CHAPTER 38
JIMMY
For the first time in weeks, I woke up in bed alone. Worried, I jolted upright then immediately regretted it.
Pounding headache. Screaming ribs. Stiff muscles.
The next-day soreness was always the worst.
Events from the night before came back to me, and I wondered how much trouble I was in with Mackenna. The fact that she wasn’t in bed with me was a bad sign.
Ignoring the ache in my body, I gingerly made my way downstairs. Mackenna was asleep on the couch. Taking a seat on the edge next to her, I absorbed a minute of peace before I faced the shit storm that was surely coming my way.
I woke her up with a forehead kiss. She smiled at me before a frown took over.
I tucked a rogue strand of hair behind her ear. “Guess you’re pretty mad, huh?”
Scooting up, she shook her head. “I’m concerned.”
“I got into a fight,” I stated pointlessly.
“Well, that’s obvious.”
“With Jaxon.”
With a blank expression, she blinked three times. “I’m sorry, what?”
I sighed and leaned down to give Mackenna one last kiss before she kicked me to the curb.
In one breath, I quickly explained how I’d contacted Jay several weeks ago, and that when I learned Jaxon wanted to fight, I knew I had my in. I told her about how the cops showed up, but not before I finished what I’d started.
“I’m not sorry I did it, but I am sorry that I lied to you,” I said. “I just knew if I told you what I was doing, you wouldn’t have wanted me to do it.” I sent her a charming grin to help my case. “And I really, really wanted to kick that motherfucker’s ass.”
Her eyes glistened and her chin wobbled.
My face fell.
I would’ve preferred anger over sadness any day. I wanted her to yell at me. Anything but tears.
“How much groveling do I have to do to fix this?” I asked, rubbing my thumb over her legging-clad knee. “Because I’ll do whatever it takes.” Unable to handle the sight of her crying, I glanced away.
“You fought for me?” The question came out in a shaky whisper.
My head whipped back in her direction. “What?”
“You fought for me,” she said again. She didn’t look pissed.
“You’re not mad?” I asked, and she shook her head.
“I can’t believe you did that.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Why are you so surprised?”
Biting her lip, she shrugged. “No one’s ever done something like that for me before.”
I remembered what she told me that night in the hot tub. How all her so-called friends abandoned her. The harassment she’d endured. How alone she felt.
“Mackenna, I would do anything for you.”
“Fighting him was dangerous.” Her lips flattened into a straight line. “And you’re right—I would’ve tried to convince you not to if I’d known about it.”
I nodded. “I might’ve done it anyway.”
“How much trouble are you in?”
“Surprisingly, none. The cops weren’t even called because of the fight. They were there on a drug bust, and they got what they were looking for.”
“What are you going to tell Beverly? Your face…” Her fingers ghosted over my injuries.
“The truth,” I responded before placing a kiss on her palm. “I might not tell my parents, though. I’ve given my mom enough gray hairs as it is.”
“I’m staying with you tonight,” Mackenna stated.
“What about going to see your family? Don’t feel like you have to cancel your plans for me.”
“I had already planned on spending the night with you. It’s our last Saturday…” she trailed off with a frown.
Mackenna never spoke of our limited time together. I felt like this was a good opening to talk about our future together—and we would have a future together.
But I didn’t get the chance.
Scrambling up onto her knees, she took my face in her hands. Her fingertips softly roamed over my cheeks, my nose, the cut on my eyebrow, as if she was seeing the damage again for the first time. The last touch was her thumb gently sweeping over my bottom lip.
Bringing her face to mine, she kissed me slowly. “How hurt are you?”
“Just bruises. Nothing a couple days’ rest can’t fix.”
“I need you,” she whispered against my lips. “Right now. Are you up for that?”
Smirking, I glanced down. “See for yourself.”
She put her hand over my cock, which was already standing at attention. My eyes closed when she lightly scratched the material of my jeans, the rough denim texture causing a vibrating sensation with every scrape of her fingernails.
