“Don’t feel silly,” Jack said, giving Silver a warm smile. He sat down on an armchair across from Silver. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to sit down right next to her on the couch and pull her into his arms, but something told him that right after a breakup wasn’t the best time for him to reveal his deeper feelings for her. In reality, he wasn’t sure that there ever would be a time where he would reveal his feelings for her. As drawn to her as he felt, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to risk their friendship. And he wasn’t sure whether it was fair to ask a woman to put up with the busy schedule he was forced to keep as a doctor.
“Tell me what happened,” Jack said as he settled into Silver’s armchair. He loved that she had older furniture that wasn’t completely computerized. It somehow felt homier to him that way.
Silver looked down at her hands for a moment. Then she looked back up and gave him a shaky smile. “Joe told his dad that I overheard something that made me upset. He didn’t tell his dad what I heard, thankfully. But apparently just knowing that I heard something made his dad angry.”
Jack let out a low whistle. “I’m surprised Joe talked to his dad about it. Are you sure he didn’t say anything about shifters?”
“I’m pretty sure,” Silver said. “His dad cornered me in a deserted hallway during a charity event tonight, and he was madder than I’ve ever seen him. He demanded that I tell him what I knew, but I played dumb. He started going off on me, telling me I was only dating Joe for his money. He pretty much verbally and physically assaulted me.”
“Wait, what do you mean he physically assaulted you?” Jack asked, feeling an angry stirring in his stomach. Did he hit you?”
“No, but he squeezed my wrists so hard that he bruised them,” Silver said. Then she pulled back her sleeves to reveal dark bruises ringing her wrists.
“That bastard!” Jack said, jumping to his feet and rushing over to where Silver was standing . He grabbed her hands to inspect the bruises, and as soon as he touched Silver’s skin, she teared up again.
“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling back one of her hands to wipe at her eyes. “This whole night has made me pretty emotional. I usually don’t cry this much, I promise.”
“I know,” Jack said softly, looking up into her eyes. “I’ve known you for a long time, remember? I know you’re a tough cookie. But you’ve been through a lot tonight. You don’t have to keep apologizing, okay? Being strong doesn’t mean never being vulnerable. It’s okay to let your guard down in front of your closest friends now and then, I promise.”
Silver nodded, but she still tried to sniff back her tears.
“So what happened after that?” Jack asked. “Did you tell his dad anything else?”
“No. I kept refusing to talk to him. He left after telling me he’d kill me if I got in the way of his plans. He was really careful never to hint at anything that might be interpreted as referencing shifters, though. So I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know that I heard him talking about shifters. When he was gone, I just stood there in the hallway for a minute, stunned. Then I tried to get to the bathroom so I could hide in a stall and regain my composure. But before I made it to the bathroom, Joe showed up. He was wondering why I had been gone so long.”
“So I’m guessing you told him what his dad did?” Jack asked.
Silver nodded. “Yeah, I told him everything. He told me I was overreacting and that his dad would never be so crazy. Basically, he stood up for his dad even though he could plainly see the bruises on my wrists. I couldn’t take it anymore. I broke up with him then and there.”
“That asshole!” Jack exclaimed. “I should go over there right now and teach him a lesson or two about standing up to people. He deserves to have his nose punched in for defending someone who would hurt his girlfriend.”
“Ex-girlfriend,” Silver corrected, and then started to cry again. This time, Jack did pull her into his arms. He forced himself to take deep breaths and fight the urge he had to jump up and go hunt Joe down. Silver didn’t need him to go beat Joe up right now. She needed someone to be a true friend to her, and that’s what Jack was going to do. He held her for a long time, letting her sob against his shoulder and gently rubbing her back. He tried not to think about how perfectly she fit into the crook of his arm. This wasn’t the time for that. She needed to get her emotions out and have a safe space to regroup.
After a long time, Silver’s sobs finally died down to sniffles. She pulled back from Jack, looking embarrassed and leaving a big wet spot on the shoulder of his t-shirt.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t be asking you to listen to all of this. I really should have waited for Storm to answer her phone. I’m a mess.”
“A beautiful mess,” Jack said softly. Then he reached up and wiped the few remaining tears off of her face. Silver’s eyes shot up to meet his, and he thought for a moment that he saw a flicker of understanding in them. Did she realize that he cared for her? Did he dare to say something? Was he out of his mind?
Before he could come to a decision, Silver broke her gaze away and looked down at her hands.
“Well, anyway. Thank you,” she said quietly.
“Do you think you’re safe?” Jack asked. “Do you think Joe will tell his dad what you overheard, now that you broke up with him?”
“I don’t think Joe will say anything. At least, not right away. His dad is already angry about the whole situation. If Joe admits that he knew what I heard, when he said before that he didn’t, his dad will be furious with him. Joe isn’t going to risk making his parents angry. He walks on eggshells around them as it is.”
“Okay. Well if you think you’re in danger at all you can come stay at my place. Or Grant’s, or your brother’s,” Jack added quickly, not wanting to sound like he was making some sort of romantic proposition in the middle of such a shitty situation. “Just make sure that you’re somewhere safe.”
