Hidden Fire: Fire, Book 2: Red Hot Weekend (3 page)

“Thank God.” Garreth closed his eyes, let the breath he’d been holding out in slow gasps.

When he opened his eyes, Jenna was at the door, about to open it.

“Wait!” Shit. He hadn’t told her everything.

“There’s something else?” Her desperate look spoke a thousand words. What could he say that was more shocking than reminding her she had a boyfriend?

He nodded. “It’s about last night.”

Her breath caught. “Wh-what about last night.”

How did he say this without breaking any trust Jenna might have in him? There was just no easy way. Perhaps give her the plain truth first, and then follow it up with the whole convoluted explanation of why he’d done it?

“I slept with Rachel.”

Jenna blinked. “Pardon?”

“I slept with Rachel. Last night.”

Her eyes went blank. “Huh?”

Uh oh. He didn’t like her expression. He had to explain. Fast. Before he lost her. “I met her. Two nights ago. Before you arrived at the hotel.”

She stared at him, blinked again. Didn’t speak.

“We got talking. One thing led to another…”

“And you slept with her?” Her voice sounded even enough. It gave him not a clue as to the way she was feeling. Not a hint. Her face was void of expression.

Garreth nodded as his blood ran cold. Inside, his gut churned and his ribs constricted, making breathing close to impossible. Jenna had just cut him off. In less than a heartbeat, she’d erected a wall between them. A sky-high, impenetrable wall. The fiery, passionate woman of moments ago was gone. In her place stood an icy, stoic stranger.

He recognized her though. This was Jenna at her most defended, her most emotionally aloof. She’d distanced herself from him and his words and adopted an
I-don’t-care
façade. And it was this emotional detachment that told Garreth he’d caused Jenna profound pain, hurt her more deeply than he’d ever imagined possible.

“I see. Did you know who she was?” she asked in a voice as barren as a wasteland.

Shattered by her lack of reaction, he nodded again. “I did.” How could he not have known? Rachel was Jenna’s best friend, and the love of his roommate’s life.

“Does Jackson know?”

Another nod. Of course Jackson knew. He was there, with them, the second time Garreth and Rachel slept together.

“Ah. It all makes sense now. That’s what forced Jackson to realize he couldn’t live without Rachel.” She nodded. That was all. Just nodded. As if to say,
I now have the facts, I don’t need anything else
. “Right then. I’ll be off.”

Garreth’s heart dropped. He knew, with uncanny instinct, that when Jenna left the room to return to her own, she would not be coming back. He reached for her, tried to stop her from leaving. She hadn’t heard the full story. Didn’t yet know why he’d done what he’d done. She needed the details. He needed her to believe he wasn’t a heartless bastard. “Jenna—”

She took a step backwards, out of his room. “Please, don’t touch me.” Her impassive voice tore a hole in her chest.

He walked towards her. “I love you. I need you to understand
—
”

“Not another step.” She held her hand up, stopping him. The hand didn’t even quiver. Jenna was in full control again. “Please don’t come closer. Please don’t speak. Please don’t look at me.” Another step back. “Ever again.”

And with that, she turned around and walked away, leaving Garreth even emptier than he had been before she’d barreled into him.

Chapter Two

Brisbane, One week later

Well, this was unexpected. A somewhat surprising change of tempo to say the least. What had begun as a weekend steeped in misery and heartbreak had swiftly turned into a…

Jenna shook her head in stunned disbelief. How on earth did she describe what her weekend had turned into? An abduction? A kidnapping? A joke?

All of the above?

What label did she give to her best friend breaking into her apartment, holding a so-called gun to her head, binding her hands, bundling her into a car and driving to this unknown destination?

Jenna would have blinked in incredulity, but the blindfold Rachel had fitted snugly around her eyes before leading her inside and tying her to a chair
—
with her arms behind her back
—
made that impossible.

Really? Tying her up was necessary?

Why?

