Fever (Breathless #2)(83)

Already she was running possibilities through her head. She would cook a fabulous meal. All of Jack’s favorites. And she’d make him sandwiches to take with him because she knew he wouldn’t agree to stay. She could buy nonperishable items he could stow in his bag so he’d have something to eat for more than a few days.

She peeled off several of the bills and stuffed them into her jeans pocket and then headed down to ask the doorman for the nearest place she could buy groceries.

• • •

Bethany ducked out of the cab after paying the fare and hurried, bags in hand, to her building’s entrance. The doorman had advised her to take a cab and she’d relented when she’d seen the increase in rain. It had morphed from a light drizzle to more of a steady downpour. Not what she wanted to be caught out in on her way back from the market carrying groceries.

When she unlocked her apartment and walked in, she was stunned to see Jace in the living room, his expression dark and forbidding. He advanced on her before she even had time to deposit the bags on the kitchen bar.

“Where the f**k have you been?” he demanded.

Her eyes widened and she glanced down at the grocery sacks. “I—I went shopping.”

“Anything else you want to tell me?”

The accusation in his voice stung. What on earth did he think? Did he believe she was cheating on him? Sneaking out to see a lover? How had he even known she was gone to begin with?

He wrested the bags from her grip and dropped them with a thud on the bar before turning his furious gaze back to her.

Her mind blanked. She took an instinctive step back and Jace swore.

“I’m not going to hurt you, damn it.”

“Why are you so angry?” she asked. “I just went down to the market. I was only gone an hour.”

“You think this is about you going out for groceries?”

His tone was incredulous.

“What else am I supposed to think? You’re acting ridiculous, Jace. I went to get groceries, for God’s sake.”

“Let’s try this instead. I’m at work in an important meeting and I get a call from Kaden, who informs me you have a visitor.”

Her mouth dropped open in shock. “How does Kaden know anything about who’s at my apartment? He’s not even supposed to be protecting me anymore.” Her eyes narrowed as understanding slowly dawned. “You still don’t trust me.” It nearly killed her to say those words, the truth. And it was the truth. He was bristling with rage and he’d hired those men to watch her. “He wasn’t here to protect me. He was here to spy on me.”

“It would appear I have good reason,” Jace snapped.

Hope died inside Bethany. She turned her painful gaze on him, hurt beyond words. “Jack was here. But then you already know that.”

“Yes. Jack,” he spat out. “What the f**k was he doing here?”

Her brow furrowed and this time she took a step forward, anger tightening her features. “He came to see me. He was here at Christmas, only I wasn’t here because I was with you. He had to spend the holiday alone. No food. No warm place to be. Alone, Jace. On the streets. I don’t need to tell you what a wonderful holiday that makes for.”

“How did he even know to show up here?” Jace demanded.

She blinked. “I gave him the address.”

“And when did you do this?”

She flushed. “The day I went to see him.”

Jace’s lips tightened into a nearly indistinguishable line. “You invited him here.”

She nodded. “Of course.”

He swore again. “There is no ‘of course’ to it, Bethany. What the f**k were you thinking?”

“What is wrong with you?” she demanded. “Am I not allowed to invite people to this apartment? Did I get it wrong and it’s not really for my use? Or is it only uses I have your approval for?”

“You invited a man who damn near got you killed. He got you attacked. He’s the last person you need to have anything to do with.”

The blood drained from her face. “He never intended for me to be hurt. He’d never do anything to hurt me.”

Disgust flooded Jace’s face. His eyes were swamped with it.

“Really, Bethany? And why do you suppose he’s here now?”

She didn’t like his tone. His expression. She liked nothing about this confrontation. He was so angry. Sickness pitted deep in her stomach, curling and knotting into a painful ball.

“He came to see me,” she said in a low voice. “He’s cold and hungry. I fixed him something to eat. I went out for groceries so I could cook dinner for him.”

Jace reached over the back of the couch and pulled up Jack’s backpack. He dangled it from his finger, his eyes going cold with rage.

“Is that the only reason he came? Where is he now?”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to imply. He said he had things to do. He wanted to leave the backpack here because he didn’t want it stolen from him. You don’t understand how it works out there. If someone sees you have anything, they take it. They’ll stab you, hurt you, kill you to get it. You can get murdered for five dollars.”

“Oh I have no doubt someone would kill him for what’s in here,” Jace bit out.

He yanked it and gaped open the top so she could see inside. What little blood was left in her cheeks fled and she wavered, teetering unsteadily until she had to reach out to the bar to gain her balance.