Page 78 of Little Devil

“I only wanted to lay a little harmless blackmail on him to make him mine,” she admits, shrugging with a look that seems an awful lot like sadness. “I never would have showed it to anyone if you hadn’t heard it before.”

I frown at that, unsure why she’d need to blackmail him when she’s already fucking him on a regular basis.

“He doesn’t want more with me, JJ,” she says quietly, somehow reading my mind. “He only wants you.”

I stare at her face and she walks away, stopping in the middle of the parking lot when I call out to her.

“Penelope.”

She sighs heavily and turns around to face me, silently waiting for whatever I’m about to say.

“You deserve better.”

She nods slowly and moves to leave, not so discreetly wiping the tears from her cheeks before she disappears out of sight. I chew the inside of my cheek and look back at the main door, nervously pacing back and forth while I wait for Xan to come out.

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“You look tired, sweetie,” Kian tells me, dropping down on the front steps beside me to wrap his arm around my shoulders. “You want us to go grab you one of those iced coffees you like from that shop on the beach?”

I nod and smile at him, gently scratching the spot beneath Bear’s ears in an attempt to comfort him. School ended just over an hour ago and I asked him and Travis to go check on him, knowing he’d been on his own all day while I’ve been waiting for Xan to get out of jail. They said he was restless and upset and scaring the shit out of them, as they put it, so I told them to put him in the car and bring him to me.

The boys drive away without me and I look at the door again, honest to god contemplating storming in there and giving those assholes a piece of my mind. A few more minutes pass and I almost do it, but then Bear lifts his head and whines at something in front of us, standing up to pull on the heavy leash in my hand. I look that way and find a black limo pulled up outside the station, quickly slapping a hand over my mouth when I realize Alec Reid and Isla Montgomery are climbing out through the back door. He’s dressed in black jeans and a t–shirt and she’s dressed in leggings and a loose tank top, both wearing matching ball caps to hide their identities, I’m assuming.

“Oh, shit,” I whisper to myself, nervous as hell and completely unprepared. “Bear, wait–”

But he doesn’t stop pulling me down towards them.

“..still don’t understand why I have to be here,” Xan’s mother mutters, adjusting the hat on her head while she falls in line beside her husband.

“Because you’re his mom.”

“He’s eighteen, Alec,” she argues, rolling her eyes when she catches the disappointed glare on his face. “We all agreed he’d be Karen’s problem from now on. Why couldn’t she handle this by herself?”

“Will you get a fucking grip?” he bites out, snatching her upper arm to pull her chest to his. “She already told us she’s got no choice but to expel him after what he did today. He’s not her responsibility anymore, Isla.”

Her jaw ticks and she slaps his hand from her arm, looking up at him without an ounce of fear there. “I don’t want him back at home.”

“Yeah, well, that’s good, because he’s going to jail,” he deadpans, doing a quick double take when he catches the big ass dog pawing at his shin. “Bear.”

Xan’s parents look up at me and I clear my throat, struggling to think of anything but the very private conversation I just overheard.

“Um.. hi,” I say lamely, offering a small wave because I don’t know what to do with my hands. “Mr Reid, Mrs Montgomery. I’m JJ James, Xander’s girlfriend.”

Their dark brows jump as one and I die a little on the inside, cursing myself when I catch the clear look of surprise on their faces.

“I’m sorry, did he not–”

“He told us about you,” his mom assures me, pausing a second to move her light hazel eyes over my form. “We just didn’t expect you to be so..”

“You look like a really nice girl,” her husband finishes for her, half smiling to himself while he reaches down to scratch Bear’s head.

“Thank you, sir.”

He smiles for real this time and removes his hat from his head, scrubbing a hand through his dark hair the same way Xan does. “Have they told you anything yet?”

“Yeah, they said they’d release him but that was hours ago,” I explain. “I was just about to–”

“Wait, why is he being released?” his mother asks, frowning while she looks up at the building behind me.

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