BAD HEART: A Stepbrother Romance (A Step Over the Line Book Book 2) (14 page)

“
You
like Jade, don
’
t you?
”
Rebecca asks.

“
What?
”

“
Jade.
I can tell. You care about her. That means a lot. She
’
s not like you.
”

“
Not
like me?
”

“
She
’
s shy. Sheltered. It
’
s nice she has a big brother to
look after her.
”

I cringe again.

Big brother? Seriously?

“
Yeah,
right,
”
I say.

What a terrible conversation.

“
Just
…
just try,
”
Rebecca says. Her voice cracks
and slurs.

“
I
’
m fine where I am,
”
I say.

“
But
you can
’
t get into fights.
It looks so bad. It can
’
t
happen.
”

I laugh.
“
He
’
s
right there, isn
’
t he?
”

“
Who?
”

“
Thomas,
”
I say.
“
He
’
s
standing right there. I bet my life on it.
”

“
Jake
…”

“
He
told you to call me. To talk to me.
”

“
I
’
m your mother.
”

“
Keep
telling yourself that. Hey, did Thomas tell you that he and Hunter threatened
me. Because I called Jade for a ride?
”

“
I
just got done telling you
…
you
…”

I can almost hear Thomas
standing there. The change in Rebecca
’
s
tone. Almost like she
’
s
afraid.

“
What?
”
I ask.

“
You
put her life in danger with that call,
”
Rebecca says.
“
You can
never do that again.
”

“
Okay
then,
”
I say.
“
Tell Thomas I said hello. And go
enjoy another drink. Just do me a favor
…
don
’
t drive drunk this time
and almost kill yourself. And someone else.
”

I end the call.

The apartment is silent but nothing
feels silent. It
’
s like the
place is screaming.

I turn my phone off and go into the
bedroom. I hit the bed and shut my eyes.

I sleep and sleep hard.

My dreams are plagued by Jade. I
can
’
t stop wondering how
things are going to be. Either I destroy her and her life or I stand there and
watch her get forced into a life with Hunter. She
’
ll
be his little puppet. Never live out her dreams and actually be happy. She
’
ll just stand there, always
looking beautiful. She won
’
t
even feel anything when he touches her. Not like the way she feels when I touch
her.

When I open my eyes I expect it to
be an hour later. It
’
s
goddamn ten at night. I
’
ve
slept through the entire day. I get up from the bed and feel refreshed. I turn
my phone on and there
’
s one
text from Jade.

Can we talk?

Then there
’
s a voicemail. Jade again.

“
Hey
Jake, it
’
s
…
me. I, uh, sent you a
text. I want to talk, please. I just want to
…
I don
’
t
know. Okay? I just don
’
t
know anything. I don
’
t
want to talk about this on a voicemail. I shouldn
’
t have even left this message. Shit.
”

The voicemail ends when a second
voice enters the scene. Jade had been whispering. Calling me when she was with
Hunter.

I shake my head.

I
’
m
hungry.

I
’
m
pissed off.

I
’
m
really thirsty.

Yeah, I know the last thing I need
to do it go out. But I don
’
t
give a fuck anymore. If I
’
m
going to ruin it all, then I
’
m
going to do it in fashion. I
’
ll
wreck Thomas
’
image,
Rebecca
’
s fantasy, and Jade
…

Maybe she
’
s better off being taken care of and unhappy than
having anything to do with the mess that
’
s
my life.

When I get to a local bar, I go
right for a corner and order a beer and a cheeseburger. I have no intentions of
anything happening tonight. I
’
m
going to eat, have a couple drinks, and then go back to my apartment. On the
way home, I
’
m going to stop
at a store and get some more to drink. Part of me thinks about stopping by Zeke
’
s, but that
’
ll be a late night. Noise and
women everywhere.

Maybe that
’
s what I need.

I look around the bar and see
someone already looking at me. She smiles and stands up. She walks her drink to
me and is right there, touching my shoulder.

“
I
’
m going to be honest,
”
she says.
“
Are you Jake Ziggen?
”

“
Depends
on who
’
s asking.
”

“
I
heard you got into a fight
…
three guys
…”

“
If
that
’
s what you want to
believe.
”

“
I
heard you were fucking some guy
’
s
girlfriend in the bathroom.
”

“
That
’
s a lie,
”
I say.

“
Oh.
”

“
Why?
”

“
Just
curious. Stories are flying all around campus.
”

“
Campus,
”
I say and nod.

Campus.

I
’
m
supposed to be going to classes. Have been playing hooky for too long now. I
don
’
t want to go near
campus though. I
’
ll end up
seeing Jade way too much. Not like we don
’
t
share a fucking house and hallway, right?

