“I'm okay. You did enough. It's my turn to stand up to him.”
“Like last time?” he muttered, sadness filled his eyes now as they locked on hers.
“No! I'm different now. I'm a mother, and we're a family. This time I won't back down. I'm totally serious.”
He stared at her, his mind zooming in all directions. It was difficult for him to accept, considering how many times she’d failed that test in the past. Between his raging distrust and everything else going on, he smelled disaster simmering.
“Let's go get the results.”
Kristen froze. There was no way out now. She carefully lifted herself from the bed, fixing her gown and hair.
They walked side by side down the corridor. His skin tingled from her touch when she took his hand, but he was lost in another world, a dark world where the only thing that mattered was destroying Logan. A world where his only purpose, revenge, festered in him like a cancerous lesion.
The time had come and he didn’t know how much longer he would be able to hold back.
* * *
A pang of terror struck Kristen the instant she saw Alicia waiting for them. From the pallor of her skin and distraught appearance, it was obvious something terrible had happened. But her own face retained that faint delighted glow when she held up the birth certificate.
“Good news?” Alicia curled a lock of hair around her finger absentmindedly.
Jake and Kristen’s heads bobbed up and down simultaneously, both beaming with happiness. “He's a daddy!” Kristen exclaimed, her eyes dancing. When she saw the smile fade from Alicia's face, her edginess returned. “What happened?”
Alicia moved closer to her. “Logan—he threatened me.” Her lips brushed Kristen’s ear. When her voice trailed off, she glanced over at Jake, lost in a daydream.
“What? What did he say?” Kristen stiffened, forcing her voice to stay low. The last thing she needed was Jake overreacting.
Neither of them heard Jake’s approach.
“What's going on?” His hand rested on Kristen's back. Although he caressed her shoulders, his attention remained on Alicia.
Kristen gave her the go ahead signal. Alicia nervously knotted her fingers together, looking down at her feet. “He surprised me at the beach. I told him to fuck off, but he wouldn’t let up. He warned me to keep away from you. He said I was ruining his life...” She raised her eyes. They were filled with rage and anguish.
A burst of adrenaline raced through Jake’s veins. His hands tensed uncontrollably on Kristen’s back. “What the fuck! Is he fucking crazy?”
“Jake, that hurts...” Kristen squirmed under the pressure. He pulled back from her. Startled, she looked up at his flushed face.
Alicia’s jumpiness increased. “It's nothing. I probably shouldn't have told you.”
“No, we're glad you did. I'm sorry you got dragged into this.” Kristen wrapped her arms around Alicia, whispering in her ear, “Don't worry.”
“Did he touch you?” Jake's body inflated, ready to burst.
“No! I left pretty fast…”
“Did he follow you?” Jake’s eyes blazed. All he needed was one tiny reason to hunt Logan down like an animal.
“No, no, seriously, I'm fine. He felt stupid afterward.”
“Yeah, right. I'm sure after what happened earlier he won't be bothering either of you anymore.” Jake smirked, turning away.
“We're leaving in a little while.” Kristen broke the sudden silence.
“Alex too?” Alicia perked up.
“No. Not until Saturday or Sunday at the latest. We just came from there.” Kristen sank to the chair in exhaustion and leaned her head back.
Jake peeked at her, but his restlessness propelled him into the hallway. He was too wound up to console her. Let Alicia do it. He had the meeting with Henry to think about and Logan to take care of, before Kristen had the opportunity to change his mind.
JAKE/KRISTEN
Instant replay of nine months earlier in Brooklyn—the same unpleasant feeling in a different setting. This time it was an apartment building, but the circumstances were all too familiar to Jake. He pulled his truck into the guest parking space in the underground parking garage. His hands were numb from the pressure he applied as he gripped the steering wheel, but his mind was blank.
“Jake? Are you okay?”
Although Kristen had been talking to him, he failed to hear a single word.
Snapping back to the moment, he stared at her. “Yeah. I'm fine. If he's up there… I can't promise anything.”
“Jake, please, just let me get as much as I can and then we can come back again before Alex gets out. Unless you want to make two trips today?” They were going to the Miami Beach Inn a few miles away, where he booked a large room with a kitchenette.
“No, you need to get some rest. Just get the essentials for today. Don't worry about me. Just remind me not to blow up.” He flashed his cutest smile, then opened the door, leaping out.
When they entered the apartment it was quiet and dark. She couldn’t hold back a relieved sigh when she stood on her tip toes to kiss him.
“Hey, just make sure once we get everything outta here, it’s over, okay? I do not want to see his ugly face again. Got it?” He raised his eyebrows hopefully.
“Okay.” It was all she could muster. Despite the momentary sense of security, she was infused with fear.
Jake made a brief inspection of the apartment as they headed to the master bedroom. Huge, filled with expensive looking modern age furniture—he couldn’t begin to imagine the price tag. Not wanting to dwell on it or let intimidation take over, he concentrated on the long balcony outside the living room. Seeking a diversion, he opened the sliding glass doors, contemplating on the beach in the distance. He could hear the ocean crashing onto the shore as he gazed at the spectacular sunset. For a second he felt at peace.
“Baby, come here a minute,” he called her, lacing his fingers through hers when she came close. “It's gorgeous, isn't it?”
Why couldn't the whole world be this pure and simple?
She melted into him in awe. “It's amazing. We didn’t see this in New York, did we?” She gazed up at him, her eyes warm and tender.
“Nope. But we do have that awesome New York skyline!” He chuckled. “Have you thought about where you wanna live?” Becoming somber, he looked off into the distance.
“Not really. Don't you have to see how that business deal goes with Franky's friend?” It so bizarre. My life has changed drastically twice in such a short period of time. How uncertain the world is. Why can’t it always be so beautiful and mellow like it is at this moment?
“Yeah. I have to decide when to meet him. But that won't be until Franky comes down next week, I think, so for the rest of the week, I belong to you and Alex. I was hoping we could head to Oregon and see my mom at some point.”
“I'd love that Jake, really.” Her arms encircled his waist. “I'm dying to meet your family. How is she?” All she wanted to do for the time being was absorb him, without worrying about any hardship, extreme changes in lifestyle or materialistic elements.