“Doesn’t matter.” Kendra’s gaze darted to take in Jack before returning to Pepper. “You got it all in the end, just like always. Everything you ever want you get. It’s just no damn fair.”
This was like some bizarre Picasso painting where everything started to melt and droop and made no sense at all. “You lied to me because I get everything I want—Kendra, are you high?”
Kendra snapped her head in anger. “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”
Obviously not, but just in case she’d missed something blatant, Pepper thought back for anything the woman could be referring to. She shook her head slowly. “As far as I know, I’ve been operating under the assumption that you were my friend. Now I find out you’ve been lying to me ever since we left school, maybe even before—”
“Friends don’t steal the guys their friends are interested in,” Kendra snapped.
“You can’t steal a guy who’s not interested in you,” Jack interjected, his arm around Pepper a solid base for her to lean against.
Kendra made a face. “You were interested in me, but you’re not the one I was talking about. You’re just another example of exactly how little Pepper cares about anyone but herself.”
Now Pepper was completely lost. “Who are you talking about?”
“Ben.” The word shot out like a bullet from a gun. “He and I were friends, and maybe about to become more, then suddenly you show up and you’re all la-di-da-di-da, and he’s not only got the hots for you, he’s willing to fool around with you and another guy just to make you happy!”
Kendra stepped forward a couple of paces. At Pepper’s side Jack tensed, ready to protect her. Only, the other girl stopped far enough away, her eyes flashing with anger as she glared daggers at Pepper.
“You didn’t even once notice what you were doing. And then we got here, and I thought maybe it would be better, but no. As soon as you find out I’m interested in Jack you had to swing your hips and seduce him. So fuck you. I’m gone.”
Pepper’s head was reeling from trying to take in the outpouring of venom, even as Jack swung up a hand to stop Kendra from stomping off.
“You are one misguided little girl, but you’re welcome to your delusions,” he said flatly. “Before you get the hell out of here, I want you to know if you ever come near Pepper again, you will regret it.”
Kendra sniffed, the threat rolling over her without much impact. “You wouldn’t do anything to me. You wouldn’t dare.”
“He wouldn’t have to.” Pepper stepped in front of Jack, nudging away his warning hand. “He’s not threatening to physically harm you. There are laws about harassment, and even though I feel sorry for you, I have no objection to using the law to its fullest extent.”
“So high and mighty,” Kendra muttered. “I hope you’re happy. You took all the good things I tried to give you as a friend, and you just ground them underfoot. You’re a terrible person.”
With that, Kendra vanished into the back corridor, and Pepper gasped for air. She must’ve been holding her breath because she felt lightheaded.
“It’s not true.” Jack spoke softly, one arm coming around her as he pulled her against his body. “You are one of the best people I know. Whatever her issues are, they’re hers.”
Pepper nodded, her chin cradled in his fingers as he caressed her cheek gently. “Still sucks to think I’ve been living with a crazy woman.”
“You’re safe. That’s all that counts.”
It was stupid, but at that moment Pepper noticed a familiar shirt hanging out of one of the boxes. “That…bitch.”
She slipped from Jack’s arms to pull the fabric free. So. That answered the question of who had gone through her suitcases.
Something else dawned on her. “Oh my God. Jack.”
He tensed. “What is it?”
“The perfume…” Pepper’s breath caught in dismay. “She took it from my suitcase—it must have been Kendra who threw the bottle in the parking lot.” Another thought struck, this one even more horrifying. “And your car. Oh God. She was there that day. Do you think…would she really…”
All words escaped her. She couldn’t speak properly. Couldn’t think clearly.
She’d gone numb.
Of all the crazy, mixed-up, fucked-up things Jack had ever dealt with, the double-cross of Pepper’s supposed best friend had to rank right near the top of his seriously-shitty-moves list.
Pepper’s face had gone ashen, and even he couldn’t hide the shock and fury that pounded him in the gut. It had cost him a lot of money to fix his father’s car after the insurance company informed him his premium would skyrocket if he filed a claim, since he couldn’t prove he hadn’t caused the accident himself. But it wasn’t the cash that boiled his blood—it was the thought that Pepper could have been in the car when the damage was done. That she could have been hurt.
He opened his mouth to respond, but Pepper stepped away from the boxes, letting go of the shirt and bra she’d been holding. She whirled around to the doorway, where Kendra had just appeared.