Love is a Battlefield

by Vivian Arend

  She jerked to a stop. She couldn’t decide what to grill him about first. Rational thought was not working well right now.

  In the driver’s seat, Adam drummed nervous fingers on the steering wheel as he stopped at a red light. He glanced over, embarrassment reddening his cheeks. “I’ve been calling and texting you for weeks, Penny. Trying to apologize for it.”

  “That’s called stalking, dude. You should have gotten the message I didn’t want to hear from or see you ever again.”

  “I did. I mean, I thought I did. But Kendra—” He stopped abruptly.

  Shit. “Kendra, what?”

  Her roommate’s mysterious disappearance was annoying, but having Adam bring her up sent Pepper’s spidey senses tingling.

  “She told me you wanted to talk to me but you were too embarrassed about the whole thing that happened during the road trip.” He looked upset now. “You know me, Pen, I don’t harass chicks who aren’t into me. But we’re friends, and Kendra said you felt bad about everything. You know, because you had a crush on me all year, and then—”

  Pepper could feel her brows rising higher and higher the longer Adam spoke. At this rate, they’d be bumping the ceiling of the car, and she still wouldn’t have registered all the “what the fuck?” she was feeling. “I need a moment to—are you out of your goddamn mind? I had a crush on you?”

  “Yes.”

  “And Kendra told you this?”

  “Yeah, right before we left Chicago.”

  Add another point to the list of oh-hell-we-need-to-have-a-come-to-Jesus-talk. What was Kendra doing? Had she flipped her frickin’ lid?

  “Adam, I never had a crush on you. Plus you walked into a private situation and ended up punching me in the face. Not to mention writing crap on your Facebook, and going through my suitcases and stealing my clothes, and—”

  “What?” he interrupted, his face going whiter than mayo. “I didn’t go through your stuff. What kind of sicko do you think I am?” The car shuddered, as if Adam’s foot was shaking on the gas pedal.

  “Well, it’s not like I stole things from my own damn suitcases. And there was only you and Kendra who could…” Oh Lord. Another teeny flash of panic struck her. Adam had access.

  So had Kendra.

  Adam couldn’t hear her internal ramblings. He went right on answering her other accusations. “I thought I was protecting you that night, Pen. Kendra said the other guys were wasted and trying to coax you into three-way sex. And I told you before, I didn’t post that shit on Facebook. Someone hacked into my account.”

  Someone…or Kendra?

  Pepper couldn’t deny that her friend had the skills to do something like that. Kendra had studied computer technology and game design in college. But…why? None of it made sense when Pepper thought about it one thing at a time, but connected together, the only thing that every shitty occurrence had in common…

  The only person…

  “Why?” Pepper glanced over at Adam, who was still white-knuckling the wheel. “Why would Kendra do any of this? I mean, she straight-out lied to you.”

  “I don’t know.” He sighed heavily. “I really didn’t mean to hurt you. And if you need me to help you deal with Kendra, I will, no strings attached. She called me about thirty minutes ago, by the way—that’s why I was at your apartment.”

  What Pepper needed right now was to get back to the damn hotel and deal with the media emergency first. After that crisis was over, she’d figure out what alien creature had possessed the person she’d thought was her best friend.

  If there was one thing guaranteed to get Jack tense and uncomfortable, it was a female’s tears. They reminded him too much of his mother crying in frustration during his parents’ fights, and he had to smother the urge to turn away from Kendra and her visible distress.

  But this was Pepper’s best friend, and with Pepper AWOL, Kendra might be the only person who could provide some answers.

  He hurried forward, leaving Parker to deal with Charlene’s furious ramblings, and met Kendra halfway.

  “What’s wrong?” he said instantly. “Where’s Pepper?”

  Moisture clung to Kendra’s blonde eyelashes, a whirl of emotions swimming in her eyes. It was the angry glint that caught him off guard.

  “What’s wrong?” he demanded again.

  The petite blonde took her sweet-ass time responding, playing with the strap of her purse, glancing down at her open-toed sandals, biting her bottom lip.

