Jake: The Sinner Saints #3 (16 page)

“Right,” Charlie snapped back. “Like you guys could make it a single day without me.”

Jake’s hands shook as he balled them into fists at his side. His patience was gone. He couldn’t take another second of this bickering. He needed to talk to Verity alone. Now.

“Bye, Charlie,” he said.

“Hey,” was all she managed to get out before he leaned over and flicked the laptop closed.

“Bowie,” Jake said, shutting his eyes. “Can you give us a minute?”

“Yeah,” Bowie said. “No problem.”

Jake didn’t trust himself to open his eyes until a few seconds later when he heard the click of the door closing behind him. Only then did he dare to pull his shoulders back and look down on Verity’s utterly unrepentant face.

***

Jake was pissed. It was easy to see. His arm muscles were practically bursting out of his shirt. His face was tight. His whole body was vibrating with an angry energy that made him look like he was going to explode.

The strange thing was Verity didn't care.

Not really.

Maybe yesterday she would have been falling all over herself to apologize to him, but not today. Why should she? She’d done nothing wrong. And if he would only calm down for a second, he’d see that.

“Jake, I think you’re overreacting,” she said.

“
Overreacting
?” he said, drawing in a deep breath. Verity realized that he was trying to control his temper. He didn't want to go off on her.

“Really. It's no big deal," she tried.

And just like that, all the storm clouds that he'd been trying to push down rushed to the surface. He leaned in closer, looming over her.

“
No big deal
?” he roared. “What the hell were you thinking?"

Verity had enough. She wasn’t about to cower in the corner just because he raised his voice. If he wanted a fight, she would give him one.

She jumped up from the bed, and Jake pulled himself up to his full height. Still, Verity managed to stand toe to toe with him as she met his stormy gaze.

“The same thing I’ve been thinking about for the last week. How to save the art that my brother stole.”

"By toying with dangerous criminals?"

“Roman brought me out here for one reason—to authenticate the art he stole,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm. “If I do the opposite, if I tell the world they’re fakes, then maybe I chase away his buyers.”

Her argument didn’t work. Jake’s face only grew redder. “And incur Silas’ wrath in the process.”

Verity threw her hands up in the air. “What is he going to do, Jake? Ruin my career? Get me in trouble with the law? Send people out to kill me?”

“This isn’t a joke, Verity,” Jake said. “You have no idea how dangerous Silas can be.”

“I got a pretty good idea when he convinced my brother to shoot at me,” she countered.

“But you still didn’t learn.”

Verity’s eyes narrowed. “What happened to all that talk last night about how brave I was? How I was a
fighter
?”

“I didn’t mean for you to go after Silas on your own,” Jake said, his eyes going almost wild.

“Then what did you mean?” she asked. “Because I have to tell you, Jake. I cannot go back to hiding my face and cowering in corners. Too much has happened. Some of it good. Some of it bad. But there’s no pretending that I’m the same person I was before. You showed me that.”

Jake’s lips pursed together. His big hands opened and clenched at his side.

“God damn it, Verity.” His tone was as hard as the line of his jaw. “Do you have any idea what will happen if Silas decides that you’re a real threat? Do you know how hard he’ll come after you? Have you given a single thought to the things he’ll do to you?”

“I have,” she admitted…and decided that the benefits were worth the risk.

He broke his gaze and stared down at the floor at his right.

“And what about me?” His voice was so tight it broke. “What the hell would I do if something happened to you?”

Verity’s mouth fell open as a long breath left her lungs. Suddenly she realized that it wasn't anger that was moving him. It was fear.

He was terrified that she’d put herself in danger that he couldn’t get her out of. That maybe no one could.

She understood what he was feeling. She’d hated watching him leave today. She'd almost driven herself mad with worry.

But she knew his talents. She’d seen firsthand what he was capable of.

She’d trusted him.

Now it was time for him to return the favor.

