Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
JAKE
Life sucks, and then you die.
It was a little melodramatic, but after having his entire world rocked last night and going to bed with Gia tucked safely in his arms, he had high hopes for how the rest of their relationship would go. Only smooth sailing from here on out.
Didn’t they deserve it? Hadn’t they fought through enough shit to at least get one morning together?
The crushing sensation of waking up alone had nearly done him in.
His first thought was she had regrets about what happened between them.
Then Marley barged into his room with a wide smile on her face, yelling at him to put some pants on because she had made pancakes for breakfast with extra chocolate chips.
Begrudgingly, he rolled out of bed and got dressed, following his nose to the kitchen, where the smells of maple syrup and brown sugar hung thick in the air. Marley sat at the table, her plate already piled high with a mound of whipped cream on top. Not a single protein in sight.
“Smells delicious, Marley.” His stomach grumbled in agreement. He plopped down onto his seat, where his plate was already waiting for him on the table.
Marley stabbed a fork into her pancakes but paused before it reached her mouth. “Oh, by the way, I saw Gia this morning.”
“Oh, yeah?” He feigned nonchalance, hands fisted at his sides so he wouldn’t reach across the table and shake the answer out of Marley.
“Yeah.” She shoved the fork into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully, her expression unreadable, leaving Jake at the edge of his seat. “She was sneaking out of your bedroom and told me she had to go home before her parents woke up.”
The relief was instantaneous. So that was why she’d left him this morning. It made sense, but fear clouded rational thought.
“Thanks for telling me.” Hunching over his stack of pancakes, Jake worked on filling the hole in his stomach. “How’s your cat doing?” he asked around a mouthful of sugary sweetness.
“She’s still pregnant but less angry. I did some slow blinking exercises with her, and I think it worked.” Marley gleamed with pride.
“You think so?”
Marley’s nod was confident. “Yeah, she doesn’t want to scratch my eyes out anymore. Did you do that with Gia last night?”
Jake choked on his pancake, pounding a fist against his chest to clear his airway at the change in topic. “Do what?” he sputtered.
“The slow blinking.” Marley looked at him as if it were obvious.
He reached for the glass of orange juice on the table. “Um… yeah, you can say that.”
“It seemed to work.” Marley flashed him a bright smile. “I knew it would.”
Jake chuckled. “Yeah, you were right, kiddo.”
The view around the lake this time of year was especially breathtaking.
The crunch of the brown leaves under his feet was a sign autumn was well underway.
There was something calming about nature that settled his nerves.
Or maybe it was the brutal pace he’d set to distract himself from the fact that Gia still had not called or texted him.
All of his insecurities wreaked havoc on his mind.
If he hadn’t replayed every single moment of last night back at least a hundred times, he would have thought she didn’t have a good time—but there was no mistaking the way she’d claimed control and brought herself, and him, to mind-blowing orgasm last night.
Maybe it was his untimely confession that left her feeling scared. He knew it was probably too soon by most people’s timelines, but he’d been too overwhelmed with emotion to hold it back. They had so much time to make up for, and he didn’t want to waste another moment.
Despite Marley’s reassurances, the knot in his stomach only tightened, refusing to disappear. A sense of impending doom filled him. He hadn’t been able to shake the dread for most of the day, so he’d settled for a run around the lake. Nothing a blistering ten-mile run couldn’t solve.
The text arrived as he was nearing the edge of his property.
Clay
Gia is at the bar with ex.
Ex? What does that mean?
It was a new low for him, having called in some favors to keep tabs on Gia, but he needed to be sure she was safe when she was in town.
Clay wasn’t just a bartender. He was ex-military.
Special ops with a shady history, and he was basically a ghost. Jake helped Clay on a case when he’d first moved to town, so Clay still owed him a favor—which he didn’t cash in on until Gia came home.
There was no one else better equipped to keep Gia safe when Jake wasn’t around her. Even though the town kept tabs on Gia in much more obvious ways, he still needed an extra layer of security.
Though Gia had yet to reveal who her assailant was, he had already knew based on the information Kenji had given him. Unfortunately, there was not much a family lawyer from a small town could do to someone who ruled Hollywood.
That’s where Clay came into the picture. At least once a day, Clay would send brief reports about anything he heard through his network. It had been uneventful—until now.
The sprint back to his house was probably his personal record. He rushed out, shouting to Marley he’d be back later, grabbed his keys, and was out the front door.
Why is her ex here? Questions raced through his mind, each one turning his stomach into knots.
The drive was barely five minutes, but it was five minutes too long.
With trembling hands, he slammed the car to a stop in front of Crystal Hollow Grill.
The stench of desperation and fear clung to him as he rushed out of the car.
Ripping the door to the bar open with a resounding crash, he was a whirlwind of rage.
Every muscle coiled, ready to confront his nemesis and fight for Gia—but the sight before him stopped him in his tracks.
