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“She didn’t want Jake to be happy with someone else. Her pride couldn’t handle him giving someone else what he’d never given her. She just wanted to be back in the circle. To get invited to the parties and bars without everyone ignoring her. She didn’t even care who she was fucking to get her there. And she thought she’d get me? That bitch was insane,” Z muttered, shaking his head.

Uhh, psychotic pot meet batshit crazy kettle.

“I’d told her the plan when we walked out of Hyde that day she got in your face. Fuck, she was a stupid bitch. Jake wanted sweet, not a bitchy ballbuster. All her fuckin’ scene did was make him want you more. I told her to be sweet and offer him everything he liked. She’d get him, I’d get you, and everyone would be happy. But he didn’t go. He didn’t even acknowledge her. I had to grab his phone to send that text.”

Yet another mystery solved.

“But she got cocky and ran her mouth. She had to brag to that stupid bitch, Rachel. No one fuckin’ believes Rachel. And then she wanted to hurt you. As payback, she’d said, for stealing her man and then punching her in the face. She wanted me to record her and Jake fucking and force you to watch. Then while you were held down, she wanted her chance to hit you. Like I’d let anyone hurt you. I protect you!”

I’d known Jake hadn’t sent that text. If he hit his head, got all sense knocked out of him, and decided to cheat on me, it would never be with Chloe.

Thinking about the screen shot I’d seen, I realized the message had to have been sent when we were at the police station. I’d called Ray because Jake didn’t have his phone. We were leaving, shaken and upset, because of what he had gotten in the mail.

As if on cue, Z’s packing stopped as he opened my underwear drawer. “I can’t even tell you how good it felt covering your come with mine. When I did the walkthrough of your house, I’d passed by your hamper and there they were. I wanted to be in your bed, smelling you, but I didn’t want you to worry about me. You always worried when I was gone too long.”

What? Since when?

Before I could ask what he was talking about, he kept ranting.

“So I pocketed them, knowing what I was going to do. I was there, you know, when Jake opened the package. I got to watch him feel what I felt seeing you two together. Rhys told us later that Jake hadn’t even noticed the special addition that I’d made to the panties. He said that Jake broke a table.” Z’s gleeful expression quickly turned angry again. “But you let him fuck you, Doll Face. All the time. His officereekedof it. We could hear you sometimes. We’d get to the hallway and you’d be in there, moaning and screaming for him. I needed to see what you were letting him do to you. How you were a whore for him. I needed to know what to punish him for. I couldn’t protect you if I didn’t watch you. That’s why I wired cameras in his office and the break room.”

Holy fuck. I was right that something felt off. Why didn’t I listen to my instincts?

Oh yeah, ‘cause they also demanded I jumped Jake.

Which crazy ass Z watched, like the fucking creeper he is.

“I loved to see you in the break room. You looked so fragile when you curled into yourself and drew. You were pure. Then you’d walk across the hall, and instead of being mygoodgirl, you were Jake’s whore. But I had to watch.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “In fact, let’s see howJacobyis taking things.”

He touched the screen a few times and turned it for me to see when Hyde appeared. The men,my boys, were sitting in Jake’s office, but he wasn’t with them. Z touched the screen again to switch to the break room.

Jake was standing in front of the couch, and he wasn’t alone.

Standing close to him, Rachel held his arm. She turned and pulled him out the door, though he didn’t look like he was putting up any kind of fight.

I gulped back tears, the pain of seeing him with someone else stabbing through me.

“It’s about fuckin’ time, am I right?” Z chuckled as we watched Jake and Rachel leave the room,mykitchen, together. “Finally he goes with the plan but it’s too late. He’s already made things get this far. I tried to end this earlier because I didn’t want you to get hurt. That’s why I started stealing parts.”

Another mystery solved.

This is like the world’s creepiest freakin’ episode of Sherlock.

“They were expensive, custom parts that set him behind and cost him a fortune. I thought he’d break things off nicely ‘cause he needed to focus on Hyde. It was his business, his pride, everything he’d worked for. But he didn’t give a shit. He just kept fucking you at work, as if shit wasn’t going wrong. As if the answers to all of the shop’s problems were hidden in your cunt. So I kept messing shit up while no one was looking. I thought you’d get sick of him working long hours, but you didn’t. You were so sweet. And do you know what Jake did?”

“No,” I whispered. My chest ached as I thought of what he was most likely doing at that moment.

“Nothing. Not onefuckingthing. He worked with a smile on his face as if everything was perfect. Instead of putting in more hours to try to fix things, he started leaving earlier to go see you.”

Hearing that was bittersweet, warming me even as it eviscerated me.

“I sent Rachel after you. I made sure Chloe went to the Boston event. I thought if you saw the trash he normally fucked, you’d realize you were too good for him. But you were sweet about that, too. When nothing else worked, I started telling Green about the way you fucked Jake. The way you’re such a whore for him, screaming and begging. Green wanted you anyway, but after he heard about that? I hated to see him try to touch you, touch what’s mine, but I already knew my good girl wouldn’t fall for it.” His expression darkened. “He’ll pay for every sick word that came out of his mouth.”

Even though he’s a douche and an asshole, no one deserves Z’s version of payback.

“I overheard him and his friends talking about how they pictured you when they jacked off. Being the good friend that I am, I told Jake today.”

Z fell silent as he grabbed another suitcase and started throwing random lotions and creams from on top of my dresser into it.