“Look at me, Jake,” she said, lifting her hands to cup his cheeks. The short coarse hairs of his beard bristled against her palm, but he didn’t pull away.

His mouth tightened into a flat line as he looked down at her. She could see the war waging inside his eyes. She lifted herself up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss against his tight lips, then another against his cheek.

“I’m sorry that I dragged you into this,” she said.

“Verity, don’t,” he tried to stop her.

She went on anyway. “But now that I’ve come this far, I have to see it through. All I can ask is for you to trust me," she said.

Jake wrapped his arms around her and crushed her against him. She rested her head against his chest and listened to the comforting drum of his heart. A part of her wished that she could stay like this forever, safely enveloped in his embrace.

But deep down she knew she couldn’t.

A moment later, he proved her right by pulling away.

“You don’t understand,” he said, turning his back on her and walking toward the door. “It’s not you I don’t trust.”

Verity opened her mouth to say something—anything to stop him—but nothing came out before the door closed with a soft click.

Chapter Eleven

Jake ground his back teeth together and let out a frustrated growl the moment he stepped outside his door. He leaned his back against the painted stucco wall, and, for half a second, he wanted a drink so bad it hurt. That wasn’t all he wanted. It was the whole package—to be back at the Crossroads, to be tucked away in his corner booth where no one pestered him. Where everyone had the good sense to leave him alone.

Everyone but Verity.

She hadn’t just changed her life the night she’d snuck into his world. She’d changed his as well.

And that was why he could never go back. Verity had shown him what he’d really been doing—running from all the pain and guilt that had built up in his heart.

Of course, she’d also shown him that running never worked. The only way to defeat the hurt and uncertainty was to face it head on.

Which was exactly what he planned on doing…right after he had a few minutes alone to collect himself.

But it looked like he wasn’t going to get that either.

Out of the corner of his eye he could spy Bowie leaning against the grill of his truck.

“Thought you’d be long gone by now,” Jake said, turning his head.

Bowie cocked his chin to the side as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Had a feeling you’d be coming out here sooner rather than later.”

“So, you just stuck around to gloat?” Jake pushed off the wall and headed over to the other side of the hood.

“No.” Bowie slowly shook his head. “Truth is I may have been too quick to judge your girl in there.”

Jake’s brows pulled together. “You saying you’ve changed your mind about Verity?”

Bowie shrugged.

Well, God damn. That was as close to an apology as he’d ever seen Bowie get.

“Does this have anything to do with your private conversation with her this morning?”

“Maybe,” Bowie admitted. “I was worried she might be using you, but I was wrong. She’s good for you. She cares about you. Deeply.”

Jake didn’t need Bowie to tell him that. He saw it clear as day in her eyes. He felt it in her touch, heard it in her voice. Even when she’d tried her hardest, she hadn’t been able to hide her emotions from him.

And heaven help him, he felt it too.

Jake knew all about the strong connections that could form between people in intense situations. He’d seen it happen to two of his friends this past year.

Somehow he'd thought himself immune to it. He'd been in plenty of dangerous situations, some of them with women. He’d even slept with a few of them, but no one had ever moved him the way Verity did. She made him smile, and laugh, and feel something deep inside that had nothing to do with lust.

Well, that wasn't entirely true.

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t sexually attracted to her. She was soft in all the right places. Hell, just thinking about her curves was enough to make him hard.

And yet, that wasn’t what drew him to her the most. It was her resiliency, her courage, her passion. That was what set her apart from every other woman that had come before—her internal fire that refused to be doused.

Unfortunately, the same qualities that drew him to her were the ones that might get her killed.

Jake jammed his hands into his pockets and glanced down at the hot blacktop beneath his boots. “She shouldn’t have gone after Silas like that.”

“I don’t know. That took a lot of guts. And brains,” Bowie said. “Silas had to know you’d go back out to the farmhouse to get evidence. That’s why we didn’t find anything. He was ready for us. But I don’t think any of us were prepared for what Verity did today. It might have shaken him up. It might make him sloppy. And that’s just what we need.”