“Wait.” I stopped her because there was still more to last night’s story. “I really hope the fight was enough to make Jaxon stay away from you. And it seems that he’s already moved on...” I took a deep breath before I continued. “He had a girl with him last night. And when I say girl, I mean practically a kid. God, she couldn’t have been more than sixteen. Maybe younger.”
Mackenna’s expression turned horrified. “Of course he would go after someone like that. That’s what predators do.”
“That’s not all,” I said before voicing the worst part. “She said she was pregnant.”
She gasped, and her mouth opened and closed a few times before she started rambling. “What’s her name? Maybe if I could find her, I could warn her. She can’t stay with someone like him, especially with a baby. I have to do something—”
“Slow down a second,” I interrupted, rubbing up and down Mackenna’s arms. “I understand why you’d want to do that, but we need to think it out first. The last thing you want to do is put yourself on his radar any more than you already are.”
“You’re afraid that if I get involved, he might come after me again,” she said warily.
Just then, my phone pinged with a text.
Jay: Call me if you’re not locked up
I turned the screen toward Mackenna before dialing Jay’s number, then put it on speakerphone. As it rang, she got up and anxiously paced the room.
When he answered, I skipped the pleasantries. “Man, what the fuck?”
“I know,” he said, sounding remorseful. “I screwed up. I’m sorry for leaving you like that, but I just panicked.”
“They took me in, but they didn’t charge me with anything,” I told him. “You’re in trouble, though. What were you doing with drugs in your car?”
He hesitated, like he didn’t want to tell me, then let out muffled curse. “I’ve been dealing. It was good money, you know? Then I started using and it just got out of hand.”
“They took your car, and I’m sure there’s a warrant out for your arrest.”
He sighed. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. I’m turning myself in later today.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized, even though I knew this was his own fault. “You did me a favor setting up the fight, and I’m grateful for that.”
“Hey, it’s no big deal. I should’ve known this lifestyle would catch up with me eventually. But that’s not why I called. I’ve got news.”
Mackenna finally stopped pacing and sat down in the armchair.
“What news?” I asked.
“Apparently, I wasn’t the only one dealing meth. When the cops showed up last night, they found a couple hits in Jaxon’s pocket. It gave his parole officer reason to search his house. Guess they found a shitload of it, packaged and ready for sale.”
My jaw dropped. “Holy shit.”
“Yep. He’s going back to the slammer, probably for a long time.”
I glanced over at Mackenna. Expression hopeful, she was sitting up straight while gripping the cushion so tightly her knuckles were white.
“Are you sure?” I asked Jay, needing confirmation.
“Positive,” he said, and Mackenna deflated with relief. “I do have some bad news, though,” he continued. “You’re not gonna get paid for the fight. Colin is pissed. Says you didn’t fight fair.”
“I don’t even care about the money. It was never about that.”
“No, I guess it wasn’t,” he mused, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “Anyway… I’ve gotta get going. Time to face the music and all.”
I nodded, remembering a time not too long ago when I had to do the same. “Good luck, man. And thanks for letting me know.”
“Wait!” Mackenna rushed out, nearly falling off her seat.
“Who’s that?” Jay asked, sounding a little paranoid.
“Mackenna,” she replied, then added, “Connelly.”
There was a three-second pause before he chuckled. “Well, I’ll be damned. Guess I don’t have to wonder why you wanted to fight Jaxon anymore. ’Sup Mackenna?”
Moving to the seat next to me, she spoke softly into the phone. “I need a favor, Jay.”
“Lay it on me, Beautiful.”
Shaking my head at his shameless flirting, I put an arm around my girl.
“There was a girl with Jaxon last night,” Mackenna said. “A young girl. Is there any chance you know who she is?”
“No, but I can find out. Tell ya what. This’ll be my last hurrah. I’ll do some digging before I turn myself in,” he said. I had no idea how he could sound so cheerful when facing significant jail time, but that was Jay.
Seeming relieved, her face relaxed. “Thank you. I really appreciate it. And I’ll even forgive you for almost getting my boyfriend arrested,” she added with a laugh.
After Mackenna rattled off her number and Jay said he would text her with the information, we said our goodbyes.
I set my phone on the coffee table and our eyes locked.