A Sea of Smoke: A Dark Romance (A War of Hearts Book 2)

by Karen Lynn

  Gina’s screams were out of control, knocking Jake back to reality. “Who are you gonna fuck now, huh, pretty boy?” He hovered over Logan, unable to resist glowering a few seconds longer.

  Gina closed in on them, her loud cries a warning that the fun had come to an end. Without hesitating, Jake whirled around, trotting back to his truck. Before he had second thoughts, he accelerated into the evening traffic. When he felt far enough away to relax, he let out a loud, exhilarated shout.

  * * *

  “Where were you? Why'd you sneak out? I was about to go without you.”

  Kristen gave him a second to catch his breath, studying every inch of his face.

  The adrenaline rush had worn thin leaving Jake deflated. All he wanted to do was collapse in her arms and confess everything. “Come on baby. You finally fell asleep and I couldn't wake you. I went for a jog and lost track of time. I got your stuff too.”

  He began unloading fruits, juices, and boxes of herbal tea. After a quick inspection, he embraced her, bending down to bury his head in her hair. “You look like you rested enough.” As reality crashed down on him, he felt moisture swelling in his eyes.

  “I guess. I missed you though,” she whispered, cradling his head.

  “I missed you too, baby. You ready to go?”

  Despite his desire to see the baby, his numb limbs refused to comply.

  “Let’s lay down for a few minutes. He's not going anywhere.” She smiled, taking his hand. With a relieved sigh, he followed her to the bed.

  They kissed for a while, slowly at first then with increasing passion and intensity. A sudden fear gripped him, like she would disintegrate if he released her. As much as he hated floating out of moment, he knew he couldn't rest until he told her. “Kris, I have something to tell you. You're not gonna like it.”

  He felt her shudders as she clung to him.

  “What is it?” She drew in a deep breath, bracing herself.

  “I was at the beach, but I wasn't jogging. I saw Logan.”

  She wiggled out of his arms, jumping up. “What? Where?”

  He gazed up at her, the panic in her face disturbing.

  “On the beach somewhere, he was with that woman.” He hesitated, stiffening from the affect her harsh reaction had on him. As her breathing made a gradual return to normalcy he continued, keeping his voice low and steady. “He got up in my face and we got into it. Then I kicked his ass.”

  An unexpected resurgence of pride shot through him. His eyes went vacant as the image spun around in his head. The son of a bitch deserved everything I gave him and much more.

  When he felt her hands tightening on his arm, he remembered how upset she was, and tried to hide the grin. She’s lucky I told her, even though I stretched the truth a little.

  She gasped. “You what? Jake, you promised you wouldn't! Did anyone see?” What did Logan tell him about us?

  “Naw, just his girlfriend or whoever the hell she is. He's lucky I didn't mess him up worse.” He closed his eyes, unable to abandon the pleasure it gave him. “I really wanted to waste him. I didn't because of you.”

  And too many witnesses. But I’ll leave that little detail out.

  She swallowed hard. He gazed up at her, a serious expression on his face. Grabbing chunks of hair, he pulled her down to him, the need to forget it all, to devour her, overpowering. In the middle of a passionate kiss, he froze, pulling back. “He did say something strange though.”

  He felt her go rigid. After taking a few moments of contemplation he continued, “Something about you going to him. I never got the chance to ask for an explanation.”

  The tension in her body unnerved him.

  It took a few seconds of squirming around before she could meet his eyes and respond. “I don't know. You know how erratic he is; it could've been anything or nothing. I haven't seen him if that's what you're asking.” She inhaled and looked away.

  Always the master of deception. “Yeah. Guess it will have to remain a mystery, right?” He observed her through the corner of his eye. She didn't say a word. After studying her for a while longer he grunted and got to his feet. “By the way, do you remember your nightmare earlier? You were really freaking out.”

  Stifling a surprised gasp, she shrugged. “I was? No, I never do.” She frowned, her mind spiraling. I wonder if I said anything.

