Fever (Breathless #2)(52)

She hastily dug into her pocket for the piece of paper she’d written her address on. Then she shoved the folded paper at him.

“I have a place, Jack. It’s a nice place. On the Upper West Side. You could come. Have a place to stay. You’d be safe there.”

He stared at the paper for a long moment before finally taking it and shoving it into his pocket without looking at it.

“Heard you got hurt,” he said, pain creeping into his voice. “You have to know I never intended that to happen, Bethy.”

She stiffened as anger she didn’t feel she had a right to possess edged over her.

“How did they even know about me, Jack? Why would they come to me for money you owed them? Why did you borrow it? How on earth did you plan to pay it back?”

He shook his head, sorrow and fatigue weighting his shoulders until they drooped. His expression was grim. Hopeless and as gray as the twilight surrounding them.

“I’m sorry,” he said simply. “I endangered you, Bethy. It’s best you aren’t around me now. Whatever you’ve gotten yourself into now . . . it’s good. You should stay away from me. I’ll only bring you down.”

She shook her head adamantly and she leaned forward to grab him into a hug. For several long seconds, she held him and his arms remained stiffly at his sides before finally he enfolded her in his embrace and hugged her back just as fiercely.

“It’s always been me and you,” she said, her voice muffled against his tattered jacket. “I’m not leaving you, Jack. You’d never have left me.”

He pulled away and touched her cheek. “Listen to me, Bethy. It’s not safe for you out here. It’s never been safe. The best thing you can do for me is to go back to your apartment on the Upper West Side. Live your life. Embrace the good. Don’t do anything to mess it up. And be happy.”

Tears filled her eyes. “How can I be happy when you’re out here? Am I supposed to be happy knowing I have a safe place to stay, food to eat and a bed to sleep in when I know you’re out here on the streets?”

He grinned crookedly. “I’ll be fine. I’ve always got an angle working.”

“You’re not fine,” she insisted.

He sighed. “Maybe I’ll come look you up.”

She latched on to that, hope taking hold. “Do that, Jack. Promise me. It doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve met someone. He’s . . . He’s good to me. Things can change now.”

Jack smiled. “I’m happy for you, Bethy. Really. But how well do you think your man is going to take to another man sniffing around his woman?”

“If he can’t accept you, then I don’t want to be with him,” Bethany hissed out.

Jack touched her cheek again, his breath puffing out in a visible cloud. It had begun to snow again, the flakes spiraling between them, landing wetly on his shoulders and seeping through the thin, worn material. Cold had settled in, gripping the city in its relentless grasp. She couldn’t bear the thought of Jack being out here, at the mercy of the elements and those who would do him harm.

“Please, Jack. Come back with me,” she begged. “You can’t hide from them forever.”

One corner of Jack’s mouth lifted. “Problem is solved. They have their money. In their business, it’s not personal. They aren’t going to come after me as long as they have their money.”

Confusion wrinkled her brow and she began to shake as the cold permeated even the thick coat Jace had bought her. Her knees trembled and her breath stuttered over numb lips.

“Go back to your man, Bethy,” Jack said gently. “You’re cold. He’ll be worried. You shouldn’t be out here.”

“Neither should you!”

“I’ll be fine. I always have been.”

She searched his gaze, looking for any indication that his eyes were dulled by drugs or alcohol. But they were bright. Tired and lines of fatigue etched his brow, making him look older than his twenty-five years. He didn’t look like a young man. He looked like one with the weight of the world on his shoulders. A man much older than his age, a man who’d seen and experienced more in his young life than men twice his age.

“Do this for me, Bethy. Be happy. Be safe. I’ll look you up sometime. We’ll catch up. It’s time for you to get on with your life. I’ve held you back far too long.”

Her mouth dropped open in shock. “No!” she whispered. “Jack, you saved me. You’ve never held me back. It’s me who’s held you back. You’ve always taken care of me, always looked out for me.”

He shook his head and gently turned her back toward the street. “If you believe that, you’re a fool. It’s always been you taking care of me, Bethy. You picking up the pieces. You making sure we eat, have a place to sleep. I’ve done you no favors.”

Tears pricked her eyelids and froze on her cheeks. This sounded too much like good-bye, like he was sending her away forever.

“Come on. I’ll get a cab for you. You got money?”

She nodded numbly. Jace had given her cash and she felt hugely guilty about using it to escape the men he’d hired to protect her. But now, if she was going back, she had to hurry. He’d be frantic, and she’d have to face him with what she’d done.

Jack walked her to the street and she was blinded by the glare of headlights, blurry through her tears. He waved at an oncoming taxi and it slowed, pulling to the curb.