“She’s just a little jealous,” Amy said, reclaiming Jack’s attention. “She wanted to be the one to nail The Runaway Groom, but we know you’ve only got eyes for your Olivia Pope.”
He chuckled, letting his gaze go over his other shoulder to find Nina. She was where she’d been all night, trapped in a sorority girl sandwich on the dance floor, grinding to a version of “Old Time Rock and Roll” that one of their fellow travelers was annihilating on the piano. It was karaoke night at the piano bar, and nobody had been shy about showcasing their amateur talents.
Jack couldn’t stifle his laughter as the two young girls tried to teach Nina how to twerk. He wasn’t sure why she was struggling. She certainly knew how to twerk in their tent every night—hell; she was damn near an expert.
Even as her twerk game failed on the dance floor, Jack couldn’t help it as his body responded, dying to pull her away and take her someplace they could be alone.
In the midst of laughing at herself, still giving that twerk game all she had, Nina’s smile suddenly fell. Her head shot to the piano as the song ended, and she brought her fingers to her lips, whistling loudly.
Her whistle brought the room to a quick halt. Even the bartender stopped polishing his glassware, squinting onto the dance floor.
“Everybody,” Nina beamed, raising her hands high in the air. “In honor of karaoke night here at the White Pine Piano Bar… And in honor of your kindness and graciousness for letting us tag along on this amazing trip…” Nina motioned passed all of the smiling faces around her, and straight to Jack.
Jack’s smile vanished. His heart plummeted to his feet. He clutched his glass tight enough to shatter it, shaking his head at her.
Nina didn’t heed his silent plea, her own smile blooming even as his disappeared. “I think it’s only fair that I return the favor by informing you all that our Jack… that handsome guy, right over there…” She jammed her finger toward him as if Jack hadn’t been right by her side for the last three days they’d spent with these people. “Is a beautiful—and I mean beautiful—piano player.”
Every eye flew to Jack, bursting with amazement. Instantly, Jack was being chided to come up and play by everyone in the room. Even Amy’s elbow came out and gently nudged him.
“You guys have to hear him play; I’m telling you; you have not lived.” Nina clasped her hands together and groaned from deep in her stomach like she’d just taken a huge bite of double chocolate cake. “He is so incredibly talented. It’s unreal.” When her eyes went back to Jack, and she saw that he was still leaning on the bar, she tilted her head and waved him over, almost violently. “Come on, Jack. Play the Beethoven one…”
Jack breathed deep, feeling like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. “I don’t think so,” he said, feeling his cheeks heat up. He turned his head to try to hide it.
“Just one song!” Nina cried.
“Yeah, one song, Fitz!” another voice rang out. That voice prompted ten more, and soon, everyone in the room was hollering for Jack to play.
He ran his hand down his face, shooting fire at Nina with his eyes when she approached him and took his arm.
“No, Nina.” He pulled back when she tried to tug him.
“Jack, you’re so amazing.” Her eyes grew wide in his. “Why can’t you see it? Don’t be so shy. Those fingers of yours are straight up fire! Those fingers need to be heard.”
“I said no, goddamn it,” Jack snatched his arm from her grasp. The room fell silent, but his voice was still hitched, making his next words bounce off the walls. “Why can’t you just listen for once in your goddamn life? No, Nina.”
Unable to stomach her horrified face or the defining silence that had swooped in, Jack pushed away from the bar and made a beeline for the door, avoiding the shocked eyes of everyone he passed. Across the room in seconds, he shoved the exit door open with all his might, nearly taking it off the hinges before he disappeared into the parking lot outside.
***
“Jesus, Jack, what the hell was that?” Nina was right on his heels, her own voice having jumped a few octaves after the scene in the bar. She hurried after him in the parking lot, forced to take up a jog to keep up with his long, determined strides. In the far corner of the lot, their bright green tour bus took up ten parking spots. “I was just trying to give you a compliment.”
