Page 47 of Hooked on Marshall

“Perfect.”

Thirty-Three

We’re just finishing clean up from dinner when my phone rings. I pull it from my pocket and see that it’s Brian. I show Lana the screen before I answer.

“Hey, man. What’s up?”

“Are you sitting down?” he asks.

“Jesus, is it that bad?”

“Bad enough.”

“Hold on, I’ll put you on speaker so Lana can hear, too.”

He agrees and I take her hand to lead her into the living room while Brian starts talking.

“It turns out that the woman in that picture was Jonas’ longtime girlfriend from high school,” he starts. “During their freshman year of college, she was killed in a car accident.”

“Oh, my God,” Lana breathes.

“That’s not the worst part,” he says. “Her name is Jana.”

We both suck in a sharp breath at that. Then Lana lets out a small sob.

“That explains it,” she says.

“Explains what?” Brian and I ask together.

“More than once when Jonas and I first met, he called me Jana,” she explains. “He laughed about knowing a girl in high school named Jana who looked a lot like me, so I never thought anything was wrong with it.”

“Lana, I don’t want to pry, but did he ever call you Jana when you were…being intimate?”

“Yes,” she chokes out. “Just once. The last time.”

“Shit,” I curse. “Do you think he’s fixated on her now because of that? I mean, he’s divorcing his wife, for Christ’s sake.”

“That could be it, but we won’t know for sure until we talk to him.”

“Do you know where he’s staying?” I ask.

“There are only two hotels in town, I don’t think it will be hard to find him,” Brian chuckles.

Another call comes in on my phone and I frown when I see that it’s Jace. I tell Brian to stay on the line so I can take it. Because something tells me this isn’t going to be good, either.

“Jace?”

“That Jonas asshat is back,” he growls. “Some busybody he met tonight spilled the beans about you and Lana being together. He’s demanding to see you.”

“I’ll be right there,” I growl.

“See you in a bit.”

I end that call and get back to Brian.

“Jonas is at the pub,” I tell him. “Someone told him that Lana and I are together and he’s in there demanding to see me.”

“I’ll meet you there,” he says. “Lana, stay locked up there and don’t answer the door foranyone, do you understand?”

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