  “For fuck’s sake, tell me,” he snapped, unconcerned with his harsh tone, because damn it, he was seriously worried now.

  “I don’t know how.” Kendra’s voice was small and tired.

  Impatience roared through his body. “Take a deep breath and say the words, Kendra. We don’t have time to stand around. We’re trying to track down Pepper and—”

  “She’s at the apartment,” Kendra cut in.

  Some of his concern ebbed, but the revelation only brought a dose of confusion. “Is she getting the backup files?”

  Kendra slowly shook her head, while he fought the urge to shake her. “There are no backup files,” she revealed.

  Jack narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  “She screwed up the project on purpose.” Bitterness flashed in her eyes. “I tried convincing her that it was a terrible idea, but she wanted to get back at Charlene. She was jealous that you and Charlene used to…you know…”

  His shoulders went rigid, a queasy sense of disbelief mingled with doubt floating through him. “Pepper wouldn’t do that.”

  “She did,” Kendra insisted. “She sabotaged your party, and now she’s back at our place—” Her mouth slammed shut.

  “Finish that sentence,” Jack said in an ominous tone.

  Kendra looked him square in the eye. “She’s back at our place having sex with another man.”

  The ground beneath Jack’s feet swayed. Bullshit. Bull. Shit. His mind was only capable of producing those two syllables. He didn’t know what kind of game Kendra was playing, but he didn’t believe a single word coming out of her mouth. Pepper would never sabotage a DreamMakers event, nor would she hop into bed with someone else a mere two days after tending to Jack so damn lovingly.

  Whatever was going on right now, he suspected it had nothing to do with Pepper and everything to do with the woman in front of him, who was now crying in earnest.

  “I’m so sorry, Jack,” she wailed. “Why did you have to make me tell you? You deserve so much better than her. I hate seeing you get hurt.”

  She’d mistaken his silence for acceptance, apparently. But Jack had known enough liars in his life to see through every choked word, every crocodile tear.

  Hardening his jaw, he reached for Kendra, intending on gripping her chin to force her to own up to what she was doing, but the damned woman mistook the gesture for one of comfort, and the next thing he knew, she dove into his arms. Slender arms wrapped around his neck and held him tight as she buried her head in the crook of his neck.

  Her tears soaked his collarbone and triggered a burst of annoyance. “Stop,” he muttered, attempting to push her away.

  She clung on like a spider monkey hugging a tree. Loud sobs echoed between them, but not loud enough to cover up the sound of a car engine. Jack gripped Kendra’s slender hips, trying to pry her off him, while his gaze moved beyond her shoulders to rest on the black Jeep that had driven into the lot.

  Still holding on for dear life, Kendra twisted her head to follow his gaze. When both the driver and passenger doors flew open, the blonde gasped. Then her sharp intake of breath rushed out in what could only be considered a jubilant noise. “Oh my God, see? She was with him. I walked in on them right before I came here.”

  Jack managed to unhook her hands from his shoulders just as Pepper skidded to a stop, a dark-haired young man in tow.

  “What the hell?” Pepper burst out when she caught sight of their too-close bodies. “Get your hands off him, Kendra.”

  J
ack could have sworn he saw a gleam of triumph in Kendra’s eyes before she finally let him go, taking a step to the side.

  “Don’t bother denying it,” Kendra told Pepper, her singsong voice raising Jack’s hackles. “We all know what you and Adam were doing.”

  Pepper’s cheeks were bright red, her shoulders trembling with fury, but to Jack’s surprise, she didn’t explode. She simply flashed her friend a cool look before glancing beyond her to the redheaded woman marching toward them.

  “It’s about time you showed up!” Charlene snapped.

  “I told you I would,” Pepper replied, sounding so calm Jack couldn’t help but be impressed.

  The only way to describe what was happening at the moment was clusterfuck. A big ol’ clusterfuck of monstrous proportions, with accusations flying and tempers high. And yet he’d never seen Pepper look more controlled.