She could see the muscles in his back contracting, even through his shirt.
“You put me on the spot,” he said, turning his head just enough to show the tight line at his lips. “When I say no, I mean no, Nina.”
“Okay,” she said, out of breath. “I’m sorry, Jack. I wasn’t trying to embarrass you, I just…”
He came to a sudden stop and turned to her.
She jolted, tripping over her feet. Collecting herself, she crossed her arms and gazed up at him. “I was just trying to give you a compliment.”
Jack watched her until his breathing calmed. “That song I played you… hell, playing anything, period?” He motioned to his heart with arrow straight fingers. “It’s personal to me.”
Nina’s voice lowered even more. “I didn’t know it meant that much to you. I wouldn’t have put you on the spot like that if I’d known.”
He nodded, looking away. A long silence passed, and then he pressed his eyes shut. “I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you.”
She smiled softly. “I think that’s the closest thing to an apology any Aries lawyer has given in the history of time. Ever.”
“Yeah, well, take a picture.”
She smiled, taking a deep breath when he did too. “God, you stress me out. What the hell am I going to do with you, huh?”
Jack stepped closer until his chest bumped hers. “Why don’t we go back to the tent and work it out?”
She reached up and swept her fingers softly over his eye. “Your eye is healing.”
“So is yours.”
“I can barely tell you took a Nazi fist to the face anymore.” She let her fingers travel down his jaw. “And just when I didn’t think you couldn’t get any sexier, you let this scruff roughen your jaw. I love the way it feels between my legs. God…” She bit her bottom lip. “The things I want to do you…”
“Why wait?”
Her eyes grew dark and hooded, but a moment later, the smile fell from her face.
“What is it?” Jack frowned.
“Just the phone.” She pulled his ringing phone from her back pocket, checked the ID, and every inch of joy was wiped from her eyes. “I’m starting to dread it every time this thing rings. Your phone calls have finally slowed down, but mine haven’t.”
“I guess we can’t escape reality forever.”
“Says the man who has yet to call his family and tell them he’s alive.” She sighed, meeting his eyes. “I have to take this. It’s my lawyer. Rain check on the ‘working it out’?”
“Of course. I have to do some laundry anyway.” His eyes went back to her. “Seeing as all my clothes are covered in your cum.”
“You know laundry costs money, right?”
“Noelle loaned me five bucks.”
“Is Noelle your new pimp?” she teased. “You know nothing is free in this world, right Aries?”
He turned away, peering at her over his shoulder. “I have laundry to do…”
“Have you ever done a single load of laundry in your life?”
“Of course I have.”
“I’d like to see that.”
“You can see it all day long.” Jack threw a little extra swagger in his step.
She followed him with her eyes. “Don’t start without me.” Hiding her amused smile, she answered her lawyer’s call.
***
Seeing her lawyer’s name on the caller ID was always the worst kind of wake-up call, but hearing his voice was enough to shred her heart into pieces. It was an unwelcome reminder of the problems that still awaited Nina once she got back to New York. The problems she wished would go up in flames, dissipating in
to thin air, never to be heard from again.
She watched Jack enter the laundromat, which was two doors down from the bar, and breathed deeply, amazed that just the sight of him calmed her heart as the voice on the other end of the line worked hard to tear it in two.
The black clouds seemed to loom in closer, thunder booming in the distance along with his monotone voice. “Nina, I warned you that you needed to be back in New York City the moment the flooding went down.”
Nina tore her eyes from the laundromat and gazed at the snowcapped Salt Lake City mountain range. She’d been hiking on that very range hours ago before the rain showers had cut it short. Even as the rainfall soaked her, she hadn’t minded. Getting back to nature had reminded her that there were bigger things in life. Bigger than lawyers, bigger than divorce trials, and even bigger than money.
Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that she had an end game. She’d made a promise to herself, and it was a promise she intended to keep.
