How the hell had that conversation gone so badly so fast? Why had he lashed out at her like that? What did she say that was so wrong?
His words echoed in her brain, doing more and more damage as they sank in. She’d been nothing more to him than scratching an itch? As if she’d just been a series of holes to get him off and nothing more.
Fuck. Him.
Jess fisted her hands as anger crashed over her head like a violent wave. You know what? Let him go. She wasn’t chasing after his ass, not when he was being such a gigantic freaking douchebag. He didn’t want a relationship with her? Fine. It wasn’t like she’d pressured him for one. And it wasn’t like she’d started shit between them last night anyway. That had been all him.
But to say being with her had meant absolutely nothing? That didn’t just negate what they’d shared, it negated their friendship, too. No friend talked to or looked at you that way. With friends like that… She chuffed out a humorous laugh. Exactly.
Except, fuck, his words were absolutely slicing up her insides. That he could say shit like that after she’d opened up with him hurt. Jeremy was the only other person in her life now who knew what had happened. And now Ike. And it felt like he’d thrown all of it right back in her face.
Not that she planned on letting him see even a single drop of blood.
A half hour later, Jess had cleaned up dinner all without smashing anything, which seemed like some kind of a victory.
Ike still hadn’t returned.
Through the open window over the sink, she heard loud, angry heavy metal music coming from the garage, along with an alarming number of crashes and bangs. Jess had no idea what the hell Ike was doing out there, but if he needed a time-out in the corner for a while, she wasn’t going to talk him out of it.
Three hours later, she was sitting in the dark on the couch staring at the front door. Knees pulled up to her chest and chin resting on folded arms, Jess’s head was a hot mess of sadness and anger and memories. And she got angrier with every hour that Ike stayed outside.
By the time she nuked a Hot Pocket for dinner the next evening, Jess was exhausted and strung-out and downright livid.
If anyone was responsible for changing their relationship, it wasn’t her. She’d handled her shit. He was the one giving her the silent treatment after tearing her head off—and her heart out.
Standing at the kitchen counter, she’d just pulled a pepperoni out of her sandwich when the front door flew open. She didn’t look up as she popped the saucy morsel into her mouth.
“Get your things together. We’ve leaving,” Ike said as he clomped toward the bathroom.
Jess took another bite. Chewed. Savored. Swallowed.
Ike stopped outside the bathroom door. “Did you hear me?”
“I’m eating,” Jess said. Okay, it was childish, but she had to admit she took pleasure from defying him. There was no way he wouldn’t know she’d be ten kinds of curious about why they were leaving, so if he couldn’t talk to her like a normal person, she wasn’t going to listen.
He marched up to the kitchen counter, and she felt his gaze on her face almost as if it were a physical caress.
She took his challenge and looked him right in the eyes, working hard to make sure her face showed nothing but a careful, carefree blasé. “I’ll be done in a few.”
He looked at her for a long moment, long enough for her to see he was doing the careful blasé thing, too. “I want us out of here as soon as possible. The team has set up a meeting tomorrow with the assholes who ruined their military careers and attacked Hard Ink, and I want the extra protection the Ravens’ compound will afford while all that’s going down. Just in case.”
Jess’s insides went on an uncomfortable loop-the-loop at hearing what was about to happen and knowing what kind of danger that likely posed for Nick and his team. But all she said was, “Okay. I’ll be ready in ten.” After all, it wasn’t like she had much to pack.
He gave her a single tight nod, and then turned on his heel and disappeared into the bathroom.
Ridiculously, tears chose that moment to threaten. All night and all day, she’d sat dry-eyed, too mad to let herself cry. She stared up at the ceiling and blinked the urge away—no way was she giving in to the urge in front of him. Frankly, she didn’t want to give into it at all.
Before Ike emerged from the bathroom, Jess rushed to the loft to stuff all her clothes in her duffel. Downstairs again, she waited until he came out and gathered her toiletries in the bathroom. And then she was ready.
“Got everything?” he asked, a bag of his own hanging from his shoulder.