Page 78

TEN

Jack

I stomp through the door of my office, already irrationally angry that Layla is going for ice cream with the girls from town.

That’s what she should be doing. Hanging out with girls her age, eating ice cream and going out to clubs. There’s a twinge of doubt as I think about what Willow said to Lily as I was walking away.

I am old. I’m no hard body either. She said something like Dad bod with a few extra pounds and…that’s about right. How can an overgrown Neanderthal with enough years on him to be her father be the right man for a young, perfect goddess like Layla?

But I know deep down, I can’t let her go. Her life is with me and I have to figure out how not to lose my best friend and my daughter in the process.

My phone goes off again and I pull it from my pocket, looking down to see it’s Carter.

Closing the door to my office, I kick the trash can, sending papers and food wrappers flying across the floor. Then I take a deep breath, force myself to calm the fuck down, and put the phone on speaker as I answer. No time like the present to jump into the abyss.

“Hey,” I manage, my chest tight, my fingers curling into tight fists. “How’s the fire jumping?”

“Well…” he starts and I rub my eye socket with my fingers. “Jack…so, here’s the thing…”

He’s not even asking about Layla? Fuck, something has to be wrong.

“You okay? Did you get hurt?”

“No,” he answers. “It’s not that. I’m fine. But, I have to talk to you about something.”

Relief covers me that he’s not hurt, but my mind is stuck on Layla. Fucking thing is, she could already be pregnant. In fact, if my sixth sense is right, she already is, and telling Carter about us is no longer an option. It’s necessary.

“Jack? Are you there?”

“Yeah, okay, what is it? Thing is, I gotta talk to you about something too, bro.”

The next sixty seconds is a blur as I listen to my best friend, trying not to think of how many painful ways I’m going to kill him.

“Arianna and I…”

“It’s real, Jack…”

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to lose you…but, I’m not going to lose her. I love her.”

“That’s my fucking daughter, you fuck!” I yell, picking up my coffee mug from the desk and shattering it against the wall.

“I know. I’m sorry, man, but this is more than I can explain…”

Rage turns everything red. The irony is lost on me, because right now, all I can think about is my best friend fucking my daughter.

I’m wrecked. So fucking wrecked. But it’s karma. Turnabout in the worst possible way.

I drop down into my chair, my hands in my hair as I slam my elbows onto the desk.

“Dad? Jack?” It’s Arianna’s voice now and the conflict battles inside me. “Please, try to understand, we didn’t mean it to happen. It’s just, well, last time I went to the camp interview… You remember I stayed with Carter and Layla…”

“Don’t fucking say anything else,” I bark, all of it hitting too close to home and the battle inside of me turns into World War III.

“Please…” She’s begging, I can hear the pain in her voice. “Life is too short. I don’t want to hide what I have with—” She’s cut off by a gasp. “Jack?”

“What?” I mumble, pain raking through my chest, my temples pound.

“Where’s Layla?”

“What do you mean?”

Carter’s voice comes through. “Did you know about this guy…this fan of hers? Arianna let it slip about this TikTok and whatever last night. I was going to deal with it when I got back…but Jack.”

“What? What’s going on?”

“Dad…” Arianna’s voice is thick with fear. “I just saw a post on her TikTok. The guy…this guy that’s been following her…sort of stalking her…sending creepy messages. He just posted a picture of Layla. She’s eating an ice cream cone. Wherever she is, he’s there. He’s there in Cherry Falls taking pictures of her—posting them…”

I shove the phone into my pocket, not even bothering to hang up as I straight arm the door and hit the dock at a dead run.