Page 163 of King of Pain

She cuts me off, turning to Chance and shoving him. “Andyou! Don’t fuck it up.”

“There it is,” I say under my breath.

“Shh,” Jen snaps, pointing at me like I’m a child. Then she grabs Chance by the chin and turns his face to hers. His eyes go a little wide.

“You beautiful, beautiful man,” she says, and her voice softens. “Lexi told me everything. She said you were okay with her sharing what happened. What you did for Anthony…”

Her voice cracks. She lets go of his face and wipes at her eyes.

“I’m sorry. For everything you lost. Everything you had to carry alone.”

Chance nods, eyes lowered.

Jen clears her throat. Then, of course, she ruins it.

“I’m just glad you’re back,” she says. “Becausethis one—” she gestures at me with a thumb “—needed some dick in the worst way.”

My head hits the back of the booth with a thud.

Chance is cheesing like he just won a prize.

Jen cracks up, cackling. “Sorry. Had to lighten the mood.”

I can’t help it. I laugh too.

And she’s right.

It was about damn time.

TRACK FIFTY•FIVE

Control

Chance

“So, ah, Jen,” Ant starts, “I understand you and Chance were in cahoots back in school when the pipe burst in my dorm room.”

Jen leans against my shoulder. “Hey, all this one told me was that your dorm was suddenly going to become unlivable—and I needed to devise an excuse why you couldn’t stay with me.”

Ant’s narrowing his eyes at me…again.

Jen reaches up and squeezes my cheek like I’m a toddler. “I was not informed this menace was going to cause that much damage just to force you to live with him. But, without him even telling me his reasons, I knew he was protecting you fromsomething. And that’s all I needed to know.” Then she kisses my reddened cheek.

The moment passes when one of the Tom’s Diner employees working the takeout counter calls out a name to pick up their order—loud, clear, and unmistakable.

“Joan Jett!”

I blink. Ant rolls his eyes.

Jen shrugs, all nonchalance and sass. “What can I say?” she tosses over her shoulder as she exits the booth. “I’m a Blackheart.”

I chuckle as she struts off toward the counter, then glance across the table at Ant.

“You’re different,” I prompt quietly.

He quirks a brow. “Yeah? How so?”

I lean in a little, trying to find the words. “Before… it was like you were treading water with a weight tied around your ankle. Beautiful, yeah, but visibly struggling to stay afloat.”