It would take me a lifetime, which wasn’t exactly a punishment.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“For Jane. So you can know for certain that she never forgot about you.” He looked at her again. “You know how hard that was for me to trust him with that, so you have to know what I did wasn’t to hurt you.”
“Okay,” she replied, her voice soft. “Thank you, Asher. I do appreciate it, and you know, as hurt as I am, I love you. Please don’t betray that. You can’t tell Foster about Jamie.”
“I promise I would never do that.” Asher’s gaze shifted between us. “But you have to promise to do as I say. You have to promise to back off and let me deal with this.”
No. Fucking. Way. “I can’t do that.”
Jane tensed beneath my hands again.
Asher sighed heavily. “Jane, talk some sense into your boyfriend.”
Then he was gone and the vibe coming off Jane was not good.
Jesus, hadn’t we sorted this out last night?
She stepped away to turn and face me. “You heard him.”
“And I thought we agreed last night that I’d leave Elena out of this. I’ll give you something else. I’ll let Internal Affairs deal with Wright, and even if they don’t come through, I’m gonna let the bastard go. I won’t go after him. But I can’t walk away from Foster Steadman, and you know it.”
“Jamie, if he finds out you’re here and you’re gunning for him …” Fear darkened her eyes. “I’m terrified that this time, he’ll shut you up for good.”
“He won’t get away with murder, Jane.”
She narrowed her eyes in disbelief. “Jamie, do you think Skye is the only woman he’s sexually assaulted? From what Asher and I could deduce, he’s been violating women for nearly three decades. How many victims do you think we’re talking about here? And he’s getting away with it. Somehow, he and Kramer would find a way of getting away with shutting you up for good. It doesn’t have to be murder. They could just frame you for it.”
I chuckled, and it was the wrong thing to do. I knew that when she smacked me in the face with a cushion off her sofa.
“Jane …” I tried to placate her. “I’m not going to get caught.”
“I’m not asking you to give up. I’m just asking you to step back for now. Do it for me. Please. It’s the right thing to do. Until things calm down.”
“What things? Your bestie barges in this morning, doesn’t explain his reasons for making a fool out of you, and suddenly you want me to step back? You knew why I was in LA. You knew exactly who I was when you let me back in. I’m doing this and I will not be manipulated out of it. Fuck!” I was beyond furious at her for making me feel like the bad guy, and I knew if I didn’t get out of there, I’d say something I’d regret.
I left and took my anger out on the punching bag I’d hung from the ceiling in Sheila’s bedroom.
32
JANE
There was nothing I hated more than leaving a discussion hanging. Jamie storming out in the middle of our disagreement was beyond frustrating. I waited for him to come back, only to hear his apartment door open and close and his footsteps fade downstairs. Hurrying over to the window, I watched him stride with that languid grace toward the Porsche. I sighed, watching him drive out of the lot and disappear down the street.
Was I pushing Jamie too hard?
Was I manipulating him?
I hoped not, but Asher had me jumpy. He wouldn’t explain how he knew who Jamie was, and he wouldn’t explain his reasons for keeping me at bay with his father. As much as I loved Asher and wanted to believe he wouldn’t hurt us, couldn’t Jamie see why I was concerned? The last thing we needed was Foster Steadman finding out Jamie was in LA looking for revenge.
Searching for distraction, I checked my emails and found a new one from Cassie. For a while, she had been a big part of my life, but neither of us liked social media or talking on the phone. We passed the occasional email. Asher, who had an abundance of acquaintances and less than a handful of close friends, once asked if I ever got lonely. Sometimes I did. However, never for a large group of friends. The only