Page 85 of Forbidden Forward

“Jackie!” I yell. “What’s going on?”

Tires squeal in the background, and I’m ready to climb through the phone.

After a beat that seems like three hundred, she growls, “I don’t fucking believe this!”

“What? Tell me!”

“I went to pull into the underground garage at the condo building, and Randy was standing right there!” she seethes.

My outrage mushrooms. “What’s he doing there?” I panic when she’s silent for too long. “Jackie? Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she groans.

“You didn’t hit him, did you?” Not that he doesn’t deserve it, but she doesn’t need to add more ingredients to her shit sandwich.

“Tempting, but no. Not yet. I’ll call you later.” And she’s gone.

I hop to my feet and stalk around the room. It seems to shrink with each step I take. My mind races. Do I call her back? Do I call the cops? Do I hop on a plane and head home? Harper’s not there to look after her because he’s in Detroit with me. Who can I call to go check on her?

Peggy.

I’m about to hit her number when Jackie’s name flashes on my screen again. “Are you all right?” I bark into the phone the instant we’re connected.

“Yes,” she pants. “I found a spot in a parking lot where I can sit for a minute.”

Oh, thank fuck!

“Good God!” she rails. “Second worst day of my life, and somehow he’s here to witness my humiliation. How does he keep turning up? And how do I get rid of him once and for all?”

“What do you mean ‘turning up’?”

“Texts, phone calls. I’ve been feeling like someone’s following me, but I wrote it off. Now I’m wondering if it’s been him all along.”

My alarm shoots into the stratosphere. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I can handle it,” she grits out. Underlying message: Back off, you overprotective jerk. With a loud sigh, she adds, “Even if I had this money he claims I have and I paid him, he still wouldn’t go away. How do I get rid of him?” Her voice cracks on the repeated words.

I can think of a few ways that would shut him up forever, but I keep those to myself. “You file a restraining order. Did he see you? Did you talk to him?”

“Restraining orders don’t work. Yes, he saw me. And no, I did not talk to him. I veered from the entrance the minute I recognized him. Almost hit a fire hydrant.” Her ragged breathing fills the airwaves. “What am I going to do?”

“I’m going to call Peggy, and you’re going to stay with her.”

“No! She sat there in the meeting and didn’t say a word.”

I refrain from saying Peggy probably had been told not to say a word. Beyond that, Jackie has a point. It would be awkward as fuck for them both. She could stay at my place, but it’s in the same damn building her asshole ex is casing.

“Stay with Terra or Angie.” She makes a hissing sound like a deflating balloon. “How about you head to the airport and take a flight to Detroit? I’ll put you up in our hotel until we can figure this out.”

“Right,” she deadpans. “Then I can bump into my brother and explain how I’m running from the ex I let bamboozle me to a man I’m not supposed to be seeing. Don’t think that’s going to work, Colby.”

Her flinty voice tells me anger has jarred her out of her tears and hip-checked her shock to the curb.

I’m overcome by a helpless feeling I absolutely hate, and my frustration shows. “Then what’s your solution?”

“Wait him out. I have to grocery shop anyway. Or maybe I’ll drown my sorrows at the bookstore for a few hours. After that, I’ll drive by the building, and if I don’t see him, I’ll duck into the garage and stay put. It’s not like I have a job to go to anyway.” Bitterness replaces the steel in her tone.

“So what did Brandon say about getting back to you?”