Page 71 of Even if It Hurts

“You said we weren’t talking about last year as if you wantednoreminder of it,” she said softly but no less firmly. “As if youhatedthat it’d happened at all.”

“Because it complicated things,” I corrected her, gesturing to where Kaia was resting her head on Lainey’s shoulder. “For one thing?—”

“Lainey.”

My head snapped to the side at the sound of her name, filled with an anger that had me tensing in preparation for whatever was coming. But when I saw who was stalking toward us, my own anger was quick to rise. Sliding into my veins and bubbling just beneath the surface as I fought to control it.

“That,” I said through clenched teeth and forced myself to take a breath. “That’s one of the complications.”

Jackson’s narrowed stare slid to Lainey before locking on me again as he quickly erased the distance between us. His hands clenched into tight fists. Jaw twitching in a telling way.

Reaching out, I gently curled a hand around Lainey’s hip and pulled her and Kaia a step behind me, passing off the basket of berries as I did. Even though I was sure Lainey only let me for my niece’s sake, the action—the subtle claim—brought Jackson up short for a split second before his anger flared hotter.

“Yeah, you don’t touch her,” he seethed.

“You’re right. Those bruises weren’t from me.”

“Asher,” Lainey wheezed, nearly choking over my name at my harsh reply.

For a second, I wondered if I’d had it all wrong. Because Lainey sounded horrified, and Jackson looked taken aback and genuinely confused before his frustration took over again. But I’d known it the morning I’d seen the marks on her jaw, and I knew it as I stared him down then. Lainey would’ve corrected my assumption long ago if it hadn’t been him.

“What’s he talking about, Lainey, and where’ve you been?” Jackson demanded as he tried moving around me to better see her. When I shifted ever so slightly with him, an edgy laugh lefthim. “Whoever you are, this isn’t a conversation for you. And I really don’t appreciate how close you are to my fiancée.”

“Not,” Lainey snapped from behind me. “I am not your fiancée.”

I tried to keep my expression neutral when her response had that earlier hope exploding in my chest.

All week, I’d been dreading the day I’d see a ring on her finger. Not only had she just shut that down, but she also sounded like she had no intention of making that a reality with Jackson McCoy.

“And you aren’t getting any closer to them,” I added with a subtle tilt of my head. “You’re not allowed anywhere near my niece, and I won’t let you near Lainey when you’re like this.”

A sharp, berating sound burst from Jackson as he sneered, “Who are you?”

“This is Asher,” Lainey hurried to say, almost sounding as if she was worried for what I would’ve answered with. “Asher Briggs—my boss.”

At that, Jackson took me in as if just seeing me for the first time. Suspicion, understanding, and a whisper of betrayal burned in his eyes as they darted back to what he could see of Lainey. “I get it now,” he murmured, his lip curling. “Why you won’t quit.”

A mocking laugh crept up my throat. “I doubt it’s whatever you’re coming up with. You haven’t seen her with my niece.”

“You’re messing with things you don’t understand,” he ground out. “You and your meaningless job are ruining things that have been in the works for decades. Find someone else because Lainey’s done. She’s needed here.”

I waited for a response from her, but when I only felt a wall of uncertainty and pain pushing against me, I shrugged. “She’ll tell me when she’s done.”

Jackson smiled, all bared teeth and frustration, making him look feral before he blew out a sharp breath and tried looking around me again. “Lainey, we need to talk. It’s been nearly a week, you can’t keep doing this—I don’t even know where you’re staying.” When she didn’t respond in any way, he practically sneered her name. “Lainey.”

I slanted my head enough to speak to her but keep Jackson in my line of sight. “Do you wanna talk to him?”

After another handful of seconds, a muted sigh left her as she stepped around to my side. “I said what I needed to,” she told him with a small shrug. “If you need someone to talk to, you should probably head over to the General Store.”

A horrified awareness fell over Jackson’s expression before determination replaced it all as he charged forward. “Lainey, you don’t?—”

“No, see, I said you weren’t getting near them,” I seethed as I forced him back a handful of feet, his hands clasped together and useless between mine as I dug into pressure points there. “And unless you want me to drop you right now, I suggest you walk away and leave her alone until she’s ready to deal with you.”

Jackson’s chest pitched and his eyebrows slanted low over his eyes as he studied his restrained hands before his glare snapped to me.

“I can think of at least a dozen different ways to knock you out and even more to kill you, Mr. McCoy,” I said when he started speaking. “And if you think I haven’t thought of doing every one of them ever since I saw the marks on her jaw and side, you’d be mistaken.”

There it was.

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