Jake shot him a glare. He didn’t give a damn about taking down Silas’ operation. Not anymore. The only thing he cared about was keeping Verity safe.

“How smart will she be when Silas catches up to her and…”

Hell. He couldn’t even bring himself to say it.

“That’s not going to happen,” Bowie said, his voice low and firm. “You won’t let it.”

“Yeah,” Jake said with a dark laugh. “Just like I didn’t let it happen to Charlie, right?”

The second he said the words the scene began replaying in his mind. Charlie draped across the couch. The cascade of blood running down her shirt. The sound of her wet, rattling breath mixing with Tessa’s screams. He’d never forget it.

Jake glanced over at Bowie and saw that his friend had gone stock still. His eyes were pointed straight ahead, but they didn’t seem to be focused on anything.

Damn, this awkwardness was killing him. All the guilt and pain that he was shouldering, it suddenly felt so heavy, like a suit of metal armor he was too afraid to slough off.

But maybe the time had come to try. Maybe Bowie knew it too, and that’s really why he was still standing here instead of storming away at the mere mention of Charlie’s injuries.

“Why don't you hate me?” It took every bit of strength Jake had to force the question past his lips.

Bowie let out a long sigh. At least he wasn't going to pretend not to understand.

“Because it wasn't your fault,” Bowie said after a few seconds had passed.

"Bullshit. Charlie was my responsibility. That makes what happened to her my fault.”

Bowie shifted uncomfortably against the truck. “She lived.”

“Just barely,” Jake said.

“Stop it,” Bowie said turning toward him. “Five men ambushed you in Charlie’s apartment that day. Five. What happened to you and Charlie was their fault, not yours.”

“But I should have known what was coming. I should have fought harder when it did.”

“No.” Bowie shook his head. “There was no way you could have anticipated what went down. I know we were trained to think of ourselves as supermen, but we're just human. If we take three to the chest, we go down.”

Jake shook his head. He understood every word that Bowie said, but for some reason his mind refused to accept them.

“Damn it. Verity was right,” Bowie said. “I was the one that failed you. I should have travelled down to that hellhole you ran off to. I should have dragged your ass out of there and forced you to listen to reason, but I was too wrapped up worrying that Charlie might stumble into trouble to realize that you already had.”

Jake stared over at his friend in disbelief. Bowie never spoke about Charlie like that. Hell, he’d take someone’s head off just for implying that he thought about her at all.

“Are you ever going to tell her how you feel?” Jake asked.

Bowie’s jawline tightened. The cords in his neck started to stick out, but he didn’t lose his temper. “And why the hell would I do that?”

Jake could think of a thousand reasons off the top of his head, but he went with the most obvious.

“Because you both deserve a shot at happiness.”

Bowie arched a skeptical brow. “And you really think that she could ever be happy with me?”

“I think life’s too short, and the time has come to find out or move on,” Jake answered honestly. “You’re driving yourself crazy pining for Charlie, and that’s not fair to either of you.”

“Yeah, well you know what I think?” Bowie asked, pushing off the grill.

“What?”

“I think we’re just a couple of guys that don’t know how to take their own advice,” Bowie said as he started to walk toward his room at the far end of the motel.

“Maybe you’re right.”

Jake looked at the door in front of him. The one where he’d left Verity alone.

Yeah, Bowie was definitely right.

"Oh, and Jake," Bowie said, not bothering to stop or turn around. "You ever talk to me about Charlie like that again, and I'll knock your damn teeth out."

Jake smiled and nodded even though he knew his friend couldn’t see him. There was the Bowie Tamatoa he knew.

***

Verity jumped away from the window the moment the door handle began to rattle. After her little lecture about trust, the last thing she wanted was to be caught eavesdropping.

She would have guessed that a motel built on the edge of nowhere in the middle of the last century would have had paper thin walls that she could hear right through, but not this one. It must have been built back in the good old days when they used something more substantial than particle board for walls.