“I’m on my way home,” she said. “I’ve been running into a few… snags…”
Her eyes traveled back to the laundromat, back to Jack, who was undressing slowly, his lips spreading wide into a smile as he watched her through the glass. That smile crossed the lot and claimed her, making Nina turn away.
“Nina, the judge granted Anthony’s request to push up the trial. It’s been moved to tomorrow morning.”
Nina’s heart screamed to a stop. “What?! How the hell could Judge Perkins do this? She knows that I was in a plane crash.”
“That plane went down twelve days ago. The hurricane has long passed. There are no more excuses, Nina. There is no reason why you shouldn’t have found your way home by now, and you don’t exactly have the best track record with this judge. Seems she’s finally tired of your games, so yes, the trial has been pushed to tomorrow.”
“I can’t believe this is happening.” Nina covered her forehead with her hand, fighting tears.
“Look…” he sighed. “I’ll drive out and pick you up. Where are you?”
“I’m in fucking Utah.”
“Okay, I won’t drive out and pick you up,” he chuckled. “How is it possible that you’re in Utah? A week ago you were in Chicago.”
“These last few days have been madness beyond explanation.”
“So, will I be telling Judge Perkins that you aren’t going to make it?”
“No, I’m going to make it.” Her eyes raced across the lot. “I’ll be there. Somehow.”
She hung up, and she looked back across the lot at Jack, who was down to his boxers in the laundromat.
“Fuck…” Nina turned away from him, feeling the first tear fall down her cheek. “Shit, shit, shit.”
Had Jack been right all along?
Was she really a karmic curse?
Pacing the parking lot with desperate strides, Nina pressed the phone to her forehead and, after several minutes of introspection, dialed a number. She slammed the phone to her ear, gnawing her teeth.
When he picked up, she was speaking through gritted teeth before he could even say hello. “Anthony, how could you do this to me?” She waited for an answer, and when none came, her voice rose. “How could you do this to me? I would never, ever, hurt you like this.”
A long sigh came in, followed by deafening silence.
Nina was sure he’d hung up.
Then, he spoke, sounding exhausted. “Because you’re the only person who’s ever been hurt, right, Nina? You’re the only person on the face of the planet who has ever experienced real pain, real loss; real struggle. The rest of us are just lounging around on our marshmallow clouds, smelling roses and sipping daiquiris while we bask in your struggle, right? I’ve got news for you; life is hard sometimes. In fact, most of the time, it’s pretty fucking awful, and you’re not the only person alive who’s allowed to know that, Nina. You’re not the only person alive who’s allowed to feel that. Live that. I’m living it. The whole world is. But I don’t make my problems other people’s problems.”
“And I do?” Nina beamed, covering her heart with her hand. “I’m making my problems your problems? That’s funny, because last I checked, we made our problem together.”
He took a deep breath. The lack of response from his end went on so long she nearly smashed the phone into the asphalt. “You can’t blame me for refusing to be stuck. I don’t want to be stuck anymore.”
“And I do?” She dug her nails into the fabric of her top. “I’ve been fighting this for six long years, Anthony, so that I can finally be free. If you’d have stood by me, like a real husband is supposed to do, you might’ve had a real chance at being free too.”
“This won’t free you. How do you still not get that? Revenge will never drive away the anger. It will never drive away the pain. It won’t fix you, Nina. Only acceptance will do that. The hand we got dealt was shitty—it was real shitty—but it was our hand, and we have to accept that.”
Her breathing grew labored as her moistened eyes searched the lot. “I can’t believe you just said that to me.”
He sighed, again, as if this conversation was slowly sucking every inch of life out of him.
“I can’t fucking believe you just said I should accept this. I will never accept this, Anthony. And the fact that you can… that you have… proves that you’re not the man I married.”
“I’m not. Which is why I’m finally ending this for good. The trial is tomorrow morning, period. Whether you’re here or not. If you’re not, I get my half of the money by default.”
