Free In Jack's Arms (Fighting Connollys) by Roxie Rivera

anything that hurt her was his business but bit his tongue. How would he feel
    if she barged in on an argument he was having with Finn over the gym? He would be annoyed. Though his
    instinct was to stay with her and show that she had him standing strong and tall in her corner, he
    understood that this was something she could handle all on her own.
    Pushing off the door, he reached for the handle. "I'll be in the hall."
    Abby trailed her soft fingertips down his arm. She offered a pleased smile. "Thank you."
    With a stiff nod, he slipped into the hallway and leaned against the wall there. Eyes closed, he
    concentrated only on the conversation happening on the other side of that door. He tried not to let his
    thoughts wander ahead of him but it was difficult to keep them reined in tight. Was this the real reason for the robbery? Was someone trying to get back stolen property that had been fenced? Was it evidence in a
    crime?
    "Why, Dan? Why would you risk everything to buy shit off Flea?"
    Jack's lips settled into a grim line at the mention of the shifty-eyed and pock-faced junkie Finn jokingly referred to as the neighborhood mascot. The once-promising college athlete had tempted fate with one taste of meth and had been consumed by it. Since then, he had graduated to crack and heroin.
    Though it drove Jack crazy, he allowed Finn to bring the painfully thin man inside the gym after hours
    for a shower and a meal a few times a month. After watching Finn fight and slay his own demons, Jack
    would never question his younger brother's desire to help others battling addiction. He didn't think Flea
    could be helped—if the man survived another winter, Jack would be shocked—but Finn wasn't about to
    stop trying.
    "Was it the money? Is that what this is about? Are you pocketing the cash from the sales of those ghost barcodes?"
    "Yes."
    Something about his tone told Jack there was more behind that answer. Antsy, he rubbed his thumb
    along the underside of his wrist and fought the urge to barge back into the storeroom to ask more pointed
    questions. If Abby didn't get the full truth out of Dan, he would find a way to get it on his own.
    "But, Dan, if you needed money, you could have come to me. I would have given you whatever you
    needed, on whatever terms would have worked for you. My God—you've been a part of my family's
    business for decades. Granddad trusted you. He loved you like a brother—"
    "Some brother," Dan interjected testily. "I gave twenty-nine years of my life to this damned shop, and where am I today? Night manager!"
    "That's bull, and you know it, Dan! I offered you the general manager position but you declined it."
    "Because I'm better than that! I deserve more than a new title and a heavier keychain."
    "What do you want, Dan? What is this really about?"
    "I should be a partner! I ought to own part of this shop."
    Jack held his breath as the tense silence stretched into long seconds.
    "Dan, Granddad was always very clear that this was going to stay a family business. It was his dad's
    business first, then his and now it's mine. That doesn’t mean you aren't incredibly valued. If you had come to me—if you had told me how disrespected you felt by the GM offer—I would have found a way to make
    it work."
    Jack's throat tightened as Abby's voice wavered. His sweet girl was on the verge of tears—and it killed
    him that he wasn't in there to support her.
    "I've always thought of you as family, Dan. Even with all the friction we've had over Mattie, I always respected your position here and your knowledge of this business. Some of the best skills I have were
    learned from you." She paused and seemed to be trying to compose herself. "If you had asked me for a partnership in the business yesterday, I would have figured out a way to give you a slice of it—but now?
    Now, I want you to leave."
    "You're firing me." Dan wasn't asking. He seemed resigned to the fact.
    "I'm not sure. Probably," she added. "I need to sort