“
Look,
what do you want?
”
I ask.

“
The
girl you were with
…
she
’
s a friend.
”

“
Yeah?
She tell you I fucked her?
”

“
Just
with your fingers,
”
the
woman says.

“
Yeah.
That
’
s what happened. She
didn
’
t have a boyfriend
either. Just some asshole that couldn
’
t
make a move like me.
”

The woman smiles. She sits next to
me.
“
My name
’
s Gabby. I
’
m not afraid of making moves,
Jake. Just so you know.
”

I stare at her. Nice tan skin. Dark
hair. Dark eyes. A top purposely bought a size too small.

Everything about her screams fun.

For one night. Chase away the
taste and sting of Jade.

I shake my head. There
’
s no chasing away Jade.

“
Not
going to happen,
”
I say,
muttering words I never thought possible.
“
I
’
m just grabbing a bite and
leaving.
”

“
Good,
”
Gabby says. She puts her hand on
my leg.
“
I plan on leaving
with you. And I always get what I want.
”

She smiles again.

Her eyes are on fire.

Her hand creeping to the inside of
my leg and up.

I should slap her hand away, but
why? Because of Jade? Jade
’
s
my fucking stepsister. It can
’
t
happen. And right now, she
’
s
probably eating some fancy meal with Hunter. Talking about business and life.

“
Be
careful what you wish for,
”
I tell Gabby.
“
Everything
you think you know about me is true. I
’
ll
destroy you, sweetie. And I
’
ll
never call you. I
’
ll never
acknowledge you again unless I want to fuck you again. If you
’
re good enough.
”

“
Then
I guess I have a lot of work to do tonight.
”

I nod.

Good luck. Good fucking luck.

__

12.

(Jade)

I don
’
t
exactly know what the hell I
’
m
eating. I was afraid to touch the plate because it looked so pretty. A small
piece of meat with some greens on it. A beautiful design made with some kind of
dark red sauce that
’
s a
little sweet. The wine is like five hundred dollars a bottle (and that
’
s cheap) and it doesn
’
t taste very good.

I force down one glass with dinner
and leave it at that.

Hunter sits across from me, smiling
the entire time. He
’
s taken
his tie off, some kind of signal that it
’
s
a casual night.

But nothing is casual.

I
’
m
in a dress that
’
s hugging
me too tight. My hair feels all pinned up like I
’
m
going to prom. This is what it
’
s
like to date Hunter. Everything had a look and feel to it. I didn
’
t ask for any of this, but my father
set it up.

Hunter wanted to take me out since
we hadn
’
t seen much of each
other since coming back from New York. My father made some calls and this is
where I am now. Men walking around in full tux
’
s,
wearing white gloves, there to clean up every crumb that falls off a piece of
bread. Women in all black, catering to every need of every guest in the
restaurant. The lighting is low, the music all classical, the place feeling so
weird.

I just want a burger. Some fries. A
cold beer.

Is that so wrong?

Not that this food isn
’
t very delicious, it
’
s just not for me.

I bide my time until Hunter reaches
across the table and grabs my hands.

“
Hey,
”
he says.
“
Are you okay?
”

“
Yeah.
I
’
m sorry. I
’
m just
…
tired.
”

Hunter frowns.
“
I
’
m
so sorry you have a bad night of sleep. If I knew
…”

“
It
’
s okay.
”

“
It
’
s not though,
”
Hunter says.
“
That scum piece of shit called
you for a ride. From jail.
”

“
Hunter,
it
’
s fine. He needed help.
Jake
’
s helped me before. I
was just returning the favor.
”

“
Returning
the favor,
”
Hunter nods.
“
That has a bad tone to it, Jade.
I wouldn
’
t even refer to
him if I were you. Last thing we need is rumors of anything. That
’
s the big concern.
”

“
Rumors
of what?
”
I ask.

“
Come
on, Jade. The middle of the night. You and Jake in a car together. Driving. All
you need is someone to get a picture of it and it
’
s
the wrong message. Really bad stuff.
”

“
Oh,
”
I whisper.
“
That
’
s just
…
silly
…”

So silly that it
’
s true. I drove Jake home
…
and then he drove me
home
…
fucking
me
…
so hard.
So fast. So deep.

“
Enough
about that,
”
Hunter says.
“
Best to leave the trash at the
curb. I hope soon enough he
’
s
gone. Let
’
s talk about you
and me.
”

“
Okay.
”

“
I
can
’
t stop thinking about
our car ride. In New York.
”

Hunter grins. His eyes go wide. He
’
s a really handsome guy, he
really is. It
’
s hard to
look at Hunter and not want him. But I just don
’
t.
Any other woman would be happy to have him.