Chapter 36
Alana
My stomach was in knots. It was horrible. I thought about turning around and fleeing, but Jayce squeezed my hand. It didn’t get rid of the feeling, but I felt like I could manage.
Alicia had been with his parents for a few days, which resulted in absolute chaos. Nobody had been prepared for it, least of all me. This whole time, I’d been floating around on the outskirts of the issue, distancing myself from it. If I was with Jayce, though, I couldn’t pull away like that. I had to find a way to get through this.
I had this overwhelming fear that I’d see her and the only thing I’d be able to think about was Jake and his betrayals. She was the embodiment of them. All of those secrets and lies. But they were his, not hers, and I had to keep reminding myself of that.
We stepped into the kitchen at his parents’ house and the moment came. Alicia was in front of the stove with Ron, stirring something in a pot. He spoke, then she tipped her head back and laughed.
I braced my hands on the counter and took a deep breath. Jayce rubbed my back softly, not saying anything because he knew nothing would really help.
“Alana,” Charlie greeted as she came into the kitchen. She gave me a quick hug and smiled. “Look at you two. I thought he was never gonna grow the balls.”
“Thanks, Charlie,” Jayce said with narrowed eyes.
“Is it weird?” I asked, quiet enough for the others not to hear.
“No.” With a grimace, she shrugged. “Maybe a little, but it also feels right, you know? I don’t think there’s anyone we’d rather Jayce be with, which might be weirder, but you get it.”
I breathed a laugh. “Your family has always been a little different.”
“Might as well keep the good times rollin’.”
“You might as well buy a wedding dress now,” Jayce murmured in my ear.
My face grew hot at the insinuation. “Let’s not roll that far.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re all about that slow and steady shit.”
“Not all of us want to charge into things like a raging bull.”
“You’re no fun.”
After throwing him a withering glare, I made my way over to Ron and Alicia. My heart was racing, but I wasn’t going to back down. She was just a kid.
She turned around and my breath caught. She looked so much like them- the blue eyes, her nose, and the color of her hair. I could see Hailey in her too, which I was surprised to feel emotional about. The combination of them, together in one person, didn’t make me feel angry like I’d expected. It was a punch to the gut, sure, but I also felt immediate affection for her. She was a piece of him and I couldn’t be upset that she existed.
“Hi, Alicia. I’m Alana.”
“Both of our names start with A,” she noted with a grin.
“They do. If we’re not careful, we’ll get them mixed up.”
“Did you know my dad too?”
I glanced over at Jayce, who smiled. “Yeah, I knew him for a very long time. Me, Jayce, and your dad were inseparable in high school.”
She leaned in closer. “Were they troublemakers?” she whispered.
With a laugh, I moved my lips to her ear. “They were hellions.”
“Who was worse?”
I hummed thoughtfully. “Your dad. But what you really had to worry about was when they were together.”
Alicia giggled. Jayce came up beside me and slipped an arm around my waist.
“She’s leaving out the most important part.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You were the one with all the ideas. The mastermind.”
I shot him a playful smirk. “Prove it in a court of law.”
“Are you guys in love?” Alicia asked.
My mouth opened, but I shut it quickly. I didn’t have to come up with an answer because Jayce laughed and pulled me against him.
“We’re more than in love.” He dipped his head so that he could speak only to me. “I’ve been after you for twelve years, baby. You were mine then and you’re mine now. You always will be.”
“Always,” I whispered. My stomach felt odd when I said it, like I was having a moment of déjà vu. When I tried to grasp whatever hidden memory had been unlocked, it was too fuzzy for me to see clearly.
Jayce pressed his lips to mine, silencing my thoughts.
Suddenly, everything felt okay again.
*****
December was a bitch. The air hurt my face and made me grumpy. I didn’t know why I still lived in New York. This place sucked. Maybe I could convince Jayce that we needed to move.
I stopped walking abruptly. Somehow, in a matter of weeks, we’d reached a place where I was speaking about us as a unit. I’d just imagined us moving somewhere new together. That was insane, yet it didn’t feel wrong.
Rubbing my hands together, I started walking again. I’d have to remember gloves next time. That was something I always forgot. I hated them, though. They were like socks for your hands. I hated socks too.
I reached my car and swung my foot underneath the trunk. The door slowly rose and when I dropped my bags in, I felt a sense of relief. Christmas was two weeks away, which felt like plenty of time, but whenever I said that, I ended up shopping last-minute. This year, I’d done it early. Things were looking up.
A scream left me when I turned around. Putting a hand over my chest, I narrowed my eyes at Mike.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
He gestured around the space. “Christmas shopping, just like you.”
“Cool.”
I stepped away from him, but he followed. It was like the moment with Preston in the parking lot, except I feared Mike. Not too long ago, I thought he was sweet and incapable of hurting anyone. I still didn’t think he’d actually attack me or anything, but I had to be wary of him.
“Do you need something?” I asked, trying to sound friendly.
“Actually, yeah. I wanted to talk to you about Alicia.”
My shoulders tensed. “That’s not something I can do. Besides, the case is still going. I can’t get involved.”
