The Lover's Surrender (No Exceptions) (15 page)

Clutching
my phone to my ear, I stared at the wall. I could imagine Sylvie, her fake
reading glasses on her nose, a drink in her hand, as she waited for my
response, her face scrunched up, thinking she had it all figured out. It was
now up to me to be honest about everything.

Set things straight.

My heart
stuttered, but she had to know.

“My doctor
told him not to,” I whispered at last. “Jett didn’t tell me things because of
my condition.”

“What…wait,
what condition?” Sylvie said. “Oh, my God. You’re scaring me right now. What
condition? Are you sick or something?”

“No, I’m
not sick. It’s just that…” I trailed off, considering how to explain.

“Don’t even
think about lying. If you don’t tell me, I’ll phone Jett and ask him myself.”

I brushed a
hand over my womb.

“Well,
according to the doctors, I have a severe and rare form of preeclampsia, which
is often associated with first-time pregnancies,” I explained, trying to sound
casual. “It could put my life in danger and all that, but I think they’re all
exaggerating a bit. It had Jett worried, though, which is why he kept things
from me. To be honest, I feel fine. I’m happy. I’m engaged. So there’s no need
to overreact,” I added before Sylvie felt the need to jump into a taxi and
start cocooning me until the day my daughter was born.

“I’m such a
bitch,” Sylvie said slowly. “I assumed the worst.”

“You
weren’t the only one,” I retorted as I thought back to my confrontation with
Jett. I wanted to say more, but her sudden spluttering, then choking and
coughing, stopped me short.

“Are you
all right?” I asked, worried when her cough worsened.

“Sorry. My
drink went down the wrong pipe.” She cleared her throat. When she spoke again,
her tone was oddly tearful. “Look, I didn’t mean what I said before. You know,
about Jett. I had no idea he was trying to protect you.”

I shrugged
and squeezed nonchalance into my voice—enough to fool her. “It’s all
right.”

“No, I’m
really sorry.” She sounded so emotional my heart gave a jolt. “I shouldn’t have
acted the way I did. It was harsh and uncalled for. Not only toward Jett, but
toward you as well. I’d never…like ever… have forgiven myself if I wasn’t there
for your big day.”

“Sylvie,
you didn’t know about my condition or about his plan to propose,” I whispered,
feeling touched. I felt like hugging her. The fact that I couldn’t brought
tears to my eyes. “Seriously, don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”

“That’s
right, I didn’t know. But I should have shut my stupid mouth, which I never
do.” She let out a strangled laugh.

I sighed.
“That’s not you, Sylvie. And honestly, if things were different, I’d rather you
told the truth than let me live in denial.”

She
hesitated. “Even if the truth hurts?”

“Even
better,” I said, meaning it.

“So, does
that mean you’ll forgive me?”

“Yes, even
though there’s nothing to forgive.” I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me.
“Seriously, no hard feelings. It’s water under the bridge.”

“Thank
God.” Her voice sounded so hopeful my chest rose in joy. “Oh wait. Does that
mean I’m invited to the wedding?”

“Like I’d
ever walk down the aisle without you. Who would be my maid of honor?”

She let out
a joyful scream, and it sounded sincere.

“Holy shit.
I can’t believe you’re getting married.” Her voice rose into a crescendo of
disbelief, and then turned serious again. “No, that was wrong. I did see that
coming. I sort of gave up on him after your break-up. You know, I secretly
wanted things to work out with you and Jett. You were, and you still are, this
perfect couple. And then, bam, you told me you saw him with Tiffany, and I was
thinking of my own experiences. I didn’t want you to go through hell. I have so
many times, and it’s not fun.”

“I know.
I’d have done the same for you.” I smiled, touched by her words. “And by that,
I mean I’d have tried to verbally slap some sense into you, too.”

“We need to
celebrate, of course. Like big time,” Sylvie said. “Where are you? I’m going to
pick you up, and then we’ll chat some more. We need to start planning the
wedding. It’s going to be a full-time job.”

I could
already feel the bossy vibe wafting from her. Sylvie was going to take control,
and there was no stopping her.

“I’m at the
gang’s headquarters, but you can’t visit me now.”

“Why not?”
Her sudden excitement dropped to disappointment, only to be replaced with a
hint of amusement. “Are you and Jett busy?”

With busy,
she meant if we were in bed, having sex.

“Yeah,
something like that.” I smirked as I thought of all the other problems and
obstacles that still needed to be dealt with before we could truly enjoy each
other.

“Speaking
of Jett, what kind of ring did he get you?”

I lifted my
hand to admire the sparkling diamond. “You’re the expert. You’ll have to see
for yourself. I’ll just say it’s beautiful.”

