Page 52

~ brIDGET ~

Sam had to leave before dawn to try and get home before anyone would see him returning.

I cried like a child, then got embarrassed. But I was so worn out, and done.

He looked like he might cry when he gave me the final kiss and whispered goodbye, but somehow that made me feel better.

Somehow, I was able to get back to sleep—until the pounding on my door startled me awake with such a surge of adrenaline that I grabbed my chest because my heart was leaping in my chest.

Scrambling and disoriented, I threw on Sam’s massive hoodie because it covered me to my knees, and ran to the front door, yanking it open… to find Jeremy standing on the stoop.

I swore. “What the fuck, Jeremy? You scared the shit out of me!”

He stared at me—how the hell was he in a fucking suit at the ass crack of dawn? But he was. And he had his hands fisted on his hips so his jacket pushed back, lips thin, and his eyes scanning me. And I flinched.

I hadn’t spoken to him—not really—since he told me I’d married my father. I was still smarting about that. And now indignant on Sam’s behalf. Not that I’d tell Jeremy that .

I was also suddenly very aware of being naked under the long hoodie.

I waited a few more seconds, but he still didn’t talk. So I shook my head and slammed the door on him.

Or tried to. He slapped a hand up to catch it before it closed all the way, and put his foot in at the base so I couldn’t force it shut.

“Fuck, Bridget.”

Already taken care of. God, I wanted to say it out loud.

Then he swallowed and took a deep breath. “I’m here to tell you I’m sorry,” he said reluctantly.

I almost fell over. I gaped at him, waiting to hear what the hell was behind this. But then he let go of the door and stepped out of the way.

“That’s it,” he muttered. “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said that about your dad.”

I folded my arms, feeling suddenly very exposed, even though Jeremy had seen me far more revealed than this. “No, you shouldn’t have,” I said, my voice husky with lack of sleep and all the crying of Sam’s name last night. “You know, the irony is, you’re the one who’s like my father.”

Jeremy prickled. “No, I’m not. But… only because I want what’s best for you. Which is exactly why I have to tell you: Sam was prowling last night. We don’t know how he got out, but we clocked him coming home this morning. So your prince charming isn’t. He’s still doing this Primal Dom shit. And I’m sorry if that hurts you, but you needed to know, because it’s going to come up in Court. We have evidence now. They didn’t want to tell you, but I knew that would hit hard, so I’m telling you now so you don’t get side-swiped, okay?”

“I… what?!” How had they caught him? He said he’d used a different car and—

“He was stalking last night. Black clothes, tools in his car, the whole bit. He got pulled over so we have a record and—”

He cut off and his head tilted, his expression narrowing. Then his eyes scanned me again, all the way to my toes, then back to my face.

“You have got to be shitting me.”

I frowned, but my heart slammed on my ribs. “What? ”

Jeremy looked over his shoulder, then plowed in the door, nudging me back and shutting it behind him like he was hiding me from someone. Then the turned on me.

“He was here? You took him back? Are you out of your fucking mind?!”

“You aren’t… that’s not… it’s none of your business what I do with my life, Jeremy!”

“We have a fucking no-contact order, Bridget! I told you that! After that debacle in the courtroom the judge granted one—you aren’t even supposed to go to Court when he’s there!”

“You did what?!”

“I told you!”

“No you didn’t—”

Jeremy shook his head. “You don’t even remember, do you? Thursday? After we showed him up? God, Bridget. You’re a fucking mess.”

“You can’t force me to be apart from him when it’s my life! He hasn’t even been convicted!”

“It’s only a matter of time—”

“No, Jeremy! Would you just take a fucking step back, please!? I didn’t want another order. He’s never hurt me.”

“Are you listening to yourself?” He clawed his hands and shook them in my face like he’d lost all patience. I was about to argue again, but I swallowed it back because there was no way to defend Sam with him. He was never going to listen. So I folded my arms and waited for him to be done.

And to my surprise, my silence cut through faster. Because Jeremy muttered a curse, clawed a hand through his hair then turned back to me with a voice that was pleading instead of angry.

“Bridget, please listen to me: You always fall for these assholes. And they’re destroying you. Please. None of this is going to get better until you have someone good in your life.

Oh the irony.

He leaned down over me, his forehead pinched to lines. “Bridget?”

“Thank you for watching out for me. But I’m fine. I’ll keep doing what I do, right? You know that. This is what we do. When you get this one, I’ll still be there grabbing the next one for you… right?” I said bitterly .

And fucking Jeremy didn’t catch the sarcasm. He fucking nodded.

“God, you’re blind,” I muttered.

“What?”

“Please leave, Jeremy—”

“Bridget—”

“—and just know, if you ever take Sam from me, I will destroy you. You know I can. You know I will. I don’t want to. But if it’s between you and him, I’m choosing him every time. Don’t make me do it.”

I think it was the first time I’d ever seen him stunned.

Speechless.

“Bridget, you can’t—”

“Yes, I can. So, don’t push me.”

He looked at the door like there might be someone watching through it, then turned on me, snarling. “I’m going to ignore the fact that you’re threatening me, because you’ve had an awful week. And you know what? No matter what you think the truth is, I’m trying to save you from that fucker for your own good. If you can’t see that, well… my conscience will be clear. I’m not letting you fall so that prick gets loose. You can thank me later.”

He turned for the door.

“Jeremy, you can’t—”

But he yanked the door all the way open and stormed out, yelling at me over his shoulder. “This is a courtesy call, Bridget. Your husband’s going to jail. I’m putting this guy away for your own good, whether you can see that or not.” Then he stopped, whirling to face me and pointing at my chest. “One day you’re going to look back and be fucking grateful.”

Then he stalked off to his car and tore out of my driveway so fast his tires laid rubber on the street.

When he didn’t come back, I closed the door, sank to the floor and cried.