"Well, like I said, it's really complicated." I bit my lip. There was no way I could explain the situation with Joel without also explaining what was going on with the estate. But the story was so long and convoluted that it would take at least an hour to tell.
Plus, as much as I appreciated her interest, she wasn't the person I'd come to see. Trying to be tactful about it, I said, "I don't suppose Jake's around?"
"Sorry, not for another hour. Why?"
"Because, well, I was hoping to get his help."
"Yeah. I know," she said. "That's why you're here, right?"
Of course. I'd pretty much said so downstairs. Still, I tried to explain. "So, I'd hate for you to have to hear it twice."
"Are you kidding?" she said. "I'd listen a dozen times if it helped. Do you know, I've known Joel for like ten years?"
"Really?"
"Sure. We grew up in the same hometown."
And just like that, everything made a lot more sense. I recalled Joel's animosity toward his brothers, which somehow didn't extend to their fiancées. I also recalled that Luna's sister was engaged to a different brother.
In a way, the whole thing made me feel just a little bit lonely. Here, they all had siblings and people on their side. But who did I have? It was a question I didn't want to consider.
Damn it. I didn't have time for a pity-party, especially now, when I wasn't the one in danger.
But Joel was. And across from me was someone who cared.
Soon, I was telling her everything.
Chapter 16
When I finished, she said, "Those cock-suckers!"
Startled, I drew back. Obviously, she was referring to Derek and his dad. "Uh yeah," I said. "Totally."
She gave an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry. I've had house-guests for like two whole weeks, and now I’m talking like them." She rolled her eyes. "Before you know it, I'll be watching Kung fu and tossing water balloons off the balcony."
My gaze shifted to the balcony. We were like twenty floors up. Wasn't that dangerous?
Across from me, Luna sighed. "Don't ask." She took a quick look around. "Do you know, the cleaning service just left?"
I looked around. The place was absolutely gleaming. I said, "Well, it looks really nice."
"Oh sure, but it didn't this morning. My guests? Total slobs, by the way." She bit her lip. "I think Jake's ready to toss them out."
"Why? Because he's a neat-freak or something?"
"No. Because they keep wearing his clothes and drinking his beer." She glanced toward the open kitchen. "Don't get me wrong. He's a great sport, but with the beer, it's like, no matter how much we buy, when Jake goes to grab one, it's all gone." Under her breath, she added, "And I just pray they're not wearing his underwear."
I froze. "Why would they?"
"I dunno. Because they hate doing laundry?"
I hated doing laundry, too, but that didn't mean I'd jump into another girl's panties. "Uh, yeah," I stammered. "I guess that makes sense."
Sounding more distracted than ever, Luna said, "But they wouldn't really do that. I mean, sure, they might have boundary issues, but they wouldn’t go that far." She gave me a hopeful look. "Would they?"
I had no idea. I didn't even know who she was talking about. The two guys from the lobby? That would've been my guess, but I didn't have the chance to confirm it, because just then, I caught movement from the corner of my eye. I turned to see the penthouse doors swing open, followed by the sight of Joel's brother, Jake, striding in through the now-open doorway.
Until now, I'd seen him only on my computer screen, thanks to his insanely popular video channel. From what I'd learned, the channel had millions of rabid subscribers ranging from frat boys to slobbering groupies who loved to watch him brawl with celebrities, particularly high-dollar sports stars.
Like Joel, Jake had dark hair, dark eyes, and a lean, muscular build that made it easy to see why all those groupies went so wild over him. But unlike Joel, Jake had cryptic tattoos, snaking up and down his well-defined forearms.
At the sight of me sitting across from Luna, he stopped and gave her a questioning look.
She said, "You remember Melody, right? You know? Joel's girlfriend?"
Hearing this, the sick feeling grew in my stomach. I wasn't his girlfriend. I wasn't anything except worried.
Jake gave me a quick glance. Sounding less than enthused, he said, "I remember."
Luna frowned. "What's wrong?"
I answered for both of us. "We talked a few weeks ago. It didn't go so great."
