Page 140 of One Good Crash

Now, standing on his doorstep, I quickly considered – and then just as quickly discarded – all kinds of crazy theories. None of them made a lick of sense.

And unfortunately, the clock was still ticking.

Finally, I said, "You know what? Never mind. That's not even the reason I'm here." I glanced toward his front door. "And you never said, do you want to talk out here? Or inside?"

This was an obvious cue for him to invite me in.

But he didn't.

Instead, he replied, "What I want, and what I'm gonna do are two different things."

I stared up at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said, "if I invite you in, you're gonna regret it."

More confused than ever, I turned to look at his front door. As I did, an awful thought occurred to me. Was someone inside, right now, waiting for him? Maybe in the pool? Or, heaven forbid, up in his bed?

My stomach roiled at the mere thought. And yet, if that was the case, I wanted to know. Ineededto know. In the calmest voice I could muster, I asked, "Why would I regret it?"

He loomed closer. "Alright, you wanna know why?"

Probably not.Still, I forced a single nod.

His voice grew very quiet. "Because I can't promise to keep my hands off you."

I blinked. Of all the answers I'd been anticipating, this one hadn't been on the list. I mumbled, "What?"

"You heard me."

As I studied his face, I couldn't decide if I was thrilled or angry. It took me less than a second to decide that it wasn't anger making my knees tremble. And yet, Iwasirritated, because the mixed signals were giving me a serious case of mental whiplash.

Again, I looked to his door. What was he saying? That if we went inside, we'd be getting naked? Ilikedthe thought of getting naked with him, but not with such a cloud of uncertainty hanging over our heads.

And certainly not when he was acting so strange.

And besides, thatwasn'twhy I was here, so I stiffened my spine and said, "There's something I need to know." I waited. And when he offered no encouragement, I finally just blurted it out. "Yesterday, wereyouthe one who robbed Dominic?"

Chapter 57

For the longest time, the question hung there, unanswered and unacknowledged.

Still, I waited, determined to get a reply, one way or another.

Around us, the daylight was fading to night. Near the curb, a streetlight flickered to life. In the driveway, Jaden's car was slowly backing out, even as Morgan's car squealed off to parts unknown.

But here on the steps, Jax had grown very still. I searched his face, trying like crazy to figure out what emotion I was seeing. But the longer I searched, the less I knew. It was like a mask – and perversely,nota ski mask – had fallen over his face, hiding his thoughts from my probing eyes.

Finally, he gave me an answer. "No."

I stiffened.That's it?

The answer was way too short for such a long delay. I waited, certain that he'd say something more. But he never did.

I didn't bother to hide my irritation. "So, you didn't rob him? That's what you're saying."

"Yeah. That's what I'm saying."

"Oh come on," I said. "Iknowwhat I know."