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Before I can reply, Charlie cuts in. “Well said, my man.” He releases an audible exhale and settles into the armchair. “I’m sure she’s fine. I mean, she’s what? A buck twenty-five? She probably doesn’t need to eat much.”
I fix him with a hard stare, frustrated he’s making light of the situation. “She’s pregnant and hardly keeping food down. Her doctor is concerned about her weight and blood pressure.”
“Sure. Sure. But that was because of stress.” Charlie gestures to Jackson. “He’s here now. It’s all good.”
It’s all good? Because he’s here? What a load of shit.
“What are you talking about?” Jackson’s brows furrow in confusion, as if it never occurred to him Aurora was negatively affected by his relapse. “When did her doctor say that?”
I scoff at how little he knows about the person he claims to love. “While you were off getting high and fucking whoever, I was here taking care ofyourgirlfriend, and she’s had to call thedoctor several times.She collapsed intomyarms the night she found out, andI’vebeen the one?—”
In two steps, he’s in front of me, and we’re chest to chest. I’ve got a few inches on him, more muscle, and I’m combat-trained. Yet, he isn’t intimidated. He raises his hands, and I brace myself, certain he’s about to throw a punch.
Instead, he motions to his face, challenging me. “Come on, big man. Take a shot,” he taunts, his green eyes brimming with disgust. “Go ahead. You got the balls to run your mouth, so do something about it.”
Charlie jumps up. “Okay, guys. Let’s not fight.”
I clench my fists hard enough to crack my knuckles. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Better I hit you in the face than where it truly hurts?”
I want to knock him on his ass more than anything, the overwhelming urge vibrating in my taut muscles. He deserves it for everything he’s done to Aurora, but I have a feeling she’d defend him.
If I touch him, she’ll choose him over me without hesitation.
And Jackson knows it.
His mouth twists in a snide smirk. “Do it. Do what you need to make yourself feel better, whatever gets you to shut…the…fuck…up.” He leans in, accentuating each word.
I shove him with both hands. “If you hurt her again, I won’t hesitate to end you.”
It’s not worth it. An altercation will only fuel the violence in his veins, nothing else.
He barely budges. He’s an impenetrable wall of self-destruction, numb and reckless. “Get in line. You’ll be waiting a while.”
I sense movement behind me, and Jackson backs off, running his fingers through his hair.
Barefoot, Aurora enters the living room in a rumpled T-shirt big enough to be his and leggings—which reminds me, I need to find a studio with prenatal yoga. She enjoyed that when she was in Laguna.
I open my arms. She encircles my waist and peers up at me with drowsy eyes and sleep wrinkles on her cheek. “What’s going on?”
Her hugs are my favorite, and the tension bleeds from my body.
“Ethan wants me to check the fireplaces and radiators.” I tuck a strand of her messy hair behind her ear. “And I brought someone for you to meet—officially.”
“He’s cute.” She smiles and whispers, “But he looks terrified.”
Laughter bursts from my chest. Maybe I just needed a hug.
26
JACKSON
I wander into the kitchen,a mindless fog of barely-contained fury, teetering on the edge of mania. I need to busy myself or get the fuck out of here—far away fromRicky.
Reaching into a top cupboard, I grab two boxes of angel hair pasta and toss them on the counter.
I don’t care if he has a boyfriend. He and Aurora are too close, and I’m about to lose my damn mind. Okay, I’ve lost my mind. The next step in my downward spiral is lashing out and destroying shit.
Like his brute face.