“Thanks,” Silver said. “I know Bash would be demanding that I go stay with him right now if he knew what had just happened. But I think I’m pretty safe here. My building has good security. Besides, I don’t think Joe or his dad are going to try to come attack me. As long as his dad doesn’t know that I know about shifters, I’m probably okay. His dad is more than likely going to be glad to be rid of me.”
“And you never actually told Joe that you’re a shifter, right?” Jack asked.
“Right. I never told him that.”
Jack nodded slowly. “You’re probably right that you’re safe, then. I doubt he’ll come after you.”
“It sucks that I won’t be around to eavesdrop on his dad anymore, though. Now we have no way of keeping tabs on whether any progress has been made on the eye scanners or not.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “Silver, seriously! It’s better that you’re not spending all your time around a family that hates shifters. They’re dangerous, and if they found out somehow that you were a shifter, you could be in a lot of trouble.”
Silver’s eyes darkened. “This is about more than just me, Jack. It’s about all of us. If this technology is developed, and they manage to convince the public at large that shifters are dangerous, things could get really bad really quickly. I know we’re not in Alaska anymore, but think of your clan. Think of everyone we left behind. Everyone we love could be in danger. If there was something I could do to prevent that, even if it put my own life at risk, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
Jack sighed and leaned back against the couch. “I know you would, Silver. You’re a firecracker, and you always have been. But I don’t think you could have really done much of anything useful by hanging around at Joe’s parent’s house all the time. In fact, his dad probably would have been extra careful not to say or do anything suspicious around you, since he’s already worried that you know too much.”
Silver didn’t answer for a long time. Jack was quiet, and let her think. He had his own thoughts to work through, too. Ever since the first night that Silver had called an emergency meeting
of the Fur Coats, Jack had been wrestling with whether the threat to shifters by Mr. Astor was credible. Although Jack didn’t agree with Joe on much of anything, he did tend to agree that Mr. Astor was just a crazy old man with wild ideas.
But that crazy old man with wild ideas did have a lot of influence with the mayor. And the mayor had a lot of influence with the President. Jack had actually toyed with the idea of calling Neal, the alpha of his clan back home, and asking for his advice. The only problem was that the older alphas were hypersensitive to anything that remotely sounded like a threat to eliminate all shifters. Neal was generally a levelheaded alpha, but he had lived through some bad shit. He didn’t play around when it came to the possibility of a widespread attack. Jack didn’t want to raise alarm for no reason. He also didn’t want to get involved with a possible shifter conspiracy without a really good reason. Part of the reason Jack had left Alaska was to get away from the constant paranoia that seemed to envelop everyone he knew back home. Most of the shifters he had grown up with seemed to always be worried that someone was out to get them.
When Jack had arrived in Chicago for medical school, he had found it refreshing to be around a bunch of full humans who were oblivious to the fact that shifters even existed. For the last several years, he’d been merrily going about his business without having to constantly hear a bunch of doomsday scenarios. He enjoyed having a few shifter friends in the city, but he was happy to leave anything else having to do with shifters alone.
Jack wanted to write this latest threat off as just one more paranoid, crazy threat. The only problem was, he knew Silver wasn’t the paranoid type. And he had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach when he thought about the eye scanners. It was only recently that eye scanners themselves had become widely available, and they were still relatively expensive. But technology progressed at lightning speed these days. It wouldn’t be too long before scanners were cheap and in every home. It wasn’t really that big of a leap to think of scanners that detected animal DNA being widespread as well. Add in a few government officials who hate shifters, stir in a little public hysteria, and there could be a real problem.
Jack ran his fingers through his hair and stared up at the ceiling. The truth was, it didn’t matter to him, really, whether or not Silver had given up a chance to spy on a potential enemy. He would rather deal with a huge, potential threat to everyone than a very specific threat to Silver. He knew he was falling for her and falling hard, and he didn’t try to stop the freefall of his heart. Whether or not he ever told Silver that he cared for her, he could enjoy this moment with her, right here, right now. There was no point in rushing in to anything. She needed time to let her heart heal, and he needed time to figure out whether he could make enough space in his life to give Silver the attention she deserved.
Silver was the one to finally break the silence, interrupting Jack’s thoughts with a simple question. “Wanna order a pizza?” she asked. “I had dinner at the charity event, but it was basically two bites of chicken and a few pieces of lettuce. The food at those things is always ridiculous. You’re paying a thousand dollars for a seat, after all. The least they could do is give you a decent dinner.”
Jack’s jaw dropped as he looked over at Silver. “You paid a thousand dollars for a meal?”
Silver shrugged. “Well, I didn’t. Joe’s family did. A thousand bucks is like a couple pennies to them. But regardless of who paid for my poor excuse for a dinner, I’m starving.”
Jack chuckled and sat up straighter on the couch. “You really want to order pizza? I thought all you dancers ever ate was a salad and the occasional grape or two.”
Silver laughed. “Well, maybe ordinary dancers. But I’m a grizzly. You can’t blame me for having the appetite of a bear.”
Jack grinned. “Fair enough. How do you feel about supreme pizza?”
“That’s my favorite,” Silver said, grinning back.
