answered. “You know how this works. Nothing over the phone. Just start driving to the old place and you’ll get instructions from there.”
“Wait. Now?” Roman balked. “That’s not gonna work for me. I have plans, dude. It’s prom.”
“Oh, you do?” the man asked, snickering. “Well, I suppose that changes everything. Have a great night and make a hundred memories.”
“Are you- Are you being serious?” Roman asked hesitantly.
“Of course I’m not being serious, you idiot,” the man said. “You think I give a damn about your prom? Now start driving, or so help me God, I’ll undo every favor I’ve ever done for you. And I do mean every one, Roman.”
Roman’s eyes hardened. He thought about the past. He thought about the choices he’d made and the problems that brought him to this moment. He thought about the things he’d rather not remember and the mistakes he swore he’d never make again, mistakes he was standing on the precipice of right now.
Then he thought about Jessie. He thought about those eyes and that smile. He thought about the way she’d hate him if he didn’t show up, about how he could never explain this to her, about how she’d never understand.
“So?” the man asked. “What’s it going to be?”
Roman thought for a long moment, and he came to the only decision he could.
“Alright,” he said, pulling the car into gear. “I’m on my way.”
If you’d like to know what happens next with Jessie, Roman, and the rest of the gang, please sign up for my newsletter here to be the first to hear about new books when they come out.
If you liked this, please consider leaving a review. It helps more than you know.
Happy Sailing,
Mark
Mark Stone, Saints and Sinners