  “Yeah, I don't either, usually. Sometimes I do though. You kept saying, something like… ‘stop’. Remember anything like that?”

  I know it has to do with Logan. He narrowed his eyes, staring at her.

  “Really? I don't remember anything.” She looked up at him, her eyes filled with innocent wonder. He nodded acceptance.

  “Hmm. Well, let's go then. We don't want that little guy missing us too much.” He held out his hand to her, helping her up and wrapped his arms snuggly around her. “I'm being honest with you; I expect the same. Whatever I do is for you and the baby.”

  “Yes, Jake, I know.” But her voice was so low, he barely heard it.

  LOGAN

  When he let out that horrifying scream, the scream of pure pain and anguish, he didn't care who heard him. He stared up into the blazing sun and wailed, his tormented soul on fire. Gina, at her wits end, stood forlornly beside him while he knelt on the sand, gawking up at the sky.

  “Logan, we should go.” Her touch was guarded, as if she feared being scorched by the contact. Whipping around, she scoured the beach. The immediate area was scarcely populated, beyond that a few swimmers floated out of earshot.

  The unexpected release proved to be therapeutic to Logan. After a few additional seconds of vacant peering into the distance, he forced hair out of his face with a quick, snapping motion of his head. Then rising mechanically, he turned away from her like she was a figment of his imagination and headed towards the ocean.

  “Logan, what are you doing? You're hurt! You need to...” she called after him, but his slow strides had accelerated to a frantic jog. He splashed through the rising waves, swimming out deeper and deeper. She wasn't stupid enough to go after him. Unsure of what to do, she sank onto the sand to wait.

  The warm breeze swept across the sand. The sun created a ring of vibrant, multi colored hues in the sky as it began fading out of view. Logan finally emerged from the ocean. He towered over Gina dripping cold droplets of water onto her.

  “Do you have a towel?”

  Dazed, Gina realized she must've dozed off on the sand. Her hair was dusted with it. She shook her head dispelling the granules and rose. Beads of humidity moistened her face. “Do you see a towel Logan? I didn’t expect to go swimming.”

  “You know I live for the moment.” A silly grin couldn’t hide the hint of gloom in his eyes. Not wanting her to notice, he faced the opposite direction and clasped his stomach. The cool water had anesthetized his body and eased his mind, but the effects were wearing off. He took a deep breath, crouching down, desperate to overcome the increasing pain. Without a word, he struggled to his feet to start the long trek back to the condo.

  “Hijo de puta!” she yelled, stomping after him.

  KRISTEN/JAKE

  “Why is he so cranky?” Kristen couldn’t hold back her distress any longer.

  Jake observed her as she held the baby close. For the first time since he met his son, she was unable to comfort him. He'd been wailing since they arrived at the NICU. It was deafening and he had no clue what to do to ease it. As Kristen’s anxiety grew, Jake became frightened.

  “Get the nurse, Kris. Something's wrong.”

  “Can’t you go baby? I’m so tired.” She begged eyeing the other side of the room where the on duty nurse rested as if it were a million miles away.

  “You’re better at that than I am…” His voice was drowned out by her loud sigh as she lumbered to her feet with the baby in her arms.

  A short time later they headed back to him. The unhappiness in Kristen’s face brought him out his seat.

  “He has a little fever.” Her eyes brimmed wit
h tears, despite her valiant efforts to hide them.

  “Little? What does that mean?” Jake clutched her arm, not bothering to feign calmness. He took the baby from her. For a few minutes his crying subsided. Kristen smiled gratefully at him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

  “It's nothing to worry about. But he needs a nap. He should still be on schedule to leave Monday morning,” The nurse chimed in.

  Her words failed to fully comfort him. He didn’t want to leave his son behind, and didn’t care how obvious it was. But without a choice, he reluctantly kissed his little head and watched gloomily as the nurse placed him back in the incubator.

  With worry lining their faces, Kristen and Jake laced their hands together and glumly left the hospital.

