I almost groaned out loud.
So much for no drama.
Chapter 51
I didn't turn to look. I didn't need to. I could feel his presence, like a wall behind me, a big, protective wall that I could lean against if I wanted to.
I was sorely tempted. But this wasn't his problem. It was mine.
I tried to think. Maybe if I loaned her money for a hotel?
But of course, it wouldn’t really be a loan, because I'd never see the money again. Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot to spare.
My mom was glaring at Jax. "You're not the boss of her."
From behind me, he replied in that same steady voice, "Yeah? And neither are you."
I turned to give him a pleading look. "I can handle this, okay?"
His jaw tightened. "No."
"Sorry, what?"
"It's not okay."
I shook my head. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," he said, "you don't have to take this shit."
Already, my mom was sputtering, "Shit? You mean me?" She made a scoffing sound. "Well, this is just terrific."
I whirled back to her and said, "He wasn't talking about you. He was talking about the situation."
"He was not!" she said. "He hates me."
Gee, I wonder why.
Still, I said, "Oh come on. He doesn't even know you."
From behind me, Jax said, "I know plenty."
"Hey!" my mom barked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
God, what a nightmare. I couldn’t help but recall the last time the three of us had been standing along some roadside. That time, she'd been turning on the charm. Now, she was totally unhinged.
I wanted to scream in frustration. Surely, there had to be a middle ground somewhere between humping his leg and screaming like a banshee.
Then again, she'd never been great at moderation.
Of course, it didn't help that Jax was shoveling fuel onto the fire.
My mom looked to me and demanded, "Well?"
"Well what?"
"What did he mean by that?"
"I don't know," I said through gritted teeth, "but I’m sure it wasn't as bad as you think."
From behind me, Jax said, "Wanna bet?"
Damn it. I hated this. To think, it had been such a wonderful evening, and now, it was going to hell in a handbasket. And the longer this went on, the worse it would get. I just knew it.
I so didn't want that to happen.
I turned and gave Jax an apologetic look. "Listen, if you want to go, I totally understand."
From behind me, my mom called out, "Yeah! And that's a hint in case you didn't get it."
I cringed. Technically, her statement was true. It had been a hint, but not in the way she made it sound. Yes, I wanted him to leave, but not because I didn't want his company. Mostly, I wanted to spare him from drama overload.
Plus, this was all too embarrassing for words.
I turned and I told my mom, "I wasn't telling him to leave. I was just letting him know he could leave if he wanted to."
From behind me, Jax said, "Good."
I turned to stare up at him. "What?"
"Good," he repeated, "because I’m not going anywhere."
Shit. "Why not?"
He glanced toward my mom. "You gotta ask?"
My heart was racing, and my palms were sweaty. I had no idea what to do. But then, like magic, the most wonderful idea presented itself. I whirled back to my mom and forced a smile. "I know. What about Tabitha?"
She stiffened. "What about her?"
"You could stay at her place."
"No. I can't," she replied. "I'm on her shit-list." She looked to Jax and said, "Thanks to you."
"But wait," I said, "what does he have to do with it?"
She glared past me to tell Jax, "Not that you care, but your security goon broke her arm." She looked back to me and said, "She's been pissed at me ever since."
I froze. "Tabitha broke her arm?"
"No," my mom said. "The goon broke her arm. Didn't you hear me?"
I had heard, but I didn't really believe it. And yet, I couldn’t help but recall Jax threatening such a thing when Tabitha had balked at leaving the party.
I turned back to Jax and asked, "Is that true?"
From behind me, my mom snapped, "Of course it's true. I just told you."
I was still looking at Jax. His expression was unreadable as he stared down at me.
I bit my lip. "Is it?"
He fixed me with a piercing gaze. "Is that a serious question?"
Was it? Obviously, I'd offended him just by asking. And yet, I did need an answer. "Well, it would be nice to know."
He looked at me for another long moment before saying in a tight voice, "Alright. The answer's no."