Turning to Jake, Luna said, "You weren't mean to her, were you?"
"Hell no." He flashed her a grin. "If anything, she was mean to me."
Luna eyed him with obvious suspicion. "You're joking, right?"
I spoke up. "Actually, he's not." I winced. "I was kind of mean." I turned to Jake. "Sorry." Looking back to Luna, I explained, "I was searching for Joel, and I guess I went a little crazy."
Under his breath, Jake muttered, "Got that right."
I cleared my throat. "But in my defense, I thought I heard Joel in the background."
Jake looked to Luna. "But what she really heard was Steve and Anthony fighting over the last donut."
I sank lower on the sofa. "Yeah. Um, sorry about that." I tried to explain. "But I had the worst connection. I could hardly hear." Glancing away, I murmured, "And Joel does like donuts, so you know..." I let my words trail off and didn't bother finishing. At the time, I'd been so frantic to find him that I hadn't been thinking straight.
In hindsight, I'd been a total idiot. It was becoming a common problem.
Across from me, Luna gave Jake a perplexed look. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"About the phone call?" he said. "I did tell you." He moved toward the open kitchen, heading for the refrigerator. "But you were distracted by the thing with the boxes."
She frowned. "Was I? Sorry." She turned to me and said, "Pizza boxes. Don't ask."
Jake opened the refrigerator and paused for a long moment before turning to ask, "Where's all the beer?"
Luna groaned. "It's gone? Again?"
"I don't know." Jake's mouth twitched at the corners. "Is it?"
"No." She gave him a shaky smile. "Not all of it."
His eyebrows lifted. "You sure about that?"
"Definitely." She pointed down the hall. "I, uh, hid some in the linen closet."
He gave her a look. "Cold?"
"Not really." She perked up. "But we've got ice, right?"
Jake gave a slow shake of his head before closing the fridge and walking over to join us. He sat down next to Luna and wrapped an arm over her shoulder. Looking half-amused and half-irritated, he told her, "You're lucky I love you."
She gave him a sunny smile. "I know. And so are you."
He grinned. "Don't I know it."
Luna turned back to me and said, "About the thing with Joel, do you want to tell it? Or do you want me to?"
I still wasn't feeling so great. At something in my expression, she said, "Never mind. I'll do it."
Relieved, I listened as Luna gave Jake the rundown on why I was here.
I had to give her credit. The story had taken me nearly an hour to tell, and yet, she managed to summarize it in under ten minutes. She finished by saying, "And the scary thing is, he's fighting tomorrow night." She gave Jake a pleading look. "So you've got to stop him."
Jake looked oddly unconcerned. "Why?"
"Weren't you listening?" Luna said. "Because of the suspended sentence. If he gets caught, they'll be dragging him off to prison." Her voice held a twinge of panic. "No trial, no nothing."
Jake shook his head. In an overly reasonable tone, he said, "Baby, that's not the way it works."
I spoke up. "Actually, in this case, it is. I heard it from a lawyer-friend."
Jake turned to me and said, "Then your friend's exaggerating. I mean, yeah, it could happen that way. But in a case like this? Nah, I'm not seeing it."
His calm de
meanor grated on me, and besides, Derek had promised to make it happen. I gave Jake an irritated look. "Are you willing to take that chance?"
"No."
"So?" I prompted. "What are you gonna do?"
"Nothing."
Damn it. "Why not?"
"Because I already did."
Chapter 17
I gave Jake a perplexed look. What was he saying? That he'd already solved Joel's legal problems? "How?" I asked. "And when?"
"A few months ago."
I shook my head. "Did you say months? Seriously? Does Joel know?"
Jake made a scoffing sound. "Hell no."
"But why not?"
Before he could answer, Luna turned to ask, "And why didn't you tell me?"
"I did," he said. "It was part of the Vince thing."
Vince. I recognized that name from something Joel had told me, back when we'd been together. I said, "You mean that sports agent?"
Jake nodded. "That's the one."
