Page 88 of Tricked By Jack

I shake my head and hold up my hand. “Sorry’s cheap,” I bite out, yanking my zipper until the teeth scrape my skin. “Try something else.”

She twists her hands together, mascara smudged, looking wrecked. “Jack wanted someone to keep an eye on you, and he wanted it to be me instead of Ned.”

If this were a therapy session, I’d call out her deflection in a heartbeat. But this is real life—mylife.

“Okay,” I relent. “That I can maybe buy. But how come you never told me my neighbor is your fucking brother? Or… I don’t know, you could have hinted at Jack’s plans.”

“But I—”

That does it. Knowing she’s about to deny knowing anything again has my temper flaring hotter than before. “Enough!” I shout. “If you tell me one more time that you didn’t know, we’re done.”

“Done?”

I nod sharply. “Yes. Done. I know you, Shelby. You’re one of the sharpest legal minds in NYC. Do you honestly think I’m going to believe you didn’t know? Give me a fucking break.”

Her face crumples, tears spilling again. “I couldn’t stand thinking about it. You’re my best friend, Eve. I never wanted to hurt you, but I couldn’t defy Jack. He owns Ned, and I couldn’t go against my own brother.”

Now we’re finally getting somewhere.

“Go on,” I urge as I finish getting dressed. Once I’m done, I finally locate my phone and try to switch it on. Nothing. Dead, despite sitting in the charger for weeks.

I force myself to listen to Shelby as she basically continues to repeat the same explanation and excuses over and over.

Acid twists low in my stomach. God, I hate that I still want to believe her. That part of me is desperate for her to make this betrayal make sense, because otherwise I’ll spiral until I claw my way out of my own skin.

I force myself to meet her gaze in the mirror. “You broke something in me,” I whisper, jaw tight. “And an apology doesn’t glue it back together.”

“I know,” she sobs, wringing her hands. “I just don’t want to lose you.”

Something in her tone makes me falter. She looks wrecked. Small. And maybe, just maybe, we could untangle this mess. But there’s no time right now. Not when Jack’s waiting.

As if summoned by my thoughts, there’s a knock on the door, followed by Jack’s deep voice. “Eve.”

Holding a finger up to Shelby, I say, “I’ll be right back.”

Then I slip into the hall, tugging the sweater straight as I go. Jack is waiting in the living room, shoulders squared. Ned, my neighbor who’s apparently working for or with Jack, is in the kitchen.

“Are you ready?” Jack asks.

My pulse drums hard as I meet his gaze. “I think I should stay.”

His jaw flexes, a dangerous muscle twitch. “Eve.”

I step closer, tilting my face up to his, voice soft but steady. “I need to stay with her. We’ve barely scratched the surface, and if I don’t—if we don’t—this resentment will eat me alive. Let me do this.”

He stares at me in silence, green eyes burning with the kind of fury that feels like restraint. My breath shortens under it. For a moment I think he’ll pick me up and carry me out anyway, and part of me wants him to.

“Come on,” I whine. “Isn’t it better if I stay?”

His hand catches the back of my neck, dragging me forward into a kiss that steals the ground from beneath me. His mouth is rough, demanding, like he’s imprinting his control into me so I won’t forget it the second he walks away.

I open to him, let him take, let him devour until my knees weaken. And then I return the kiss with everything in me, not letting him pull away until we’re both panting.

He rests his forehead against mine, breath ragged. “Promise me you won’t leave this apartment.”

“I promise,” I whisper, dizzy with heat and the ghost of his mouth.

Behind us, Shelby clears her throat. Both our heads snap in her direction, and for once she doesn’t flinch. She lifts her chin, reaching into the inside pocket of her jacket, and pulls out a small switchblade. The metal glints under the overhead light.