“I’m so sorry, Nora,” Ina said softly.
“I should go,” I replied, abruptly standing up.
“No, stay. I can’t let you be alone right now. We’ll have a girly night, and I’ll get some ice cream. I’ll get Angie over here too, of course.”
I shook my head. “Thank you, Ina, but I can’t be here. I can’t be on his property. I just need to get the hell out.”
She sighed. “I get it. Will you go to Angie’s place?”
I thought about it for a second. What was that old saying? Out of sight, out of mind. The farther away I could get from Jacob right now, the better.
“No,” I finally said. “I think I’ll fly out east a few days early. The apartment is already there waiting for me, and I’ve already packed most of the things I’ll be taking. I’m sure there’s a flight leaving tonight.”
Ina frowned. “Nora, I understand why you want to leave, but don’t you think you’re being too hasty? Why don’t you stay and wait for Jacob to get home so you can at least hear him out? Maybe there’s an explanation for all of this after all.”
I shook my head again, rage boiling up inside of me. “No. You said it yourself—what other reason could there be for him to get that sort of message?”
She let out another heavy sigh. “All right. What about Oscar?”
“I’ll see if they’ll allow him on the flight I book. If not, he can stay with Angie until she brings him over to meet me in New York next week, like we originally planned. He was going to be staying with her for a few days anyway.”
Ina stood up, her forehead lined with worry. “Are you really sure about this? I know you’re upset. You’re furious. Of course you are. I’m angry too. But I think it’s best that we wait for Jacob to explain himself. At least then you’ll have some closure, even if it—”
I cut her off. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going. Why should he care enough to explain anything? He was going to dump me out of the blue tonight anyway.”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Yeah, that’s true. I understand. Let me help you grab your things, at least,” she said softly.
She followed me into the main house, where I gathered my clothes and other possessions in stony silence. It wasn’t hard—a lot of things were still in bags and boxes from when I’d moved in a few days ago, and I’d also packed a lot of other things for New York already. It only took an hour for my car to be stacked full of boxes and cases.
“Are you really, really sure about this?” Ina said, twisting her hands nervously as I hugged her goodbye in the driveway.
“Yes. I’m sure. I already have the storage place booked to drop off some of these boxes, and I’ll go to Angie’s now to wait while I sort out the flight.”
Ina looked forlorn as I spoke, and I swallowed a lump in my throat. “I’m sorry,” I added as I got into my car. Oscar was already in the backseat, looking as happy as ever.
“Don’t apologize,” Ina replied. “This isn’t your fault. I’m just sad because I really thought he wouldn’t screw this up, and I really like you.”
I forced a smile. “Well, we can still be friends. The ex-wife and the ex-girlfriend. What a team.”
She laughed, but I could tell her heart wasn’t in it. “Please call me as soon as you know what you’re doing,” she said. “I want to know that you’re okay.”
“I will.”
I turned my key in the ignition and started down the driveway while Ina waved goodbye. And just like that, I was out of Jacob’s reach.
Chapter Thirty-One
Jacob
I gritted my teeth and pressed my foot harder on the gas pedal as I weaved through cars on the road. I needed to get to my destination faster, needed to confront the asshole who’d been harassing my girl and trying to blackmail me into dumping her. I knew exactly who that person was now.
And I was going to make them pay.
I finally pulled up in the driveway and stepped into the house. “Anyone home?” I called out.
Chris appeared in the hall and flashed me a wide grin. “Oh, hey, man. I didn’t hear you knock.”
“That’s because I didn’t,” I replied, restraining myself from beating the shit out of him right this second. I knew it was him. What I didn’t know was why.
“What’s up?” he asked, gesturing for me to enter the living room.
I didn’t smile or answer his question, but I did follow him into the room, where I took a seat on the black faux-leather sofa.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion as he looked at me.
I finally gave him a faint smile. “Oh yeah, something’s wrong. Very wrong. It’s you. And you’ve got exactly two minutes to explain yourself before I break your goddamned face.”
He wrinkled his nose. “Huh?”
“I know what you’ve been doing,” I said. “You’ve been harassing Nora and trying to break us up. You stole my phone the other night. I’m guessing you saw me arrive at the restaurant and check my phone and jacket in the coatroom, and then you just pretended as if you’d only just noticed us eating there an hour later.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked, still feigning innocence. “I remember you telling me that someone was harassing Nora, but you said it was James.”
“Stop playing dumb, you piece of shit,” I said, leaning closer. “I know it’s you. You thought you were being so careful to pin it on James, but you fucked up. The cops know the internet you’ve been using to send the messages to Nora is registered under the name Robert Quinto. As in Bob, your landlord.”
His face blanched, and I knew I had him.
I was still pissed at myself for not realizing sooner. The name Robert Quinto had always sounded vaguely familiar to me since Nora told me, but until James reminded me of his connection to Chris, it hadn’t occurred to me that I knew him.
“They would’ve got you before now, but Bob’s gone overseas on some business trip and hasn’t been contactable. The second he got back, they would’ve figured out it was you. It was only a matter of time, buddy,” I continued.
