Fever (24 page)

cab, but if not I can walk.”

His jaw clenched and bulged and a look of utter fury entered his eyes.

“You think I’m kicking you out?” he asked in an incredulous tone.

She flinched. “Aren’t you?”

He swore. “Goddamn it, Bethany. You and I are going to have a long talk. This has been a fucking

day from hell and I’ll be goddamned if I’m going to end it with you walking out on me.”

She blinked in surprise. “You don’t want me to go?”

“Does it
look
like I want you to go?”

Her mouth went dry. “But you’re so angry. A-a-and you didn’t ask Kaden and Trevor to come back

tomorrow.”

“Would it do me any fucking good?” he snapped. “You aren’t exactly complying with their

protection.”

She flushed and looked away. “I’m sorry.”

“Fuck it all, Bethany, I thought you’d left
me
today. What was I supposed to think? You took off.

No note, no phone call. You wouldn’t answer your phone or my texts. I was in a fucking panic

because I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“No!” she said in a stricken voice. “I wasn’t leaving you! I just had something I needed to do. I

came back.”

He nodded. “Yes. You did. And that’s the only reason why I’m not completely losing my mind

here. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that you took off to God knows where without the men I hired to

protect you. I made it abundantly clear that you weren’t to go
anywhere
without them. What about that

did you
not
understand?”

His grip tightened on her arms and he hauled her against his chest. She stared up at him wide-eyed,

her tears forgotten. He looked furious, absolutely. But not for the reason she thought. He thought she’d

left him?

She reached up to touch his face, seeing for the first time the fear that accompanied his anger.

“I wasn’t leaving,” she whispered.

“Thank fuck for that,” he muttered. “But Bethany? You and I have a hell of a lot to go over. I’ve

tried to play this as delicately as possible but fuck it. Not doing that anymore. It’s time we do this my

way.”

chapter twenty

Jace had to let go of her and take a step back, putting distance between them. His breaths hurt,

squeezing from a chest so tight it felt as though it was in the grip of a vise.

He had to get his shit together.

First things first. Before they could work out the evolution of their relationship—hell, he’d been

patient for a week. Yeah, it wasn’t much time, but for him? It may as well have been a fucking year.

He’d never waited this amount of time for something he wanted. But before he could lay down the

terms of their relationship, they had to address the reason she’d taken off,
without protection
, without

telling anyone
shit
.

That made him insane. For the space of a few hours she’d been beyond his control. Beyond his

ability to provide for her, to protect her. He still couldn’t dwell on those hours without losing his

tenuous grip on his sanity.

Maybe Ash was right. Maybe he was utterly obsessed. But
obsession
seemed such a mild term for

his thoughts and feelings where Bethany was concerned.

Where did it come from? Was this how Gabe felt about Mia? Why he’d lost any and all control

when it came to her and why he’d been determined that no one would come between them?

Jace didn’t have an explanation. Some things just were and such was this
obsession
with Bethany.

He wasn’t going to fight it. Hell, he couldn’t. He was utterly powerless when it came to her, and he

lost all reason. All ability to make rational decisions.

Jesus, if this is what love and emotion did to a man, he wasn’t at all sure he wanted it. But he

wanted Bethany. With every breath. With every conscious thought. He wanted her and he wasn’t

letting her go without one hell of a fight.

“Are you all right?” he asked when he had a better handle on himself.

He stared at her, checking for any sign that she was hurt or shaken. But all he saw was uncertainty

as she carefully watched him with large, wounded eyes. Christ. She’d thought he was kicking her out

when he was the one who thought she’d walked out on him.

“I’m fine,” she said in a low voice. “Jace, I’m sorry. I know what I did was stupid.”

“Stupid? Yeah. That about covers it. Jesus, Bethany. Do you have any idea what could have

happened? I know you’ve lived on those streets and it’s only by the grace of God you haven’t already

become a statistic in a city full of sad statistics. Why did you do it? Where the fuck did you go? What

did you think you were doing?”

She sank onto the couch as if her legs would no longer hold her up. Her hands trembled and she

pulled off her coat, laying it in a neat arrangement beside her. He couldn’t sit yet. He hadn’t calmed

enough. So he paced back and forth in front of her, waiting.

“I had to find Jack,” she said quietly.

“Jack.”

The one word was explosive in the living room. Fucking Jack. She’d risked her life because she

had to find Jack. A man who’d thrown her to the wolves. Who hadn’t given a shit about her when he’d

borrowed money he hadn’t a hope of repaying and then left her with the fallout.

“You had to find Jack,” he repeated.

“I was worried,” she said, near pleading. “He’s all I have, Jace. And with those men . . .”

Jace huffed in a huge breath. “Exactly, Bethany. Those men are exactly why you shouldn’t have

gone off on your own. Did it ever occur to you to talk to me about it? To talk to Kaden and Trevor,

who are hired to protect you? Do you think I hired them for the hell of it? Do you think I make it a

practice to hire a professional security firm to follow people I don’t care about around?”

She dropped her gaze and he continued on, needing to get this out, needing to rid himself of his

anger and the images of her lying on a sidewalk bleeding.

“And he’s not all you have. You have
me
.”

Her gaze jerked back up, her eyes stricken. “I didn’t mean it that way, Jace.
Please
believe me. I

know I sound so ungrateful. I didn’t mean to make you feel like you weren’t important. I just meant

he’s the only
family
I have. For so long, it’s been just me and him.”

“He’s not your brother,” Jace said tightly, addressing the other issue that had bothered him ever

since Ash had given him that piece of information.