  Parker came up beside him, warily glancing from Kendra’s tear-streaked face to Charlene’s furious eyes to Adam’s bewildered expression, and finally at Pepper’s unruffled presence.

  “Okay, everyone needs to chill out,” Parker started.

  Jack hid a smile as Pepper cut her brother off by raising her hand. “I’ve got this under control, Parker.” She turned to Charlene and held up the small flash drive in her hand. “I have the backup right here. I checked it myself and it works fine. I also brought a third copy in case we need it.” Her voice tightened as her gaze shifted to Kendra. “And you…I have no idea what you’re up to, but I don’t have time to deal with this cuckoo-craziness right now. I have a job to do.”

  The burst of pride that filled Jack’s chest nearly sent him soaring off his feet.

  “Come on, Charlene,” Pepper said firmly. “Let’s go load this up so we can give your parents a walk down memory lane they’ll never forget.”

  To Jack’s surprise, Charlene nodded, flashing Pepper a look of deep gratitude. “Thank you. That’s the first rational thing I’ve heard in a while.”

  Pepper squeezed Jack’s arm as she moved to follow Charlene. “Don’t kill Adam, and don’t believe a word she says,” Pepper murmured. “We’ll get to the bottom of it later.”

  Good heads-up on the Adam business, and Jack didn’t need to ask who she was. He gave a quick nod. “Go. I’ll find you when you’re done.”

  Jack had never been prouder as he watched Pepper walk off with her shoulders held high. He noticed Parker wearing an indulgent expression, and shot his friend a smile as if to say, see, your little sister is all grown up.

  Then both men turned to Kendra, Parker beating Jack to the punch. “You’re not welcome here. I suggest you go home,” he said coolly. “I’m sure my sister will track you down later.”

  Kendra had the decency to keep her mouth shut. With a curt nod, she headed back to her car, speeding out of the lot a moment later.

  Only the dark-haired young man remained, shifting uneasily on his feet as Jack focused on him.

  “Adam, right?” Jack said lightly. “I’m Jack.”

  He nodded, slightly stricken. “I recognize your voice. You know, from when you told me on the phone that you’d shatter every bone in my body and turn me into a mass of blood and pain.”

  A loud snicker came from Parker’s vicinity. “Word-for-word recitation. Must have sunk in hard.”

  Jack ignored him, genuinely contrite. From the sound of it there were a bunch of new developments he needed to be informed about. “Uh. Right. Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay,” the guy said ruefully. “You thought I wrote that stuff on Facebook. I get it.”

  Jack sighed, then glanced at Parker. “Can you and the others handle everything, or do you still need me?”

  “Naah, we’ve got it covered,” his friend said.

  “Good.” Jack turned back to Adam, gesturing to the hotel entrance. “C’mon, let’s go have a drink.”

  Adam’s lips twitched before a smile broke free. “Best idea I’ve heard all day.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  She was damn near bouncing, the adrenaline still racing through her system leaving her with a head rush Pepper would be happy to kill with a massive order of something drenched in butter.

  But she had one final task before she was free.

  The systems check had gone perfectly this time. Charlene excitedly grabbed her and squeezed her in an unexpected hug before racing off to go meet her parents. Pepper leaned back in the sudden quiet of the room, preparing everything for the final moment.

  She had about thirty minutes to kill according to the master schedule that Parker had given her. Impressive, that her brother wasn’t so bad at handling details. In fact, as she sat and got a chance to calm down, there were a lot of things that struck her as unexpectedly good in her life.

  Although how she could be thinking that right now seemed simply mental. It must be the eye of the tornado. That moment of calm before everything would hit the fan one more time.

  From Adam to Kendra to Jack to Parker to Charlene—

  —and always back to Jack. He had become the center she wanted to be with in the middle of any storm. Not to cling to him, not to have him rescue her. But to be with her as they faced situations together.

