The Exception (19 page)

“No,” I said, becoming increasingly annoyed. “What does it matter?”

Simon laughed, leaning back in his chair stiffly. “It doesn’t. I am sorry for pressing. It’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s really not.”

The air between us was tense as Simon looked everywhere but at me. I grabbed an advertisement off of the table and pretended to be immersed in the upcoming events at the restaurant.

Why am I even here?

I felt stupid. I only agreed to this because I was pissed at Cane. Now I was paying the price for it. I didn’t want to be there and it didn’t seem like Simon cared that I was there either. It was like being with Decker but with no bond at all, nothing to even pretend to talk about.

Simon tossed his napkin onto the table. “I’m going to run to the men’s room real fast, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” I was relieved that he needed to get up.

Simon got up and walked to the front of the restaurant and I relaxed back into my chair, watching the sweat drip down my water glass. My chest felt heavy and I knew it was going to be a really long night.

I sat for a long time, replaying Simon’s words, trying to figure out what was going on. Something wasn’t right, but I wasn’t sure what. Baffled, I grabbed my phone from my purse and turned it back on. I saw a text from Kari and a voicemail from Cane.

Ignoring the voicemail, I opened my texts.

Kari: Hey! Where are you tonight!? I want to watch Sons of Anarchy! Charlie Hun-yum, baby!

Me: I’m out for a little while. Definitely having a movie night when I get back!

Kari: What are you doing?

I shoved my phone back in my purse, ignoring the last question.

I would so rather be home right now with Kari and a bunch of rowdy motorcycle men than in this restaurant, apparently alone. But alone is better than having Simon across from me.

“Is everything all right?” Jennifer asked, setting down our plates.

“Yes, thank you.” I looked at her face. She had wide, friendly brown eyes and freckles. She seemed like the type of girl that I would be friends with. I half wished that I knew her and could ask her to tell Simon I had an emergency and had to leave.

“If you need anything else, please just let me know.”

I need a lot of things, but nothing that can be fixed by the mark of a waitress’s pen.

I watched her walk away before turning my attention to the delicious looking entrée in front of me.

“Hey! Sorry about that,” Simon said with a spring in his step. He pulled his chair out and sat down. “This looks really good.”

“Yeah, it does,” I said, watching him suspiciously. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is great,” he said, smiling and digging into his food with a vigor he didn’t seem to have before. His pupils were dilated and something just seemed strange about him.

We ate quietly for the most part, Simon talking pretty much nonstop. I was having a little trouble following along from topic to topic. My appetite had vanished, so I pushed my fish around on my plate, breaking it into tiny pieces and mixing it in with the vegetables. Simon rambled on and on and I tuned him out.

“Fuck!” Simon snapped. I jumped in my seat at his exclamation. “I dropped my fork on the floor.”

His reaction seemed a little much in light of the situation and I watched him closely. There was a small sheen of sweat across his forehead and his eyes were darting around the room.

“I’m sure we can get you another one,” I offered, looking around for the waitress. I sat my fork down, my hand shaking slightly.

“I’m done with this anyway.” He flashed me a wicked grin and I tensed. “Are you finished?”

I nodded slowly, feeling my senses go on alert.

“Can I get the ticket, please?” Simon asked Jennifer as she walked by.

“Thank you for dinner tonight. It was very nice.” I quickly grabbed my purse off of the chair next to me, ready to get out of there; I had never been happier to see a date end in my life. I just wanted to go home.

Jennifer returned with the check and Simon paid the bill. He escorted me out of the restaurant, the warm air hitting us in the face as we stepped outside. Despite the temperature, I wrapped my arms across my chest and picked up the pace towards my car.

The parking lot was busy near the entrance to the restaurant, but as we neared the back, it became almost vacant. The sky was pitch black, not a star in sight.

Simon walked beside me, not saying anything until we reached my door.

“So, do you want to follow me back to my place?” He placed his hand on my lower back and I instinctively pulled away.

“You know, Simon, Kari sent me a text and needs me to come home. So I think I’ll pass.” I hit the unlock feature and grabbed the handle.

“Excuse me?” he asked, wedging himself between me and the door.

I took a step back. “I need to get home. So, if you’ll move, I’ll be on my way.” I mustered all of the courage I could find within me and looked him directly in the eye, trying to portray strength even though I felt weak.

“Your sister needs you an awful lot,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s the thing about having a sister,” I said, taking another step back. “You have to be there for them whenever they need you.”

“So, maybe another time?”

“Sure.” I opened the door, hoping he would take the bait of an empty promise. I started to step in and he grabbed my arm.

Hard.

My eyes bugged out as my breath caught in my throat, the feeling of his fingers searing into my skin causing my heart to race. “Simon! You’re hurting me!” I exclaimed, reaching over to pry his fingers off with my other hand.

He leaned into my face, a sick smile crossing his features, his face contorted in anger. Everything inside of me seemed to speed up and the world around me seemed to slow down at the same time.

I glanced helplessly around the parking lot, looking for someone to help me. But there was no one. I was on my own.

Don’t panic. Don’t panic!

“I’m sorry,” he said, easing his grip a little, but his features not softening a bit. “Does Cane not typically grab you this hard?”

My skin felt like a blowtorch was being applied to it. I could feel my pulse throbbing in my arm, white noise rushing past my ears. I tried to block everything out except for the man in front of me.

I have to take control.

“If you don’t get your hands off of me right now, I am going to scream with everything I have.” My teeth were clenched as tears from the pain began to sting my eyes. I continued to yank on his fingers with my other hand to no avail.