I didn’t
know what made me do it, but I slid the ring off my finger. It was then that I
noticed the engraving.

Holy pearls!

“He even
engraved it,” I muttered in awe. “It says,
With
no exceptions, my love for you doesn’t need reciprocation to exist
.”

“I so want
to get married, too,” Sylvie said. “I’m happy for you, Brooke. I really am.
This is a dream come true. I know how much you always wanted to get married.”

Which was
so not the truth.

It had
always been Sylvie’s secret dream—the one she always adamantly denied.

And it
became mine the moment I got pregnant and realized I wanted a family with Jett.

“Do you
remember my vow? The one I took years ago? I promised I’d be your maid of
honor, no matter how far we lived from each other.”

“Yeah, as a
matter of fact I do.” I smiled at the memory, unable to stop the moisture in my
eyes as I became nostalgic. “You even went as far as denying another bride’s
request, because you wanted to be mine first.”

“Yeah, I
did. That is one of my favorite memories,” Sylvie whispered, and more silence
ensued. Eventually, her voice came low and somewhat weary. “Brooke?”

“Hmm.”

“Can you
promise that once you get married you won’t get all boring and lose touch like
so many people do?”

My throat
tightened. I could definitely understand her fear.

“I promise
we’ll be in each other’s lives forever,” I whispered.

“No matter
what?”

“Yeah, no
matter what.”

“Thank
you,” she whispered, the relief in her voice carrying down the line. “And now,
come on, make me jealous. Describe the ring. And I want every little detail.”

“Words
don’t do it justice. I’m going to send you pictures later.”

We talked
some more, then I finished the call.

With my
back against the bathroom tiles, I turned around and caught a glimpse of Jett
standing in the doorway. His shirt was unbuttoned, and he was holding two bags
of Chinese food. In the soft light of the bathroom, I saw him for who he was:

My fiancé.

My soon to
be husband.

He wasn’t
just handsome. With his black hair and eyes the color of sin, he was in every
way beautiful.

“How did it
go?” he asked.

“She’s
confused, but I think, deep down, she’s happy for us.”

“I can
definitely understand the confusion.” He placed a soft kiss on the tip of my
nose. “And I’m happy that I got the girl of my dreams, and she so happens to be
the mother of my unborn child.” He sat the bags down on the counter, and his
arms encircled my waist.

I leaned
against him, eager and starved for his soothing embrace.

“I love the
engraving,” I whispered, glancing at my ring again.

“Yeah, I
did that for insurance purposes in case you lost it or something. Or if you
ever forget my name.” He grinned.

“As if
you’d ever let me forget you, or your name.” I rolled my eyes playfully.
“Knowing you, you’ll probably have me screaming it at the top of my lungs for
the rest of my life, just to be sure.”

 
“So, when are you girls meeting up to
plan our wedding?” Jett asked.

“I don’t
know. Maybe tomorrow.”

I stared at
him, suddenly feeling anxious. I wanted to see Sylvie, but there were other,
more pressing issues on my mind. Interweaving my fingers with his, I looked up.
“I want to burn Gina’s belongings.”

He nodded.
“Sure. Let’s eat first. I’m going to arrange for us to burn them once it gets
dark.”

I shook my
head. “No, I want to do it now.”

“Now?”

I pressed
my lips into a tight smile. “The sooner we get rid of them, the sooner I’ll
feel better.”

We weren’t
just getting rid of stuff that could compromise Jett; I was also getting rid of
the feeling that I could lose him.

Moments
lost forever.

“Okay,
baby. Let’s pick up her stuff,” Jett said.

When Jett
opened the door and we stepped out into the backyard, confusion crossed his
face.

“What?” I
asked.

“Where’s
your car?” he asked, scanning the area around us.

“I have no
idea.” I turned and pointed to the spot where I had parked it. “It was right
here.”

Jett walked
around me and stopped in the empty space where I had pointed, as if my car
would miraculously appear between the other parked cars. A giggle escaped my
lips. For some reason, the whole situation seemed too funny.

The last
thing I needed was for my car to be gone, but I didn’t suspect foul play.

“I don’t
think my car would transform into asphalt.” I laughed. “It’s not that kind of
car.”

“You find
this funny, Brooke?”

His lips
twitched and then spread into a full-blown smile. In the midst of the
situation, in the ridiculousness of it all, with him being a possible murder
suspect and me a target, hysteria bubbled up. I had no idea what anyone
watching might think of us, but I had no doubt we looked like we were high.

“Maybe you
forgot it back at my place and took a taxi instead.” He titled his head,
studying me.

“Yeah,
right. As if I’d take a taxi in this neighborhood.” A thought struck me when my
laughter subsided. “We should ask Brian. Usually, he’s guilty as hell.” I
shrugged because my suggestion made little sense.

