“Christy, wait!” Carter snapped. “I’m on my way over right now, okay? Just hang on.”
“I’m…”
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
I thought of the blood I had rubbed between my fingers. “I think I hit my head or something hit me.”
“Where are you now?”
“In my dining room,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Against the wall.”
“Are you out of sight?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes, taking one deep breath at a time.
“I’m almost there. Just stay on the line.”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me.
“Christy, are you still with me?”
I nodded again. “Yes,” I finally answered.
“Okay, I’m pulling in now. I have my gun, so don’t freak out.”
With a shaky breath, I dropped the phone to the ground. I felt like I was crashing or something. My whole body was shutting down, but this wasn’t because of the rock. That was just the final nail in the coffin. This was because of Jack, because he tore my world apart, leaving me spread out on a table, vulnerable and alone.
“Christy!” Carter shouted.
“I’m here,” I said, my voice depleted and low.
He rushed over to me, skidding to a stop in front of me. Slowly lowering to his knees, I saw how his eyes wandered over me, frowning when he looked at my chest. Looking down, I quickly pulled my shirt closed, flushing bright red. Great, now he would know just how badly I let Jack use me.
“What happened?” he asked softly.
I shook my head. “Jack was here and we…” My chest rattled with a staggering breath as I remembered the pain slicing through me as he told me I was a mistake. “He left and then…” I pointed to the rock on the ground.
“You’re bleeding. Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“No.”
“Any double vision? Did you black out?”
I shook my head.
He shuffled over to it and then looked through my back window. “Did Jack leave out of the front or back?”
“The front. Why?”
“The rock came in the back window.”
I frowned, not understanding. “What are you talking about?”
“Did you see Jack pull out of your driveway?”
“No, but…Carter, what are you implying?”
“I need to know if Jack had time to run around to the back and throw the rock through the window.”
My mouth dropped open in dismay. “You think Jack threw that at me?”
“No, but he was the last person with you. I need to make sure I can clear him.”
I scoffed. “Of course, let’s make sure Jack is okay.”
“Do you want him to be accused of assault?” he snapped.
I dropped my eyes. “No, I don’t want that.”
Walking back over, he dropped to his haunches in front of me. “Look, I don’t know what happened. It’s none of my business, but I need to find out who did this, and I need to make sure Jack isn’t involved in any way. This would ruin his career.”
I nodded, understanding what he was saying. I didn’t want Jack’s career to be ruined over this.
“There have been some kids going around town, destroying property. If I had to guess, I would say a teenager threw the rock and you just got in the way. But I need to be sure. Is there anyone that would want to hurt you?”
I shook my head slowly. “No.”
“What about your ex?”
I huffed out a laugh. “He could barely throw a rock, let alone get one through a window.”
“You’re sure?”
I glanced up at him with a scowl. “He doesn’t have the guts to do something like this. He would never do anything to hurt his reputation.”
Carter sighed heavily. “Christy, sometimes people do crazy things when they’re pushed.”
“Carter, I don’t want to go over this again. Thomas isn’t a threat. Besides, you said kids have been going around town and destroying property. That’s probably all it was.”
“I’m going to call Jack to —”
“Don’t you dare,” I snapped.
“I have to. I need to check out the property, but I can’t leave you here alone.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding pretty bad. Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital to get looked at?”
“I’m positive. I have a little bit of a headache, but I’m pretty sure the rock just grazed me.”
“There’s a pool of blood on the floor,” he pointed out.
“Head wounds bleed more,” I shot back.
Pressing his lips together, he stood and pulled out his phone. I closed my eyes and ignored the conversation I knew he was having with Jack. I just wanted this night to be over. Pulling my legs up to my chest, I rested my forearms on my knees and laid my head against them. It wasn’t hard to hear Jack roaring down the street or the way he stomped into the house like the damn thing was on fire. But I couldn’t look at him. I didn’t want to see him, let alone talk to him.
“What happened?” he snapped.
“Why don’t you tell me?” Carter retorted. “You were the last one to see her.”
“You think I did this?” Jack asked in shock.
I looked up just as Carter grabbed Jack’s arm and dragged him across the room. “Fuck no, I don’t think you did this, but you can imagine how it looked when I walked in on her with her shirt torn open. What the fuck were you thinking?”
“Can we not do this now?” Jack snapped. “Just tell me what the fuck happened.”
“Someone threw a rock through the window. She was hit by it.”
“When did this happen?”
I knew the question was directed at me based on how his voice crossed the room.
“After you left,” Carter answered.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” he snapped, walking over to me. Bending down in front of me, he took in my torn shirt and slowly reached forward to pull it closed. “Baby, when did this happen?” he asked softly.
I squeezed my eyes closed, not wanting to hear his voice right now.
“Hey, I’m right here.”
