Retribution

Chapter 24 - Beginning of a Chain Reaction

We waited around another hour before Jake came striding towards the car, concern etched onto every feature. Back in normal clothes, he looked just as handsome as he had done an hour ago. I wanted to open my door and run to him so badly, but the mix of emotions juggling around inside me held me back.

He came straight to my door and opened it. Bending down, he cupped my face. "Hey, beautiful. You ok? What's wrong?"

I smiled and nodded. I daren't speak for fear of tears falling.

Marco coughed and took lead on the conversation, taking the heat off me for a moment. He filled Jake in on what had happened. As he spoke, Jake moved his hand from my face and took a hold of my hand. When Marco finished bringing him up to speed, Jake squeezed my hand, then kissed the back of it.

Uncertainty churned over in my stomach. Instead of bewitching me a little more, the simple, sweet gesture now had me on the brink of tears. I took my hand back and fiddled with my hair in an effort to hide my discomfort.

My cheeks began to burn under Jake's questioning glance. Thankfully, he didn't push it any further.

"Do you want to sit in the back with me on the way home?" he asked, rubbing my arm.

I glanced back at Harvey. He'd been sat as quiet as a mouse playing on my old android phone. "Fancy sitting in the front seat, little man?"

He squealed in excitement and all but fell out of the car when Marco opened the door for him. Taking Jake's hand when he offered it to me, I gladly followed him to the back of the car. When we settled in the seats, he reached out and laid an arm over my shoulders. Cuddling me into him, I immediately relaxed and allowed myself to enjoy the faint aroma of his spicy aftershave. I closed my eyes and fell into a dazed half-asleep state.

We stopped briefly at Jake's hotel so he could grab some fresh clothes. He whispered to Marco to run up for him as he didn't want to disturb me. My heart clenched at the caring gesture, twisting me into more knots. I needed to get a grip, and quick.

When we eventually turned into the top of my road, I sat up. The bumps and potholes down the old lane made it impossible to stay resting. Jake pressed a kiss to the side of my head, sending fuzzy butterflies roaming through my body.

As we pulled into my driveway, a flutter of white against the fence caught the corner of my eye, grabbing my attention.

"Did you see that?" I said to Jake, frowning.

"See what?"

"I thought I saw something against the fence." I shrugged my shoulders. "Probably still half asleep."

Marco parked the car and hopped out, stalking back to the fence. He rounded the corner, edging out onto the road. Reaching up for something, he jogged back to the car with a grim look on his face. He sat back down in the drivers seat and handed Jake a piece of paper.

My heart stopped dead when I saw it. It was the ex parte order. A huge blood red cross had been drawn from corner to corner. Nausea rose inside me. We hadn't scared him off at all, all we'd done is made him angrier.

"Take Louisa and Harvey inside," Jake said, opening his door. "I'm going to see Harry."

Marco nodded and jumped out, striding around to my side of the car. I looked down at the floor, staring at the black carpet beneath my feet. Guilt and shame swirled around inside me. Nobody deserved to put up with this—this was my baggage, my problem. It wasn't fair to strain other people with that as well.

"Jake, it's ok you know. You don't have to do this."

Halfway out of the car, he snapped his head around and frowned. "What do you mean? Of course I do. I started this, so I'm going to make sure I end it."

"Jake, this is all my problem. I shouldn't have dragged you into this, even if you came along willingly. I'm sorry. It's not fair on you or your guys." I took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Maybe it would just be easier for you if you forgot about me."

Raising an eyebrow, a stern look clouded over his features. His sapphire eyes were still soft and warm, but the rest of him was visibly tense. "What are you saying? Are you saying you want me to go?"

My heart thudded against my ribcage. A hot sweat broke out on my forehead. "No, of course I don't want you to go. I'm just saying—"

"Mummy! Mummy, look! I won! I got to level thirty and I won!"

"Yes, poppet. Well done." I rubbed at my temples and turned back to Jake. "I'm just saying you don't have to stay. You're not obliged to do any of this. You've done more than enough already. I totally get it if you want to run away to find some normality again."

Jake smiled at me.

"Mummy, you didn't even look. Look how big it is!"

"In a minute, Harvey. Mummy's talking."

"I don't need normality—" he took my hand in his "—or want normality. If I didn't want to be here, Louisa, I wouldn't be. You've got enough to worry about without concerning yourself with what I'm thinking or feeling. I'm not important in this. You and him are."

"Mummy! MUMMY! LOOK!"

"HARVEY! STOP BEING SO DAMN RUDE AND WAIT."

Bright button eyes smeared over with water. A beaming smile turned into a bottom lip wobbling pout. Tears followed.

I winced and sighed. "I'm sorry, darling," I said, reaching for him. "Mummy's really busy. I didn't mean to shout."

He nodded and stared down at his legs.

"Hey, big guy," Jake said, leaning forwards. "How do you fancy spending some time with your mum over at my house?"

Harvey snapped his head up and sniffed. "Will Lewis be there?"

"You betcha."

In a split second, Harvey was back to his normal bubbly self. "When? Are we going now? Where is it? Can I bring my football?"

I smiled, trying to ignore the nagging guilt at the back of my mind. This was just as stressful for him as it was me; if not more so. At least I understood it. To him it must be a whole mess that made no sense.