  Strangely enough, the chaos of the day had helped her see so clearly what was important in her life. Family, friends…

  The room below her filled with party guests, excited voices rising up to her level as brightly colored dresses and formal suits drifted in random patterns. People milled around, searching for their seats at the massive round tables covering the ballroom floor.

  A head table had been set up like at a wedding, the faint sounds of background music swirling around everything and bringing a festive air as people took their places.

  The door opened beside her, and the soundman returned. “You’ve got everything under control for your part?”

  “Piece of cake,” Pepper drawled, lips lifting in a smile, but she refused to elaborate.

  “Rock on.” He leaned toward her slightly, whispering conspiratorially, “You’re lucky. Once you’re done, you get to leave. I get to play golden oldies until I’m twitchy.”

  “Every job has its burdens.” Pepper kept a straight face, watching with interest as a flurry of activity started on the floor below.

  “And that’s my cue,” Daniel said. He flicked a bunch of switches, and the opening strains of a wedding march began. Pepper watched Charlene’s parents stroll down the center aisle, waving enthusiastically to their friends and family who all rose to their feet to cheer them into the room.

  Pepper found herself grinning like a fool without even realizing it. There was just so much joy happening before her, and she was so into observing everything that she missed the moment when Jack slipped into the room behind her.

  He draped an arm over the back of her chair, leaning in to press his lips against her cheek. “Almost your time to shine.”

  She caught hold of his fingers with her left hand, trapping him in place. He dragged over a chair and sat close, gently caressing the back of her neck as the welcome speech down on the podium finished, and everyone turned expectantly to the massive screens arranged on the walls.

  One flick of a button started the media montage, and as the room lights dimmed, images of years shared flashed out bigger than life accompanied by the couple’s favorite songs. Friends and laughter, a growing family. Ageless beauty recorded in every smile, and it was Pepper’s skill that had made the entire thing possible.

  It was her turn to shine indeed.

  “Damn, Pepper, this is amazing.” Jack’s cheek brushed hers as they watched together. Live-action video merged with shots donated by family and friends—it must’ve looked like magic to someone who didn’t know the process.

  But the amazing thing was the man nestled so close to her side that his body heat wrapped around her like a blanket, his fingers casually linked through hers as if he couldn’t get enough of touching her.

  Whatever magic was happening on the screen
, there was more magic happening in her heart.

  The moment it was done everything became a blur. She heard voices offering congratulations, along with thunderous applause from down on the ballroom floor. She got a thumbs-up from Parker in passing, but none of that registered beyond a momentary flash.

  Jack had her by the hand, dragging her to his car.

  His rush to leave suddenly struck her as hilarious, and she started giggling. Maybe it was the tension, maybe it was sheer relief, but she couldn’t stop laughing for long enough to draw a full breath. She clutched his arm and fought for balance as he turned her carefully, grinning at her.

  “You are incredible.”

  “I am so ready to crash, you wouldn’t believe it.” She draped her hands around his neck, leaning back on the car door as she stared up into his gorgeous eyes. “I’m glad that’s over with.”

  His expression grew more serious. “There’s still something we need to deal with.”

  Ugh. Kendra.

  Pepper nodded slowly. “By the way, I really do hope you didn’t do anything drastic to Adam.”

  “He’s still alive. We had a discussion about the difference between defending a woman and being a creep, and I think he’s got it solid now.” Jack closed the distance between them and planted a fiery kiss on her lips. Like a branding, one hand holding their lips together, the other pressed to her lower back to seal their bodies so tight she could feel every muscular inch of him.

  Pepper wasn’t sure what had set him off, but she really didn’t care. She liked this side of Jack very much.

  When he finally let her breathe, she glanced up at him from under her lashes. “You know nothing happened between me and Adam. Never did, never will.”

  “Damn right.”

  He said it with such conviction, Pepper laughed again. Her amusement faded as he pulled open the car door for her. “Kendra.”

  “We’ll deal with her.” Jack lowered himself so their eyes were on the same level. “Not that I don’t think you’re capable, but you don’t have to do this alone. I want to be there for you, at your side.”