Chapter 41
forty-one
JO
“What did he do?” Harlow yells the moment her face appears on my phone screen. “I’ll take out his knees!” Her face is turning as red as her hair. “Callahan! Get snacks! We’re going on a road trip!”
“Harlow,” I say gently, alarmed by my usually calm friend’s outburst.
“Send me your coordinates,” she says, and I can hear her bustling around her house. “Callahan!” she yells again.
“What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Cal asks, sounding panicked.
“Ezra hurt Jo. We’re going to show him the consequences.”
I can’t see Cal, but I can picture how confused he must be because I feel the same.
“Harlow!” I yell to get her attention. “It wasn’t Ezra!”
Harlow’s face swings to me, and she frowns. “Did you watch Beaches by yourself again?” her tone is that of a very disappointed mother, which makes me snort.
“No, but I’m not going to tell you until you sit down and stop threatening people’s knees.”
“Fine,” Harlow mutters and takes a seat in a white wicker chair on her cute little screened-in porch.
I see a text pop up on the top of my screen.
Cal: The pregnancy rage has been terrible. Tread carefully.
At least that explains the outburst.
I take a deep breath and tell Harlow everything that had happened since Maverick showed up on the beach.
It’s only been a few hours, but it was long enough to blow up what was left of my life.
She was already aware of my feelings for Maverick and that I was letting Ezra believe we were together, so none of it surprised her.
Her anger did seem to transfer from Ezra to Maverick, though.
“Where is he? Let me talk to him,” she says through clenched teeth.
“It’s not his fault, Harry. It’s mine. You warned me about getting too close to an unavailable man or this would happen.”
“I don’t like that I was right,” Harlow says, her shoulders relaxing.
“You love being right,” I say, trying to smile.
“Not about this.”
I sigh and shrug, not sure what else to say.
“What are you going to do now? Kai called Cal and told him what they found at Patrick’s apartment.”
She was saying that I needed to stay here where I was safe without telling me what to do.
Harlow knows I hate being told what to do and will usually do the opposite, which with what just happened and how awkward living here is going to be, would be highly likely to happen.
I’m not stupid though. I know this is the safest place for me.
Physically, anyway. Emotionally, it might be closer to a torture chamber.
A shiver runs through my whole body. I came outside to talk to Harlow so I could have some privacy, but I’m only in sleep shorts and Ezra’s shirt with the thin blanket I grabbed from the back of the couch on the way out.
“Unfortunately, I think you need to go back inside before you get sick,” Harlow says. She’s looking at me with sympathy, but her tone says she’s glad it isn’t her.
I nod. “Time to face the music.”
“There’s nothing wrong with having feelings for Maverick, Jo. Don’t make it worse by beating yourself up.”
“I won’t,” I lie. I didn’t tell her that I might have feelings for Ezra too.
Honestly, my feelings are so twisted up right now that I’m not convinced it isn’t Stockholm Syndrome.
Well, that and Harlow is scary right now, and I’m afraid she’s going to yell at me.
I think I would have another crying fit if she did.
Harlow snorts in disbelief, but lets it go, telling me she loves me and to call her tomorrow before hanging up.
I pretend I don’t hear the sliding of the glass door or the creak of footsteps on the wooden boards. It’s kind of hard to ignore the steaming cup of hot chocolate when it’s thrust in my face. I wrap my freezing fingers around the hot mug and look up at Ezra.
“Don’t stay out here. It’s cold. I need you in fighting shape for tomorrow.”
“What’s tomorrow?”
“You’re going to learn to shoot,” he says before walking back inside and shutting the door. I can’t stop the smile that spreads over my face. I’ve been asking him to teach me to shoot, and while he agreed, we never got around to it. I think we were more interested in punching each other.
I stay outside for a few more minutes, letting the heat from the hot chocolate warm my hands before I head inside and face the mess I made.