My eyes flew open and I jumped to my feet, causing him to fall back on his ass. “You think I give a damn if you’re here? It happened right after you left. Satisfied?”
“I just…”
“I know what you want. You think you can come back in here and call me baby and that’ll make everything better? Just get the fuck out.”
“There’s no way I’m leaving you. Someone threw a rock through your window.”
“Yeah, and Carter said kids have been doing shit around town. That’s probably what it was.”
“Then why the fuck didn’t your security system go off?” he snapped.
I stared down at the ground. “Because I never got around to setting it up properly.”
“What?” he whispered angrily. “What the fuck, Christy? What good does it do to have it if you don’t get it set up?”
“I meant to,” I snapped back. “Besides, what good would it have done anyway? No one broke in here.”
“The cameras might have caught something!” he shouted. “We could have figured out who did this.”
“Yeah, and then you could go chase down some rowdy kids.”
“You don’t know that’s who it was.”
“Then who else would it be?”
He barely controlled his anger as he stared at me. “How about your ex? You know, the one that already broke in and sent you a birthday card?”
“How many times do I have to tell you that he wouldn’t do something like this? He’s not dangerous!”
He threw up his arms in frustration, while Carter walked over, holding out his hands to try and calm us down. “Alright, let’s just calm down for a minute. I’m going to step outside and look around. Now, can I trust you two to stay inside and not kill each other?”
&nb
sp; “I make no promises,” I spat.
Carter rolled his eyes and headed for the back door. Jack paced around the living room, his eyes flicking back to the mess on the dining room floor. Sighing, I walked past him, heading for the stairs. I needed to change my clothes. I had blood on my shirt, and since it wouldn’t close, I wasn’t about to stand there with my boobs hanging out.
“Where are you going?”
“To change,” I snapped.
“You shouldn’t be walking on the stairs,” he argued, chasing after me.
Ignoring him, I kept walking. After getting upstairs, I walked into my bedroom and slammed the door behind me. I heard his growl of frustration, but I just didn’t have it in me to care right now. Flopping down on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling. I knew I shouldn’t have come home. I should have gone to live anywhere else in the United States. Hell, I could have moved to London or something. But staying here and getting wrapped up in Jack again was a terrible idea.
A soft knock on the door had me throwing my pillow in that direction. It landed short of the door, much like my life. Shuffling over to my dresser, I tore off my shirt and slipped on a clean t-shirt, something that didn’t make me feel like a whore.
“Christy, can I come in?”
“Bite me,” I snapped.
“I just want to get you cleaned up.”
“Yeah, I bet you do,” I mumbled under my breath.
The door opened and I turned on him, fire burning inside me. “Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I came to check on you.”
“I don’t need you to.”
He dragged me into the bathroom, pushing me up against the counter. I refused to meet his eyes as he studied the gash on my head. Sighing, he pulled out a rag and rifled through my medicine cabinet until he came up with some hydrogen peroxide. Pouring it on the cloth, he gently cleaned up the cut.
“You should probably have this looked at.”
“You should probably have your brain examined, yet here you are.”
He stayed silent, thankfully. Perhaps he finally caught on that I was in no mood to have him around here, acting like he had a right to be here for any reason.
“Any headaches?”
“Only when you open your mouth,” I retorted.
A small smile formed on his lips. “Any dizziness?”
“No.”
“Did you black out?”
“No,” I said, shoving the rag away. “I’m fine. I don’t need you in here.”
He lowered the rag and stared me down. “Well, I’m not going anywhere, so you’ll just have to deal with it.”
“You’re not staying here.”
“You can’t make me leave.”
“There’s a deputy downstairs that would say differently.”
He clenched his jaw in irritation. Snatching a bandage, he placed it over the cut, then leaned in and pressed a kiss to my cheek. I turned away, not wanting his lips near me. Those lips once kissed me like I was something special to him. Now I knew they were just another form of torture, a way for him to get what he wanted.
“I’ll be downstairs.”
“When I come down, you better not be here.”
With one final glance back at me, he nodded and walked out of my bedroom.
23
Jack
I sat in my truck, staring at Christy’s house. She had gone to sleep hours ago, yet I was still sitting here, watching over her. When Carter called me earlier tonight, I was sure I was having a heart attack. She could have been killed, and it was just moments after I left. It was way too much like Natalie. If only I had been paying attention, maybe I would have seen someone lurking around her property.
She told Carter she heard a car drive off. If I had been paying attention, maybe I would have seen the suspicious car sitting on the side of the road. She never would have been hurt. Just like if I had been paying attention at Eric’s house, if I had known Natalie had been gone for so long, I would have looked for her sooner. I could have saved her. But I wasn’t paying attention and she paid the price for it.
