“Always right to the point with you. Never any introductions.”
Several heads bobbed in behind him, making sure everything was alright.
Drake waved them off. “We’re fine.”
The door shut, leaving them alone.
“What were you asking?”
As if he didn't remember. Jake wouldn't show up in this hole for any other reason. It had been the same reason over ten years ago.
Jake had to contain himself from crossing the room, grabbing the man by his throat and slamming him against the wall for answers. He knew better. This man could have his hide. This man was dangerous.
“My mother and Adalyn. Where are they?”
Drake slowly enjoyed inhaling and exhaling his cigarette. “Why the sudden interest?”
He didn't want to play games.
“Is Beth here?”
He never answered a question right away. Drake always had to ponder as he spun the round cylinder in his fingertips. “No.”
“Adalyn?”
“Adalyn?” He said her name like he was picturing her in a way that made Jake’s skin crawl. “Funny thing about Adalyn. She disappeared at the same time you did. At the same time I was put in the slammer.” He sent Jake a threatening look. “I assumed she went back to her big protective brother.”
Bullshit. He wouldn't let her leave just like that.
“Don't lie to me.”
He held his hands up. “Hey, I wouldn't.”
That was a lie from Drake the Snake himself.
“Beth on the other hand comes and goes whenever she runs out. Like an obedient puppy.”
Jake cringed at the way he talked about his mother. A protectiveness...a guilt for being unable to protect her from this man washed through him as it did every time his mother came into his thoughts. But he couldn't save her. He'd tried. He'd tried for years but he couldn't save someone who didn't want to be saved.
“Your dad was a fool thinking he could save that woman. All she cares about is her high.”
Jake cringed even more at the nerve of this man talking about his father. He had no right. He didn’t know him, and Drake had helped play his part in destroying his mother. His mother’s way had been what Henry had been trying to tell Jake all those years, but he didn't listen. When he'd finally come to terms with the reality he'd returned home to his dead dad. To the only person in his life that loved him. Except Sydney. But he couldn't go there right now. He had to stay sharp in here or he would end up leaving in a body bag.
“You see, I thought it was Adalyn that gave the detectives what they needed to send me away. She didn’t like me and she made it clear.” He tilted his head as if going back in time, without ever letting his eyes leave Jake. He trusted Jake about as much as Jake trusted him. “I sat in jail, thinking it had to be her. When I got out...” He sent him a smirk. “...you only need one good lawyer to reduce a life sentence...I planned on finding Adalyn. She had to pay for what she did.”
She didn’t do a damn thing. It had been Jake. Panic shot through him. Please be all right Adalyn. It was me, not her. Jake didn’t dare say anything until he knew what Drake had done or was planning to do.
“But it turns out she wasn’t the snitch after all. She was just hiding her own secret.”
Secret? What secret was Adalyn hiding that she didn’t tell Jake? The pressing question was how did Drake find out about Adalyn’s secret? He had been talking to her. Where are you Adalyn? Please be all right? Why didn’t you come to me first instead of sending your kids to me?
Again, Jake wasn’t about to start talking, he wanted to hear what this man had to offer first.
“Which in turn leaves only one other person I can think of that would cross me like that.” Drake knew.
A sick feeling washed over Jake. “What did you do to Adalyn?”
Drake waved his hand. “Nothing. Calm down Princess. Life is full of surprises. I wasn’t about to hurt Adalyn after her secret came out.”
What was he talking about?
“I just wanted a chance to meet her.”
Meet who?
“But Adalyn hid her from me and surprisingly I didn’t think of her being with you.”
Her? Like the kids? More specifically eleven-year-old Mia.
“There you got it figured out, Jake. Mia is my daughter.” The end of his sentence went low and cold.
Every drop of blood in Jake’s body boiled.
Adalyn had gone into hiding to protect Mia from Drake. Did Jason have anything to do with his sister’s protection?
Jake turned and crossed the room in a flash, but Drake was expected it. Drake didn’t fight it and Jake was disgusted as he grabbed this sick bastard by the throat and slammed him against the wall like he wanted to the first time he'd touched his sister.
“Where is Adalyn?”
“I can't keep track of that lass.”
“You stay away from Mia.”
“She is my daughter.”
“I don’t give a shit. She is my niece.”
Shit. Jake had to get the hell out of here. He had to phone Jason because he had just put every last family member in Willow Valley into danger. Sydney.
“Last I heard Adalyn was tired of shooting it up here and landed herself back in rehab. See, Beth thought she could come back here and lie to me and try to hide Adalyn but once an addict always an addict.”
Rehab. Back in rehab.
“I bet you had something to do with the relapse.”
He shrugged a guilty look. “I can't deny it. I can be very persuasive.”
That was the problem.
Jake’s fist met Drake’s face and sent him to the floor, Jake was out the back door and on his bike before anyone even noticed.
Once he got far enough away, he called Jason and was put straight through this time. Jake took his instructions and sped all the way back to Willow Valley.
Chapter Thirty-Three
SYDNEY WAS LAUGHING so hard at Lucy's impression of a dolphin out of the water...she still wasn’t sure how that question ended up in their paper pile for charades...that she didn't even hear the front door open until it slammed shut.