I recalled what I'd heard from Joel. Vince was a hotshot agent who'd been planning to sign Joel as a client, right up until Jake stepped in and ruined everything. I recalled the exact terms of the deal. Jake had agreed to stop messing with Vince's clients, and in return, Vince had agreed to drop Joel like a hot brick.
Probably, it had cost Joel a fortune.
But I still didn't get the connection. I asked, "But what would a sports agent have to do with a court case?"
"Lemme put it this way," Jake said. "The guy's crooked as hell. The thing with Joel? That was nothing compared to some other stuff the guy's fixed."
"When you say fixed," I said, "what do you mean?"
"I mean it's gone," Jake said, "like it never happened."
"But how?" I asked. "I mean, how could Vince do it?"
"Trust me. The guy's willing to be creative – bribes, threats, blackmail – you name it, he'd do it."
Next to Jake, Luna chimed in, "Yeah, he's a total snake."
"But if he's such a snake," I said, "can you really trust him?"
"Vince?" Jake said. "Hell no."
I frowned. "But—"
"But I checked," Jake said. "And triple-checked. It's all legit."
I was still trying to process everything I'd just learned. "So what are you saying? That Joel won't be arrested?"
Jake gave a humorless laugh. "He might get arrested, but it won't be for that."
That was far from comforting. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, it's no get-out-of-jail-free-card." Jake gave me a penetrating look. "Let's say he does something stupid, like steals a car, he'd still find himself in trouble."
When I first met Joel, he'd been driving a priceless movie prop that he'd borrowed – without any sort of permission – from Jake.
I said, "Do you mean the Camaro?"
Jake shook his head. "I'm not talking about my car. I'm talking about your car."
Instantly, I felt color rise to my cheeks. "Oh. That." A few weeks earlier, my car had been towed away to some unknown garage. From what I learned afterward, Joel had been planning to steal it back, until Jake beat him to the punch.
I asked, "Is that why you stole it back, to keep Joel out of trouble?"
"Me?" Jake said. "Nah. I did it for kicks."
I studied his face. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or being sarcastic. I looked to Luna for clarification.
She said, "Don’t let him fool you. He'd do anything for his brothers."
Next to her, Jake muttered, "Yeah, right."
Ignoring this, Luna gave me a solemn nod. "He would." She smiled. "Just like I'd do anything for mine." Her smile faded. "When I don't want to strangle them, that is."
My mind was racing. Recalling the original reason for my visit, I looked back to Jake and said, "So, let's say someone wanted to cause trouble for Joel, could they resurrect that court case? Like if they knew the prosecutor or something?"
Jake didn't hesitate. "No. When I say it's gone, I mean it's gone for good."
I stared at him. "So why didn't you say something?"
"To Joel?" Jake gave a humorless laugh. "Lemme ask you something. You know him, right?"
At the moment, I wasn't so sure. But I nodded anyway.
"So you know what I know." Jake leaned back on the sofa. "If he knew I was behind it, he'd probably get himself arrested just to piss me off."
I started to object, but then thought better of it. I couldn't honestly deny what Jake was saying. For whatever reason, Joel seemed to truly despise him.
After meeting Jake in person, I couldn’t really see why. The jerk he played for the camera seemed nothing like the guy sitting across from me.
But that was something to think about later. Now, all I could think about was Joel and the original reason for our breakup. It was all because of that stupid suspended sentence – which meant it was all for nothing.
The sentence wasn't just gone. It had been gone for months, long before Derek's threat, long before I'd given Joel up, long before everything went so terribly wrong between us.
Stunned by everything I'd just learned, I sank back on the sofa and let a horrible realization sink in.
I'd given Joel up for nothing.
I felt like throwing up. True, I'd been feeling that way for a while, but now, the vague queasy feeling had morphed into something worse, something that made me stand up and blurt out, "Can I use your bathroom?"
Chapter 18
As it turned out, I didn't throw up. But a half-hour later, as I rode the elevator back down, I was almost wishing I had. If nothing else, I might've felt better – in body, if not in spirit.
