Jonny's Redemption (Gemini Group Book 7) by Riley Edwards (audio ebook reader TXT) 📕

Lost to all of us. He’d quit his job a month ago and had taken off. I knew where he was, we all did, but with his hasty departure, he’d made it clear he wanted to be left alone.

“Someone needs to sort that boy out.”

I couldn’t contain my snort of amusement. Jonny was the opposite of a boy. No part of him could be described as such. Not his icy-blue eyes, not his solid, muscled frame, not his rugged good looks. Jonny Spencer was all man.

“He’s been off since before his daddy died,” Miss Lola continued.

“His daddy didn’t die,” I murmured. “Mr. Spencer was murdered.”

“Indeed he was, Bobby. I’ve known the Spencers a good long while. Good people, caring, so much love to give they took in Doug and raised him like he was their blood. That boy wasn’t treated any different than Jonny was. There was nothing they could’ve done differently. That Doug was born evil. There’re times when nature overpowers nurture—Doug Spencer proves that to be true. Doug’s issues started before he met that sweet Macy. But the Devil got him something fierce. Only reason a man would take his hand to a woman, especially Macy. And he was a lying cheat. Made no attempts to hide it, he was a skirt chaser before he married Macy and he was a skirt chaser after. Only good thing that came from Doug and Macy are those two beautiful children. And they are their mamma. Good all the way through.”

I was good friends with Jonny’s ex-sister-in-law, Macy. Thus I knew the scandalous story, all of it. Down to Doug being in debt up to his eyeballs with some seriously bad men, kidnapping Macy’s daughter Rory, Doug shooting and killing his father because Mr. Spencer wouldn’t give him money. And ultimately Jonny killing his brother.

Thankfully, Macy was now married to Alec Hall and he was nowhere near evil. As far as I was concerned, the man was a saint. I loved that Macy, Caleb, and Rory now had a good man in their lives. But I loved more that Alec and his daughter Jocelyn had them.

“I’m not sure why you’re telling me all of this. You know I know the story.”

“I don’t think you do,” Miss Lola returned. “I don’t think you know how responsible Jonny felt—still feels. Jonny was the younger brother but he was always taking care of Doug. As long as I can remember- it was Jonny protecting Doug, getting him out of trouble, feeling guilty for how badly Doug behaved. Worried about how folks were whispering behind his parents’ backs. There’s a reason that boy grew up to be police. Some people are just born with it, a need to protect. That’s Jonny all the way back when he was a kid trying to shield his brother, shield his family, shield his mamma from the heartbreak. His whole life Jonny’s been looking out for everyone around him. Time’s come, someone needs to shield him and that’s gonna be you, child.”

I gave up my contemplation of Miss Lola’s quiet street and I shifted in the wicker chair to look at the woman herself. Shrewd hazel eyes stared at me. Her once-blonde hair had long since turned silver. A look I’d spent time hoping I could pull off one day. But right then I wasn’t musing about what I’d look like in thirty years and if I could rock the silver the way Miss Lola did. No, I was squirming under the woman’s heavy examination.

“I’ve chewed on it awhile, thinkin’ on our boy, Jonny, and it has to be you.”

“Miss Lola, I think you have it all wrong.”

“Nope.” She popped the P in nope and shook her head. “Mullin’ on it, I realized that boy’s been waiting on you his whole life, he just don’t know it. But I do. And I bet you ask that Nixon Swagger or my girl’s Jameson they’ll tell you the same. You’re the one. Perfect for him in every way.”

I loved that Miss Lola thought that about me. Loved it with all my heart.

Unfortunately, she was wrong. I wasn’t perfect for him or Jonny would’ve already done something about it.

“I wish that were true but it’s not me—”

“You stop playing games, you’ll see I’m right.”

Me, playing games? I’d practically thrown myself at the man—twice. Once when I first met him and a second time after I’d…no, I wasn’t going to think about the second time. Not only was my ego still bruised but I never allowed myself to think about how close I’d come to dying on the floor of a dirty shack. How close Bent Bromley came to kidnapping Genevieve and killing Holden. How I still woke up in a cold sweat, scared, alone, and scared.

“I’m not playing a game,” I denied. “Jonny knows how I feel.”

Miss Lola made a disapproving clucking sound and I wondered how much she really saw. Probably too much. More than I wanted her to see. Hell, she’d paid more attention to me than my own mother did before she took off. Kathy Layne wasn’t a mom, she wasn’t a momma, and the last thing she had in her was the love of a mommy. Kathy was a mother and that was a loose description of the woman who’d birthed me. For as long as I could remember, she was more interested in a bottle of my daddy’s shine and going out. She hadn’t wanted to be a momma—she had big dreams after all. Big dreams of leaving Kentucky and making something of herself. She was going to leave that holler, and find what she’d been looking for. Not that I knew if she ever found it because she never came back to say.

“You might have everyone else fooled but you’re not fooling me.”

My spine went stiff and fear crept in. If she knew—really knew—who I was she wouldn’t like me for Jonny. But