Read Jackson's Destiny (Sawyer Brothers #2) for Free Online Page A

didn’t let go, I knew he was ignoring my protest.
    “I brought Bailey here to talk to you, but I’ve realized this isn’t the best place. The current company is only souring my mood, and frankly, this place isn’t as inviting as it once was.” He tugged my hand, pulling me closer.
    Amber stood gaping at him, and I was sure I wore the same disbelieving expression. None of this was Amber’s fault, so why was he being such an ass? “Excuse me?” Amber gasped. “What is that supposed to mean?”
    “Amber, really it—”
    “Tonight, you and Ryan come to my place for dinner, and bring Liv,” Jackson cut me off, and I narrowed my eyes at him. He squeezed my hand again, then leaned in closer to Amber. “Darlin’, I mean no disrespect, but Bailey isn’t staying here until you take out the trash.”
    Amber looked up over his shoulder at her mother, and I knew she connected the dots immediately. She shifted her gaze to mine. “Bay, what am I missing? Please, I know this is bigger than a simple misunderstanding between her and you.”
    Her eyes filled with unshed tears, and I felt mine doing the same. “Tonight,” I whispered, and she nodded in return. “I promise I’ll tell you everything.”
    I felt sick, and I hated it. Amber wasn’t tremendously close to her mother, but Carla was still her mom. Telling her that Carla was the person responsible for ending my parents’ already broken relationship would be hard. My biggest fear was losing the only person I considered family. If Amber walked out of my life, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get over that.
    Amber looked over toward her mother. “Could you please give us a minute?”
    “No, Am,” I said as I placed my hand on her forearm. “Tonight, okay?”
    “Yeah, Am, you’ll talk tonight.” Carla’s menacing voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard. “I’m sure whatever drama this is related to, it will still be there tonight.”
    “Enough,” Amber said angrily.
    Her eyes met mine once more and I forced a smile. “We’ll talk tonight.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
     
    Jackson
     
    I knew by the look on Bailey’s face that she planned to give me an ass-chewing the first chance she got. But I was willing to take it, because Carla’s presence was making Bailey uncomfortable, and I wasn’t going to sit back and allow her to crawl under Bailey’s skin. Carla was poison, and Bailey had enough of that in her life. And after what she’d shared with me last night, I wanted to right all the wrongs in her life.
    Once I had her safely tucked in the cab of my truck, she whirled on me. “What the hell was that in there?”
    I shut the door without answering her and walked around to the driver’s side. She watched me as I crawled up into the cab and shut my door. I waited until I started the truck before I looked at her. She glared back at me, her lip curled in distaste.
    “Listen—”
    “No, you listen.” She leaned forward and placed her hands on the center console that separated us. “The way you handled that was not okay. None of this is Amber’s fault.”
    “Baby, I know that.” She cocked her head to the side at the endearment, but I kept going. “You shared some heavy shit with me last night. And whether you wanted it to or not, it changed things.” I cupped the side of her face and grazed my thumb along her jaw. “You’ve hurt for too long, and if I can stop you from being hurt any more, I’m gonna do it. Carla is toxic, so she needs to go. If she doesn’t, then you do.”
    “You can’t make that decision for me,” Bailey whispered. She tried to hide that her lower lip was trembling by biting it.
    “When are you gonna stop fighting this?” I asked. She wrinkled her brows, and I leaned in even closer until our noses were only inches apart. “You know what you do to me, how you feel when we’re in the same room. That heavy feeling in your stomach, that excitement that takes over. It’s there, Bailey, and to