“Please,” he insisted. When he stepped forward, I tried not to panic.
“Mike, this really isn’t my business. I’m not part of this.”
“But you can be. Jake wanted you to be.”
“And what would be the point?”
“We can help each other. I just… I want my daughter back.”
His eyes fell to the ground. Part of me softened, but I couldn’t forget that he’d tried to use me. That was before Ron and Sara filed for custody, which meant it was about money. The thought made me sick.
“I’m not going to help you,” I said firmly.
He caught my arm, keeping me from getting into my car. I kicked his knee and he nearly fell, but he maintained his hold on me.
A tall figure appeared behind Mike and wrapped an arm around his neck. He immediately let me go to focus on the new threat. He jabbed his elbows backward, but he was stuck in a chokehold.
“Jayce,” I breathed, both relieved and shocked by his appearance.
He removed his arm and whirled Mike around. When he shoved him into the side of my SUV, I gasped.
“Stop it,” I demanded.
“You don’t fucking touch her,” Jayce growled. His eyes were wild with fury as he stared at Mike. “What’s so hard for you to understand? Cornering Alana… That’s the dumbest move you can make.”
Mike spat at him- brave and incredibly stupid. “We were talking. It’s none of your business.”
“Everything that has to do with Alana is my business.” Jayce flicked his wrist, opening up a very scary knife. When he held it up to Mike’s throat, I stepped toward him.
“Jayce, put that away. What the hell are you doing?”
He glanced at me briefly, then returned his attention to Mike. “I should open you up right here, but your blood doesn’t deserve the legacy of soaking into the concrete.”
Mike sneered at him. “Maybe you should try to send me to prison too since you’re in the habit of that.”
I looked between them, trying to understand what was going on. Jayce’s face had gone colder- unreadable stone. After a moment, he released Mike and stepped back.
“Get the hell out of here before I follow through.”
Mike didn’t hesitate to take off. He raced across the street and got into his car. I watched until it was out of sight, then turned to Jayce, crossing my arms over my chest.
“What was that?”
“He was threatening you,” he replied simply.
“Hardly. It wasn’t enough to warrant a blade to the throat.”
“That’s debatable.”
“Seriously, Jayce. Who does that?”
He stepped into me, backing me up against the car. “I will always protect you. It doesn’t matter how big the threat is.”
I stared at his chest, trying to keep the tears at bay. “What did he mean? About sending him to prison.”
“He’s crazy. He could face jail time depending how his court hearing goes.”
“No, you’re lying.”
I shook my head and tried to move away from him, but he kept me pinned to the car. Pieces were beginning to fall into place in my mind. I didn’t like the picture they formed.
“Hailey,” I whispered.
She swore she didn’t do it, but I thought she was lying. She’d lied to me before. It was her phone, her account that uploaded the video of the fight, capturing the perfect moment when my dad backhanded me hard enough to knock me to the ground.
“Were you there?”
He didn’t answer. The longer he stared at me with no expression, the more exasperated I became.
“Were you in my fucking house that night, Jayce? Did you set her up to take the fall for it? What, you didn’t like that we were friends? Is that it?”
His eyes rolled. I couldn’t believe that shit. What the fuck kind of reaction was that? Fine. We could change the subject. He’d all but given me the answer anyway.
“Why are you here?”
“Shopping.” He ran the back of his knuckles across my cheek. “The perfect woman deserves the perfect gift.”
“You just keep lying to me. I need to go home. Please.”
He waited for another moment, then stepped back. As I got into my car, I tried to ignore him. He was staring so intently, as if my escape wasn’t a move in my favor at all. It made me swallow hard before I pulled away from the curb.
I needed to fucking breathe- away from him and literally everything else out here.
The video thing wouldn’t have even pissed me off all that much. Sure, I’d feel that way at first, but when it came down to it, my parents needed to get arrested. It worked and it had been to protect me.
Attacking Mike was a big no-no, but again, he was protecting me. He wouldn’t actually slit the guy’s throat. This was Jayce we were talking about. My Jayce. He was big and sweet and funny. The look in his eyes a few minutes ago was anything but.
After I parked in front of my apartment, I ran up the stairs, forgetting about the bags for the time being. I headed for my room, but quickly backtracked and glanced both ways in the hallway. It was quiet, just like it had been since the last time I’d seen Erebus when he drove me home from his place. The last time we spoke was on the phone. He’d been an asshole.
Still, the silence didn’t make sense. He was obsessed. That didn’t just go away, right? I might have chalked it up to a guy getting off on fucking with a girl, then leaving when he got what he wanted, but he’d gone too deep for it to be that simple. He knew everything, had gotten into my house, left my favorite candy around…
I thought back to the day he cleaned the bite on my shoulder. He’d known exactly where the alcohol was. Maybe he’d spent time snooping during all of those visits.
After one last glance down the hall, I retreated to my room and shut the door behind me. My hand covered my mouth while I tried to reason this out. Right now, I needed action. The emotional side of this could be dealt with later. It was easier said than done considering my eyes already burned and my mind was fit to fracture.
I didn’t know anything for sure. The more I thought about it, the crazier it sounded.