Fuck, Ash’s warning played over and over in his head. Was she playing him? Was he the victim of

some scheme hatched by two down-on-their-luck lovers to take him for a ride? Staring at her, he

didn’t see it. But then, maybe she was one hell of a good actress. There was no guilt in her expression

as he revealed that he knew Jack Kingston wasn’t her brother. Or maybe he was only seeing what he

wanted to see.

There was only sadness.

“Am I being played, Bethany?” he asked in a dangerously low tone. “Is this a scheme you and Jack

have going? Did you give him the money I left for you?”

All the blood drained from her face. It was so stark, the look of utter horror, the absolute revulsion

that spread across her features. In that moment he knew he’d been terribly wrong to even suggest such

a thing, even if he’d never really bought it to begin with. It had come out, a product of his fear and

anger and frustration. He’d felt the need to bite at her, to make her feel, just for a moment, what
he

was feeling. He regretted it with everything he had as he watched her falter, her pale face looking like

he’d just pulled the rug right out from underneath her.

She rose unsteadily, her knees buckling. She almost went down and he lunged for her but she

yanked back, the color completely leached from her face. Her expression scared him. More than her

disappearance. More than the idea of her playing him. Her eyes were haunted and betrayed, so

wounded he wondered if she’d ever recover.

Haltingly, she walked toward the kitchen, her gait that of a much older woman. Her shoulders were

hunched in a defeated posture and her chin was lowered. Her arms wrapped protectively around

herself as if defending herself from a gut punch.

He watched with a growing sense of dread as she riffled through one of the kitchen drawers. A

moment later, she pulled out a familiar envelope. The bank envelope he’d gotten when he made the

withdrawal. Inside was several thousand dollars in cash, mostly in twenties. It had been stuffed full,

and it was still stuffed full.

She carried it back over to where he stood but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. She held it out to him,

her hand shaking so badly that he caught her hand in his to stop the trembling. When she tried to pull

back, he tightened his grip and held on, fearing that if he let her go he’d never get her back.

“I used a hundred dollars,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I took a cab downtown. I thought it would

be quicker. I didn’t want to be gone long because I knew you’d worry. So I took a cab there and back.

I tipped. Maybe I shouldn’t have. But I know what it’s like to need money and taxi drivers don’t

always get good tips.”

She was babbling and it hurt him to hear the pain in her voice that was caused by his misjudgment.

“Baby,” he whispered.

He pulled her to him and she was rigid against his body.

“Baby,” he said again. “Tell me why you went. Tell me why you couldn’t discuss this with me.”

Even as he spoke, he walked backward, pulling her with him. He dropped onto the couch and

tugged until she perched on his lap. He wrapped both arms around her so she couldn’t flee, and

judging by her expression, he still had a long way to go before she willingly stayed.

“I had to tell him to be careful,” she whispered. “I didn’t want those men to hurt him and I knew he

couldn’t pay them back. And I had to tell him about . . . us. He’d worry when he didn’t see me. I

basically disappeared and I didn’t want him to think I was dead or that I’d just moved on and left

him.”

Jace knew the matter had been taken care of but Bethany didn’t. And now he was curious—

genuinely curious—why she’d left the cash he’d given her here. There was enough in that envelope to

have paid Jack’s debt and yet she’d left it behind.

“There was enough cash in that envelope to pay Jack’s debt,” Jace said quietly.

Her voice was barely a whisper. “Yes, I know.”

“Why didn’t you take it to him?”

She tensed against him but when he said nothing else, her shoulders slumped and she looked at him,

disappointment burning in her eyes.

“I’d never do that,” she said softly. “It wasn’t my money. I wouldn’t take it from you to pay Jack’s

debt. Jack got himself into that situation. If
I
had the money, I’d give it. No reservations. What’s mine

is his. But that money wasn’t mine. I’d never take advantage of you that way. You’ve been so good to

me, Jace. I don’t want to repay that kindness with deceit, even if what I did today is just that.”

Jace sighed. “Jack’s debt is paid off. The men are no longer interested in you or Jack. They have

their money and that’s all they cared about. That’s why I told Kaden and Trevor that I wasn’t sure I’d

need them tomorrow. Not because I’m kicking you out.”

Her gaze became troubled and her lips turned down into an unhappy frown.

“What did you do, Jace?” she whispered.

“I took care of the matter.”

She shook her head. “No. It wasn’t your problem. I don’t want you involved.”

Tears were shiny in her eyes and his heart squeezed as she fought them.

“You are most definitely my concern,” he said gruffly. “I did it because those sons of bitches came

after you for the money. That I won’t allow. I’ll do anything in this world to keep you out of harm’s

way. There’s absolutely nothing you can say to change my mind on that score, so save your breath.”

He slid his fingers along her jaw and then feathered the tip of one over her full lips.

“Now that we have that out of the way, there’s more we need to discuss. But I want to have this

particular conversation with you naked. In the bedroom. You focused solely on me and me on you.”

Her eyes widened and her cheeks remained pale and she stared intently up at him.

“Do you trust me enough to do what I’m asking, Bethany?”

It was a test. Not because he was being an asshole. But he needed to know he had her trust. He was

about to take a huge step forward in what would be a very demanding relationship. He had to know

she could handle that. He couldn’t hold back much longer.

She licked her lips and dipped her chin, but he wouldn’t allow her to look away. He wanted to see

every thought that flickered through her eyes. Every reaction. Every doubt and every question.

“Are you still angry with me?” she asked softly.

Her eyes were troubled and she looked worried.

“I’m angry, yes. Not at you. I’m frustrated. Again, not at you. Our relationship is what’s frustrating

me at present. I’m holding so much back, Bethany, and it’s killing me.”

She cocked her head, her eyes narrowing in confusion. “Why are you holding back?”