“I don’t want your fucking coffee. I want you to leave Jack the hell alone. He’s mine! You’re so prissy I bet you screw like a virgin. Did Jack tell you how he said I was the best fuck of his life? You don’t deserve a man like Jack.”
Lauren knew Claire was trying to rattle her, and at any other time, it would have worked. She would’ve walked away from this woman, promising to never see Jack again. The problems he came with were not worth her time or energy. But her feelings for Jack had changed, and she now knew he was worth everything. She wanted to fight for him and take the good with the bad.
It was up to her to grab hold of what she wanted and not let go and damn anyone who tried to stop her. She’d gotten Belinda out of her life and now Claire needed to go. Something snapped inside her and anger consumed her, and she forgot about the knife in Claire’s hand.
Lauren pulled her shoulders back and tilted her chin up. “Jack’s not yours and never will be.”
Claire’s eyes widened, and her face turned a deep red.
“If you weren’t trashing things and being a pain in his ass, you’d be long forgotten by now.”
Claire sucked in a breath and made a choking sound. Lauren knew she was taking a risk speaking to her like this, but she couldn’t stop herself. Years of built-up frustration at being told what to do came pouring out.
“He cares for me. Not you—me,” Lauren said, placing a hand on her chest. “Actually, he loves me.” She wasn’t sure he did, but Claire didn’t know any better. “And I love him. So you need to get over this crazy obsession you have with Jack and move on.”
“No!” Claire screamed hysterically and held the knife in front of Lauren’s face. “He loves me!”
Lauren stumbled a couple of steps away from the knife. She took a deep, shaky breath, trying to stay as calm as she could with a sharp-looking blade inches from her face. “Claire, I’m sorry I upset you. Come inside, and we can sit down and talk. We’re getting soaked in the rain.” Claire tugged at her dripping hair. “Do you think I give a shit if you’re getting wet?
Leave Jack alone or I’ll carve up your pretty face.” And she swung the knife toward Lauren. Lauren’s reflexes kicked in and she automatically lifted her arm to ward off the blow. She waited for the searing burn of the blade to slice through her skin, but the pain never came.
Instead of the knife slicing through Lauren’s skin, her forearm collided with Claire’s wrist and knocked the blade out of her hand, sending it clattering to the concrete.
Claire scrambled down on her hands and knees, but before she could crawl to it, Lauren kicked it out of her reach. Claire rose and went to follow the knife just as a car pulled into the carpark with screeching tires.
Jack bounded out of the car and raced toward them.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jack saw Claire’s wild, panicked eyes dart around, looking for an escape. But before she could take another step, Jack was on her. He grabbed her arms and held them tight behind her back. Screaming, she kicked at him and tried to break free, but he kept a firm grip. There was no way he was about to let her go.
Running his gaze over Lauren’s wet body, he couldn’t see any blood but asked just in case he’d missed something. “Lauren, are you hurt?” She shook her pale face.
Waves of relief washed over him. “Call the police.”
Her eyes widened like her brain had once again clicked on to what was happening, and she dug around her bag for her phone, spilling most of the contents on the ground in her rush.
Her hands shook as she dialed triple zero. He wanted to hold her and comfort her instead of holding onto the enraged woman in his arms.
The call had barely been made when a police car pulled up behind Jack’s car. Two officers ran toward Jack and took Claire out of his hands.
Jack and Lauren ran toward each other. Jack opened his arms and Lauren ran into them. Brushing back her wet hair, he cupped her cheeks and placed urgent kisses over her face. He put his hands on her shoulders, pushed her at arm’s length, and scanned her body from head to toe, needing to see for himself she hadn’t been hurt.
“Are you all right?” he asked, then ran his hands over her, looking for injuries.
Stopping his hands, Lauren held them to her chest and kissed him. “I’m okay. Claire didn’t hurt me.” A shudder shook through her body underneath his palm, or it could have been him vibrating through her.
Jack pulled her to his chest in a tight embrace. “But she could have hurt you. God, if she did, I never could have lived with myself. When I saw that knife…” He shook his head then placed his forehead against hers.
“I’m okay,” she whispered.
All he could think to do to reassure himself she really was okay was to kiss her with everything in his heart.
When the kiss broke they stood gazing at each other. Their emotions and feelings laid out bare for one another. Jack’s heart raced with excitement. What he saw in Lauren’s eyes reflected what he knew shone from his own.
The sound of a car door slamming broke their connection, and they turned toward the police officers.
“How did the police get here so quickly?” Lauren asked.
