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“I’m going to take that as an insult. I’m not nearly that bad.” I spray down two of the tables before wiping them down. “My life just isn’t that interesting. There’s not much to tell you.”
“You have a lot more going on in your life than you’re willing to tell me about. That’s fine, though. You can keep your secrets. Sooner or later I’ll get you drunk and you’ll tell me everything.”
“Keep holding your breath,” I say, feeling a little guilty for not telling her about the baby.
If there is anyone that I’m going to tell about my pregnancy, it will be Kennedy. However, it doesn’t feel right to tell her before I tell Jovan. He’s the baby’s father and he deserves to know.
Maybe.
I still don’t want my baby stuck in the cartel life. Nothing good will come of it.
“Come on,” Kennedy says, gesturing to the other bottle service tables. “The sooner we get this cleaned up, the sooner we can leave.”
She dances to the beat of the music as we clean. Every now and then, she looks at me like there’s something she wants to say. Instead, she keeps her mouth shut and keeps cleaning.
By the time we finish and leave The Brazen, the sun is coming up over the horizon. Kennedy jogs to Rio’s car, pausing long enough to wave at me before slipping inside.
“Hey,” Jovan says, appearing out of thin air.
I narrow my eyes as my heart races. It’s too early in the morning — or late at night — for him to look this good. His gray dress shirt hugs his muscled torso in all the right ways.
“We need to talk about whatever the hell that was in there earlier,” he says, crossing his arms as he steps into my path.
“No, we really don’t. There’s nothing to talk about.” I try to step around him but he gets in my way. “Jovan, please.”
His expression softens slightly. “Hadley, you know I can help you. Whatever you need.”
I shake my head, my heart sinking to my stomach. “You might be able to help me, but at what cost?”
“What are you saying?”
“It was wrong to get involved with you.” I brush by him and hurry for my car, pulling my keys out of my pocket. “Please, just give me some space.”
Before he can respond, I get in the car and lock the doors. For a minute, I’m not sure whether he is going to step in front of the car so I can’t leave or not.
His gaze feels like it’s searing me from the inside out. Jovan nods once before stepping to the side. For whatever reason, I can’t look away from him.
There is a part of me that thinks I should talk this out. Maybe he would have some insight that I don’t.
Maybe he would be able to quiet the green-eyed demon that came out when Erica cornered me.
When it comes down to it, though, I don’t know what to say to him.
All I know is that I need to get the hell away from him before my life gets even more fucked up.
Jovan is a beautiful and deadly mistake that I’m determined not to make.
14
JOVAN
“Is she here yet?” I ask Rio as I pace back and forth across the club. “Hadley was supposed to be here ten minutes ago. As soon as Alessio sends me the message with the meeting location, we need to be prepared to go.”
Rio nods and pulls out his phone. “She hasn’t sent anything to me yet. She’s probably just running late. Hadley is reliable. There’s no need to worry about her.”
Except, there is a reason to worry about her. It’s been over a week since she left me standing in a parking lot and wondering what the hell happened.
I sigh and run my hand through my hair. Alessio specifically asked that she be there. I need his help, so she needs to come.
