“Oh, yeah?” He feigned nonchalance, hands fisted at his sides so he wouldn’t reach across the table and shake the answer out of Marley.
“Yeah.” She shoved the fork into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully, her expression unreadable, leaving Jake at the edge of his seat. “She was sneaking out of your bedroom and told me she had to go home before her parents woke up.”
The relief was instantaneous. So that was why she’d left him this morning. It made sense, but fear clouded rational thought.
“Thanks for telling me.” Hunching over his stack of pancakes, Jake worked on filling the hole in his stomach. “How’s your cat doing?” he asked around a mouthful of sugary sweetness.
“She’s still pregnant but less angry. I did some slow blinking exercises with her, and I think it worked.” Marley gleamed with pride.
“You think so?”
Marley’s nod was confident. “Yeah, she doesn’t want to scratch my eyes out anymore. Did you do that with Gia last night?”
Jake choked on his pancake, pounding a fist against his chest to clear his airway at the change in topic. “Do what?” he sputtered.
“The slow blinking.” Marley looked at him as if it were obvious.
He reached for the glass of orange juice on the table. “Um… yeah, you can say that.”
“It seemed to work.” Marley flashed him a bright smile. “I knew it would.”
Jake chuckled. “Yeah, you were right, kiddo.”
The view around the lake this time of year was especially breathtaking. The crunch of the brown leaves under his feet was a sign autumn was well underway. There was something calming about nature that settled his nerves. Or maybe it was the brutal pace he’d set to distract himself from the fact that Gia still had not called or texted him.
All of his insecurities wreaked havoc on his mind. If he hadn’t replayed every single moment of last night back at least a hundred times, he would have thought she didn’t have a good time—but there was no mistaking the way she’d claimed control and brought herself, and him, to mind-blowing orgasm last night.
Maybe it was his untimely confession that left her feeling scared. He knew it was probably too soon by most people’s timelines, but he’d been too overwhelmed with emotion to hold it back. They had so much time to make up for, and he didn’t want to waste another moment.
Despite Marley’s reassurances, the knot in his stomach only tightened, refusing to disappear. A sense of impending doom filled him. He hadn’t been able to shake the dread for most of the day, so he’d settled for a run around the lake. Nothing a blistering ten-mile run couldn’t solve.
The text arrived as he was nearing the edge of his property.
Clay
Gia is at the bar with ex.
Ex? What does that mean?
It was a new low for him, having called in some favors to keep tabs on Gia, but he needed to be sure she was safe when she was in town. Clay wasn’t just a bartender. He was ex-military. Special ops with a shady history, and he was basically a ghost. Jake helpedClay on a case when he’d first moved to town, so Clay still owed him a favor—which he didn’t cash in on until Gia came home.
There was no one else better equipped to keep Gia safe when Jake wasn’t around her. Even though the town kept tabs on Gia in much more obvious ways, he still needed an extra layer of security.
Though Gia had yet to reveal who her assailant was, he had already knew based on the information Kenji had given him. Unfortunately, there was not much a family lawyer from a small town could do to someone who ruled Hollywood.
That’s where Clay came into the picture. At least once a day, Clay would send brief reports about anything he heard through his network. It had been uneventful—until now.
The sprint back to his house was probably his personal record. He rushed out, shouting to Marley he’d be back later, grabbed his keys, and was out the front door.
Why is her ex here?Questions raced through his mind, each one turning his stomach into knots.
The drive was barely five minutes, but it was five minutes too long. With trembling hands, he slammed the car to a stop in front of Crystal Hollow Grill. The stench of desperation and fear clung to him as he rushed out of the car. Ripping the door to the bar open with a resounding crash, he was a whirlwind of rage. Every muscle coiled, ready to confront his nemesis and fight for Gia—but the sight before him stopped him in his tracks.
His blood ran cold. Gia was in the arms of a familiar face he recognized from the tabloids he’d been guilty of keeping up with.
Alex.His lips curled up in a snarl. For a moment, the world seemed to tilt on its axis. Jake’s heart was ready to break until he caught sight of her face.
Something was wrong.