Chris’ eyes narrowed. There was no point pretending anymore; he was caught. “I needed to get her away from you. You’re my best friend; I did it for your sake, you idiot.”
I rose to my feet, my fists curling by my side. “For my sake, huh? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Nora’s a toxic fucking snake!” he said, standing up as well. “She manipulated you. She made you believe all her shit, and then she turned you into this pathetic little pussy right before my very eyes. You’re fucking whipped. I had to help you get away from her, but I knew you wouldn’t. Not unless I forced your hand.”
“What are you talking about?”
His eyes blazed. “She did all that crazy shit to James, and when she spun you her bullshit version of events, you ate it up just to get into her panties. I wasn’t worried at first; that’s what we do—get pussy from all these bitches and pretend like we give a shit about them. But then you kept going. You believed her. You let her walk all over you. Let her change you. I don’t know what the fuck happened, but it’s pathetic. You needed to get away from her. You…”
Before he could even finish, I socked him right in the jaw, and he fell back onto the sofa, clutching his face and crying out in agony.
“You stupid son of a bitch,” I said, my voice dripping with scorn. “You actually believed James when he spread that shit about her? Even after I told you it wasn’t true?”
“Of course I did,” he said between gasps as he rubbed his jaw. “You can’t believe all the bullshit women say! They’re all lying, gold-digging cunts! She was playing you. I knew it from the start. I fucking knew it. I only sent her all those nasty messages and fucked up her house to try and scare her out of town so she’d stay away from you!”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered. I’d always thought Chris was just a typical young playboy like me who’d learn to respect his conquests one day as he
matured, similarly to how I’d grown and changed since I met Nora. I’d never noticed how deep his hatred for women truly ran, not until now. To him and his unhinged mind, they were all just walking vaginas who were good for one thing and one thing only. If a guy actually deigned to respect a woman and treat her well, he was apparently a ‘pathetic pussy’.
Men like him were the true pathetic ones.
“Nora never lied. She wasn’t playing me or anyone else. James even admitted to me that he was full of shit, you fucking moron,” I said, taking a step toward Chris. “So you’ve been messing with her for weeks for no reason.”
“I was just trying to help you!” he replied, shying away from me as I drew closer.
“By terrorizing my girlfriend and trying to ruin her reputation? I’m assuming you’re also the one who leaked to the media that I was sleeping with a consultant on Fourth Down as yet another way of trying to fuck with her and get her fired, which didn’t work, by the way. Not to mention you threatening to expose my marriage and have me sent to fucking prison,” I replied. “Jesus, some fucking help you are, man.”
“I wasn’t really going to turn you in,” he said, holding his hands up as I balled my own right hand into another fist. “I just said I would, to make you dump her when everything else I tried failed. I promise, man, I wasn’t actually going to do it.”
“Well, your little scheme didn’t work, did it? Nora and I are still together. I also went to the cops and reported you before I got here, by the way. They’ll probably be here to pick you up soon,” I replied. His eyes wildly scanned the room, and I smiled. “Don’t bother trying to run. I’m gonna keep you right here no matter how long they take.”
“Tell them you made a mistake or I’ll…I’ll tell them about Ina. For real,” he said, obviously panicking now. “You’ll go away for years.”
My smile grew wider. “I had a feeling you’d say that. But unfortunately for you, James decided to help me out a bit.”
“James?”
“Yeah. He wasn’t too happy when he finally realized it was you setting him up to take the fall for your harassment of Nora, just to cover your own ass in case she tried to pursue charges. So he helped me dig up a little dirt of my own,” I said. “Does the name Chevin mean anything to you?”
Chris’ eyes widened, and I raised a brow. “It does, doesn’t it?” I said.
Earlier when James and I figured out that Chris was responsible for all this shit, I’d predicted that he might try to keep blackmailing me in order to save his ass from the cops. To stop that from happening, I needed something to ensure he kept his mouth shut. Luckily, James had the perfect thing—the Chevin account.
The Chevins were a big family here in the city who supposedly ran a chain of laundromats and cafés, and Chris was their business accountant. According to James, it was pretty common knowledge that the Chevins used their legitimate businesses as a means to launder money from their true business—illegal gambling rings. Apparently Chris helped them launder the gambling cash and funnel it into secret accounts, keeping them under the radar, and the accounting firm turned a blind eye to it because it made them so much money.
“The feds would love to know what you’re up to,” I said. “Half the firm would go down for it, but as the chief accountant for the Chevins, you’d go away for the longest. I think racketeering and fraud charges like that can put you away for a full life sentence. But if you turned me in for the green card marriage….hmm, that only carries a max sentence of five years. You’d come out way worse than me, see? So let’s make a deal.”
“What sort of deal?” Chris said through gritted teeth.
“You admit to the cops that it was you who’s been harassing Nora and trashing her house because you’re a misogynistic pig. You’ll probably get a big fine and a slap on the wrist, and a restraining order from Nora. If, however, you try to deny it—or if you ever breathe a fucking word about my marriage to anyone—I’ll tell everyone what I know about your shady work shit. Like I said earlier, you’ll get a hell of a lot more than a fine for that.”
