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

man right in the very spot Jonny now stood. A man who’d beaten Bobby, terrorized Evie, and had shot Holden. He didn’t understand why Evie had insisted on buying the house and property from Nix. More, he couldn’t believe Nixon had agreed. But he had, and now Chasin and Evie owned the Swagger farm. And Evie had restored the old farmhouse well past the glory of days gone by.

He caught sight of Evie sitting on the couch. Her hands were on her belly, red-rimmed eyes pointed Jonny’s way.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I overreacted. Damn pregnancy hormones. I should’ve handled it better but when she told me that son of a bitch belted her and she couldn’t sleep on her back for a week because it hurt so bad I lost it. She finally opened up to me and I threw drama at her. Then she took off and I couldn’t stop her.”

Fresh tears hit Evie’s eyes and Chasin moved across the foyer into the living room and sat next to his woman. Evie burrowed close and shook her head as if she were trying to dislodge the same vision Jonny had—a beautiful little blonde girl being beaten by the man who was supposed to love and care for her.

Motherfucker.

Jonny was not of the same mind as Chasin. He didn’t give a shit how Bobby’s father was living—it wasn’t near the punishment he deserved and Jonny couldn’t let it stand. But that was a topic for another day, a day where his woman hadn’t run from him, and Evie wasn’t bawling her eyes out.

“There was nothing you could’ve done to stop her from leaving,” Jonny told Evie. “And whatever your response was, pregnant or not, it was honest. It was real and it was raw. It was exactly what Bobby needed to see. She has to understand that she’s found her family, a real family, and the people around her love deeply. You wouldn’t have reacted the way you did if you didn’t.”

A real family.

Goddamn, if that didn’t hit home, straight to the core of all his issues. Jonny had been floating through life with no real family. And that was by design, because family didn’t lie to each other. So he’d kept everyone at bay fighting the bonds Nix, Chasin, Jameson, Weston, Alec, and Holden had been attempting to deepen.

That was something Jonny was going to rectify. But first, he needed to find Bobby, therefore, he made a call to the one person who could help him.

He dialed McKenna.

“Hi, Jonny.”

“Hey, Micky. Do you have time to do me a favor?”

“Of course. What do you need?”

Okay, he needed to scratch Micky, Evie, Kennedy, Silver, and most recently Charleigh onto the list of people who had tried to pull Jonny fully into the fold. Macy knew Jonny too well to try. His sister-in-law had long since learned Jonny preferred to keep his distance and had stopped reaching out.

Damn, he was a dick.

“Can you trace Bobby’s cell and tell me where she is?”

“Sure.”

Jonny didn’t miss the amusement in Micky’s tone. The irony wasn’t lost on him. Countless times in the past Jonny had left the room when Micky was working her hacking magic. Bound by oath, he couldn’t ask her how or where she dug up her intel. It was an unspoken decree that had protected them all. Now there he was, asking Micky to break the law.

“Um. I don’t understand.”

“Understand what?” Jonny asked. “Can you not track her phone?”

“Jonny, Jonny, Jonny,” she tsked. “Of course I can track her phone and I have. What I don’t understand is why you’re asking me to when she’s at your house.”

“My house? Are you sure?”

“That’s where her signal’s pinging. And since I know Bobby doesn’t have the capability to shoot her signal around the world and mask her location I’m positive she’s there. I could access her camera and double-check but that’s highly invasive and I don’t like doing that to friends unless I have to.”

“No, don’t do that. Thanks, I owe you one.”

“Teammates don’t owe each other,” she chastised. “But you’re welcome. Anything else?”

“Yeah, one more thing and no rush on this. I need everything you can find on Elmer, Kathy, and EJ Layne.”

“Layne? Like Bobby Layne?”

“Yes. And I appreciate it if you kept whatever you find to yourself.”

“That’s a slippery slope, Jonny. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“You wouldn’t think that if you knew what I know. I don’t know if I’ll need to use the intel you find, but I need to be prepared in case I do.”

Jonny had to know what kind of man beat his children. He knew the kind that cheated and lied, but Calvin had never laid a hand on him, his brother, or his mother. Jonny’s abuse came in a different form. One wasn’t worse than the other. They were equally damaging. Equally horrifying.

“Is Bobby okay?”

He thought about how to answer that. The old Jonny would’ve brushed the question off.

But Micky was family.

“No, she’s not. But she will be. And before you ask, the reasons why she is not okay are not mine to share, they’re hers. So I’m gonna ask you to respect that and not ask.”

“I’ll get you what you need.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Jonny disconnected and focused his attention on the couple.

“She’s at my house. I’m going there now.”

Jonny gave Chasin a lift of his jaw and turned to leave. Evie calling his name made him stop and face her.

“Something about Bobby you need to understand.”

“What’s that?”

“She’s the most loyal person I know. She’s a good friend. She gives so much love to everyone but she doesn’t know how to accept it.”

Christ, that hit home, too.

“We’ll change that,” he promised.

“No, Jonny. I’ve been trying for years. Today Macy told Bobby she’s been waiting for Bobby for a long time. Well, I’ve been waiting for you.”

“What?”

“You’re the one I’ve been waiting for. The man who’s gonna show Bobby how to love.”

Jonny’s body tensed, his eyes drifted closed as the heaviness of Evie’s trust blanketed him.

This was the one