Chapter 6
Six
JAKE
The smell of lavender still clung to the air, soft and lingering, like a ghost of Gia. Jake leaned against the bathroom counter, fists braced on the cool tile, trying to wrestle control over the fire burning beneath his skin.
His breath came shallow. Not from exertion, but from the fury simmering beneath his skin since the moment he glimpsed the bruises on Gia’s face.
A shadowed imprint along her jaw, under the concealer she thought hid it.
But it was the ones on her neck that gutted him.
Big, deliberate, finger-shaped marks. Like someone had wrapped their hand around her throat.
And squeezed.
His stomach turned. The fire turned into an inferno. It made him sick to think he could have lost her forever.
She’d worn the oversized sweater like armor, like camouflage, like shame. And he hated that she felt the need to hide.
Whoever had hurt her, whoever thought they could put their hands on Gia, was going to regret it. Jake didn’t know how or when, but he’d make sure of it. He wanted vengeance. Blunt, brutal, and merciless vengeance.
Jake was hardly the type to throw punches, to act out violence, but for Gia? For her, he could see himself crossing lines. For her, he could commit murder without a second thought.
She wasn’t his. Hadn’t been for a long time. Maybe she had never really been his.
But dammit, she was something.
Gia had always been tangled up in his life. Thao’s little sister. The Lien family’s golden child. Off-limits, or so he’d once told himself.
But whatever brotherly affection he was supposed to feel for her never took root. Not really.
And now? There wasn’t a single innocent feeling left in his body where she was concerned.
But the rage he felt wasn’t about possession. It wasn’t about jealousy.
It was about protection.
Jake could almost feel the way her skin looked under the bruises—hot, tender. Violated. He couldn’t stand the thought of her flinching, of her crying, of her enduring whatever the bastard had done to her.
He turned to the sink and twisted the faucet hard. Cold water burst from the tap, and he splashed it on his face again and again until the chill reached his bones.
He looked up at his reflection, which stared back, jaw tight, water dripping from his chin, eyes darker than he remembered. There was guilt there. Buried deep, but undeniable.
This wasn’t rage. It was regret.
He had let her go.
He hadn’t chased her. Not hard enough. Not when it counted.
Years ago, she left Willowbrook. No calls. No letters. No explanations.
He hadn’t blamed her then. Still didn’t. She’d lost her brother. Her anchor. And maybe… maybe Jake had been too much of a reminder. Or maybe he’d failed to be what she needed in the aftermath.
But part of him wondered if his silence had opened the door for someone else. Someone with cruel hands and a twisted sense of love. Someone who didn’t give a damn about her the way Jake did.
If I’d just tried harder back then…
He let out a harsh breath and gripped the edge of the sink until his knuckles went white.
This was his fault.
Somehow, it all felt like his fault.
And now, here she was. Back in his life, half-broken and guarded as hell, pretending nothing was wrong while the evidence screamed otherwise.
Jake didn’t know exactly what she needed.
But he knew what he needed.
A name. Just one.
He’d take care of the rest. Well, technically, he’d call in a favor from a less-than-reputable… acquaintance who still owed him. It seemed like now was the perfect time to cash in on the favor.
Jake knew he had no claim on her anymore.
He’d lost it years ago when he sent her running to Hollywood.
It was the biggest regret of his entire life when he found out Gia had left before he could apologize for acting like an idiot.
But it seemed he might have a second chance to redeem himself.
To follow through on the promises he’d made to Thao when they were adolescent boys.
Jake still recalled that summer afternoon as if it had happened yesterday.
18 YEARS OLD
He had been baking on the beach of Willowbrook Cove while Thao and Gia were wrestling in the shallow water.
The fading sun over the horizon illuminated the blue sky with majestic hues of orange and red.
Summertime in Willowbrook was picturesque, but it was the young woman laughing and splashing at her twin brother who held all of his attention.
Despite his best efforts to ignore his growing attraction to her, Jake couldn’t help the wild fantasies, as they’d become more and more pervasive in recent years.
Gia was beautiful, with long dark hair flowing down her tan back and high cheekbones flushed with color. While her pouty pink lips made him wonder what they would feel like beneath his, it was her light brown eyes sparkling with laughter and mischief that captivated him.