“Perfect. Why don’t you enjoy a few sips of that wine and I’ll order us some grub.”
Silver nodded, and Jack pulled out his phone to order the food. Twenty minutes later, the pair was digging into a box of deep dish supreme pizza. They had set the box down on Silver’s coffee table and were watching a movie on Silver’s wall, which easily converted to a television screen with a simple voice command. Jack only half-watched the movie. He couldn’t keep himself from glancing over at Silver every few minutes. He hoped he wasn’t being obvious, but he was having a hell of time keeping his eyes on the television when the most beautiful woman in the world was sitting right next to him.
By the time the movie ended, Jack’s exhaustion was beginning to catch up with him again. Silver seemed to be feeling better, and he needed to get home and get some rest. As much as he wished he could stay there and be next to Silver all night, he forced himself to stand up.
“I should get going,” he said, reaching for his phone so he could call his hovercar up to the front of the parking garage.
“Yeah, of course,” Silver said. “Sorry I kept you so long. Thanks for coming over. I was pretty upset earlier.”
“Anytime,” Jack said. “It was no trouble at all. And besides, I had a great time. Are you sure you’re okay now?”
Silver nodded, and gave Jack an encouraging smile. “I’m great, thank you. I should get some rest, too. My knee is a lot better, but I need to make sure it’s in tip top shape for rehearsal tomorrow.”
Jack slapped his forehead. “Oh my god, I’m such an idiot. I’ve been hanging out with you all night and I didn’t even ask about your knee. You’re going to get to dance this weekend, then?” Jack was mentally kicking himself for forgetting to ask Silver about what was probably the most important issue in her life right now.
But if Silver was annoyed by his lapse, she didn’t show it. Instead, her smile widened. “Yeah, I’ll get to dance this weekend for the grand finale. The only thing that sucks is that I won’t have anyone there that I know to watch me. I gave away all my free tickets to Joe’s family. I’m sure they won’t give them back to me now, just to spite me. And I doubt they’ll show up now that I’ve broken up with him.”
Silver’s face fell a little bit as she finished speaking, and Jack felt his heart aching for her. “I could come,” he offered. “I mean, and pay for my ticket. I think I work this weekend but I could probably get someone to switch with me. Just because you don’t have free tickets doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have someone there to cheer you on.”
Silver smiled and shrugged in his direction. “Thanks, but it’s okay. I don’t want you to have to go to all that trouble. And besides, the only tickets available this last minute will probably be super expensive. It’s no big deal. I’ll still have a big audience to dance for. I’m just happy that I’m going to be able to finish out the show. Then I’ll really have some time to rest up and let my knee heal.”
Jack frowned. “Still. It’s a big deal. You’ve been excited about this show for a long time.”
“I know,” Silver said. “But really, it’s fine. It’s still going to be a great show.”
Jack sighed. He knew Silver was putting a happy gloss on an unhappy situation. But he also knew there wasn’t much he could do to change things. She had trusted Joe, and he had betrayed her trust. But the show must go on, and Jack had no doubt Silver would dance as brilliantly as ever, with or without a boyfriend there to cheer her on.
“Alright, I better get going,” Jack said, reluctant to leave but well aware that he was losing valuable hours of sleep. He couldn’t afford to be a zombie at work. His patients were counting on him to take good care of them.
Silver stood to give him a goodbye hug, and the feeling of her arms around him, however brief, sent a wave of heat through Jack’s body. He couldn’t help tilting his head down to kiss the top of her head. Her hair was silky soft, and smelled faintly of coconut.
If Silver read anything other than friendliness into his goodbye kiss, she didn’t show it. Jack gave her another small wave, and then quickl
y left her condo before he was tempted to do or say something stupid and give himself away.
“Keep it together, Jack,” he whispered to himself as he stepped into the elevator. “Life is complicated enough right now without throwing a woman into the mix.”
Chapter Nine
Sunday morning, Silver woke up and felt like her head was two sizes too big.
“Fabulous,” she muttered to herself as she rolled over in bed and tried to block out the world for a few more moments by burying her face in her pillow. The last thing she needed right now, on top of everything else, was to be sick.
The last few days had been hell. First, Joe had called her nonstop, leaving messages ranging from apologetic and pleading to angry and demanding. Silver had refused to talk to him or answer any of his questions. She knew she could never go back to him after what had happened at the charity dinner, and she didn’t want to feel like she was defending her decision to him. He knew why she had left. There was no need to rehash everything a hundred times.
It had felt a little odd at first to have the wealthiest, most sought-after bachelor in Chicago desperate to win her back. For a moment, Silver had to admit she might have even relished the attention a little bit. What girl wouldn’t be flattered to have a guy like Joe, with money and connections, paying so much attention to her?
But Silver’s gratification over being a “catch” didn’t last long. After a little over a day of trying to reach Silver, Joe had gotten the message that they really were done. And that’s when things turned nasty.
Joe had “leaked” to the local papers that Silver had cheated on him. He had played the part of the innocent, wounded boyfriend who had just wanted to be the best man he possibly could for his girlfriend, but had then had it all thrown in his face.
Trouble in a Fur Coat (The Fur Coat Society Book 1) Page 7
