AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I blow out a breath and nod. “Tori’s a friend of Zoey’s. She wanted to do something for her when she got out of the hospital, and what Zoey wanted was something for the three of us.”
“And what Zoey wants, Zoey gets,” he says with a smirk. I nod because it’s the truth. For him too. “Don’t let Bastian know. It’ll break his heart, and then he’ll break your face.”
I chuckle. “I’d love to see him try.”
“Me too, little brother. I’d pay to watch that show.”
Jax
Tori visibly pales when she walks into the room where Rory and I wait. It gives everything away. She knows something.
“J-Jax what are you doing here? Zoey with you?” she asks sharply.
“You know she’s not. She hasn’t left that damn apartment in two weeks. The first damn night I get her out of that apartment something happens, and now we’re back at ground zero. No, worse, because she won’t even leave for therapy now.”
She flinches.
“You and I,” I gesture between us, “are going to talk.”
“I can’t right now, Jax,” she looks everywhere but at me. “I have an appointment.”
“It can wait,” Rory say leaning back on the leather couch with his hands behind his head.
The customer that followed her back there looks between us. He’s a big, tough looking guy. He could probably do some damage. To someone else.
I sit in one of the artist chairs and stretch my legs out. “I’ve got all day, Tori.”
“Do we have a problem here, Tori?” Dane asks.
I raise my brow at Tori. She exhales in resignation. “It’s fine. Can you handle Max for me?”
He nods then gestures for the guy to follow him, leaving us alone with her. “What’s going on, Tori? What happened at the party?”
She looks at me with a mixture of guilt, fear, and sadness. “I can’t tell you, Jax. Zoey begged me not to.”
I rub my hands down my face. “Tori, what did she tell you? She won’t talk to me, Zane or Rory. She’s not eating again. She’s having nightmares again. She’s having panic attacks. Again. I can’t do anything about it if I don’t know what’s going on.”
A tear falls down her cheek. “Oh my God. I should never have promised her that I wouldn’t say anything. I wanted to tell you as soon as I saw, but she begged me Jax.”
My spine stiffens and my skin prickles. “Saw? Saw what, Tori?”
She pulls out her phone, then hands it to me. When I push play, I feel my blood pressure spike. I can’t make out what’s being said, but the people in the video are very clear. My teeth grind so hard they should be dust.
I barely register Rory coming over to where I’m sitting. He tries to take the phone but my vice-like grip stops him. “Give it to me before you break it, Jax,” he commands.
I release it to him. He pushes play on the video again. Then he clicks a few buttons.
“W-what are you doing?” Tori asks.
“Forwarding this to my guys,” Rory says calmly. It’s a calm only I recognize as not calm at all.
“Is that all you saw, Tori?” I finally ask when I find my own calm.
She nods. “I really am sorry I didn’t say anything. She made me promise, Jax. I should’ve told you anyway, but I didn’t.”
I wave her off then make my way back through the parlor. A guy I haven’t met, another artist, approaches us. “Think you’re a badass because you’re a football player,” he say hotly.
I look down at him and smirk. I let him know with my eyes and body language that I am not to be fucked with. “I’m a football player because I worked my ass off. One has nothing to do with the other.”