“Why would
we—” Jett’s words were cut off by the sound of a door being thrown open.
We turned in time to see Brian stepping out of his car.

“Oh boy,” I
whispered. “Not again. We should hide in case he decides to interrogate us.” I
giggled again.

Nothing
could pierce my happy bubble.

“Interrogate?”
Jett asked. “What are you talking about?”

“He grilled
me for at least an hour before letting me see you.”

I eyed the
big guy nervously. Brian’s usual military clothing was gone. Instead, he was
wearing a blue mechanic jumpsuit that made him look bigger than he already was.
As he stopped in front of us, I noticed how dirty and greasy his hands were. A
smile lit up his rugged features. He seemed to be in a good mood, but then
Brian was never moody. Crazy, yes, but never moody.

“Hey!”
Brian said.

“Hey,” Jett
answered.

“How’s it
going?” Brian’s gaze swept from me to Jett.

“Where’s
Brooke’s car?” Jett demanded without further ado.

“In the
workshop.” Just in case we didn’t know where it was, Brian pointed his thumb
over his shoulder, a lazy grin covering his wide mouth.

“Why would
you move it?” Jett’s brows shot up as he stepped in front of Brian, which only
made Brian laugh.

“Relax,
mate. You should have seen the condition it was in. A few more days and it
would have taken its last breath on earth. It’s a good thing I’m here to take
care of an oldie.”

Jett looked
at him warily, then stormed past him.

“What?”
Brian shot me a questioning look, and I shook my head, signaling that I
couldn’t help him figure Jett out.

We followed
Jett through the back door into the generous area Brian called the workshop,
which was just another garage adorned with all sorts of mechanical tools and
tires and other stuff I couldn’t identify even if I wanted.

The moment
I stepped through the door, I stopped in mid-stride.

My car was
there—or what used to be my car. Someone had taken the liberty of tearing
it apart. It was barely more than a skeleton of scrap and metal, just like the
other two cars to either side.

My jaw
dropped. The wheel was gone. And so were the tires and the seats, but what
shocked me the most was the fact that the hood was open and a few things were
missing.

“What did
you do to my car?” I asked, mortified.

“I gave you
a new alternator.” Brian smiled proudly. “Your old one was close to dying. Told
you already.”

Jett
ignored him as he rounded the car and opened the trunk. From where I was
standing, I saw that the two black bags were gone.

Jett
slammed the trunk closed, then turned around to face Brian. “Where are they?”
His voice dropped dangerously low, but his face remained expressionless.

“They?”
Brian asked, his voice not even hiding the amusement. “What the fuck are you
talking about?”

“Don’t try
to bullshit me.” Jett placed himself in front of Brian, his expression hard as
stone. “I’ll ask you one more time and you better answer. Where. Are. They?”

Grinning,
Brian buried his hands in his pockets. “I’m kidding. I kinda figured she wanted
to keep her junk, so I stashed the bags in the blue freezer in the basement.”

“In the
freezer?” Jett stared at him. “What the fuck!”

Brian
shrugged. “I had no idea if she was coming back soon.” He glanced at me, the
corners of his lips twitching. “Or at all. For all I knew, she might have fled
to Mexico, rented a room or something.”

“Why would
she be heading—” Jett stopped abruptly, eyeing us both. “Am I missing
something?”

I gazed
from Brian to Jett. “Remember when I told you about him grilling me? Well, I
kind of told him.”

“Told him
what?” Jett asked through gritted teeth.

Brian
wrapped one arm around my shoulders. “She told me that she was hiding
first-rate evidence in a murder case. How’s that for starters?” He turned to
me. “Right, Brooke?”

Jett’s head
snapped in my direction. “You told him that? What the fuck, Brooke!”

“I meant to
tell you.” I shrugged as I tried to shake Brian’s heavy arm off my shoulders.

“Why
didn’t
you tell me?” Jett asked, his
anger palpable, his stunning green gaze two burning dots.

“Easy,
mate.” Brian held up a hand. “I asked nicely, and she replied.”

A snort
escaped my lips. “Yeah, right. You practically forced it out of me. So not
nice.”

“I think it
was a fair deal for entering,” Brian said. “There’s nothing like a little piece
of information to make me happy. I gotta tell you, I didn’t expect you’d have
the guts to hide it in your car.” He seemed genuinely impressed.

I shot him
a timid smile. “I had no choice, really.”

Ignoring
our banter, Jett took my hand possessively and pulled me toward him.

“Did she
tell you why?” he asked.

“Because
you guys are in trouble?” Brian suggested casually, as if it wasn’t a big deal.
As if he hadn’t expected anything else from us.