And what on earth had Jenna been thinking, allowing her friend to abduct her? It had been amusing at first
—r
ight up to the point she realized Rachel had done altogether too good a job with the ropes.

She was trapped.

Ooh, when she got free, Rachel was in so much trouble.

Jenna spent a moment planning her revenge, plotting all the ways she could torture her friend when this was over. It was almost a refreshing break from obsessing about Garreth.

What was Rach doing in Brisbane anyway? Wasn’t she supposed to be back in Sydney? How on earth had she managed to get Jenna from her place to wherever they were now
—
all while holding
that
gun?

At least the ties weren’t cutting off Jenna’s circulation. She could rotate her wrists and her ankles, she just couldn’t free them. Which was fortunate for Rachel, Jenna mused. If the rope gave her any leeway, she’d kick her friend in the shins. Or maybe even trip her.

It’d serve her right for tying Jenna up in the first place.

Huh.

As if Jenna hadn’t been feeling rotten enough before Rachel had picked the lock to her front door. Now she had to deal with her friend’s sudden descent into insanity too.

Jenna had spent the last six days in hell, reeling from Garreth’s confession.

So close. She’d come so close to being with him. Finally. And then he’d gone and slept with…with…the very woman who’d just abducted her.

Hurt assailed her once again, as fresh and deep as it had been last Sunday. Pain cut through her defenses and tears threatened the back of her eyes. For the briefest second she appreciated the blindfold. It made crying virtually impossible
—
and the last thing she wanted was for Rachel to see her break down. Yes, Rachel might be one of only two people with whom she shared her emotions and thoughts, but this was too personal, too painful to share, even with her best friend.

She didn’t want a soul to know about what happened with Garreth. If it killed her, she’d present a brave veneer to the world
—
even if she was bound helplessly to a chair.

Something scraped against the floor, maybe two meters away from her. Shuffling sounds, a bump. A thud. A man swore. A muffled curse, but a curse for sure.

Inexplicable shivers ran up her spine.

Where was she?

Why had Rachel snatched her?

Jenna considered yelling, blasting her friend all the way back to New South Wales for forcing her off her couch, where she’d been unhappily wallowing in the pits of misery.

In the end she didn’t. Maybe she was too emotionally overloaded to consider it an option. Still so overwrought about Garreth and the fact he’d slept with Rachel that her ability to think straight was all messed up? Or maybe just the opposite—maybe Garreth’s betrayal had left her emotionally void?

Nope, it wasn’t Garreth who’d left her void. It was her determination not to show anyone her broken heart. Not to show anyone anything about herself. She needed to be strong. Stoic. Because if she wasn’t, she’d fall apart, and no one
—
no matter how close
—
would be able to help her pick up the pieces.

She’d fallen apart once before, and recovering had not been pretty. She doubted she’d ever be strong enough to recover a second time.

Jenna withheld a sigh. Maybe, just maybe, she decided against screaming because Rachel had stuck her lips together with masking tape.

“Ready?”

Jenna jerked her head up at the sound of a second voice. A voice she knew altogether too well.
Hah.
Exactly like she’d suspected. Rachel wasn’t in this alone.

“Ready,” Rachel answered, and seconds later Jenna’s blindfold was removed.

She blinked against the wintry, late afternoon sun—and found herself staring down the barrel of a gun. The same gun Rachel had pointed at her not forty minutes ago when she’d let herself into Jenna’s flat.

“I’m going to remove the gag, Jenn,” Rachel said. “Just please, don’t scream, or I’ll be forced to shoot.”

Disbelief and perhaps a bit of stunned amazement almost blinded her again. Scream? Oh, no, Jenna wasn’t going to scream. She was going to kill someone. Two someones actually.

Rachel ripped the tape from her mouth, making Jenna yelp at the ensuing sting.

“Sorry,” Rachel said with a wince. “I tried to do that as gently as I could.”

To be fair, Rachel did look contrite. Unfortunately, Jenna wasn’t much in the mood for being fair anymore. “An apology?” she snapped, flexing her lips. “You have got to be kidding me.”