As it was, she’d had to press her ear right up against the edge of the window. Even then she hadn’t caught everything they’d said. Not even half.

But she’d heard enough.

She tried to rush away from the corner she’d tucked herself into, but the back of her knees hit the edge of the mattress and she fell backwards onto the bed just as the door opened. The bedsprings were still squeaking when Jake stepped through the door.

His brows arched as he looked down at her. “Listening at keyholes?”

Verity felt her cheeks start to burn. She thought for a moment about lying but quickly tossed the idea aside.

“Windows, actually,” she said.

The corners of his eyes lifted as a hint of a smile showed on his lips. See, she didn’t care what Charlie said. The truth was always best.

“Hear anything?” he asked as he kicked the door closed.

Nothing that she wanted to repeat.

“Not much,” she said, quickly abandoning her policy of honesty. Of course, her blush gave her away.

“Liar.” His smile deepened as he slowly started walking toward the bed.

Verity thought for a second about getting up, but she changed her mind as Jake’s hungry gaze slowly slid up her body. Verity’s heart started to pound. She was starting to get to know his looks pretty well, and this one…well, this one was quickly becoming one of her favorites.

“Well I did hear the part about Bowie being in love with Charlie,” she admitted. “That was a surprise.”

“It wouldn’t be if you ever saw them together.”

Jake stopped at the edge of the bed. His fingertips dangled down, barely brushing against her ankles.

“I take it you’re not upset with me anymore,” she said.

“I wouldn’t go that far.” He glanced at her face. There was still a burning intensity in his eyes, but now it seemed to be firmly back under his control. “What you did was reckless.”

“Oh, come on,” she said. “Even Bowie said it was a smart move.”

The corner of his mouth quirked up even higher. “I thought you didn’t hear anything.”

“I said I didn’t hear
much
,” she tried. “It’s not my fault that both of your voices carry.”

“Well, you were right about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

Jake’s gaze darkened as he wrapped his hands around her ankles. He slowly pulled her down the bed sheets until her knees draped over the edge. Verity didn't fight him. Not a bit.

“You trusted me. Even when I didn’t trust myself,” he said, leaning over her and casually flicking open the button of her jeans.

“I still do.” Her voice came out a breathy whisper. It was amazing that she’d managed to form the words at all with Jake slowly pulling down her zipper.

“And now it’s time for me to trust you,” he said.

Verity let out a rush of air as Jake hooked his fingers over the top of her jeans and, in one fluid motion, pulled them down her legs.

She couldn’t contain the bubble of laughter that escaped her lips as Jake sunk down to his knees. “And this is how you show that you trust me?”

“No,” Jake said, sliding her even closer. “This is how I convince you that I trust
us
.”

A moment later, every thought fled Verity’s mind as Jake’s mouth closed over her. He swiped his tongue up between her lips and her back arched on its own.

Damn, that felt good. Not just good. It felt like everything that was right in the world.

Her hands twisted in the sheets at her side, but somehow that wasn’t enough. She didn’t want to feel cold cotton. She wanted to feel
him
. Verity reached down and ran her fingers over the top of his head.

Fire built in her blood as he honed in on her clit, laving her with his tongue. A moment later, the blaze grew even hotter as Jake slid a finger inside her. Then another.

“That’s right,” he growled against her as her fingers twisted in his short hair, holding him close.

Her legs began to tremble as he upped the tempo, driving her hard. He knew just where to stroke, just where to press. It didn’t take him long to push her past the point of no return.

Verity cried out as pleasure rocked her entire body. Every part of her shook so hard she feared that she might fly apart completely. That she’d lose herself to sensation.

But deep down she knew that Jake wouldn’t let her. He had her in every possible way. He’d never let her fall.

And she was right. His grip on her only tightened as she floated back down to earth. He didn’t let his hands slip away until she’d gone completely limp on the mattress.