My shoulders sagged in relief.
But then, he added, "Sprained, maybe. But not broke."
I blinked. "What?"
From behind me, my mom said, "Yeah, but she still had to wear a sling."
I turned back to my mom. "So it wasn't broken?"
She straightened. "Actually, it was worse."
Huh? Unless the so-called goon had ripped off the arm entirely and beat Tabitha with it, I couldn’t imagine what my mom meant. I asked, "How could it be worse?"
"It was almost broken," she said, "which meant she didn't even get a cast out of the deal."
Oh, for God's sake. "But isn't that a good thing?"
"No, it's not good." She gave a snort of derision. "Seriously, who wants to sign a sling?" She shuddered. "It was so ugly, too. She was totally screwed."
All I could do was stare. Was she serious? She looked serious.
"And then today," my mom continued, "Dominic was mugged right outside the penthouse, so I can't go back. It's not safe."
"Wait a minute," I said, "so Dominic was robbed, not you?"
"Well, I was with him," she said. "It was terrifying. There we are, standing right outside the penthouse door, and these guys come out of nowhere and drag him off like he was nothing."
Okay, that sounded pretty far-fetched. "You're kidding."
"No," she insisted. "He's yelling. I'm yelling. No one's helping at all. And fifteen minutes later, where do I find him? Bleeding in the bushes. He's in the hospital, you know."
"Yes," I said through clenched teeth. "I know. But did they catch the guys who did it?"
Her lips formed a pout. "No."
My gaze narrowed. "How many guys?"
"Two." Her voice picked up steam. "But maybe a lot more."
"Okaaaaaay." I reached up to rub the back of my neck. "These two guys, what did they look like?"
"How should I know?" she said. "They were wearing masks."
Well, this just got better and better. "What kind of masks?"
"I dunno, ski masks or something."
"And when did this happen?"
"Today, like I said. So you see why I can't go home, right?"
I tried to think. The whole story sounded like a load of bunk. And yet, it wasn't completely impossible. After all, Dominic wasn't an average Joe.
But let's say I did believe her. What then?
Yes, it would be awful to have your – well, whatever Dominic was – dragged off your doorstep. But I also knew that Dominic wasn't exactly an upstanding guy.
Assuming the story was true, maybe there was a reason he'd been dragged away. He was in a risky line of work. Probably, he had plenty of enemies. For all I knew, he got dragged off once a month.
Was I being callous? Maybe. But somehow, this whole Florida adventure had me seeing things differently, at least when it came to my mom.
She and I were still going back and forth when Jax strode past us, heading toward the cab. I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion.
He wasn't leaving, was he?
Chapter 52
No. He couldn’t be leaving. If he were planning to leave, he'd simply hop in his own car and drive off.
In truth, I was surprised he hadn't already.
And yet, I was curious. Apparently, so was my mom. Together, we watched as he rapped on the cab's driver's side window. When it slid down, he exchanged a few inaudible words with the driver and then strode back to where my mom and I were standing.
He looked to my mom and said, "There's a room at the Plaza in your name. The driver knows where to drop you."
She frowned. "You're just trying to get rid of me."
"Damn straight," he said.
"Well forget it," she shot back. "I'm not going anywhere. I see what you're doing, you know."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"You're trying to turn my own daughter against me."
He gazed down at her with obvious contempt. "Seems to me you've done that yourself."
"What do you mean?" she demanded.
"I mean," he said, "what kind of woman whores out her own fucking daughter?"
I gasped.
And so did my mom. She sputtered, "It wasn't like that!"
"No?" he said. "Then tell me. How was it?"
"It's just a dating service," she said. "You don't always have to sleep with them."
He grimaced. "Is that so?"
"Of course," she said. "It's like any other date. It doesn’t always end with sex." She flicked her head in my direction and said, "And even if it did, Lord knows she could use the experience."
