Redemption

Chapter Thirty-Four

"It's Sue," he said as he ruffled his hair so it somewhat cooperated with him. It looked like someone had run their hands through it in a wild fit of passion… which was the truth. He saw her give a smile at the thought of her being the one to do that to his dazzling brown locks, but as soon as he let a frown fall upon his gaze, the grin fell. "She needs to talk to you."

"Why don't I think this is a friendly social call?" She ruffled her own hair, now that she knew someone was going to see her just out of bed. She liked to look presentable to others, even if Sue was family. It made her look like she cared more than she did; not that she didn't care about what Sue had to say. If she thought it was important, it most likely was.

Bobby shrugged his shoulders with an unsure glance her way. "She looks worried. I think you'd better talk to her." He walked over to her and placed a light kiss upon her forehead. It would be the only motion he would make, because he would not be responsible for his actions should he kiss her on the lips. "Maybe we can finish…this…later." He gently nudged her head with his own and kissed her once more on the cheek to show that he would not be deterred. Of course he wouldn't, would he? He was man and he had a woman who was willing to give all of herself to him—there was no reason to be discouraged.

She rolled her eyes at the cheesy grin that had sprouted on his lips. "Yeah, yeah, so what else is new?" She climbed out of bed and grabbed her sweatshirt, putting it on before she went to confront her cousin. Yet, when she exited the bedroom, she didn't see her cousin; at least not the one she'd known all of her life. Sue sat at the dining table, staring down at her hands as if contemplating what she was going to say. She seemed upset and Danni could understand why Bobby wasn't able to turn her away. Tears were collecting in the woman's hazel eyes and would only fall when Sue willed them to.

The blonde looked up when she saw the brunette coming out of the bedroom. Usually, Sue's eyes would light up when she saw her cousin, but this time, there was no light; only a dark shadow of worry. Danni felt her heart break at that instant. She hated to see her cousin in so much pain. Only one man could have caused her to look so depressed and when Danni was able, she would wrap her hands around that man's neck and strangle him.

She didn't say anything at first as she took a seat at the table, giving Levi a loving rub with her bare foot. Usually, the dog would just fall back and let her continue doing it, but he was more preoccupied with the new scent in the apartment. He reluctantly left his mistresses side as he began sniffing around to find the source of the strange aroma. Danni gave a hesitant look. She wasn't exactly sure how the golden was around cats. She only hoped he wouldn't attack the poor thing.

She turned her attention to Sue before her gaze flitted to Bobby—who had decided to sit in on the conversation—and then back. She placed a tender hand upon the other woman's and gave it a squeeze. She waited until Sue's eyes rested on her own before she began speaking. "What's up? Bobby said you needed to talk to me."

Sue couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious about talking about this in front of Bobby. She knew he would want to knock some sense into Jack if he knew how severe a problem it really was. But, the warm, caring eyes she found as she glanced from her cousin to her boyfriend, she knew she had to reveal what she knew. "I'm worried about something and I didn't know where to turn." Her eyes moved to Bobby as she worried her lower lip. "I wanted to talk to D about this, but I knew he would ask more questions than I have answers to."

"Answers to what questions?" Bobby asked as he stared at the blonde with a puzzled expression.

Sue felt her eyes flood with more tears, yet she still didn't let one fall. "I didn't want you to find out like this."

Danni touched the other woman's hand to get her attention. "Find out about what, Sue?" She saw the hazel eyes shift from person to person, yet again, before the tears began to fall. One trickled slowly down her cheek, but she didn't bother to wipe it away.

"I think it would be better if I started at the beginning." She saw Bobby and Danni nod as they watched her with interest. She took in a deep breath and slowly let it escape to ease the churning in her stomach. She felt ill and this was not going to make it any better. "Do you remember when I told you that Jack kissed me?" She saw Danni nod and Bobby give an incredulous look as he arched an eyebrow in astonishment. She figured that her cousin had kept her promise and that was why Bobby knew nothing of what had occurred between her and Jack. That was when she began filling them in on all of the details of what had transpired.

She explained how she and Jack had been secretly dating for the past few days and how his personality around her had taken a complete one-eighty. "Then, last night, we spent some time together at his place, after dinner. He was in the bathroom at the time, so he doesn't know I have this." She paused as she reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out a slip of paper that she'd found hidden in plain sight. "I found it sticking out of one of his drawers. I think this is the reason why he's been acting so strangely." She passed it to the couple so they could read what she had already memorized. It was the letter informing Jack that there was to be a meeting.

"Was there a picture with it?" Danni asked after she'd scanned the bold typeface.

Sue shook her head. "No, but there probably was one with it. It would make sense, wouldn't it?" She saw Danni nod and glanced at Bobby when it looked like he was going to say something.

"So, what do you want us to do, Sue? If Sparky's involved in something like this, I don't think there's anything you could do."

"I don't know, Bobby. I just want to make sure he won't get hurt. I mean, there's no telling what they want from him and how far they are willing to go to get it. I don't want to lose him." She stifled a sob, but her shoulders still shook as she tried to hold it back. She covered her face with her hands as she tried to hide her grief, which made Danni look toward Bobby and back.

The brunette's heart broke to see her cousin in so much pain, so she began forming a plan in her mind. As she was doing that, Sue removed her hands from her face and began to stare at the oak of the table. Danni reached across the table and gently squeezed her cousin's hand again. It was for both comfort and to get her attention. She had one more question to ask. She waited until Sue's eyes rose to look at her and cleared her throat in an awkward fashion. She didn't really know how to phrase this. "Sue, I can tell that there is something more that you're not telling us. I know it has nothing to do with this letter. If you knew more, I know you would have done something more. You love Jack, don't you?" She signed the last part, knowing that it would be more effective if she used her hands instead of her lips. She knew it was becoming harder for the blonde to read her lips and she only wanted to ease her suffering as much as possible. She saw Sue nod, afraid to use her own voice. If she did, it would only prove how dire this situation really was. "Have you told him?" She received a shake of the head toward the negative. This was a problem; much more severe than any of them first expected.

Sue might not have understood it, because of her state of mind, but Bobby and Danni certainly did. Jack loved the blonde—more than life itself—and he was only doing what he thought was necessary to keep her safe. Neither was sure what they were going to do, but they knew it had to be something. Jack had a reason for doing what he thought was best, whatever that reason was, they would find out.