His blood ran cold. Gia was in the arms of a familiar face he recognized from the tabloids he’d been guilty of keeping up with.
Alex. His lips curled up in a snarl. For a moment, the world seemed to tilt on its axis. Jake’s heart was ready to break until he caught sight of her face.
Something was wrong.
His eyes narrowed, filled with fury at the man whose arms supported Gia, who was barely conscious.
“Gia?” His voice was low with repressed rage. “Are you okay?”
It was a stupid question. He could see with his own eyes she wasn’t, so he turned his blistering glare to Alex. The man who should be in jail for ruining Gia’s life had her in his clutches again.
Over my dead body.
“What. The. Fuck,” he growled between heaving breaths. “Did. You. Do.” He clenched his fists, knuckles popping, as he restrained himself from punching the weasel.
The cocky smirk on Alex’s face was all the incentive he needed. His eyes caught sight of Clay behind Alex’s shoulder, who gave him a clipped nod. As much as he wanted to beat Alex to a bloody pulp, his only priority was getting Gia away from him.
“Let. Her. Go.” He took a deep breath. “Now!” It was the only warning he gave before rushing forward.
Everything happened in a blur.
With a burst of speed, Jake reached for Gia, pulling her away from Alex while Clay’s arm locked around his neck in a suffocating grip. He cradled Gia’s limp form to his body, eyes scanning her face for any signs of life.
She was far too pale. All color was gone from her face, leaving her looking ghostly. Her breathing was shallow. He checked her pulse at the base of her neck, which felt sluggish.
“Gia, baby, wake up,” he murmured softly against her temples, planting a kiss like she was Sleeping Beauty and his kiss would fix her.
“What the fuck did you give her, you fucking bastard?” he roared. Clay had his beefy arms wrapped around Alex, caging his arms in a vicelike grip. There was no escaping.
“Nothing, man! I swear!” Alex yelled, struggling to escape.
“Check his pockets,” Clay ordered, but before he could move to follow the command, Quynh appeared and shoved her hands down Alex’s front jeans pocket, pulling out a small Ziplock bag with white pills.
“Roofies.” Clay sneered, meeting Jake’s eyes with a clear message. “Must have spiked her water.”
Quynh rushed forward to Gia. “I’m a nurse practitioner. Let me check her out, please.” She gestured for Jake to carry her to a booth, where he laid her down gently, never once taking his eyes off the bastard. Emily, his other neighbor, who was also a nurse, helped Quynh as they examined Gia.
Once he was confident Gia was in expert hands, he stormed forward until he stood toe to toe with Alex, who shrank back, trying to escape him.
There was no escape.
With a nod to Clay to let Alex go, he gave Alex five seconds to explain or to apologize. The bastard spat at Jake, the spittle flying, before uttering the words that made his blood boil: “She fucking deserved it.”
The next thing Jake knew, his fist was flying toward Alex’s face. The sound of bones crunching was the only noise in the otherwise quiet dining room.
Alex dropped to the floor, crying about his nose being broken, while Clay held him down by planting a boot on his back.
Fuck, that hurt.
Clay crossed his arms, smirking at Jake like it was the funniest thing he’d ever seen.
“What’s so funny?” Jake shook out his hand, stretching his fingers.
“Never thought I’d see the day when the golden boy of Willowbrook would break the law.” He shrugged while Jake winced.
Yeah, it was not very smart of him to do, assaulting someone in public with witnesses—but what other choice did he have?
Clay gestured to the door. “Go on and get outta here. The sheriff is already on the way, and I’ll send him to your house after.”
That was the nice thing about small towns: everyone knew one another, and the sheriff knew exactly where to find him.
Jake nodded, running back to Gia’s side.
“How is she?” Jake asked Quynh, who looked up at him with a sad smile.
“Her pulse is steady. Hopefully she’ll sleep it off.
She’ll most likely wake up sick to her stomach.
” Quynh grimaced. “Tomorrow, she should be fine other than a headache and nausea. And she won’t remember anything if it was roofies that the asshole gave her.
” Quynh glared at Alex—the venom in her eyes would make anyone fear for their safety—before turning back to Jake, her expression softening into worry.
“It looks like he spiked her water, and she didn’t finish her glass, so hopefully it will pass sooner rather than later.
Between Emily and me, we can come in and check her vitals throughout the night to monitor her. ”
Jake nodded, grateful to be living next to not one but two nurses.
“I’m taking her home now.” The women moved out of his way as he wrapped one arm under Gia’s knees and the other under her head. When she was safely tucked in his arms, he kissed the top of her head, praying he would be fine after this.
Thinking about how often she had been hurt or abused in such a short timeframe infuriated him. For it to happen in his hometown, of all places, was almost too much to bear. A wave of nausea washed over him.
“Thank you, ladies.” His voice cracked, thick with emotion. He hurried out the door, Gia safe in his arms, while Alex’s threats of legal action faded behind him.