Over my objections, Luna had insisted on escorting me back to the lobby. It was so thoughtful, and yet, so terribly misguided. Just because I hadn't thrown up in the penthouse was no guarantee that I wouldn't lose it somewhere on the way down. And the motion of the elevator wasn't helping.
Luna gave me a concerned look. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
Already, she'd asked me this at least ten times. I forced yet another smile. "I'm fine, really."
Her brow wrinkled. "No, I don't think so."
Hoping to ease her concerns, I said, "I'm just worried. That's all."
"About Joel?"
I nodded. It wasn't even a lie. "If he keeps on fighting, he could still get in trouble."
"I guess so. But trust me, I've seen them do a lot scarier things than that and get away with it."
In spite of my queasiness, I was intrigued. "Like what?"
She rolled her eyes. "Don't ask." With a sudden smile, she added, "But I swear, they have the luck of the devil. It must run in the family or something."
I wasn't so sure. From the little Joel had told me about his childhood, I wouldn’t have called any of them lucky. Still, I said, "Let's hope so."
"So what are you gonna do?" she asked.
It was a good question, and one I'd been asking myself non-stop for the past thirty minutes. My first instinct was to drive down to where Joel was fighting tomorrow – someplace in Cincinnati – and tell him everything that I'd just learned.
Maybe we could start over, and this time, Derek would have nothing to hold over our heads.
But even as I considered this, a little voice in my head reminded me that I'd tried such an approach not too long ago. True, I didn't have all the information then that I had now, but I'd practically begged Joel to come back with me.
And he hadn't.
At the memory, I blinked long and hard. Didn't he love me the way I loved him?
Across from me, Luna said, "Are you sure you don't need to lie down?"
I tried to laugh. "I don't look that bad, do I?"
She hesitated. "You don't look bad exactly, but you've been looking queasy ever since you showed up."
Heat flooded my face. "Oh. That? I'm just tired. That's all."
She looked far from convinced. "If you want, we could go back upstairs. You could take a nap or something."
I didn't need a nap. I
needed a new life.
I needed Joel.
But did he need me?
And why wasn't I thrilled? The dark cloud that had been hovering over us had just vanished. Poof. Gone. And yet, I couldn't help but wonder if that truly changed anything between us. If I sought him out yet again, would it be a repeat of what had happened the last time?
And why was it, I wondered, that it was always me seeking him out, and not the other way around? Had I no dignity at all?
I looked to Luna and said, "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what?"
"If you were me, what would you do?"
She gave me a tentative smile. "I didn't want to be pushy, but since you asked…" She glanced down at my stomach. "I'd just tell him."
Something about her look made me pause. In a carefully neutral voice, I said, "Tell him what?"
"Nothing." And then, she made a point to look at everything except my stomach.
Oh, crap. Talk about embarrassing. My face was burning now. I said, "There's nothing to tell. I mean, not like that, anyway."
"Oh. Of course." She cleared her throat. "Sorry. My mistake."
I studied her face. She did believe me, right? I sure hoped so, because I definitely wasn't pregnant. And yet, a small part of me almost wished that I was. I wanted a whole bunch of kids, and I could think of nothing better than to have them with a guy I loved.
And only one guy fell into that category – Joel.
Of course, in my fantasy world, Joel felt the same way, and would move heaven and earth for us to be together. But it wasn't really like that, was it?
Besides, I hadn't seen Joel in weeks, and my cycle had been obnoxiously normal. In spite of my daydreams, this was definitely a good thing. I was alone, babies were expensive, and I couldn't even pay to get my sewer fixed.
It was almost enough to make me cry. But now wasn't the time or the place. So I summoned up a shaky smile and tried not to throw up.
Luna eyed me with continued concern. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
From the look in her eyes, I didn't want to speculate on what kind of help she was offering. But if it involved knitting baby booties, I wouldn't have been surprised.
It was so thoughtful and so awkward all at the same time. Suddenly desperate to change the subject, I forced a laugh. "Sure, you know a good sewer contractor?"
Something True (Joel Bishop Book 2) Page 7