“That’s quite a graphic representation.”
“Personal experience and watching countless others fall into the same pit. It’s so rare someone stops at the point you are now. I’m begging for you to be the exception. Become the hero. Just stop drinking now. Don’t tempt fate. Do it for Kayla. In the end, you will be doing it for yourself. Trust me. The monster from hell that I was and the sorrow that I inflicted are things that no fame or vast amounts of money can undo. Even now, I struggle with my guilt and shame and the negative effects it had on the people I love. I’d never wish that curse on anyone.”
Jim finally let out a small smile. “Even me?”
Rob laughed, releasing some of the tension between them. “Even you. My girls both went to bat for you. You can’t be all bad. And if you won Kayla over, well, she’s the reason I’m here.”
“I get that. I mean, I’m often asked to comfort others. Or help out family members in their time of stress or need or trauma. Coming here for Kayla couldn’t have been easy.”
He let out a snort. “You can’t imagine how uncomfortable I feel right now.”
Jim smiled. “About as uncomfortable as I am.”
Rob gave him a kinder look that wasn’t quite as combative as before. “We can help you with one problem fairly painlessly. If you’re interested.”
“What?”
“Jimmy.”
“How? There is no way you can stop him.”
“I have access to a superior security network and plenty of bodyguards. They’re already in place. Eric will hook you up with a few and Jimmy can’t get near you again.”
“I don’t expect you to do that.”
“You can. I will if you’re going to be part of my daughters’ lives. The shooting taught me we can’t be too careful. So the guards will be on you if you decide to stay. Just accept it as the gift it is. And Eric had another thought about how to neutralize that piece of shit.”
“How?” Jim started to wilt. “Eric got involved in this?”
“Kayla asked him to, yes.”
“Right.” Jim’s privacy was turned on its head. “What did he suggest?”
“You tell all the people you trust at the church about Jimmy. Head him off before he can do any damage. You don’t have to tell them he’s your biological father since the names don’t match. You simply explain the man saw the media coverage of the church shooting, which is true, right?”
Jim’s ears perked up. “Yeah.” It was totally true.
“You voice your need to make sure the man doesn’t gain access to the church and say that I’m posting extra guards to make sure you stay safe. Which is all true. Correct?”
“Yes…”
“Totally yes. He won’t be allowed any access to you. It’s church property, so he doesn’t need to come in. And no offense, but you aren’t me. You don’t have my fame or fan base or notoriety. No one outside the church members will care what Jimmy might say about Jim Zavarian. There is no chance for his vile filth to reach anyone’s ears. And by simply telling the truth, you also take all the oxygen out of whatever he intends to say.”
Something pricked Jim’s heart and he lifted his head as Rob spoke. He felt liberated all at once. Whatever was gagging, blindfolding and handcuffing him was simply yanked off.
“You wouldn’t be lying because it’s all true. Why tell them anything else? He’s someone you haven’t seen since you were a young teen, correct?”
“Yes.” Jim watched Rob carefully. He was still unsure if he should trust him. Them. Kayla.
“You aren’t responsible for him or anything he did. You are your own person. You educated yourself, rising far above his incompetence, right? His depravity and exploitation of religion to steal, cheat, hurt and abuse people spurred you to do the opposite. You help, inspire, and quietly lead people to God in a decent way. No one doubts you’re the real deal. The moment we heard about Jimmy, everyone knew you were nothing like him. Nothing at all like him. And we didn’t start out as your biggest fans. But we all can agree that you’re a decent, good and moral person. You don’t need this shithole spreading lies or gossip about you. You can’t be blackmailed into doing anything different than your job, so you should feel secure. Your entire life cannot be derailed because this piece of crap found you. You head it off and strangle him out. He’ll go away when he realizes he can’t get to you. Literally. Physically, he cannot get close enough to speak to you. He is not allowed in the church or in your apartment or my compound. So how could he threaten you?”
Rob seemed to assume Jim would be spending more time at his house. That was something to file away for later.
But as far as Rob’s advice went, he was right; who could Jimmy threaten? Jim sucked in a sharp breath. It was a great solution to his problem. The church had to remain vigilant. They were shocked when the random violence occurred, so they absolutely would not let anyone inside who spouted lies and wanted to hurt people. Jim had to protect the staff, the congregation and also himself. So his motivation wasn’t all selfish.
“I can’t think of anything he could do.”
“Yeah. Exactly. We’ll neutralize the son of a bitch.”
“You have to understand that I am his son. There’s no doubt he’s my biological dad.”
Rob snorted. “My dad was a sorry piece of shit too. He beat the living
