That’s all I need to hear to propel me into action.
He frowns as I move to get up. “Maybe you should sit for a few more minutes.”
“There’s no time. If someone’s tracing your phone, they’ll be tracking that call I made to Marla. We need to get out of here before they find out where we are.”
Jake’s lips press together in a tight line, but he nods. Wraps an arm under me to help lift me to my feet. He keeps me tucked to his side as we cross the parking lot to the white car.
“Where’d this come from, anyway?” I ask, gesturing toward the vehicle. “Did Marla help you get it?”
“No. Julian did.”
I give him a sharp look. “Julian?”
He grimaces. “Yes.”
“So you trust him now?”
Jake nods sheepishly.
“How’d that happen?”
“We talked things out.”
My stomach clenches as I remember the footage I saw of Julian at the house the day I was taken. “Was thisbefore or after you gave him a black eye?”
“During.” He cocks his head, giving me a curious look. “How’d you know about that?”
“I saw him on the security camera knocking on the door.” Reaching the car, I watch as Jake feels around the back tire, withdrawing a set of keys. “You want to tell me how violence resolved your trust issues?”
Jake unlocks the door and holds it open for me. I arch my eyebrows, waiting for an answer.
“I said some things I shouldn’t have.”
“Like?” I prompt.
“I accused him of trying to drive a wedge between us. To steal you from me.”
“I’m not a wallet, Jake. I have free will. I make my own choices.”
He hangs his head. “I know. And he told me that there’s no way you’d ever choose him. But that I was going to lose you myself if I didn’t get my head together and be honest with you.”
“Hmm. Definitely sounds like an unreasonable response that deserved a violent reaction to me.”
“In all fairness, he took the first swing.”
He gestures to his jaw, where I notice the dark shadow of a bruise hiding under the thick stubble that’s grown in.
“And what’d you say to get him to do that?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, he asks, “Do I have to tell you?”
“No,” I decide. “He hit you, you hit him, then what?”
Jake shrugs. “He apologized. Told me that he hadn’t realized I had a valid reason for not telling you what was going on. That he figured I was lying to you about being okay about the situation with my mom, and he wantedyou to know that wasn’t true.”
“Why did you lie?” I ask quietly, finally taking a seat in the car.
He squats down in front of me, sets the backpack full of money on the floorboard, and grabs a bottle of water from the back seat, breaking the seal. As he hands it to me, he says, “Because I couldn’t bear to tell you the truth.”
