Page 33 of Scarred Hearts

I took another step closer to him, my frustration bubbling over. “You can spew that bullshit at someone else but–”

“Tyler,” Jade interjected, extending her hand toward me. “Luke, please.”

I turned to face her, my jaw clenched tight. “Did you not hear what she said in there?”

“What did she say?” Jade asked softly, her eyes filled with concern.

“The first thing she said to me was I almost ruined Gia’s life, but she was interrupted by Ian.”

“What the hell?” she jolted back in shock.

“That’s what I want to know!”

Luke sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Did anything between you and Gia happen before, that was more than just sex?”

I shrugged. “We talked, but that was all. Yeah, the conversation got deep, but it’s no reason to tell me I almost ruined her life. I have no fucking idea what she’s talking about.”

“Well,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair, “she’s certainly not going to tell us now.”

“No shit,” I muttered under my breath. “But more importantly, her brother’s not getting near Gia, and I’ll make sure of it.”

Jade opened her mouth to speak, but Luke scowled, shaking his head slowly before lifting his hand to silence her. “Alright, first of all, you’re not her boyfriend, so your opinion of what we do with her is invalid. Second, even if you were, she works here. She does what we tell her when she’s on the clock. Not you. And third,” he held up three fingers, “she knows these people way better than we do and she’s probably the only person who can see any potential danger coming.”

Before I could reply, he slipped his phone from his back jeans pocket, placing it to his ear.

Yeah?

In my office with Ty and Jade.

As Luke chatted away, Jade tugged on my arm, motioning for me to follow her to the corner of the room. I perched on the sofa arm, my heart racing.

“You like her,” she hissed excitedly. “I knew it!”

My cheeks flushed as I tried to deny it. “You got in my head.”

“I never got in your head. You just need to be honest with yourself right now, even if you’re not with anyone else.”

“Please stop,” I sighed, feeling overwhelmed.

“No,” she said, lightly slapping my arm. “It’s time for you to stop worrying so much about Mila and move the fuck on.”

“It’s not her I’m worried about.”

Luke cleared his throat, and we turned to face him. “You guys good?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jade nodded. “Yeah, we were continuing a discussion from last night.”

His expression softened as he walked over to us. “Okay, well, Ekaterina and her men are gone, but they’re coming back tonight.” He folded his arms, roaming around the room. “And you better not be a problem for us tonight. You know I hate speaking to you like that, but when it comes to paperwork, legal matters, and anything tech-related, you’re our go-to guy. Ian wants to protect you at all costs because you’re the only family Jenna has left.”

“Hey!” Jade scoffed.

He lifted a hand. “Immediate family like siblings.”

“I don’t know,” she snickered, “we were all surprise relatives. They might have a sibling lurking out there too.”

“We don’t!” I snapped, causing them both to look wide-eyed, and I turned to Luke. “I know you’re trying to protect me, but I’ve apparently been in a fucking blood war since I was born. I’ve known Gia longer than any of you, and seeing her on TV doesn’t count, so don’t throw that at me.”

A surge of anger rose within me, threatening to boil over. I knew I needed to leave before things got out of hand. I couldn’t risk being accused of wanting her, not when Jade was already seeing right through me.

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