Ruthless King (New Orleans Malones #4)

Chapter 18

18

J illy stared down at the last message from Regent.

There was nothing personal in it. Just straight to the point.

This was even more evidence that he wasn’t attracted to her. He didn’t keep coming around because he wanted her.

He was concerned about security due to the secrets this house held.

But somehow, that didn’t make her hurt less. She still felt the pain of a betrayal, even if Regent didn’t know that he’d betrayed her.

As her phone rang, her heart raced. Was it him?

She debated whether to answer. Until she saw that it wasn’t Regent, but her mom calling.

Jilly groaned. Shoot. It had been a few days since she’d spoken to her so she better answer or she’d call Mrs. Yards and have her come over.

That had happened before.

“Hi, Mama.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked immediately.

Jilly rolled her eyes. “Why would something be wrong?”

“Because you sound funny. And you’ve been avoiding my calls.”

“Mama, I haven’t. I’ve been busy. Margaret is on my case constantly at the moment.”

“What have you been doing in the evenings after work? And the weekends? Please don’t tell me you’ve been sitting at home, twiddling your thumbs.”

“Of course not. I’ve been going out. I’ve been hanging out with friends.”

Her mother sighed in relief. “Thank God.”

Wow.

“Way to be insulting, Mama.”

“Well, it’s just . . . I know you struggle to make friends. Who have you been with?”

“Sasha. The girl who lives across the road with Mrs. Y.”

It wasn’t technically a lie.

“Good. That’s good. So you haven’t seen anyone else? You haven’t been on any dates?”

“No, Mama.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone else to date. Someone nice. Not like that Lowell. Regent said he’s been fixing things up at the house for you. That’s good. He was always such a nice boy.”

Nice boy?

She couldn’t see anyone calling Regent a ‘nice boy.’ Well, no one but her mama.

“Um, yes, that’s not exactly how I’d describe him, Mama.”

“Well, he didn’t have much of a childhood. His father started grooming him to take over from him from a young age. But I could always tell that Regent was going to be different from his father. That boy has a conscience. His father and yours never did.”

Mama never said much about Jilly’s dad, so it was a surprise to hear her say that.

Of course, it was also absolutely true. The horrible things her father would do . . . then he would just carry on like nothing had happened.

And she only knew about those horrible things because he enjoyed telling her and her mother . . . in gory detail. Usually over dinner.

She still had some nightmares about the things he’d told her. No doubt he did it to keep them in fear of him.

It was an effective strategy.

“That’s not what you said after his father died. You said that it was too soon to tell whether he’d stay a good man or become a monster like his father.”

“Well, obviously, he’s still a good boy. His father would never have cared about our living conditions. I really hadn’t thought Regent would do all of that. I just thought he’d go check up on you.”

Dread balled in her stomach, making her feel ill.

“What do you mean you thought he’d just check up on me?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. A sure sign of guilt from her mother. The only time she went silent was when she was guilty or scared.

“I have to go, darling. Frank is calling my name.”

“Mama, what did you do? Did you ask Regent to check up on me?”

“Well, I might have. But I was just so worried about you. I had called you twice and you hadn’t answered.”

“Mama, you called twice while I was at work. And I always call you back as soon as I can. And if you were worried about me, why wouldn’t you have called Mrs. Y?”

“I don’t know. I thought if you were in real trouble perhaps Regent would be better equipped to help.”

Jilly’s head started to throb. reaching up, she rubbed it. “You called him and asked him to check up on me. I can’t believe you did that!”

“I was worried about you.”

No. This had one of her mother’s schemes written all over it. If she was that worried, she would have called Mrs. Yards.

“I can’t believe you did that, Mama.”

“I’m sorry, darling. I don’t know why you’re so upset. It seems a good thing now that he’s doing so much for you, plus you’ll see him often.”

“Are you . . . are you trying to matchmake? Between me and Regent Malone?” she asked, aghast.

This just got worse and worse.

Why would her mother think that was a good idea?

“Well, I just thought . . . he’s alone and you’re on your own. And you always had that cute crush on him. Maybe the two of you should spend some time together.”

Cute crush? Her crush wasn’t cute. It was humiliating. And her mother had known? Had Regent?

Oh God.

He must have. He was observant and intelligent. And now she wanted to hide. To buy a one-way ticket to the Maldives and never return.

Her mother thought she was so pathetic that she couldn’t find a man on her own.

And Regent had only started coming around here because her mother asked him to. Not because he liked her company. Not because he found her interesting and attractive.

“I have to go,” she said, ignoring her mother calling her name.

She’d forgive her. After she had some time to get over the pain and humiliation.

Turning off her phone, she moved to her bedroom and curled up in a ball on top of the covers.

What had she been thinking? That he would want to spend time with her? That he’d come to see because he liked her?

Of course not.

They barely knew each other anymore. She was probably more of a hassle for him than anything else.

An obligation he felt he owed her mother.

And she’d never felt worse in her life.

Why wasn’t she replying to him?

He’d finally received a brief ‘okay’ after he’d told her the arrangements for the plumber and builder.

But then nothing for two days.

Which was why he was now here, staring up at her house.

It was dark.

Was she there? Had she gone to bed early?

Maybe she was sick and that’s why she hadn’t been replying to him.

Or she could be out. She could have a date. His hands clenched into fists

Fuck. She better fucking not be.

