Absolution(124)

Tears filled his eyes, and his expression took on an exquisite tenderness that made her heart ache for him.

“And then I let you down in the worst possible way,” he whispered. “But you gave me a chance to make it up to you, even when I didn’t deserve one. So you want to know how I see you? Beautiful, courageous, determined, generous, loyal and so much more, I don’t think there are even words that cover it.”

She felt so light-headed, she couldn’t tell if it was from the medication or from the sheer love she saw in his face.

“So, you don’t mind… about all of this?” she whispered, choking back tears.

“I mind that it hurts you, and I mind that you thought it would make any difference to the way I feel about you. I also mind that you still feel like you have to hide things from me. But I hope you’ll come to trust me again, because all I want is to be here, with you. Nothing else really matters.”

There was no mistaking the sincerity – in his heart, in his eyes, in his words.

She stared at him across the bed. “It’s like we’re starting all over again isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” He squeezed her hand, resting his chin on the bed.

She wanted to climb into his arms and have him wrap his body around hers.

“You don’t have to worry about this thing with Jimmy. I’ll work it out – it’ll be over soon, I promise.”

She nodded into the pillow. The pain had driven out all thoughts of Jimmy and the whole sordid mess, but now that the pain was receding, the worry seeped back in again. Once all this was over, she would ask him more about what had happened to bring things to a head like this, but first they had to get through the next two days.

“How’s your back?” he asked, interrupting her thought process.

“Much better.”

“Good.”

He smiled, one of those rare, sweet smiles that lit up his eyes from within and made her forget where she was and what she was doing. They would get through today, and tomorrow night the money would be in Jimmy’s hands and all this would be over.



Jack stared at Ally’s empty bed. Beneath it, a pile of cash was crammed into a canvas sports bag, hidden from prying eyes. He felt like he was in a dream world.

Callum had been in touch with Mrs. Watson, his Dad’s neighbour, and she had reported that nothing had seemed out of place in the neighborhood, which should have set his mind at ease. Instead though, it had the opposite effect. He was paranoid that they were there in the shadows, watching their every move. He refused to leave Ally’s side.

He felt like a stranger who was doing more harm than good. The catalogue of things he felt he should know about her was mounting. Nightmares, pain medication, exercise, massage – and he was the reason for all of it. He needed to calm down, but the very last thing he felt right now was calm, especially with the rendezvous rapidly approaching.

“Look, you need to relax,” Callum said from behind him. “Keep it together – it’s nearly over.”

The sentiment was so similar to what Ben had told him the day his father died, he cringed.

“You messed up – big deal. It’s just temporary, we can deal with temporary.”

“We?”

“It’s like Ally said – you’re not on your own anymore, you don’t have to deal with any of this shit alone.”

Jack threw him a quick look over his shoulder. “Thanks.”

“Come on, let’s go over the plan again.”

“I’ll take the money over to the house. You stay with Ally. I’ll call you when they’re gone.”

“See? Sounds simple doesn’t it?” Callum insisted. “The only thing I’m not over the moon about is the fact that you’re going over there alone.”

“I don’t have any choice – I’m hardly in any position to make demands.”

“I know, but you’ve got no back-up. What happens if it all goes south somehow?”

“It won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I know Ben,” Jack insisted, with slightly more confidence than he felt. “He’s a businessman – that’s what this is about, Jimmy said as much. I stepped all over his street cred when I took off, so he wants his money so he can tell everyone I didn’t get away with it. It’s business, that’s all.”