  * * *

  Exhaustion and hunger consumed them. They ordered food to go from a small Cuban cafe and returned to the room.

  “We definitely need to google everything on newborns, print it and study it or we are gonna screw up royally,” Kristen fretted.

  “Yeah. It'll help,” Jake mumbled, grabbing a container of rice before she could set it down on the small table with the rest the food.

  “I forgot to tell you, Alicia's family has a guest house they want to rent. It's negotiable but she was sure it would be cheap. And it's even furnished. What do you think?”

  “I think if you like it, it's okay with me. When can we see it?”

  She smiled, as she watched him shoveling down the food. She always wondered how hard it was to keep that huge body fueled to capacity.

  “Tomorrow? It's month to month so we can stay as long as we want and have it by the time Alex comes home. It'll be a lot easier, don't you think?” Her eyes flickered with amusement.

  “Cool. What's so funny?” He froze, the spoon piled high with rice suspended in midair.

  “Nothing. You're just so cute! I love watching you eat.” Unable to control herself, she started laughing then burst into tears.

  Whatever her outburst stemmed from was a mystery, but it was merciless and unstoppable. Jake was so baffled and mentally exhausted, he couldn’t do more than sit by speechless. When that didn't alleviate the problem, he got up and left.

  Being alone increased her misery. Not sure what else to do, Kristen called Alicia who agreed to come over for a stroll on the beach.

  “I'm not sure what to do anymore. It's so messed up.” They walked along the shore. Secretly she hoped Jake would show up. It was getting dark, a cool breeze whipping up from the ocean. A chill sailed along her spine from the unexpected dreariness. Where is he? I need him.

  “I have a baby that's still sick, I'm not sure I'm gonna be a good mother, I can't even handle a relationship.” Sniffling again, she fought back the tears.

  Alicia touched her arm, affected by her misery. “A baby takes practice, Kris. No one is born knowing that stuff. You'll be fine. You have Jake, and I can help also.”

  “He beat up Logan today. He ran off when I was sleeping. He hunted him down, I'm sure of it.” Kristen gave her a defeated look. The images had taken possession of her head ever since he had told her. “I just don’t believe it was a chance encounter between the two of them. The motel is way too far from the condo. And Logan never roams that far when he goes down to the beach. It had to be that Jake went searching for him. He’s a long distance runner. It would've been easy for him.”

  They stopped walking. Alicia had been letting her vent, thinking it was another postpartum episode. Her expression changed. This was more serious than she'd imagined. She listened without blinking as Kristen relayed Jake’s story to her. For the first time, she really felt sorry for her. It was painfully obvious she loved Jake but even worse, still cared way too much for Logan.

  “I hate to say it, Kris, but I think the only solution is for the three of you to move far away from Logan.” They sat outside the motel. Kristen couldn't stop shivering.

  Alicia's eyes opened wide. Jake stood beside them. In an instant he was sitting next to Kristen, drawing her close.

  “Where are you two going?” he whispered, kissing her hair.

  “We just got back from the beach.”

  “The beach? It's dark down there. That's not smart.” He studied her, glad she seemed to be calmer. His mouth opened, then reconsidering, he stayed quiet.

  “Where were you?” She glanced at Alicia, afraid he went looking for Logan again. Did he hear us talking? Kristen’s shivering intensified.

  “I better go. See you guys later,” Alicia gave Kristen’s arm a gentle squeeze.

  Taken off guard by her sudden departure, Kristen lingered on her until she disappeared into her car. For some unknown reason, she felt abandoned, like she was sinking, lost and alone. She could sense Jake’s eyes on her and stiffened as he led her back inside.

  “What was that about?” Jake managed to take her hands as she whisked by him. She had been fluttering around the room in a high state of agitation since they returned. “Are we going to have a mediator every time something happens between us?” He tried to stay in control, desperate to remain passive.

  Kristen stormed at him. “I know you went after Logan today, Jake. Why would you lie to me?” Her eyes blazed.

  Surprised, he frowned. “Really? Are you psychic now? Another great talent?”