Jake watched Gia wade deeper into the water as Thao strode up to where he was lying. With a plop, Thao settled in beside him. He hoped Thao couldn’t tell where he was looking with his sunglasses on.
“I can’t believe we survived high school.” Thao chuckled and leaned back, arms braced against the sand.
Jake only scoffed in response. They both knew Jake had been responsible for helping the twins graduate.
Because Jake wanted to become a lawyer, he had a single-minded goal of earning the highest grades.
He needed a full scholarship to attend college.
Though he played football, he knew his skill sets were mediocre at best.
He’d worked his butt off and applied to any school that might take him.
Local universities were the most reasonable choices, though he also sent out applications to Ivy League schools on the slim chance they would accept a nobody like himself.
Harvard Law School would be a dream, but with its low acceptance rates and high tuition, it was hardly a reasonable choice. Still, he applied.
After all, you miss all the shots you don’t take. Or however the saying went.
“Have you decided where you’re going yet?” Thao turned to look at Jake. His dark eyes assessed Jake as he sat up, bringing his knees to his chest and resting his arms across them. Jake tried to appear unbothered by the line of questioning. He wasn’t sure why he was nervous, only that he was.
“Nah, not really. You?”
The heat of Thao’s stare on the side of his face made him want to squirm. It was a lie. He knew where he wanted to go, but the logistics were difficult.
“Yeah, I got accepted into Bramblewood University.” Thao readjusted and mimicked Jake’s posture so they were sitting side by side. “It’s perfect, you know? I’ll be close to home and still be able to help at the restaurant.”
Jake kept his mouth shut as Thao worked through his thoughts. He’d known going to college had never really been a dream of Thao’s, but one his parents had for him.
“Mom wants me to be a doctor.”
Jake nodded. He knew all about what Thao’s parents wanted from their only son. Unfortunately, it didn’t align with Thao’s own ambition to be an artist, which was “impractical.”
“Maybe you can be both a doctor and an artist,” Jake offered, though he knew how Thao felt about the whole idea.
“Nah, man, it was just a dream anyway, you know? I’m not meant to be a starving artist. I mean, look at me!
” Thao gestured mockingly at himself. He leaned toward the heavier side, while Gia was rail-thin.
Jake suspected her poor eating habits and her fixation with celebrities contributed to her obsessive behavior.
It worried Jake, but he’d kept his concerns to himself.
“Besides, someone has to keep an eye out for Gia with you going to Harvard and whatnot.” Thao punched Jake on the shoulder.
“Ow!” Jake flinched away and rubbed at his tender joint. “What the fuck was that for?”
“You know why.” Thao flicked his wet hair off his forehead and rested his head against his forearms. “You gonna do it or what?”
Thao leveled Jake with a thoughtful glance as he waited for his response.
“I’m not going to Harvard.” Jake leaned back on his hands in a huff. The sand felt warm against his skin. “How’d you even know about Harvard?” He turned the tables on Thao. Until now, he’d told no one else about his acceptance letter.
“I saw the letter sticking out of your bag last week and was waiting for you to say something.”
Instead of anger, the lack of boundaries irritated Jake.
He should have known his backpack wasn’t a safe place for something he wanted to keep hidden, but it wasn’t like he had a lot of options.
Sometimes his mother liked to go on a cleaning frenzy and throw away half of his belongings during one of her episodes.
Jake hadn’t wanted to lose sight of the letter in case he changed his mind about going.
“I don’t know, man. It’s not like I can afford it. I’d need a full ride. My parents don’t have the money.” Not to mention he’d barely saved up a couple thousand from helping at the Lien restaurant over the past few years. It was barely enough to afford textbooks.
Silence fell between them as they turned their attention to Gia, who was swimming back to shore.
She looked ethereal with the sun setting behind her, surrounded by the sound of the lake as it ebbed and flowed across the sand.
The rhythmic crash of the waves was hypnotic.
It was impossible not to feel at peace when Jake had everything he could need at this moment.
His best friend. A beautiful sunset. And the girl of his dreams, who had no clue how he felt about her.
“Gia wants to go to BU with me so we’re not separated, but I told her she was being an idiot. At least one of us should pursue our dreams, and she won’t get it by sticking around town.” Thao picked up a handful of sand and tossed it.