“I’m sorry, Ash didwhat?” Jade lets out a startled laugh. “Okay, maybe that guy is growing on me after all.”
“I got the call right after I found out about Alec,” I tell her, fidgeting. “It was all pretty overwhelming.”
“So, Ash beats the shit out of your ex for scaring you right after you find out that yourotherboyfriend is married, but your otherotherboyfriend already knew about it,” Jade summarizes, sounding partially impressed, partially shocked. It doesn’t seem like the right time to bring Viper into the mix, so I let her sit with the redacted story.
“It sounds insane when you phrase it like that,” I mumble.
“Notsounds, Syd.Is. Your life is basically a K-drama, I swear,” she says, chuckling.
I laugh, scrubbing a few errant tears from my face before reaching for my martini.
“I just hate this,” I admit. “I hate how scared Chase makes me feel. I don’t want him to have that sort of power over me. I don’t want to feel this vulnerable anymore.”
“I know,” Jade says softly. Her eyes are red-rimmed, shiny with tears.
“Thanks for listening to me. And Iswearthis is the last of my hidden confessions.” I sniff. “You’ll always be the love of my life, you know that? No matter what happens. I love you.”
“To the moon and back,” she answers, smiling. “And we’ll figure this out, okay? Together.”
I sigh, slumping in my seat. “I hate to say it, but it was easier when the guys were around. I felt protected. Now that they’re gone?” My words fizzle out, and I shrug.
“I get it. But I’m here, and I’ll support you, no matter what,” Jade insists, smoothing down my hair and leaning in to give me a kiss on the top of my head. “And part of that support means doing the hard thing for you, when you can’t do it yourself.”
“Doing the hard thing, like…?” I trail off, watching as she downs the last of her drink.
“Give me your phone,” Jade demands, holding out her hand. “Now.”
I hesitate. “Who are you going to call?”
“You know who I’m going to call, Syd.” She pins me with a look, hand still outstretched. “You might not be ready to talk to them, but I’m going to do what I can to help keep you safe.”
I know there’s no use fighting her. Sighing, I reach into my bag and pull out my phone, unlocking it before handing it to her.
“Wow, Ashton texts youa lot,huh?” Jade murmurs, frowning down at my notifications. I don’t answer, watching silently as she scrolls through my phone until she finds the contact she’s looking for.
He picks up immediately. Something in my chest tightens when I hear his voice, faint but audible from the speaker of my phone.
“Sydney?” Sebastian asks. The eagerness in his voice catches me by surprise.
Jade makes an incorrect buzzer noise. “Wrong. Guess again.”
There’s a breath of a pause. “Jade,” he states simply. “Is Sydney okay?”
“Sydney’s fine,” Jade says. “Actually, you know what? She’s better than fine. She’s glowing. Better than she’s been in months. Single and ready to mingle!”
I snort into my drink. From across the bar, for the first time since he brought our drinks, Seamus looks over at us with interest.
“And you’re calling me from her phone to tell me this…why, exactly?” Sebastian asks, voice turning cold.
“I’m calling to ask about the restraining order you promised to get for her. Remember that?”
Even over the phone, I can hear Sebastian swear under his breath. “Yes, I remember. Sorry, I’ve been distracted with a work situation. Let her know I’ll have the paperwork finished and ready for her by the end of the week.”
“Good,” Jade says. “Then?—”
“Is he there right now?” he interrupts. “Has he been bothering her again?”
Jade looks at me, raising an eyebrow. I quickly shake my head. He hasn’t, not really. I’m still not convinced it was him I saw either time.
