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“But Jess thinks you did have sex with her?” Kellan folds his arms and adopts a legs-apart stance, his expression reminding me of my CO during my last tour of duty in Afghanistan.
“Are you planning to stand there and interrogate me all night?”
Narrowed blue eyes bore into mine. “Yes.”
“Is there anything specific you want to say or ask me?”
“Fuck,” Kellan mutters under his breath. He has that look I recognize. He’s debating his options. I wish he would deliberate faster.
“My sentiments exactly.” I grab my beer again. I have a feeling I’m going to need it for this discussion if Kellan ever starts it. Or continues it. Or whatever it is we’ve been doing so far. “Look, it doesn’t matter if Jess thinks I’m having sex with Katelyn. Jess dumped me. She doesn’t have a say in who I screw or if I’m allowed to fuck or not.” Of course, this isn’t how I’m going to lead things when I talk to her tomorrow.
I was an idiot when I accused her of not trusting me enough to let me in—even if I was right.
I’m just not sure what it will take to get her to trust me the way I need her to.
Kellan curses some more under his breath. “The reason she dumped you is because she thought she had to.”
What the hell? “Not exactly following you here, Kel.”
He grunts and pinches the bridge of his nose like this conversation is giving him a headache. I know the feeling. “Jess is hiding Violet and Sophie in her house. Violet’s prick of a husband has been abusing her. And given Jess’s own past with an abusive husband, she’s helping Violet and Sophie escape.”
I stare at him for a fraction of a second, then lunge to my feet. Of all the fucking stupid…
I grab the front of Kellan’s T-shirt in my fist, but of course he doesn’t budge. We’re both evenly matched when it comes to height, weight, and strength.
Or we would be if I wasn’t recovering from a dislocated shoulder.
“Do you realize that asshole’s been sniffing around her house? If he even suspects…” I can’t finish the thought. I have faced the enemy countless times while in the Marines, but never has fear coursed through me the way it does now.
Kellan’s hand knocks my arm away like he’s swatting at an annoying gnat. I don’t put much effort into stopping him. He’s not the one I need to worry about. He’s only the messenger. “This is why she didn’t want you to know. She was afraid you would overreact and put Violet in danger.”
“Violet?” I snap, the thread of restraint about to unravel. “What the hell about Jess? We’ve got to get Violet and Sophie out of there before her husband figures out where they’re staying.”
“Agreed. Jess asked me to get Violet some fake IDs. But I can’t do that until Jess knows where Violet and Sophie will end up. Avery, Simone, and Zara are trying to locate safe houses as far away from here as possible.”
“Zara, Avery, and Simone even know about this?” Dammit. I was her boyfriend and I’d been kept in the dark all that time. I could have done something to help. But instead, Jess pushed me away. Refused to let me in. Buried herself under more secrets. Shit. When will they ever stop?
“They were hoping to set up an underground railroad to get Violet and Sophie to safety.”
The World War II books. That must be where Jess got the idea.
“How close are they to doing that?” I ask over my shoulder as I head to the garage. “I’m going over to Jess’s. You can stay here or come with me.”
Kellan grunts, clearly not onboard with my plan, but he still follows me. “They’re working on it. Simone, Zara, and Avery only found out yesterday about what’s going on.”
I head to Jess’s house in my truck. Kellan follows in his SUV. I’d be lying if I said Jess’s inability to trust me doesn’t hurt. I’ve done everything I can to help her, to make her life better when I’d had no idea what had happened in her past. But even then, it wasn’t enough for her to open up to me. About anything. About what she’s doing for Violet and Sophie.
As we drive down Jess’s street, a police cruiser pulls away from her house. My hands tighten on the steering wheel. Shit. Shit. Shit. Please let her be okay. I stop my truck a few houses from hers. Kellan parks right behind me. The cruiser goes around the corner.
I couldn’t tell who was driving the police cruiser, but Jess wasn’t in the back seat as far as I could tell. Which means the cops still don’t know she’s hiding Violet and Sophie.
I park my truck on the driveway. Kellan parks behind me. I’ve barely turned off the engine before I’m sprinting to the front door.
I ring the doorbell and wait for a count of three. When no one answers, I turn the doorknob. It’s unlocked and opens.
Screw waiting for her to come to the door, I fling it open and rush inside. Kellan is right behind me.
“Jess?” I call out as I check the alarm. It’s still disengaged. I frown. It’s not like Jess to not turn it on after she closes the door. “Jess!”
