“You should probably get a room in case he shows up later.”
“Don’t give him another second of your time or attention, Evie. He’s not worth it.”
Quietly getting into the car, I closed the door. I just wanted to go home. I’d had enough of Jet and Oakton and Passion and all the memories assaulting my mind. I didn’t care if I ever went back to that fucking city. As soon as the rental car place opened the next morning, I’d be on my way back to my life and out of Jet’s.
Now if I can just manage to not open the door if he comes knocking.
CHAPTER 13 – JET
Could my day get any more fucked than it already was? I had to ditch Evie twice, both times because of Jerney and her lying ass. Amused, I was not.
I pulled up into an alley behind a brick building outside of Oakton and shut off the bike. Jerney got off and straightened her dress as I set the kickstand and took off my helmet, hanging it on the handlebar. I stood and swung my leg over the bike. Jamming my hand into my pocket, I grabbed my wallet and started to pull it out. Her fingers grazed my shoulder as she pressed her body against me.
“What are we doing out here? You could’ve just taken me home, but you can certainly have me anywhere you want me.”
“Get the fuck off me,” I said, stepping away from her. I threw two hundred dollars at her. “Here.”
“You know you don’t have to pay.”
“Jesus Christ. I’m not fucking you. This is for you to go around the block to the bus station and buy a ticket that’ll take you as far away as you can fucking get.”
“Why would I do that? Oakton’s my home.”
“Because you lied to Niall.”
“I didn’t—”
“Save it, sweetheart. The guy spilled his guts, and by the looks of you, I’d say he was telling the truth.”
“What do you mean, baby?”
“Don’t call me that… And you know exactly what I mean. Not nearly as banged up today as you were yesterday.”
“It’s make-up covering it all up,” she stammered. “I never faked any of it.”
“Maybe not, but Niall knows you okayed it, and he knows you got paid two grand for it without giving him his cut. Come to think of it, I don’t even need to be buying you a goddamn ticket, do I?”
“Fuck,” she exclaimed, pacing back and forth. She stopped just in front of me, her face turning from scared shitless to calm and cool in an instant. “He’s lying. Just let me wash this makeup off, and I’ll go talk to Niall. He’ll listen, especially when he sees what that fucker did to me again.”
“If you believe that, then you’re fucked in the head. He’s gonna kill you. Get out of town now while you still can.”
“He won’t kill me. I make him too much money. Besides that, anyone who crosses Niall faces you. He doesn’t kill them, and he’d never put a woman up against you.”
It was partially true. I only faced men, but Niall also employed a female fighter named Rose who I knew could take out Jerney with little effort. Apparently, her reputation hadn’t grown like mine had if Jerney was unaware of her. And as far as Niall not killing, that was a load of bullshit. He rarely ever did the deed himself, but he had people working for him who would. Why he’d chosen to make me do it made me feel uneasy, like I was being set up somehow.
“Go,” I yelled. “If you don’t go now, you’ll end up dead. You really think you can’t be replaced? You really think he doesn’t have at least a dozen other girls lined up? Niall might be a prick, but there’s a reason why you wanted to work for him in the first place. You knew you’d make more money than you’d ever dreamt of and that you’d be protected when shit like this goes down. Well, that money and protection comes at a price when you cross him, and you’re about to pay it if you don’t leave.”
Grabbing the helmet off the bike, I placed it on my head.
“Where are you going?”
“To see an old friend.”
“You’re just going to leave me here?” She narrowed her eyes at me and placed her hands on her hips.
“Would you rather I kill you? Because that’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”
Her mouth dropped open as the weight of my words hit her. She took a few steps backward before turning and heading toward the bus station.
My eyes shot down at my watch. Shit. I’m already late.
Speeding off toward Evie’s hotel, I just hoped I wasn’t too late.
Too late to say goodbye for good. Niall had never requested I outright kill someone like that before. When I killed, it was a kill or be killed situation in a fight, and I was fighting to survive. His order had done nothing but drill into my head that Evie didn’t belong in my life. I might’ve been able to get out of it this time by convincing Jerney to leave, but I couldn’t guarantee I’d be able to next time. Evie deserved more than a cold-blooded killer for a partner.
CHAPTER 14 – EVIE
I begged for the sweet release of unconsciousness, but even that didn’t help to clear my mind from the day’s events. I drifted off into a sort of twilight sleep where I was aware I was dreaming, yet I felt like I was still wide awake.
My reminiscing about our first kiss earlier in the day had brought along the events that transpired after that to the forefront of my mind. Now I could see the two of us as plain as day in my dream.
I saw myself standing up and tossing the washcloth I’d used to clean him up into the sink. Knowing he’d had sex with at least one other person didn’t really bother me. I assumed he had, but there was a part of me that worried he was too experienced for me and that I’d disappoint him.
“Your skirt’s ruined.” Jet rose to his knees and touched the fabric covering my outer thigh.
I glanced down to see green streaked across where my knees had hit the ground. “It’ll be fine. I should probably go treat it and throw it in the washer though.”
