The entire band had his back, Jax knew it. But everything still depended on Jax.
"I'll be there in half an hour. I'll just check on Harley."
At the mention of her name, Harley slowly opened her eyes and stretched her arms and legs. She looked small and breakable, a fragile porcelain doll in pyjamas with yellow ducks on them and a fluffy pink robe.
"I'll see you in a bit, Bruno." Jax ended the call and reached over to give his daughter a kiss on the forehead. He wasn't sure what to say to Harley after witnessing her breakdown last night. "You want breakfast?"
Harley shook her head.
"I have to go to rehearsal. You can come if you want, or stay here. I'll let Penny know you're awake."
"Who's Penny?" Harley asked, furrowing her brows.
Right. Jax had forgotten to mention her. "She's your new bodyguard."
"But I thought you said you'll get Cade back?" Jax saw the whimper on Harley's mouth.
"I will. I promised you that, didn't I?" He knew he shouldn't have, but having heard his daughter ask for Cade as she sobbed made him say it. Jax had no idea what he could do. Zee had told him that Cade had been fired from Mackinley Security, and that she had immediately left Vancouver and moved back to New Jersey within the day. Cade had obviously washed her hands of them.
Harley snuggled against him. "I miss her so much. I just want to see her again."
"I miss her too, Har. I miss her too." It was the only truth he could tell her.
Chapter Sixteen
She was swathed in the dark as the luminescent swarm of jellyfish danced in their tank. It was her favourite part of the city. It was the one place she had truly felt connected with Harley.
It pained Cade to know that she would never get to see her again. She could imagine how upset she would have been once she was told of Cade's departure. Harley hadn't bothered to respond to her last text, and though it was a bit expected, Cade was still heartbroken.
Staying in Vancouver wasn't a viable choice. She was in Canada with a worker's permit. Cade had gone directly to Mackinley Securities for a job, and with one purpose. That purpose blew up in her face. Mac hated her. He never gave her a single chance.
After a chat with her grandmother the previous night, she was determined to return to NJ and live the rest of her life forgetting about her father's last words. Her father, that was a loose term to use. Had she indeed had one? The man she'd grown up with treated her like a pariah. He'd put up with her while her mother was still alive, but as soon as she had gone, Cade had been nothing to him but an eyesore. A thorn in his side.
And Mac hadn't been any different. Whatever purpose she had felt before went out the window once Mac had fired her. Her time in Vancouver hadn't served its purpose but she doubted it ever would. All she had gotten were more raw emotions. Could she have just stayed with Harley and risked a secret relationship with Jax? Would he be willing to keep it a secret? Would it be an actual relationship?
The vibration of her phone in her pocket interrupted her thoughts. Cade read the message that went through and was baffled by it, but she found herself walking tersely toward the exit.
When she arrived at the restaurant, she spotted Juliette first, seated at a booth in the far corner, away from prying eyes. It might have sounded ridiculous at first, a pretend covert operation as Juliette had called it, but if Mac found out this meeting happened, Cade could only imagine the repercussions that could go down on every person involved.
Cade approached them, trying not to fiddle with her fingers to show how nervous she was. Juliette shot her a smile, which didn't quite reach her eyes. Cade nodded a silent greeting, then turned to the other woman across from Juliette.
"Mrs. Mackinley." Cade felt the knot in her gut tighten.
Irene Mackinley reached for Cade's hand, dragged her down to sit beside her and wrapped her in a tight embrace. "No need to be formal, my dear." Irene held her at arm's length and smiled. "Irene is fine."
Juliette slid off the booth and stood, shrugging her bag over a shoulder. "I better head back to work."
Cade smiled at her, and mouthed a 'thank you'. Then she focused all her attention to the woman who had known her mother for years, and who possibly had firsthand information on what she wanted to know the most.
Irene was what people would call a handsome woman, unlike Cade's mother, Mila, who had a natural softness and beauty that everyone admired. If the lines on Irene's face were something to go by, Cade could tell that she had gone through a lot in life. Cade was never one to pry. Even when Juliette would start to offer some ideas about how the Mackinleys lived their lives, Cade would always stop her from saying more. It might sound unreasonable, given her actual goal, but all she wanted was to find out about Mac's past, not Irene's.