Her stomach hurt, her sides hurt and it wasn’t about Jake so it felt wonderful. Sydney hadn't cried so hard over something so adorable in a long time and after crying all night over Jake it was refreshing.
Lucy even had Joan laughing−full out laughing. This game had been a fantastic idea, Haylee’s of course.
“That doesn’t even make sense!” Mia cried, standing up and snatching the paper out of Lucy’s hand. She read it to herself then flashed it in front of everyone. Obviously the writing was too small to make out, but she stated what it said. “It says dolphin,” she clarified, turning to Lucy. “It doesn’t say dolphin out of water. You made that up.”
Lucy shrugged. “It was more fun and you couldn’t guess it.”
“Because it didn’t make sense. Sit down. You don’t get another turn.”
Lucy stuck her tongue out but plopped on the couch beside Benji, giving his side a tickle. He squealed in delight.
Sydney barely caught her breath when Jake appeared, staring down at her with such a look that it stole the rest of her breath away and not in a good way.
What was wrong?
Sydney stood up immediately and followed him quietly toward the kitchen, or so she thought.
“We will be right back,” she said, watching Joan and Haylee both acknowledge the look. Mia was watching as well.
“What happened?” she asked, as she turned back to Jake.
Oh no. Were Adalyn and Beth all right? Hurt? Dead? The thought was terrifying, but she didn’t sense that kind of feeling from him. He almost seemed in a panic.
Jake didn’t answer her or stop in the kitchen. Instead, she watched him go down the hall and into her bedroom, quickly, like he was on a mission.
She followed, even though her legs didn’t want to and the red-head flashed in her head ruining whatever happiness she
may have savored in her bedroom.
When she got to the doorway, she fully guarded her heart and saw him pulling her closet open.
Did he not get the same vibes she did in this room now? It was like torture sleeping in here, having a shower after what she’d thought she would get to feel for the rest of her life.
Stop it. He’s not in here to sweep you off your feet. Focus on the present, not on the past.
“What are you doing?”
“Pack some outfits and your overnight wear,” he said.
“Why?”
He grabbed a handful of her dresses and pulled them out of the closet throwing them on her bed.
What was going on?
Sydney crossed the room and caught his hand before he pulled another handful out. “What are you doing?”
He turned and his eyes burned worry into her soul. “We have to go.”
“Where? Why?”
“You, Haylee, the kids and Joan. Now.”
That didn't answer her question.
“Right now.”
“Jake, slow down. I don't understand what's going on. Where are we going?”
“I own a cabin in the woods.” He owned a cabin in the woods? Since when? And why?
Whisking her away to a romantic secluded cabin would have sounded sweet, but his lack of explanation was terrifying her.
She was putting her foot down. She planted her hands on her hips and sent him an, explain it before I pack it look. “Why?”
Jake ignored the look. “We don't have time for me to explain. I will tell you when we get there.” Yeah right, and dolphins could actually live out of water.
“You better try because I'm not going anywhere until you do.”
He groaned, frustrated. “I don't want to upset you and if I half-ass explain this you will just keep pumping out questions and like I said we don’t have time.”
“I'm very upset.”
Jake stopped then and turned to her. “I love you Sydney.” Like an emotional roller coaster Sydney could have cried right there. He loved her? He loved her! He sure had a strange way of showing it. Then her heart sank. He loved her like a friend, like family.
“When we made love the expectation was nothing in comparison to the real thing. It was amazing. You were amazing. You are amazing.”
He loves me!
“You were right. I only told you that load of crap trying to protect you from what I have dragged you into.” What had he dragged them into? Why did she have the feeling it wasn’t his fault and he was taking the blame?
The tears slipped down her cheek.
He wiped them away with his fingers, and then kissed her softly. “I’m so sorry, Sydney. I want to continue this conversation, but you need to trust me. We have to go. Do you trust me?”
Sydney would always trust this man and the protection he had for her.
She nodded.
“Alright, pack a bag.”
Her bedroom door burst open and Joan came in with a worried look across her face. “What's going on?” she demanded, her attention solely on Jake.
Didn't she find it a little odd that she just burst into Sydney’s bedroom when Jake was with her? They could have been...Sydney wiped away her tears.
“Where were you?”
Jakes face was solemn and he leveled a look at Joan. The two seemed to share a moment that was lost to Sydney.
“Oh Jake you didn't.” A deep fear played along Joan’s smooth features, sending a deep fear into the pit of Sydney’s stomach.
“He was just released.”
“How is that even possible?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but he’s out.”
“Why would you go there?” Joan sounded horrified and her beautiful face warped into a mass of fear that aged her drastically.
“You know why.”
“You should have given Beth a few more days.”
“And Adalyn? What about Adalyn? Obviously she's in trouble.”
Joan's eyes found the suitcase and her frown deepened with worry. “Are we in trouble?
“We need to go. Now.”
“Did you call Jason?”
Jason? Who was Jason?
Jake nodded. “I have a cabin he wants us to go to,” Jake said, then eyed Joan warily. “How do you know about Jason?”
