is at the door. Do you laugh or threaten to call the police?”
“I can’t help it,” she snorted. “It’s like a bad movie. Your ex is at the door and you’re trying to escape through the window. Who does that? Come on. Pull up those big girl panties and tell him where to go.”
“Just tell him I’m not here.”
Jackie took a deep breath. “She says she’s not here.”
“Jackie!”
“Sorry. I can’t think straight,” Jackie whispered. “I’m running on a junk food high after that chip.” She turned back to the door and yelled, “I mean she doesn’t live here anymore. She moved after some two-bit loser ripped out her heart.”
“That’s good. That’s exactly how I felt.” Lana pounded her fist on the window, but it wouldn’t budge. “Tell him I also felt betrayed.”
Shaking her head, Jackie called out, “It was the worst kind of betrayal. She never recovered. Last anyone heard she was living on the streets.”
“Too much.” Lana made a chopping motion with her hand to silence her friend.
“Lana, open the fucking door.”
“Bad language. Just like you said.” Jackie gave her a wicked grin. “He’s a feisty one, and in that badass jacket… You sure you don’t want him to come in?”
Lana frowned. “How many weekends did you sit here with me, eating ice cream and watching B-rated sci-fi movies? You know what he did to me. How could you even suggest I let him in? And how will I face down my fears if he stops me from going to the clubhouse?”
Jackie gave her an apologetic shrug. “I only met you after you guys split up. I never got to meet him. But after hearing what happened in the field and seeing your cheeks all flushed, I’m thinking you should let him in to talk. He looks anxious, not angry. I don’t think he came here to hurt you. Maybe he’s worried you’ll go to the clubhouse alone. Do you think he’ll go away?”
Lana gave a bitter laugh. “Ironically, except for walking out on me, he’s not the going-away, giving-up type. But he’s not coming in. I don’t want to see him.”
“You should.” Jackie’s face softened. “If only to get it all out, once and for all. Then you can move on, whether to the barbeque or another guy. At the very least, all the things you wanted to say won’t be burning a hole in your gut.”
“Babe. Last time. Open the fucking door or I’ll break it down.”
Jackie’s eyes widened. “He’s like the big, bad wolf. Would he really break down the door? I thought he was a cop. Aren’t they all about restraint and obeying the law?”
Lana sighed. “Not when it comes to me. For some reason, I make him overreact. And he is a man of his word. So the answer to your question is yes, if he’s pushed enough, he will break down the door.”
“I’d like to see that,” Jackie mused.
“Well, I wouldn’t.” Lana’s hands found her hips. “I don’t have the money to pay for— ”
Crash. The door flew open, smashing against the cupboard before it dropped to the floor. James stormed into the apartment, his leathers creaking as he strode over the splintered wood. Jackie raced to the kitchen and then peeked around the corner and whistled her appreciation.
Lana tried to hold his gaze, but her eyes wouldn’t stay fixed on his face. She drank in the smooth planes and ridges under his snug black T-shirt as he stalked across the floor. Her eyes skimmed past the belt just resting on his lean hips and then down over his long, powerful legs rippling with muscles beneath his black denims. Well over six feet tall and powerfully built, his physical presence had always been intimidating, but with the leather biker jacket hanging off his shoulders, he was sex personified.
She dragged her eyes away and looked at the pile of lumber on the floor. “You broke it,” she said lightly, as if they were discussing a china vase and not a heavy, three-inch-thick safety door with a Guaranteed Impenetrable sticker on the back.
James’s eyes focused on
K. Sterling
Jacquie Rogers
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley
Shiloh Walker
Elizabeth Moynihan
Mary Balogh
Tara Fox Hall
Jonathan Maberry
Jane Hunt
James Kakalios