Page 79 of Break Out

A chuckle rumbled from my belly. “It sure isn’t a light foot though.”

“True. Why did Rafferty have to get the truck?” she asked, sipping her soda.

“Is the doctor cool with you drinking diet soda? Won’t it harm the baby?”

“One a day is fine, and it has less caffeine than coffee, which I can’t seem to stomach, and that's a bummer. You aren’t changing the subject on me, though. Something’s up – are you on some do not rent list or something because you spent time in jail?”

I laughed. Her ability to coax things out of me should alarm me, but it didn’t. “No, I didn’t have a ton of time yesterday, and the only rental place I went to, the prick behind the counter took one look at my license and gave me shit about how I couldn’t take the vehicle out of state.”

She stared at me, her left eye narrowing. “You’re leaving something out.”

“We got the truck, that’s all that matters.”

“Oh, no, no,” she said, wagging a finger in the air. “There’s a story here, handsome.”

“I lost my temper. Not enough sleep does that to me. It wasn’t cool, but—”

“So you kind of are on a do-not-rent list.”

“No. Just not at that location.”

She laughed and I glanced at her. The joy and happiness on her face made her more beautiful, and hell if she wasn’t glowing with pregnancy.

Damn, she was gorgeous. How had Jordan fucked shit up with her?

Where the hell did that question come from?

Deep down, I wanted to repair my relationship with him. A paternity test couldn’t erase the years I’d spent with him and Debra or the years watching him grow up from afar. No matter how much shit Debra had spewed about me, and how much of a brat Jordan could be, I held hope that he and I could have a relationship as adults. His headstrong nature posed a problem – especially when he should be willing to hear my side of things. My relationship with Simone was only going to be another obstacle.

Still, I had to wonder why he’d string her along instead of manning up and making a clean break.

Rather than ask her that outright, I asked how she liked her new job.

“It’s good. Challenging, that’s for sure.”

“Are you in over your head?”

“No, it’s just different from learning about it in school, that’s all. What do you do for money? I suppose you take a cut from club members’ dues every month?”

I grinned. “Yes, but officially I work for one of the businesses the club owns.”

“Really? In what capacity?”

“Silent partner.”

“Convenient,” she muttered.

“It is. Keeps me from having to pay self-employment taxes, which are much steeper.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw her nodding. “You know, it was taxes that got Al Capone caught, right?”

“I’m aware. What’s your point?”

“Just being cautious. Seems silly to take precautions about speeding tickets, but you could end up in the big house for tax evasion.”

“I’ll keep it in mind, Jade. You need to pee again?” I asked, when we passed a sign for an nearby rest area.

“Not quite yet, but I could stretch my legs.”

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