Page 67 of Power

I walked to the couch, but didn’t sit, just leaned against it for support. “I know this isn’t my fight. I know that she is the one that has to leave him, and she has. But I can’t let something as small as finances get in the way.”

I raised my chin, defiant, despite the bruise forming on my cheek.

“That’s why this job isn’t just a career to me. It’s a lifeline. A single missed paycheck isn’t an inconvenience; it’s the difference between my mother’s safety and her returning to him and his escalating abuse. I can’t gamble with that. I won’t.” I met his gaze directly, something fierce in my own. “So, maybe you look at me and say I’m not a very brave person because I’m reluctant to give up the company harasser’s name without some forethought. But you don’t understand the complicated chess match that I’m in. One wrong move, and it’s not just me that will suffer the consequences.”

“Scarlett.” Jace stepped forward, his voice turningraw. “You’ve got to be the bravest person I’ve ever met. You stood between your father and your mother, faced down a man twice your size, holding a knife, knowing exactly what he was capable of.” He shook his head, eyes never leaving mine. “That’s brave as hell, so don’t you dare think for one second I see it any other way.”

My eyes burned with unshed tears as I realized how much his confession mattered to me.

“Every day of my life, my biggest fear is answering a phone call from an unknown number because I’m terrified that it will be the morgue telling me that my dad finally got to her, and this time, he finished her off.” A tear finally escaped, tracking down my injured cheek. I brushed it away angrily. “I will not allow that to happen.”

Jace crossed the room in three long strides, stopping just short of touching me. “Let me help financially.”

I took a step away, shaking my head, recoiling from the idea.

“I won’t transfer power from one man to another, Jace. You seem like a really nice guy, but the truth is, I really don’t know you very well. My dad was very charming in the beginning, too, and then once he had all the power, everything changed.”

His brow furrowed, his muscular arms crossing over his broad chest.

“I hate him for doing this to you,” he growled. “For making you suspicious of any man who cares about you.” I swallowed. “But you don’t have to be afraid of me, Scarlett. I would never do that to anyone. Especially not you.”

“Well, I will not accept that kind of help from anyone, especially not a man. And especially not someone who holds an immense amount of power over my life already.”

Jace’s expression softened, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. “You know, my favorite book as a child was calledThe Keeper’s Compass,” he said. “It’s about a child entrusted with an ancient compass that always points toward those in need.” His voice grew quieter, more vulnerable. “My mother read it to me when I was feeling lost after we moved to a new town. She taughtme that helping others provides direction when you feel adrift yourself. It’s a virtue she instilled in me.”

He took a careful step back, giving me space. “I’m not trying to control you, Scarlett. I just … see someone in need, and everything in me wants to help. It’s who I am.”

“I appreciate it,” I said. “But no thank you. I’ll figure this out.”

For a long moment, he just looked at me, and the fury toward my father began to waver into something different. Something like awe.

“For the record, you’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met,” he said finally.

I felt my defenses lower, just slightly. “For the record, you don’t know me … not really.”

“I’m starting to,” he insisted. “And I want to know more.”

I looked down at my hands, feeling suddenly vulnerable, the image of him fighting my father unleashing all kinds of confusing feelings.

“No one’s ever stuck up for me like that before,” I admitted.

Okay, that seemed to bother him. But to his credit, he swallowed it and cleared his throat.

“What if I want to keep doing it?”

Squaring my shoulders, I replied, “I don’t need you to.”

Jace took a careful step closer, the heat of his body igniting my own. There was something wonderfully jarring about being near him, like little cells in my body had come alive with electricity, their light fading when they were no longer in his presence.

“Need has nothing to do with this.” His eyes held mine, intense and searching. “You’ve kept yourself safe and successful for years. I’m not suggesting you need saving. I’m saying I want to help shield you. From your father. From whoever hurt you at work.”

Something fluttered in my chest, a feeling I’d long ago buried, and now, that NDA paragraph requiring a name felt very different. Protective rather than controlling. Likemaybe for once, someone with power wanted to use it to defend rather than dominate.

“What if I said I want you to be mine?” His voice was almost a whisper.

I stood there, stunned, the wordminebouncing around the chambers of my heart. Trying to plant seeds and grow and rise in a sun that I’d never experienced before.

“You said company policy?—”