I opened my mouth to respond when the door burst open.
Paige stood there, face pale and her eyes wide with worry. I was on my feet before crossing the distance between us.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, cupping her shoulders.
“Hallway,” she said, glancing at the other men.
I guided her out, my pulse racing. In the hallway, away from curious ears, she turned to me.
“Charlotte called and told me that Jack showed up at the penthouse.”
What the fuck?
“When?”
“Just now. She said she didn’t let him in, but he’s been out there for twenty minutes, demanding to see Lily.”
My jaw clenched so hard I had to calm down. Jack was at my penthouse. Near my mother. Near Lily.
“Hey,” I cupped her face, forcing her to look at me. “Mom won’t let him in. She won’t put Lily at risk. We will handle this, okay?”
“But what if he?—”
“We will handle it,” I repeated, more firmly this time. “I promise. Let’s go.”
We said our goodbyes in hurry, and the women immediately surrounded Paige with concerned questions, while the men offered help if I needed it. I appreciated it, but this was something I had to handle myself.
In the car, I reached across the console and laced my fingers through Paige’s cold hand which was trembling.
“He can’t do anything,” I said quietly, keeping my voice calm even though I felt uneasy knowing he was a door away from harming my mom and Lily. “He has no legal right to be there. If he tries anything, we call the police.”
She nodded, but I could see the fear in her eyes.
Because Jack wasn’t my friend anymore. He hadn’t been for a long time. The man who drugged women and took non-consensual videos wasn’t someone I knew.
I didn’t know what he might do, and that made him dangerous.
But I knew my mother. She wouldn’t open that door and wouldn’t let him anywhere near Lily without my explicit permission.
We didn’t speak, just held hands, both lost in our own thoughts about what we would find when we got there. Thankfully, the security was good at the penthouse, but if something happened… I was moving out with them to a gated society.
The elevator ride up was silent and I kept Paige close with my arm around her waist. I felt the tension radiating from her body.
The doors opened, and there he was.
Jack leaned against the wall outside my penthouse door, phone in hand and looking almost bored. Like he had just been casually waiting for us instead of showing up uninvited at one in the morning.
He glanced up as we approached, shoving his phone in the pocket.
“Took you long enough,” he said.
I felt Paige tense beside me, and I kept my hand firm on her back.
“What are you doing here, Jack?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I wanted to see my daughter.”
Bullshit.