Panic began to set in.

“Oh, Jada.” He pulled me forward. I slammed roughly up against his body, his hand releasing my arm in the process. I tried to pull back, but he had ahold of the back of my neck with one hand and his other arm wrapped around my back. “You’re a little cock tease.” His pupils were dilated now and his eyes hard.

I have to find a way out of this.

“I’m not,” I said firmly, trying to keep myself from losing control.

My stomach was threatening to expel the little dinner I had eaten. I raised my hand to cover my mouth when I realized my keys were still in my hand. I put one between two of my fingers—the sharp point out—and encased the base in my fist. I raised my hand back as far as I could and jammed the key into his back.

His eyes went wide from the impact and he loosened his grip. I shoved him away and he stuck his hand out to grab me, knocking me off balance. I caught myself on the side of my car, my hands slamming into the metal.

I looked over my shoulder. Simon was rubbing his back with one hand and was watching me, eyes blazing.

“Is everything okay over there?” Someone’s voice rang out from a few cars over, but I didn’t look up to see who it was. I jumped in my car and darted out of the parking lot, leaving Simon to deal with any questions.

JADA

The thirty minute drive home felt like an eternity.

I was in shock, both physically and mentally. I had never been grabbed like that before. Even when Decker had threatened me or backed me against a wall, he had never actually touched me. The feeling of someone’s hands on me made me feel so violated, so vulnerable.

At least he’ll feel that pain in his back for a little while from the key.

I checked my rear view mirror a few times, fearing that he had followed me out of the driveway. But I didn’t see his Avalanche.

Surely he wouldn’t be stupid enough to follow me.

I felt numb, unable to clearly process what had happened. My head felt like it was full of Styrofoam packing peanuts. The only thing that I could really feel was my arm and it hurt like hell.

I swung my car into the driveway and ran into the house, looking over my shoulder. I burst into the front door, slamming it behind me and locking it. I leaned my back against it, closing my eyes and letting the scent of coconut wrap around me and comfort me.

Breathe …

“Jada? Is that you?” I heard Kari’s voice call from the kitchen.

Please, God, don’t let Max be here.

“Yeah, it’s me!” I yelled back. I cleared my throat and made my way through the house to find Kari taking a pizza out of the oven.

“I don’t know how I burn frozen pizzas! I set the timer and everything!” she whined, smoke coming out of the oven.

I sat my things on the counter, jumping when the oven door slammed closed.

“Jada? Are you all right?” Kari asked, eyeing me.

I rubbed my eyes with my fingertips, not trusting my voice quite yet.

“What’s going on?” She sat the oven mitts down and put her hand on her hip.

“What’s going on with what?” Max asked, coming around the corner.

I must have done something really wrong in a past life.

Kari and I just stood there, staring at each other. She knew something had happened and I wasn’t about to tell her yet—especially not in front of Max.

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine. So you tried to make frozen pizzas again. Nice.”

“You’re a liar.” She crossed her arms in front of her.

“Not now, Kari,” I said through clenched teeth. “Don’t we have some Charlie to watch?”

“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

I looked away to try to prevent the tears from falling, but my eyes landed on Max. He was standing in the doorway, his hands in his back pockets, Saints hat backwards on his head. His stance may have been casual, but his eyes were unrelenting, accessing the situation in a way that only he could.

“Drop it.” I turned back to Kari, my eyes hard. “I’m just going to go to bed, okay?”

“Jada,” Kari said, reaching out to pull me in close.

As soon as her fingers touched my arm, I jumped back in pain and covered my arm with my other hand.

“Jada?”

I tried to turn away, but Kari pulled up the sleeve of my shirt before I could take a step.

“Jada!” she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand. “What happened to you?!”

“Nothing.” I brushed her off, pulling the sleeve down over the purple marks that were starting to appear. “Just leave it be.”

“I will do no such thing! What happened?”

Max quickly covered the distance between us and picked up my arm gently. There was no point in fighting him so I just let him look, closing my eyes, knowing that things were about to get real.

I hadn’t had time to process what had happened. I didn’t know whether to call the police, to go to the doctor, or to just go to bed and cry. But this was about to get ugly with or without my consent.

“I’m going to ask you this one time, Jada,” Max said, his voice eerily calm, “and you
will
answer me. Who did this to you?”

I pulled my arm away from him and he let it go, but his eyes forced me to stay put.

“I don’t want to go into this right now,” I said, my body starting to shake. “Just give me a few minutes to sort this in my head.”

“You can take all the time you want to sort whatever you need to. But you have about five seconds to tell me who did this.” His unyielding voice overwhelmed me. I knew he was looking out for me, but I just needed a damn minute.

I turned, frustrated, and walked across the kitchen with every intention of grabbing my purse off the island and going to my room and locking the door.

I really need to make getting my own apartment a priority.

I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder and then picked up my phone. I looked at the screen and gasped, a chill tearing through every fiber of my being.

Simon: I owe you one.

I stared at the message, my mouth dry. Tears sprang to my eye with a renewed urgency, filling my lids before spilling down my cheeks.

Max grabbed my phone from my hand.

“Give that back to me!” I shrieked, reaching up to take it away. Blood was pounding through my ears as I became fully aware that this was no longer my secret. “Max! Give it to me!”

“That’s what I fucking thought,” he said, shooting me an angry look as he sat my phone on the counter. “I reckon shit is about to hit the fan.”