He was silent for a moment, and then he nodded briefly, eyes flashing with a mixture of disdain and defeat. “Okay. I’ll do it,” he mumbled.
“Oh, and one more thing,” I said. Then I aimed my fist at his face again, cracking him right in the nose, and he cried out as he stumbled backwards again, blood spurting all over the lower part of his face.
I could hear a car pulling up outside, and I knew the police had finally arrived.
“Remember our deal, man,” I said, rubbing my knuckles. “Keep your fucking mouth shut or I’ll ruin you way more than you could ever ruin me.”
I stayed until the police hauled him away. They didn’t say a word about Chris’ freshly-bruised, bleeding face; he told them he’d simply walked into a door.
When they were gone, I triumphantly drove home, ready to fill Nora in on everything that had gone down. It was all over—she wouldn’t be harassed by that asshole Chris ever again.
Part of me felt like shit over the loss of my good friend, but at the same time I knew he’d never been a real friend, no matter how close I thought we were. A true friend wouldn’t have acted like a raging, woman-hating asshole because I finally got a girlfriend and stopped playing the field. A true friend would’ve believed and supported me—and Nora—and been there for us.
When I pulled up in my driveway, I saw Ina sitting in the dark on the marble front steps, her expression downcast. Frowning, I headed over to her.
“Ina, what’s up? Why are you out here so late?”
She looked up at me, and her expression turned furious. “I was waiting for you, you stupid asshole. You couldn’t help yourself, could you?” she said.
I took a step back, confused. “Huh? What did I do?”
She stood up and pushed me, hard. “You couldn’t keep it in your fucking pants, and now Nora’s gone. I told you not to screw it up with her! She was so good for you.”
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “We know what you were planning, Jake. We know about the other woman. Nora saw her text.”
“What text?”
Ina’s eyes flashed. “The one asking if you’d dumped Nora yet like you promised, because your side piece was sick of being kept waiting.”
“I don’t….oh. Shit.”
I’d completely forgotten about how I sent that bullshit text to the person I assumed was James earlier, pretending that I’d break up with Nora at the end of the day just so I could buy some time.
“Yeah, we caught you,” Ina went on. “I’m so fucking disappointed in you, Jake. Really, I thought you’d changed. I thought you were better than this.”
I held my hands up. “Just wait. Let me explain.”
I filled her in on everything that’d transpired over the last few hours, and her eyes widened as I spoke.
“Oh my god…” she said softly. “Oh, shit.”
“You said Nora’s gone. Gone where?” I asked.
Ina looked stricken. “She was so upset. She came to me for advice, but I agreed with her—I thought there couldn’t be any other explanation for that text other than you cheating. And then she said she had to get out of here. I’m so sorry, Jake. I should’ve tried harder to keep her here. I did suggest that she stay, because I thought she should at least confront you about it, but she wouldn’t listen. She was too heartbroken.”
“What are you saying? Where exactly is she?”
Ina’s shoulders slumped. “She dropped Oscar off with Angie and left for New York early,” she said, casting her eyes down at the ground. “She called me from Angie’s place about forty-five minutes ago to tell me she found a flight that was leaving soon. So by now, she’s probably already on a plane.”
“What?” I said, aghast. “You can’t be serious!”
She nodded miserably. “She’s gone, Jake. She’s really gone.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jacob
Fucking L.A. traffic.
Even at this time of night, it was still shitty on a lot of roads, and it didn’t help that the airport was so damn far away—it would be at least half an hour till I arrived. On the way, I called Angie on my hands-free phone set as I headed there, desperate to hear any updates on Nora’s situation. She didn’t answer my first few calls, but she finally picked up on the fourth after nearly letting it ring out again.
“What do you want?” she asked, her voice stiff.
“Has Nora left yet?” I asked.
“That’s none of your business.”
I explained everything to her, just like I’d done with Ina, and I heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.
“Shit, I had no idea. I’m sorry, Jake. I guess we’re all kinda used to Nora attracting the worst kinds of men, so I didn’t even think…”
“It’s fine, I get it,” I said, interrupting her. I didn’t mean to be rude, but I needed to know exactly where Nora was. “I just need to know if her flight left already, or if there’s still time for me to find her.”
“Hold on a sec. She used my laptop to book it.”
Angie was quiet for a minute while she searched, and then she came back onto the line. “Her flight hasn’t left yet. It takes off in twenty-five minutes from Terminal 2. Gate 23.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I was only five minutes away from LAX now, and if I found parking quickly enough, I’d hopefully be able to intercept Nora before she boarded the flight.
Unfortunately, parking was a bitch. It took me over ten minutes to find a spot, and it was about as far as fucking possible from Terminal 2. My stomach filled with dread with each and every moment that passed by, and soon I was counting the seconds down with each frantic beat of my racing heart.
I finally arrived at Gate 23, and I saw two flight attendants standing at the gate desk, checking a man’s ticket. Thank god; the flight was still boarding, even though it was meant to be departing in just two minutes.
Daddy's Toy-Box (A Daddy's Best Friend Romance) Page 58