The gun was waved in front of her face. “Calm down.”

“Calm down?” Jenna yelled. She yanked at the rope, desperately trying to free her hands. “You kidnap me, tie me up and then tell me to calm down. I don’t think so.”

Too late, she realized she’d done exactly what Rachel had told her not to do.
Screamed.

It happened in slow motion. Rachel’s finger tightened on the trigger of the gun. Her arm trembled, the gun jerked and…

Bam!

A stream of icy water hit Jenna square on the cheek. It dribbled down her neck, leaving a cold, wet trail as it slid beneath her blouse.

The shock of the attack left her breathless.

“You shot me,” she uttered seconds later, incredulous.

Rachel snorted. “You screamed.”

“I told you in my flat I’d come with you willingly—if you’d just quit squirting me.” Her hair was still damp from Rachel’s initial attack. The woman had stepped into her unit, guns blazing. Literally.

“Oops.” Rachel’s eyes twinkled. “I forgot.”

“Forgot, my foot.” Jenna stared daggers at Rachel. “Where are we anyway?”

She couldn’t see much, since Rachel blocked her view, but a quick glance to her left revealed part of a massive bed. The pillow still held the imprint of someone’s head.

Two books lay on the bedside table, alongside a lamp and a box of tissues. Beautifully polished hardwood floors surrounded the bed—and a couple of large cardboard boxes lined the wall. The limited view looked altogether too familiar for Jenna’s peace of mind.

“The where is not important. It’s the why that you should be focusing on.”

“Okay then.” Jenna took a deep breath. “Why am I here?” she asked logically.

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.”

Jenna didn’t know whether to laugh or shout in response to the non-answer. “You know that as soon as I get free of these stupid ropes I am going to kill you?”

Splat!

Water hit her square between her eyes and dribbled down her nose into her mouth.

“Kidnappees do not get to make threats,” Rachel said.

“Kidnappees?” Jenna spat the water from her mouth, and squished her chin against her neck, trying in vain to dry herself. “There’s no such word.”

“Really? So what would you call yourself?”

“Helpless,” Jenna threw back. “Trapped. By a demented
ex-
best friend.”

“Not ex.” Rachel shook her head. “I’m still your best friend. Everything I’ve done has been for a reason. And I promise, you’ll thank me for this later.”

“You’ll thank me too,” Jackson said as he walked up behind Rachel and waved at Jenna.

Oh yeah. There he was. The guilty owner of the second voice.

Jenna shot her twin brother a killer glare. He was so dead.
So
dead. “I suppose this was your brilliant idea?”

Jackson shook his head. “Nah. Rach and I thought it up together.”

He wrapped his arm around Rachel’s neck and kissed her cheek.

Rachel grinned at him.

He grinned back.

Jenna made a gagging sound. “Dear God. Kidnapping isn’t bad enough? Now you have to subject me to this torture?” Okay, not really torture. Jackson had never looked happier. Neither had Rach for that matter. Jenna would never begrudge them their happiness, even if coming to terms with it was still a shock.

If Jenna wasn’t so busy being peeved with them for kidnapping her—kidnapping? Seriously?—she’d smile. The two stared at each other like lovesick puppies.

She tucked all her conflicting emotions about Rachel sleeping with Garreth carefully back in that box in her mind she’d created just a few days ago. It was better hiding it all in a box. That way she didn’t have to think about it. Didn’t have to repeatedly imagine her friend wrapped in Garreth’s embrace, both of them naked, sweaty…

It had taken hours of obsessive consideration before Jenna had come to the conclusion none of it had been Rachel’s fault. Rachel hadn’t even known about Garreth’s existence. She hadn’t known how Jenna had felt about him. Rachel had moved to Sydney before Garreth had arrived in Brisbane and moved into Jackson’s house. And since a relationship with Garreth had never been an option for Jenna, she’d never mentioned her feelings about him to Rachel. Never wanted to acknowledge just how much the man meant to her.