I ran my hand along the scruff on my jaw. I was tired, but there was no way I could sleep. If I fell asleep, she could get hurt again. Someone might come back. What if it was her ex? She still didn’t have the security system running properly. I should have insisted on making sure everything was set up the way it was supposed to be.
I loved you!
Those words kept running through my head. No matter how much I tried to shut them off, I couldn’t. How long had she loved me? She said it was for a long time. Why the hell didn’t she tell me?
The passenger side door opened and Carter slipped inside. “Nice night to sit out in your truck.”
“She kicked me out.”
“Yeah, I’m aware. That tends to happen when you’re a douchebag.”
“What did she tell you?” I asked hesitantly.
He glanced over at me, his eyebrow quirked curiously. “Not much, but based on the torn shirt and the fact that she was crying, I’m guessing the night didn’t go as planned.”
Sighing heavily, I shook my head. “I just…lost control.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Lost control in what way?”
“Not the way you’re thinking. After you set up that…fiasco at the theater, things got a little out of control. We came back here and I kept telling myself to slow it down, but then we got inside and it all just…”
“Got nasty,” he grinned, nodding at me.
“She’s the first person I’ve been with since Natalie.”
“So, you blew early,” he nodded. “It happens. I mean, never to me, but I’m sure it’s happened to some poor schmuck before.”
“I didn’t blow early,” I said irritatedly. “I just wasn’t…I didn’t give her what she deserved. I should have made things special, but instead she got a quick fuck on the dining room table.”
“Well, that explains the broken plates all over the floor.”
“I did it all wrong.”
“Well, yeah. I mean, I set up this killer scene for you with champagne and strawberries. How did you fuck that up?”
“You forgot to take into account that we were in the theater, not a private setting.” He nodded. “And the fact that I haven’t been with a woman for years.” He nodded again. “Oh, and the fact that apparently, she’s been in love with me for the longest time.”
“So, you finally found out.”
My head snapped to his. “What does that mean?”
“Remember when I told you there was something you were missing, and until you figured it out, you weren’t ready to hear what I had to say?”
“You knew and you didn’t tell me?”
He heaved a sigh. “It was so obvious. Fuck, Jack, anyone could tell that she was in love with you. She left because the man she was in love with was about to marry someone else. And your dipshit brain assumed that she was leaving because she didn’t like Natalie.”
“Well, she didn’t,” I grumbled.
“But not because of who she was. She didn’t like her because she was taking you away. Christ, she was your best friend for years. You didn’t once think that maybe those longing looks meant something?”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Did I know and just ignore it all these years? “I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t want to know.”
“What does that mean?”
“That means that you didn’t want to ruin the good thing you had with her. She was there for you for everything. You called and she came running. You had the woman that cooked for you, made you feel like a king, and would bow down at your feet. But if you risked dating her, you could lose it all. What if it didn’t work out? Then you’d be fucked.”
“No, that’s not—”
He held up his hand and glared at me. “I’m not done talking. See, the problem is, Jack, Natalie was this great woman, but you didn’t really belong with her. She was a stand-in for the
woman you really wanted. Sure, she was fun and you loved her, but you never really connected with her on the same level you did with Christy. Natalie was the woman you chose to replace Christy with. And when Christy walked away, you realized how badly you fucked up, because Natalie didn’t like you talking to Christy, especially not when she lived so far away. So, you put distance between the two of you, so much distance that you stopped talking. And when she showed up back in town, you saw the chance to get her back. Well, let me tell you something, you fucked that up really good. She needed you to love her and want her, not to fuck her and then act like it was all a mistake.”
“You know about that?” I winced.
He snorted. “Like the look on her face wasn’t enough of a giveaway.”
“That wasn’t how I meant it,” I mumbled. “I meant that it was a mistake for me to take her like I did. I wanted it to be special. Trust me, I know how lucky I am that she even looked at me again when she came back to town. And after I fucked her…I just saw this woman that I’m falling for, and I treated her like a whore.”
“Was she complaining?”
“What?” I asked, baffled he would even question that.
“Jack, she doesn’t care how you fuck her, just as long as you mean it. If you had fucked her and then carried her upstairs and spent the night with her, she wouldn’t have cared. All she wants is you. Well, I should say all she wanted, because I’m pretty sure her lips are closed to you now.”
My shoulders slumped as I stared at the house.
Carter leaned over slightly. “And by lips, I mean her—”
“I know what you mean,” I snapped.
“Sorry,” he backed off. “You just never know sometimes. I mean, you didn’t catch on to the fact that she loved you. Maybe you didn’t get the double entendre.”
“You know, you really piss me off.”
“Yeah, well I was pretty pissed off when I set up this whole night for you and you fucked it up.”
“I didn’t mean to fuck it up,” I argued.
“Well, what are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know. It just happened. I need to think about it.”
Four Horsemen: A Small Town Romance (A Good Run Of Bad Luck Book 5) Page 19