Rev It Up (Black Knights Inc. #3)(73)

Dear Lord, she’d never meant to hurt him. She’d only meant to protect her child, to do the right thing for her child. And she could explain all of that to him; she wanted to explain all of that to him…if only he’d ask.

Because she couldn’t be the first to broach the subject. If she did, it might appear as if she was offering excuses and she wasn’t. She had no excuses, because he’d never given her any cause for excuses. He’d only ever given her reasons!

She beat back a sharp sob and wondered, now that they were about to check out of the hospital and take Franklin home, what he would do?

Tell Franklin the truth?

Demand custody?

What was he thinking in that head of his? What?

She couldn’t stand this…this…not knowing.

But she couldn’t confront him, couldn’t demand he tell her his intentions before he was ready to make them known, because that just might push him to the edge, make him act rashly.

No. She had to keep on doing exactly what she’d been doing. Staying calm. Staying patient.

Even if it killed her…

“Jake,” she whispered his name, and he glanced up from the out-of-date Hot Rod magazine he’d been reading for the last two hours. “Can I—” she had to swallow past the lump in her throat. “Can I borrow your cell phone? Mine is dead, and Lisa was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. I’m…I’m getting worried.”

In answer, he absently dug into the hip pocket of his jeans and tossed her his iPhone before immediately going back to his magazine.

And the silent treatment continues…

She shook her head, resisting the urge to burst into tears as she thumbed on the phone and quickly dialed Lisa’s number. She listened to it ring on the other end and gnawed anxiously on a hangnail before she was forced to leave a voice mail.

“No go?” he asked after she clicked off.

They were the first words he’d spoken to her in hours, and the sound of his voice, even brusque and unyielding as it was, made her chest ache.

“No,” she pushed up from the little love seat to circle the foot of Franklin’s hospital bed and return his phone.

Her fingers brushed his as she handed back the device, and she was forced to subdue the accompanying shiver. Even after everything, after all the disappointment and betrayal, the mere touch of his skin made her long for…things she shouldn’t long for. Things that could never be.

“She’s not picking up,” she continued, ignoring the desire to fall to her knees and beg his forgiveness, beg him to understand that she’d done what was right, beg him to remember how he’d been, beg him to see that it’d killed her to keep Franklin a secret, but he’d given her no choice. But she knew he was in no mood to accept his part in all this. And, for her part, she had just enough pride left to remain on her feet. “And it’s not like her to say she’ll be somewhere and then not show up. I’ll give it a few minutes just in case she’s stuck in traffic or something, and then I’ll try her again.” She was amazed at how steady her voice sounded given her insides were spinning like a ferris wheel. “By the way, your phone only has three percent battery life left.”

He shrugged and went back to reading, and she stood there in front of him, heart in her throat, staring down at the crown of his shaggy, sun-kissed head.

“You’re going to have to talk to me eventually,” she whispered. “It’s the only way to sort everything out.”

He rolled in his lips, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he shrugged again, still refusing to look at her, continuing to pretend like he was reading that stupid car magazine.

Heat began to burn over her scalp, but she did her best to ignore it, to maintain her composure.

“You know I’m right, don’t you?” she asked.

But when he shrugged again, that did it.

She jammed a palm down on each of his big shoulders. “Stop shrugging!” she hissed into his surprised face, surprising herself as well. She was obviously losing it, but she was helpless to stop herself. She couldn’t stand this vicious silence a moment longer. Not when each second sliced into her heart like broken glass.

“Please, Jake,” she beseeched him, taking a deep breath to try to calm herself. It didn’t seem to work. “Please say something. Say anything.”

And then she got her wish, because the question she’d been waiting to hear for hours, suddenly flew from his lips like he’d spit out bad sushi.

“Why?”





Chapter Fifteen


“Why didn’t you tell me I had a son!” Jake demanded, ignoring the stricken look that contorted Shell’s face right before she slowly turned and made her way back to the love seat.

When she took a seat, folding her arms around herself protectively, the move pushed her breasts together until her cleavage looked like it could adequately conceal a Colt .45.

He’d been face-first in that cleavage just last night. And even after all that’d happened, even after all her lies, he was disgusted to discover he was more than ready to dive in again.

He still wanted her. Still yearned for her in a way that made his blood run hot and his heart beat double-time.

It was completely ridiculous, and he was turning into a totally masochistic moron.

“Answer the question,” he demanded, disgusted with himself. Disgusted with her. Disgusted with life in general at this point.