Jett opened
his mouth to say something, but the ringtone of his phone interrupted him.

“Stay
here,” Jett said, frowning. “I have to take this.”

With that,
he left us, slamming the door shut behind him.

Brian and I
were alone, his people gone. I peered at him, expecting heavy and uneasy
silence.

It never
came.

“What?”
Brian asked, returning my puzzled look.

I shook my
head. “When you asked me why I was here, I didn’t think you’d believe me.”

“Where I
come from, there’s a saying. People who stand at your door when it’s raining
always tell you the truth, so I reckoned you needed help.”

I cocked my
head. “It wasn’t raining.”

“No, it
wasn’t.” He smirked. “You got me. Where I come from, there’s no such saying. I
made it all up. Thought it was clever and all.”

I eyed him,
curious. “So, how did you figure out it wasn’t a lie?”

“Your eyes
betrayed you.” He winked, and I forced a scowl onto my face. “All right, that
was another lie.”

“Right.” I
nodded. This could take a while because Brian didn’t seem keen on getting to
the point anytime soon.

“You really
want to know? Jett’s been in a bad mood since your arrival. I reckoned
something was wrong and he was in trouble. So when you told me you had
first-rate evidence, I thought you knew something he didn’t tell me about and
took the liberty to open your trunk and put the bags away, just in case, you
know, the cops were coming.”

“You had no
key,” I pointed out.

“So?” He
shrugged casually. “You think this was the first time I opened a car without
one?”

I shook my
head, which was rewarded with a chuckle.

“You’re
fucking unbelievable,” I whispered.

“I know.”

“I can’t
believe you took the bags and put them in a frigging freezer,” I said, dumbfounded.
“Who does that?”

“Trust me.
Nobody would look in there.” His eyes glimmered with excitement. Knowing Brian,
he probably thought his actions were pretty cool.

“It’s a
good hiding place,” I agreed.

His lips
twitched before he turned his back to me. “I would have moved everything
eventually.”

My stomach
dropped as I watched him walk over to a shelf and pick up a couple of wrenches
and pliers, then return to my car to continue whatever he had been working on.

“Did you
look inside?” I asked after a pause.

My question
made Brian look up.

“Inside the
bags?” Brian shook his head, and his smile disappeared. “No! And I’m not going
to ask what’s in them.”

Narrowing
my eyes, I leaned back, unable to hide the doubt in my voice. “So you really
didn’t look?”

“Nope.” He
sounded so honest I believed him. If there was ever a doubt, it dissolved
quickly the moment I caught his quizzical stare.

“Aren’t you
curious?” I asked.

“I am. But
you’ll tell me before it’s too late anyway, right?” He gave me a long stare
that sent a chill up my spine.

“I want you
to know that you’re part of our family now, Brooke,” he said firmly. “If you’re
in trouble, you’ll get me involved. I know a good place if you need to bury
something large.”

I stared at
him as realization kicked in.

Oh, my God.

“You think
I killed someone.” I laughed out loud. “I’m crazy, but not so crazy I’d kill
someone, Brian.” He stared at me, head cocked to the side, as if not sure
whether to believe me or not. So I added, “I’m not in that kind of trouble.”

“I wasn’t talking
about you.”

My eyes
widened as it dawned on me.

”You think
Jett killed someone?”

He
shrugged. “Well, knowing Jett, it doesn’t take long for him to jump the gun.
When he’s hell-bent on doing something, he really gets it in his head, even if
it’s a bad idea. It wouldn’t really be that much of a surprise.”

I frowned.

Heart
racing, I turned to him. “What are you talking about?”

For a short
moment, silence ensued.

Brian eyed
me carefully. I tried to read his expression without much success. And then it
dawned on me why he wouldn’t just spill the beans, which he usually did.

He had no
idea
how much
he could reveal, so he
kept quiet.

I rolled my
eyes. “Look, Jett told me about my condition, so there’s no need for you to
protect me from the truth, or whatever.” I took a step forward, and my fingers
curled around his lower arm. “Please, Brian, if Jett’s about to do something
stupid, you have to tell me.”

His blue
eyes pierced mine—the look in them betraying his stony expression.

My heart
sputtered in my chest.

“Did Jett
say anything about killing someone?” I asked, my tone imploring. As
unbelievable as the idea seemed, Jett was unpredictable—and so very
protective of me and our unborn child.

“Jett’s one
of my closest friends, and he really cares about you,” Brian said, choosing his
words carefully. “He’s a good guy, but he’s extremely revengeful. So when he
says he’ll deal with a situation, I usually choose to believe he’ll do just
that. He’s been saying that for weeks, Brooke.”