Page 127 of Breaking Rules

A ball of lead sinks in my stomach, and a cold sweat breaks out across my skin.

“Izzy? Are you still there?” Meg asks.

“Y-yeah, s-sorry,” I say, even as the world around me goes blurry. “Why do you think that?”

We’ve been careful. Xander jokes that he’s a special agent on some super secretive mission with all the precautions we’ve taken. I never go to his games; we’ve never been photographed together. My car is always parked in his garage. I thought we had it all covered.

“I’m at Marco’s place, and I overheard him talking to Jake. Miller said he should’ve guessed you were helping Xander with more than just his bathroom. I hope I’m worrying you for nothing, but Marco says Jake is acting weird.”

“Fuck,” I mutter, glancing at Milo. He’s carefree, but I’m suddenly engulfed in panic. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and count to ten.

“Izzy,” Meg pleads. “Are you alright?”

“Just considering how to handle things if he actually does know.” I hesitate, my hand curling harder around the leash. “I need to call Xander.”

“Sure. I’ll call you later. Just know I’m here for you, okay?”

My chest pinches with affection and a little fear. “I know.”

I’m navigating to Xander’s contact info when a voice behind me makes me freeze.

“Didn’t think I’d be so lucky.”

Heart pounding, I turn around, finding myself face-to-face with Jake.

“Hey,” I say, fear churning my insides.

He looks like a madman. There’s a strange glint in his eyes and a menacing scowl on his lips. “What are you doing here?”

“What amIdoing here? Really, Isabella?” he hisses, taking a step closer.

I stand my ground, refusing to show him how scared I am. My fear is his fuel, and I don’t want to give him any power.

“A little bird told me Walker got himself a girlfriend…mygirlfriend.”

“We broke up,” I remind him, casting my gaze down to Milo. He’s sitting by my feet, staring intently at Jake, unusually quiet and unfriendly.

“Yeah, you left me to spread your legs for my teammate.”

“I left because we?—”

“Aren’t right for each other. I heard that.” Another step in my direction. “After everything we’ve been through, after all the things I did for you…you betrayed me with that fucking asshole!”

“That’s not true.” My own anger settles in the pit of my stomach, mixing with my fear.

“Stop lying.” He clutches my wrist and pulls me to him. “How do you think I felt when I found out you were playing house with Walker? I refused to believemy Isabellawould ever do that. I was sure it was just a misunderstanding. So, I came here.” He narrows his eyes, his nostrils flaring, and squeezes my wrist tighter. “And what did I find? You walking his damn dog like a fucking whore.”

I wince and try to pull my wrist from his grip, but it’s no use. “Let me go. You’re hurting me.”

“Am I?” Brow arched and focus fixed on me, he adds more pressure, a sadistic smile blooming over his lips. “I just want to show you how I felt. The love of my life broke my heart—not once, but twice. You broke off our engagement and immediately jumped into bed with the guy who has been pretending to be my friend for years, who probably only did it to get back at me for fucking his nerdy girlfriend in college. That slut was happy to wet my dick, but he still put the blame on me.”

Milo stands and barks. The piercing sound is enough to startle Jake into releasing me. I dart to the house, dragging Milo and his too-short legs with me. It only takes a second for Jake to catch up and yank my hair from behind. The leash falls from my hand, and I yelp as he drags me into his chest and wraps his other hand around my neck.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Isabella, is everything alright?” Mr. Jensen’s voice makes my heart beat faster. From time to time, I see him out with Pup, and we chat. He’s a good man, and I’ve never been happier to see him.

Jake turns us around, faking a smile. “Hello,” he says.

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