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It wasn’t my sole responsibility to keep him happy. And if I wasn’t enough for Jack, then I wouldn’t bend over backward trying to meet his needs. He might be going through something horrible, but he was still a piece of shit for cheating on me. I’d made my stance clear in the restaurant.
The shower curtain was suddenly yanked to the side. I jumped, a small scream escaping my throat. Ava, my roommate, had moved out over a month ago. She was staying the summer with her parents in Connecticut before moving to Milan. Until my little sister arrived for the fall semester at NYU, I had the apartment to myself.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
Jack was angrier than I’d ever seen. He was seething, his chest rising and falling as if he’d sprinted across the park to my building. His eyes were bright green, in stark contrast to the bluish-purple shadows beneath them. Even furious, his beauty was severe. The perfection annoyed me, lighting a fire under my ass and giving me a renewed burst of energy.
“The door was locked,” I snapped, getting to my feet and turning the water off. My legs trembled, but I did my best to hide it. I would not show weakness. Not in front of him.
“I made myself a key.” He grabbed a pink towel from the rack, thrusting it at me. “Now tell me why I got a call from Eoghan saying you rode the subway wearing practically nothing?”
I wrapped the towel around myself and exited the bathroom. “I told you to stop having me tailed.”
He was hot on my heels as I made my way through the apartment to my bedroom. “If you stopped using the subway, my men wouldn’t have to tail you.”
Once in my room, I rounded on him. “You have some balls walking in here being upset with me for breaking our promise when you were fucking someone at Roisin’s!”
Jack reeled back like I’d slapped him, which I was very close to doing. He froze, his temper ebbing at my words. His features softened, as if he couldn’t believe I’d come to that conclusion. “I didn’t cheat on you, dove.”
His words settled in the air, but I didn’t give myself a chance to process them. Adrenaline was making it difficult to string two thoughts together. I pulled clothes on at random—ripped jeans, floral blouse, mismatched socks. Whatever was left on the floor after packing for Greece.
Jack neared, reaching for my hand like he was attempting to tame a wild animal.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” I bit out.
He grabbed my wrist anyway, pulling me against him with a huff. His chest was warm and familiar, his scent welcoming. I fought to break free of his iron grip, hating the way my body responded to him.
“She’s a mole,” he murmured into my wet hair. “I was paying her for information about where Connor might be.”
My breath caught in my throat. I stopped struggling, shame flooding through me. I screwed my eyes shut, the stinging tears threatening to return. Damn it, I’d messed up. I was so quick to believe that Jack had betrayed me. I’d let my own insecurities get the better of me.
“Faye told me she saw you…” I trailed off, my voice strangled as I tried to explain my reasoning. God, I’d acted immature, foolish.
Jack held me at arm’s length, his emerald eyes melting into me. He caught a stray tear with the pad of his thumb, licking it clean. “Faye loves drama.”
My upper lip curled in disgust. “Her niece is eight months pregnant with a missing husband. How much more drama does she need?”
Jack grimaced, but his half-smile was apologetic. I should have been the one apologizing.
I nuzzled into his hand, attempting to do just that. “I’m so sorr—”
But I was cut off by Jack’s cell phone ringing. He retrieved it from his pocket and answered, keeping one arm around me. He gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, letting me know we were okay.
“Go,” he ordered.
I waited, still soaking in embarrassment. The rush of emotions—jealousy, anger, despair—had all been for nothing. If I’d followed his orders and stayed at the Shannon, he would’ve told me as much. I was even more drained than before, but my mind shifted gears. We were back to the one thing that mattered—finding Connor.
“Send me a pin.”
Jack led us back into the living room. He tossed a pair of white sneakers at me, and I hustled to put them on. While I tied my hair into a low ponytail, Jack pulled his revolver from his waistband. He looked it over, checking the cylinder before snapping it back in place. The metallic click pierced my eardrums, sending an ominous chill down my spine.
“Where are we going?” I asked, trying to keep the fear from my voice. This had been the longest twenty-seven hours of my life and, although they were frequent in Jack’s line of work, guns made me nervous.
“They found the vehicle Connor was using. It’s parked on a street in Brownsville. Our men are casing the block.” He tucked the revolver into his jeans and looked me over, terror flitting across his face so fast I wondered if I’d imagined it. “Stay by my side.”
“Always,” I answered, taking his hand as we exited my apartment.
* * * *