Joan sighed. “Now’s not the time, Jake. But if that’s what he said, let’s go. I will tell Haylee to pack and you finish up here.” She sent Sydney a look. “Meet you at the front door.” She turned to leave and paused at the doorway. “Did they follow you?”
“No. But they know what town we are in so it won't be hard to locate us.”
“What about the Cliff House?”
“I had Devon close it up and send everyone home until we get this sorted.”
“Alright. Quickly then.” Joan disappeared leaving Sydney with Jake.
“I have to call my sisters.”
“You can do it once we are at the cabin. The quicker the better.”
Sydney nodded and tore a couple dresses off the hangers before finishing packing her bag. Jake stood at the door waiting, looking at the clock, tapping his fingers on his arm, making Sydney feel like she was moving as slow as a turtle.
When she was finished and zipped the bag up, Jake was at her side lifting it off the bed.
He grabbed her arm on the way out. “I know now is not the time, but nothing happened between me and that woman at the bar. Nothing was going to happen. I was mending my broken heart,” he said. “Now I know the only way to mend it is if I am with you. I want you.”
He was right, now was not the time. More tears fell down her cheeks and he kissed them away. She couldn’t speak and he must have known because he took her hand and led her out of the house.
Joan already had the kids loaded in her car and Haylee stood by Jake’s motorcycle waiting for them.
Sydney gave her worried daughter a hug. “Jake will explain when we get to the cabin.”
“I can ride with Jake if you want Mom,” Haylee said understanding Sydney’s fear. The offer made Sydney’s insides smile. Haylee would use any opportunity climb on the back of Jake’s bike, but the answer had always been a forceful no.
Haylee was reaching for the helmet in Jake’s hand when Sydney snatched it first.
“Get in the car,” she told Haylee in her no nonsense tone.
Haylee pouted away.
Sydney stared at the bike as Jake climbed on. Get on the bike Sydney.
She didn't move.
“Syd, we have to go.”
She stared at the bike like it was the ride to her death. In some ways that was exactly what she felt.
“Sydney.” He held his hand out to her. “I'm right here. Trust me.”
Always.
Chapter Thirty-Four
JAKE LED THE way down the familiar dirt road only a fifteen-minute drive out of town, watching behind them to make sure they weren’t being followed. When he was certain they weren’t, he slowed before the gravel laneway that looked like just another path in the bush. He drove under a leafy tree archway that opened up into a picturesque cabin in the woods with a wide gap beyond where the crystal clear sparkling lake glistened.
It was incredible. Jake often came up to this piece of land to check on the log cabin with a wraparound deck. It was his investment. His only investment and he was eventually planning on moving up here, when the time was right...whenever that was. He didn’t know what his future held currently but he hoped he hadn’t lost the one woman he wanted to spend it with.
He parked the bike and felt Sydney’s embrace relax. The strength of her arms was revealed with her deadly grip from the moment he pulled out of her driveway.
Jake had so much he wanted to tell her and apologize for. Mostly about the mistakes he had made with her in the last twenty-four hours, but now wasn’t the time.
He handed Sydney the keys to the cabin to settle the kids in, promising to talk after he did a perimeter check.
; Drake claimed to only think of Jake when he walked through the door, but Jake wouldn’t put it past him that he already had his men watching Mia. Mia, that poor young soul. He wouldn’t let a damn thing happen to that girl. Drake would have to personally go through Jake before he laid one of his filthy fingers on her and Jake was not about to let that happen.
When everything came up clean, Jake found Sydney and Joan waiting for him on the porch. They stood when he emerged from the brush and met him in the driveway, waiting for an explanation.
“Mia is Drake’s daughter,” he said straightforward. No more games and no more secrets between any of them. Jake was tired of hiding half-truths and tired of having half-truths hidden from him. From now on he was going to give and expect a life of honesty from these two women.
Joan let out an exasperated cry which, under the circumstances, he had expected. Joan knew Drake was his mother’s dealer and a dangerous man. She closed her eyes. “Did he tell you that?”
Jake nodded. “Yes.”
“Who’s Drake?” Sydney asked, completely in the dark about this whole situation. Exactly where he had wanted her and why he’d never wanted to have this conversation, but now wishing she knew everything.
“What were you thinking?” Joan asked, as though she didn’t hear Sydney’s question. She very well may not have, running the startling news through her head.
“I needed to find Adalyn.”
“And was she there?”
“No.”
She scoffed. “Where is she? Did he say? Has she been there?” There was worry in her voice and distress in her eyes for his sister’s well-being.
Jake shrugged. “I assume she was there because Drake thought Adalyn was the snitch.” Jake said it that way on purpose, including the snitch part after her comment about Jason as he was curious exactly how much Joan knew.
Joan’s response answered Jake’s suspicion as a warranted horrified look crossed her face and her fingers pressed against her lips in worry. “Oh no Jake, she could be...” Dead...yeah he was well aware of that.
Joan definitely knew more than she had ever let on. She knew Jason and she knew about the snitch. Before Jake continued, he needed to know how. “How do you know Jason?”
Lakeshore Love: The McAdams Sisters (By The Lake Book 3) Page 21