Oh, for God's sake. I practically yelled, "Just stop, okay?"
My mom turned back to me and said, "Oh come on. You know it's true."
Okay, so I hadn't been with a ton of guys, but only because I knew where that road led, and it wasn't good. Still, I took a deep breath and forced some calm into my voice. "I'm not discussing this." Especially now, in front of a guy I'm so crazy about it.
But it was too late. My mom was on a roll. "And, do you seriously want to marry the first person you fuck?"
No. What I wanted to do was dig a hole and throw myself into it. Or hell, maybe I'd just toss in my mom and call it good.
Through gritted teeth, I said, "I'm not a virgin if that's what you're implying."
She gave me a thin smile. "Yeah, well, you might as well be. When I was your age, I had tons of experience." She looked back to Jax and said, "And I don't see why you're on such a high horse. There's nothing wrong with wanting a pretty girl on your arm."
"Yeah?" he said. "How about paying one to ride your cock?"
At the image, I felt a rush of heat – some good, but mostly bad.
The good? It happened to be Jax's cock I was thinking of, and the image of us together sent a bolt of heat straight to my core.
And the bad? I was obviously losing my mind. I mean, seriously, why on Earth was I thinking of this now?
After all, I had a hole to dig and no shovel.
Damn it.
When my mom's only reply was a loose shrug, Jax persisted, "Do you see anything wrong with that?" His tone grew harder and colder, and just a little bit scary. "And what if the girl's your own daughter?" He shook his head. "What the hell's the matter with you?"
Listening, I couldn't help but flinch. He made everything sound so terrible, which, sadly, it was.
But my mom wasn't flinching. "Oh, please," she said. "Let's all be honest here. You wouldn't even be fucking her if she was ugly."
I yelled, "Will you just shut up!" I wasn't even sure who I was yelling at. Her? Him? Both?
My mom turned to me and said, "No. I will not shut up. I'm saying this for your own good."
I gave a bitter laugh. "Oh, please. You've never done anything for my good."
"That's not true!" she said. "I've done lots of things."
"Really?" I crossed my arms. "Like what?"
"Well, I had you for one thing."
"Yeah. And you only did that to snag a rock star."
Her mouth opened, but she made no reply. It suddenly struck me that this was the first time I'd actually come out and accused her of having me just to trap some rich, famous guy.
But she shouldn't've been surprised. After all, I'd heard the story straight from her. And Tabitha, too. Repeatedly.
Especially on my birthdays.
My mom whirled to Jax. "You made her say that!"
I yelled, "He did not!"
Unlike us, Jax wasn't yelling. With a long, cold look, he told my mom, "Let's get one thing straight. I don't 'make' her do anything. And I'm not gonna either."
"Well, goodie for you," my mom muttered. She turned back to me and said, "So, you're turning me out on the street? Is that it?"
"No." I made a sound of frustration. "But I do think a hotel would be better."
Her mouth tightened. "Oh yeah? So who's paying?"
Before I could reply, Jax said, "Me."
I cringed. I didn't want him to pay. He'd already paid enough. I looked to my mom and said, "No. He's not. But if you don't have the money, I'll pay."
How, I wasn't sure. Maybe I could get a loan from Allie? Was she even home? I doubted it. I didn't see her truck, and besides, if she were home, she'd probably be down here already.
Hell, she could join the neighbors who were openly gawking from their porches.
Jax's voice cut through the noise. "It's already paid for. And so's the cab." He looked to my mom and said, "But the offer expires in one minute. So take it while you can."
My mom turned and gave the cab a long, speculative look. "What about the tip?"
I blurted out, "I'll get it."
"No," Jax said in a deceptively calm voice, "you won't, because I already took care of it."
My mom was still looking at the taxi. "How many nights at the Plaza?"
I wanted to slap her. "Just one. Jeez, what do you think?"
Her chin lifted. "I think it's not enough."
Jax said, "It's paid for a week. After that, you're on your own."