  She threw up her arms in desperation. “Forget it! I'm too tired to fight. Maybe you should go for another run on the beach? Isn’t it easier to just run away from our problems?” Tears glistened in her eyes, she shook him off, but there wasn't much space to separate them in the small room.

  “Hey! I left because I didn't wanna get upset. You were having a meltdown because your darling Logan got hurt!” He never intended to be so loud but his soaring blood pressure wouldn’t allow him to calm down. He jumped in front of her, blocking her path to the bathroom. When he looked down at her, she looked so small and fragile, it ripped his heart to pieces.

  “Kris, please. We had a rough day. I know you're upset about the baby too.” he whispered, trying to embrace her. At first he thought she would yield to him, but she took him by surprise and pulled back.

  “Too? Of course I'm devastated about the baby. You have no idea what it's like being a mother!” The harshness of her words stunned both of them. It was impossible for him to disguise the hurt it caused.

  Why am I doing this? Overwhelmed by her unpredictable reaction and roller coaster emotions, she began shaking. There was so much she wanted to tell him, her need for him stronger than ever. Where should she start?

  “Jake, I need to…” Taking his hand, she stopped short. Startled by the defeated look on his face, she loosened her fingers, letting his hand fall back to his side.

  “Please baby, let me take a shower. I'm not in the mood to discuss this now.”

  Her feeble shove didn't move him an inch. A frustrated cry escaped her lips. When he decided to step aside, she disappeared into the bathroom.

  Unable to hold back any longer, he angrily flung the can of beer against the wall, sinking to the bed in despair.

  LOGAN

  The excruciating pain in his stomach worsened, exploding into his ribs. Every time Gina touched it, every time he moved. Even when he cringed. It had already turned several different shades of purplish blue. To make matters worse, his cheek was hotter than hell, his left eye rimmed with a hideous black and blue circle.

  Lucky me. The beast was too stupid and clumsy to get my nose. But I still look like shit.

  On his second shot of whiskey, with no relief in sight, he turned to the pain killers.

  “Logan, you really should go to the emergency room!” Gina had no idea why she even cared, since he continued to treat her like garbage. But much to her dismay, she did.

  “No. I'm not going anywhere. Just leave me alone,” he moaned, rolling onto his side, twisting into the fetal position. He crammed the pillow against his stomach.

  “But…it looks really bad!” she placed her hand gingerly on his stomach.

  “Jus
t shut the fuck up and leave me alone, then maybe I can get some rest! You never shut up!” His face flushed bright red in a mixture of pain and anger. I can’t stand her constant bitching one more second!

  “I'm just trying to help you, you motherfucker! I should just let you die!” She recoiled, lifting herself from the bed.

  “Then do it Gina, I don't give a shit!”

  “Oh, you don't give a shit? When you want to fuck you give a shit! When you want a blow job, you give a shit! Then it's always ‘Please Gina, baby I love you, come over! I'll do anything!’” Her mouth twisted in disgust.

  “SHUT UP! You're driving me crazy!” In desperation, he covered his head with the other pillow.

  “No wonder your cunt wife left you for him! You are a pussy and a…” Before she could finish he lunged forward, his fist grazing her cheek as she instinctively ducked out of the way. She stumbled backwards, screaming from the sharp burning sensation spreading throughout her face.

  “I told you not to talk about her!” Logan yelled, the exertion sending him collapsing back onto the bed in agony.

  Gina's jaw dropped. After the initial shock wore off, she found a large pitcher of ice water and threw it at him. It bounced off of his arm onto the bed, splashing water all over. In too much pain to think of an escape, he rolled onto his side doubling over and clutching his stomach.

  “Get the fuck outta here, don't fucking come back, don't call me, don't text me!”

  “Maricon! I hate you!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

  “Now!” His rage-filled voice rattled the walls.

  Out of control now, Gina's face blazed as she grabbed every hard object she could, find flinging them at him in an endless assault. “You deserve everything you get, asshole! I hope he kills you next time!”