His hands skimmed my legs, making their way up to the top of my skirt. His fingers hooked my waistband and began to slowly pull it down. I wanted him to strip me naked and make love to me, despite telling him I wasn’t ready. Whether I was or not, I couldn’t deny the swelling between my legs that ached for him to be one with me.
The skirt fell to the floor, his hand sliding behind my knee, coaxing me to lift it so I could step out of the garment. He stood, picking my skirt up in the process.
“Where’s your laundry room?” he asked.
My chin dropped as I pointed to my right. He disappeared, leaving me standing there all hot and bothered. Thank God my parents wouldn’t walk in on me standing in the middle of the kitchen in nothing but my underwear and a shirt. There’s really no way I could’ve talked my way out of that one.
Returning a few minutes later, he said, “Took care of it.”
“Sexy and you do laundry? You’re going to make someone a very happy woman someday.” Me, please?
“I do it all,” he said. “I have to.”
He bent over to pick his tattered shirt off the floor. Purple and black blotches marred the skin on his back.
“Jet,” I whispered. “What happened to you?”
He stood upright, hanging his head. Silence deafened my ears. There was no way he got that banged up from falling down, and I began to worry about what he’d gone through in the short time between leaving school that afternoon and showing up at my house.
“I have a shirt you can change into,” I said, changing the subject. “I’ll go get it.”
Entering my room a few seconds later, tears threatened to wet my cheeks, but I stood there holding them back as best I could. He couldn’t see me cry for him. Something told me pity was the last thing he wanted, but I couldn’t help the way I felt about him. Someone hurt him, and that hurt me. Maybe not physically, but my heart hurt for what he’d obviously been through, even if I didn’t know the specifics.
The softest touch to my shoulder caused one tear to sweep down over my cheek. Reaching up, I brushed it away before he could see it.
&nbs
p; “Sorry, I was just trying to remember where that shirt is. I think it’s in my closet,” I said as I slid open the closet door. “Here it is.”
I handed him a black T-shirt I’d bought for him. It was of one of our favorite bands, one we’d talked about nearly every time we spoke. I originally wanted to buy it for myself, but it was a little too big for my tastes, so I’d gotten it for him instead. Not knowing when would be a good time to gift it to him, I stashed it in my closet.
“Thanks. I’ll bring it back to you at school.”
“No, it’s yours.”
“But you love Ferrum. I don’t want to take your shirt from you.”
“No, I mean I’m giving it to you. I bought it for you a couple weeks ago. Just hadn’t worked up the nerve to give it to you yet.”
His eyebrows raised slightly as a smile grew on his lips while he checked out the shirt. He had the most beautiful teeth I’d ever seen, and I realized then it was the first time I’d seen him smile like that. I’d grown so accustomed to his close-lipped grin that it nearly caused me to take a step back when I saw it.
He moved close to me. His height and his body made me feel small but secure. The end of his finger caught my chin as I tried to look away, tilting it up toward him. I shut my eyes, waiting for whatever he planned to do next.
“Evie,” he said, low and husky.
“Yes?”
“You better put some pants on.”
I opened my eyes and looked up into his granite-like eyes. Desire pooled in them. His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. I couldn’t stop myself from putting one hand on his rock hard bicep before moving away from him.
“Yeah, good idea.”
“Thanks for the shirt,” he said and slipped it over his head, wincing as he worked it down over his body. “It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
Really? I found that hard to believe. Surely, his dad or his mom—a grandparent, an aunt, someone—had done something much nicer than spending twenty bucks on a shirt.
Slipping into some leggings I’d grabbed from my chest of drawers, I said, “I figured you’d like it. I wanted it for myself, but it’s too big. I did sleep in it once though. Sorry.”
“Just makes it that much more awesome,” he said as he sat down on my bed.
If I’d told the Evie of a couple months before that someday Jet Flanagan would be sitting on her bed, she’d probably call me a fucking liar, but there he was.
“So what do you want to do?” I asked.
He looked at me, cocking his eyebrow.
“Besides that.”
He took a deep breath, and said, “I’m gonna tell you what happened to me.”
“You really don’t have to. I mean, if you want to, sure, but you don’t have to.”
“I know, but I feel like I can talk to you about anything, and this is something I’d normally just keep to myself. It might be good to get it out.”
“Okay, I’m listening.”
He scooted himself back against my headboard and motioned for me to join him. I sat down on the edge of the bed, my hip brushing against his thigh.
“No, not like that,” he said. He spread his legs slightly apart. “Here.” Tapping the mattress in front of him, he nibbled at his bottom lip.
Crawling over his leg, I positioned myself where he told me. His hands touched my sides, skimming around to my belly, and he pulled me close to him.
“My old man cut me,” he said quietly, his voice vibrating through his chest as I lay against him.
His words sliced through me much like his father’s blade had sliced through him.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. “Why would he do that?”
“Because he’s a prick.”
“The bruises were from him, too?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m so sorry, Jet.”
“Don’t be. I’m used to it now, but today’s the first time he’s cut me… When I got home from school, he told me I was going with him and some woman he’s been fucking up to Oakton for the weekend for some investment he’s looking into. When I refused to go, he got pissed.”