“This isn’t fair. This isn’t fair. You choose to accept this, and that’s fine, but you do not get to make that choice for me. You don’t get to do that.”
“Trial’s tomorrow.”
He hung up before she could respond, but even as silence surrounded her and squeezed her bones, she couldn’t move. Her eyes held onto the setting sun in the distance, and she knew it was over.
It was finally over.
And as the black clouds congregated and sent the first drop of moisture splashing to the tip of her nose, she was devastated.
18
Jack’s eyes flew to the door of the rundown laundromat when Nina pulled it open. She felt her clothes sticking to her skin from the rain, which was falling harder and heavier onto the asphalt outside.
In nothing but his black boxers, he smiled at her from where his long legs swung down from the washing machine, motioning to his clothes, which he’d slung next to him. “I waited for you, so you can throw your clothes in, too, if you want.” His eyes traveled her body. “And I hope you do since it involves you taking them off.”
She mumbled something incoherently, still in the doorway, unable to speak. When a tear raced down her cheek and joined the raindrops on her face, she fought not to break down.
Jack’s face collapsed. “Nina, what’s wrong? What happened?” He jumped down to his feet and yanked his pants off of the washing machine.
In his haste, he grabbed the pants by the ankles, upside down, and didn’t realize it until the sound of something clattering to the floor froze him in place.
Nina’s eyes fell to the floor and followed the objects that had fallen from the pocket of his pants. One landed onto its side and rolled across the floor.
Nina’s eyes widened.
So did Jack’s.
She watched it hit the toe of her boot and then topple to a stop at her feet, and her blood boiled. Tears filled her eyes as she bent down and seized it between her fingers, holding it up high.
Jack looked away, a flash of defeat in his eyes.
She clutched the object so tight her fingers lost circulation, and when she went to speak, the words barely left her mouth. “What is this?” she finally managed to wheeze, her lips turning down.
Jack’s hand came up to cover his mouth, and when he looked back at her, he held it out, his own voice breaking. “I can explain that—”
“What the fuck is this, Jack?” she screamed, shaking the bright red casino
chip. The rest of the chips had rolled to a stop, scattered at her feet. “You had them the whole time? The whole fucking time?”
“Calm down.”
“Calm down?” Tears tumbled out of her eyes. “This chip could’ve gotten us home a week ago. Why would you do this? Why would you hide this from me?”
“Because I wasn’t ready.” His voice rose. “Fuck…” He turned away from her, throwing his pants down on the dryer before leaning on it, letting his head fall.
“You weren’t ready,” Nina repeated, her voice deadpanned. She kept the chip in the air where he could see it, shaking it. “You have… no idea… what you’ve done. You have no idea what it would’ve meant for my life to be home a week ago.”
Jack shook his head, his eyes closed, and then finally found the courage to look at her out of the corner of his eye. He threw a hand through the air. “I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to you. Alright?”
She clenched the chip, hiding it from him, and let her fisted hand remain high in the air as his words sank in. After a moment of silence, she wrung her hands together; biting her lip so hard she nearly drew blood. “You need to call your family right now.”
Jack’s face changed. He straightened.
Her eyes went hard. “You need to call them, right now and have them wire enough money to get us both home. I’ll pay you back every penny once I’m able to cash these.” She bent down and scooped up the remaining chips from the floor.
“A few days ago you were telling me how much you were enjoying yourself. That you wanted to take your time…” Jack shook his head and showed her his palms. “What changed in an hour? Just because I lied to you about some goddamn chips? I was going to give them back to you the moment we got home.”
“Jack, can you please just call your family?”
He frowned. “No.”
Nina turned away from him, fighting a scream. She took a few healthy steps away, covering her mouth with her hand. Seconds later, she thrust the door open and exited the laundry room completely.
Lightning Strikes (The Almeida Brothers Trilogy #3) Page 23