He had to bite back a growl.

It was eight-thirty on a Wednesday night.

She had work tomorrow, so she shouldn’t be out late at night.

Regent frowned. Christ. Now he sounded like her father.

He glanced around the neighborhood. It was quiet. Well-established. A dog barked in the distance and he heard laughter in the air.

Where was she?

“Where do you think she is?” Jose asked from the front seat of the car.

“I don’t know. I’ll get out and knock anyway. Perhaps she just doesn’t have any lights turned on?”

Seemed odd, but it was possible.

Jose got out and walked around to open his door. Regent stepped out and glanced around. Was someone watching him from across the street?

Nosy neighbor?

Moving to the front door, he knocked. Then he rang the doorbell.

Why hadn’t he thought to have cameras installed in her house?

Stepping back, Regent looked up at the house. Was that a curtain moving?

Huh.

Was she in there but hiding? Why would she hide from him?

Getting out his phone, he rang her.

It went to voicemail.

So he sent a text message.

Regent: I’m at your place. I’m worried because I’ve barely heard from you. So I’m coming in.

Pushy? Yes. Overbearing? Definitely.

Ask him if he cared.

Spoiler: He did not.

Reaching into his pocket, he drew out the key. He didn’t know the alarm code, so if she really wasn’t home, he was going to make a lot of noise soon. Before he could turn the key in the lock, though, the door opened.

She stared up at him, a towel around her hair. “Regent. Hi. Sorry. I just got out of the shower and saw your message. If you knocked or anything, I didn’t hear it.”

Right.

Somehow, he didn’t believe her.

Especially since a lock of hair had slipped free of her turban. And it was dry.

“Did you miss this piece?” He reached out and grabbed her hair.

“Huh? Oh, uh, I must have.”

What had he told her about lying to him? He narrowed his gaze.

“I wanted to make sure you got my message about the work starting in your bathroom next week.”

“Oh. Did I not reply? Sorry. It’s been a busy few days.”

Hmm. Why couldn’t she meet his eyes? Sometimes, she could be a bit jumpy. She often went bright pink and couldn’t look at him.

But this felt different. She wasn’t blushing. Wasn’t giving him small, admiring looks.

She seemed detached. Almost sad.

Fuck.

“Why? Is it your work? Is something wrong?” He needed to check in with Jardin. See if he’d dug anything up on her boss yet. And if they couldn’t find anything, he’d have Jardin make something up.

Maybe he’d do that anyway.

This was taking too long.

Regent would see to that.

“What? No. Of course not. Everything is fine.” She took in a deep breath. “And even if everything wasn’t fine, it’s not your problem.”

Not his problem? What the hell was this? What was she talking about?

Her arm went across her body, and she grabbed the elbow of her other arm. It was a move that displayed her nervousness.

Or maybe it showed how uncomfortable she was . . . with him.

Fuck.

What was going on?

“Jilly, talk to me,” he urged quietly. Reaching out, he touched her chin, but she flinched back.

Fuck. Fuck.

Sure, she’d flinched a few times around him, but he thought she’d been getting more used to him touching her.

“Uh, sorry. You surprised me.” She raised her head, but her eyes went over his shoulder rather than meeting his gaze. “I, um, I talked to my mom. She told me she called and asked you to check up on me. I’m really sorry. She shouldn’t have done that.”

Shit. Why had Anne told her? She was the one who’d wanted him to keep her call quiet.

Worry filled him. For some reason, he was concerned that Jilly was upset with him.

In the beginning he hadn’t cared about what she might think of him. She’d been a chore he’d had to tick off on an extensive to-do list.

Now the idea of her shutting him out worried him.

This wasn’t good.

He didn’t need to find her cute. To think about her all the time. Worry over her.

“I didn’t think she would mention that,” he said cautiously.

“Mama can be a bit of a motor-mouth,” she said. Then she grimaced. “Not that she’d say anything about your family or this house. She’d never do that.”

Fuck. She had just stepped back again. Away from him.

As though she was scared.

“I wasn’t worried that she would. Jilly?—”

“Thanks for checking up on me. I’m sorry that Mama rang you like that. But I’m a grown woman and I don’t need her to interfere in my life. I’ll get better at answering her calls and returning them. I just get distracted.”

“Um, I hadn’t noticed.”

There was no sassy grin. No retort. Instead, she just nodded. “And while it’s really kind of you to update so much stuff around the house, it’s not necessary. Things are fine here just as they are. I think it might be best if you canceled the plumber and builder. Have a nice night.”

The door shut in his face.

She’d shut the door in his face . . .

What. The. Fuck.

Regent raised his fist, ready to pound on the door and tell her exactly what he thought of that behavior . . . but what would that get him?

Wasn’t this for the best? To step back? Get some perspective?

So he forced himself to turn away and headed to the car.

“Where to, boss?” Jose asked, not mentioning anything about the fact that he hadn’t taken long.

“Home.”

Was it home anymore, though? Victor and Gracen were moving out this weekend. Soon, it would be just him and Gerald.

In that massive house.

All alone.

What would it be like to fill that house with laughter again?

An image of Jilly running down the stairs, while he ran after her, scolding her, filled his head.

Children racing along the hallways, yelling and laughing.

Children? Could he really be thinking about having kids? With Jilly?

Yes, stepping away was necessary before he grew anymore attached.