Page 119 of Broken
A shiver flew down her spine.
Outside, the evening breeze cooled her heated skin.
As she walked toward the SUV, he said, “I bummed a ride from my lead singer. Any chance you can drop me at your sister’s?”
Her heart slammed against her ribcage. She would never give a stranger a ride.
“I thoughtyousang lead.”
“We both do. Depends on the song.”
She slowed at the SUV. “See ya.”
“Can I grab a ride from you?”
“No.” Owing him no explanation, she got behind the wheel, locked the doors, and drove out.
As she headed toward home, she scolded herself for hooking up with Prescott.Get your career back on track and stop sleeping with him.
Once she was back at the condo, her phone rang. It was Prescott.
“Hey,” she answered.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “This is the first chance I’ve had to call you—”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s probably a good thing. We work together, so we gotta keep things chill.”
“Ethan lost it, and it was heartbreaking.”
“What happened?”
“We went to Dakota and Providence’s for dinner. Ethan and their son, Graham, hit it off great. They were excited for a sleepover, until it was time for me to leave. Ethan was panicked I wasn’t coming back, like his mom.”
Jacqueline’s heart squeezed. She couldn’t imagine the fear and uncertainty Ethan must be feeling. “You did the right thing.”
“We came home, but he wouldn’t even sleep in his crib. He fell asleep on my lap while I was reading to him.”
“Where is he now?”
“With me on the sofa. Every time I move, he wakes up. The reality of everything has sunk in, and he’s scared.”
“I would have felt awful if you’d left him there for me.”
“I was looking forward to seeing you tonight, andnotjust because we were getting together at the club.”
She melted from his romantic words.
Me, too… so much.
“Addison knows about us, so does Hawk,” she said.
“I didn’t tell him,” Prescott said. “He figured it out.”
“Z cannot find out. Being brought back here—being singled out by Z—is my chance to get my career back on track.”
“Come over tomorrow and catch me up on your progress with the case.”
“I’ll have the puppy with me.”