“Why didn’t you just go?”
“I wanted to see you. I’d planned all week to come over and talk to you about being my girl.”
“This is all my fault,” I said, tears starting to fall. “You should’ve gone with him.”
“No, darlin’. It isn’t your fault.”
“But he wouldn’t have cut you if you’d just gone.”
“Nope. He cut me because I fought back. He wasn’t expecting that.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“My whole life. I’m bigger than him now though, and I actually care about someone other than myself. I’ve found something worth fighting back for.”
“And your mom lets him? Why don’t you live with her?”
“My mom isn’t around. I haven’t seen her since I was about four years old. Don’t have a clue who she is, where she is, or if she’s even still alive.”
“Jesus, Jet… I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything. I don’t need a therapy session. I just wanted to tell you.”
“Okay,” I said, maneuvering myself so that I could face him. Reaching up, I ran my fingers through his silky, black hair like I’d wanted to do at least a hundred times before. “Is there anything I can do?”
“You’ve done more than enough. I just feel like sleeping. I should go before your parents come home and catch us in your room alone.”
“You don’t have to.”
“They’ll never believe we didn’t have sex if they find me here.”
“They’re gone until Sunday. Just lie down and get some rest, okay? Unless you really want to go.”
“I don’t,” he said as I moved off the bed. “But I don’t want you to go… Lay with me.”
*
The dream was almost too real, and I could almost feel the way his arms held me close as we drifted off to sleep. Eyes fluttering open, I wiped at my wet cheeks. It still broke my heart to think of the way his father abused him. That wasn’t the only time he opened up to me, but it was one of the memories that stuck with me the most. At some point over the years, I blocked out some of the more brutal things that had been done to him. Being cut was just the tip of the iceberg.
My face scrunched up into my ugly-cry face. It’d only been an hour since I got back to my hotel room, but I knew then if he knocked, I’d open the door for him, hoping to find that boy I’d fallen head over heels for.
Too bad the image of Jerney on the back of his bike slammed into my head just before the knock came at my door.
CHAPTER 15 – JET
When I realized I didn’t know her room number, I pulled my phone out to see if she’d texted or left me a message.
Room 206.
It was late, and the back door I’d dropped her off at earlier was locked, which forced me back to the front of the hotel. My heart pounded as I walked through the main doors and down the hallway to an elevator that would take me to her floor. A few seconds later, the door opened and I stepped in. During the short ride, several thoughts muddled my mind, but all of them led me back to it being best for Evie if I ended things for good. Properly this time. She deserved an explanation. She deserved to know the real reason I left her all those years before. Just how much I was willing to tell her was something I’d have to gauge during our conversation, but she needed to know what kind of person I turned out to be and why I was no good for her.
If I told her too much, she could end up in real danger from simply knowing more than she should. If I didn’t tell her enough, she’d never understand just how much I loved her—just how much I still loved her—and why I couldn’t be with her, if she even still wanted that from me. Maybe she really did just want to fuck me and be done with it, but the way she looked at me told me otherwise. I knew if we spent even one lust-filled night wrapped up in each other, we’d never part ways.
&nbs
p; I only had to walk a short distance from the elevator before I found her room. Stopping, I took a deep breath and held it for a second before exhaling. I never found myself nervous when I had to face some dirt bag for my father, but I couldn’t steady my hands this time. Couldn’t control my breathing.
Get it together, Jet.
A quick minute later, I’d calmed myself enough and knocked lightly on the door.
After the third time I knocked, I realized she wasn’t going to open the door for me. I’d let her down. Again. Maybe it was for the best to walk away without any more words shared between us.
I knocked one last time and said, “Evie, please let me in.” I wasn’t sure if I said it loud enough for her to hear. It came out more of a whisper than I’d intended.
The door clicked and opened just enough for me to see her puffy eyes. She’d been crying, for sure. Her lips even looked fuller than normal.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting,” I said. I lifted my hand to her face, but she turned away.
“What? Did your other date take longer than you thought? Christ, I can still smell her on you.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “Can I come in?”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” she said.
“Please?”
She sighed and opened the door wider.
I stepped in and looked down at her. She was in a white bathrobe and her hair hung loosely around her puffy face. Thin lines of black streaked her cheeks. She looked away from me as I passed by her.
“May I sit down?”
“I don’t give a shit if you sit down, lie down, or do a handstand.”
I chuckled at the visual. “Really? That’s a little dramatic, isn’t it?” I asked. “What’s wrong? What happened since I left you?”
“You tell me… Did you and Jerney have a good time?”
“Jerney?” How the fuck does she know about Jerney? “What do you think happened?”
“Well, let’s see. I was practically giddy at the thought of spending the night with you. You left to get me a drink, which, by the way, I’m still waiting on. Jerney comes over, stakes her claim on you. Something comes up, and you have to leave. Next thing I know, I see you and Miss Thang ripping down the road on your bike. Now you reek of her. I guess I know what it was that ‘came up’.”
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