Page 73 of Punchline
My teammate seemed to think about that. “How much do you know about what happened between them?”
“The fight, you mean? When Jake hurt Carson?”
Marek nodded.
“Not a whole lot. Jake said he tried—some move oranother. A spike, I think? And Carson ended up in the ICU.”
“Something like that. But the thing is, it didn’t just end Carson’s career. It could have killed him. Or paralyzed him. Everyone knows it was an accident, but they also know it could have been so,somuch worse than it was.” Marek shrugged. “I can’t really blame Jake for being spooked by that, you know? He probably couldn’t look at Carson or even think of him without remembering he could have literally killed him. Even if he feels guilty about what happened tonight, it’s not quite on the same scale, you know?”
“Yeah, true.” Rumor had it there were videos out there of the spike that had seriously injured Carson and put a massive rift between the two of them. I had never felt compelled to look it up, and I got the impression Jake wished that footage would magically vanish from the earth.
Tonight hadn’t beenasserious. No one was hurt, though the fucker who’d put his hands on me was going to be best friends with ice packs and Aleve for the next week or so. I was fine. Jake would probably be out on bond within a couple of days. After that… Well, that depended on if anyone pressed charges and what those charges were.
I ran my hand through my hair. “What if he gets a felony or something? What if he does blame me? Or he’s so ashamed of it, he doesn’t want to see me?”
“I doubt that.” For the first time since he’d walked into the room, Marek smiled. “I’m pretty sure he’s in way too deep with you to let something like this chase him off.”
“What do you mean?”
Marek stared at me. Then he rolled his eyes. “Oh my God. Seriously?”
“Um. Yes?”
Another eyeroll. “Sakra. Come on. You’re not that stupid, are you?”
“Uh. Apparently I am, because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
That prompted another flurry of Czech cursing. “Ethan. We’ve talked about this. Jake is completely and stupidly in love with you.” He shook his head emphatically. “Even as quick as he is to get spooked, it’s going to take more than a couple of nights in jail over something like that to chase him away.” Marek gave an exasperated sigh. “The fact that he kicked someone’s ass for laying their hands on you should tell you something. He’s stupid, and he’s completely stupidfor you.” With a quiet chuckle, he added, “That man’s not going anywhere, Berns.”
I laughed nervously, a mix of hopeful butterflies and terrified knots in my stomach. Marek was pretty damn smart, and he wasveryobservant. All I could do in that moment was hope this was one of those times when he knew what he was talking about.
Right then, his phone chirped. He looked at the screen, and his spine straightened.
“What?” I asked as my heart jumped into my throat. “What’s?—”
“They’re dropping the charges.” He started thumbing a message back. “Carson said they’re processing Jake out right now, and he should be out in the next hour or two.”
The relief that crashed over me made me sway. “So he’s not—they’re not keeping him for days after all?”
“No. Apparently the guy who’s been trying to recruit Jake convinced the cops it was self-defense. Or… well, defense of you, anyway. And there were videos to prove it.” Still typing, Marek rose. “I’m going to go check with the nurses and see about your discharge papers.” He tapped the screen once more and met my gaze as he shoved the phone into his pocket. “I’ll be right back.”
Then he was gone.
All the air rushed out of my lungs as I sank back against the hard pillows.
This wasn’t over. I had no idea how Jake was feeling or what he was thinking, but at least he was getting out of jail. And he wasn’t getting charged with a felony or something.
Still not the best possible outcome our evening could’ve had, but I’d take it.
I had no idea what Marek said to the nurses, but he lit a fire under someone’s ass. He’d probably been polite, charming, and desperate for help—he was good at being charming, and if I had to guess, he knew as well as anyone not to be a dick to nurses. They were just doing their jobs, after all.
Whatever he did or said, barely twenty minutes after he’d left the room, we were getting into Marek’s car.
As I pulled on my seat belt, I asked, “So, are we meeting them at the police station, or what?”
Marek shook his head, focusing on the rearview as he backed out of a parking space. “Jake’s place.” He glanced at me. “You have a key, yes?”
I had to think about that, mostly because my brain was still coming down from worried-panicked mode. “Uh. Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