My mom gave it some thought. "My room, it's an ocean-view, right?"
In a tight voice, Jax replied, "They're all ocean-view."
Now, she was giving him the squinty eye. "What floor is it on? Is it on the top floor?"
I snapped, "Does it matter?"
"It might," she said. "You know, for safety and all that."
Jax told her, "The longer you stay, the lower it gets. Keep it up, and you'll be in the basement."
And that's what did it.
Thirty seconds later, she and her suitcase were settled back inside the cab. I watched in mortified silence as it pulled away, leaving us staring after it.
When it finally disappeared, I took a nervous look around. Almost every porch was occupied with people I didn't even know. But they knew me. Now, anyway.
I felt like running, or at the very least, hiding. But soon, I didn't need to, because Jax wrapped me in his arms and pulled me close. His voice was quiet in my hair. "You alright?"
I sighed against him. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
"Hell no."
I leaned back to gaze up at him. "But aren't you tired of my drama?" Heaven knows, I was.
"It's not your drama," he said, "so forget it."
I gave a weak laugh. "Easy for you to say." I took another quick look around. My apartment windows were dark, and I still saw no sign of Allie's truck.
I leaned back into him and pressed my cheek against his shirt. "Do you want to come up? Like for a drink or something?"
His grip tightened, and I felt his lips brush against my hair. His voice was quiet. "Yeah. I do." But then, he let go and took a step back. "But I'm not gonna."
Suddenly, the night felt very cold. "Why not?"
"Because you're not thinking straight."
"What do you mean?"
He looked toward his car. "I should go."
It felt like a brush-off. Was it?
And if so, was it any wonder? He'd done so much for me. And all he'd gotten in return was trouble. No wonder he wanted to leave.
I blew out a long, unsteady breath. "Listen, I want to tell you something…"
He held up a hand. "Don't."
"D
on't what?"
"Don't tell me."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because I know what you're gonna say, and I don't wanna hear it."
I hesitated. "What do you think I'm gonna say?"
I knew what other girls would say. They'd be begging him to come upstairs, and not just for drinks.
Even now, I was sorely tempted. And who could blame me? In the dim light of the streetlamp, he looked like every girl's fantasy.
He was tall and strong, with a face to die for. And if that weren't enough, just a few paces away, his pricey car was just another reminder that he was rich beyond all reason.
But these weren't the things that had me longing to see him upstairs. Rather, it was something inside him – the person he was regardless of where he lived or what he drove. And he'd just come to my rescue yet again.
I hadn't asked him to, but he had.
Now, I owed him. Cripes, even before tonight, I owed him more than I could ever possibly repay.
Desperate to let him know that I wasn't blind to everything he'd done, I looked deep into his eyes and said, "But I owe you—"
"Stop." His expression darkened. "You remember the deal, right?"
"What deal?"
"You were supposed to forget all that."
"Yeah, and I'm trying. I mean, I did." I gave a nervous laugh. "But now I owe you again."
His jaw clenched. "You don't."
"Oh come on," I said. "You're paying for my mom's hotel room."
"Yeah. And I did it for myself, not you. So like I said, forget it."
His words made no sense. I asked, "But why would it be for you?"
"I've got my reasons."
"What reasons?" I persisted.
Again, he looked to his car. "I should go."
And yet, he still wasn't moving. Was that a good sign? It had to be, right?
I edged closer and lowered my voice. "At least let me say it." I tried to smile. "Thank you."
He muttered, "Fuck."
Startled, I drew back. "What?"
"Nothing. Just forget it, alright?"
I stiffened. "Forget what, exactly?"
When he made no reply, I thought back to our dinner, when he'd been so warm and wonderful. And then, there'd been that kiss on the pier.
Tonight, I'd felt the beating of his heart. I'd heard something new in his voice when he said my name. And even before that kiss, I'd seen something in his eyes, something that looked an awful lot like love.
One Good Crash Page 21
