Page 56 of Breaking the Rules of Love

“Sadie–”

“Take me home, Jake,” I say. “Or when I get back, I…I’m going to tell the police you took me here against my will and held me hostage.”

The words feel like poison coming out of my mouth, but I have to say them. I have to go home, and I have to end this thing with Jake for good—whatever it is. I guess I can only blame myself for letting him get closer than he should have in the first place.

Jake nods slowly. “I guess I never expected to hear you say something like that, Sadie.” And I never expected to say it either. “Does that mean we’re done, Sadie? Like…actuallydone?”

For some reason, at that moment, images of the day Howard left me flash through my mind: him walking out the front door, me racing after him, Tiffany in his car unable to look at me, both of them driving away.

“Yes, Jake,” I say, swallowing hard. “I’m afraid it does.”

39

Jake

Five daysand I still haven’t heard from Sadie. And I think it’s safe to say at this point I’m not going to.

I’ve given up texting, I’ve given up calling, and I’ve gone back to my life. I really thought my plan to bring her up to the cabin in Vermont would work, but I guess all I did was end up pushing her further away.

Blew up in your face, you idiot. Just like you thought it might.

Her rule runs her life, and I’m just going to have to accept that. I thought that if I told her about how I used to be like her and how similar we used to be, but how I was able to change because of her, that maybe she would be able to change too.

Looks like I was wrong.

Well, I tried. And at the end of the day, I can say I tried. But tonight’s job isn’t making things any easier.

“All right, boys,” I say to Ryan and Logan, who are standing by the truck beside me. “Let’s go over tonight one more time.”

“There he is!” Ryan says with a laugh. “Thought we might have lost you, boss.”

“Yeah, you looked like you were lost,” Logan agrees. “In deep in thought about that neighbor of yours.”

“Would you two shut up?” I snap. “Who are tonight’s VIPs?”

“Geez,” Ryan replies, checking the straps on his Kevlar vest. “Mr. and Mrs. Thorton.”

I nod and turn to Logan. “And the objective?”

“Escort them from their home”—he nods to the decadent mansion beside us where we’re currently parked—“to their fundraiser event at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Make sure they’re safe and escort them home.”

“Correct,” I reply. “This should be a low-threat level job. Mr. Thorton is just covering his bases. But keep your eyes open, all right?”

The boys nod. We’ve been standing outside now for nearly twenty minutes waiting on the Thortons. They’re rich as hell and used to the world revolving around them, so there’s no telling how long we could be out here.

I almost canceled tonight’s job, to be honest. After what happened with Sadie, protecting a happily married couple was kind of the last thing I wanted to be doing. But the money was just too good, and I have a responsibility to Logan and Ryan as well. So here I am.

“You’re better off without her,” Ryan says casually like we’re discussing the weather. I haven’t even told them the whole story about what happened up at the cabin. I just told them that it doesn’t look like Sadie and I are going to work out.

“Let’s not get into this, man,” I reply. I need my mind on the job right now, and the last thing I want to hear are Ryan’s reasons behind why Sadie is no good.

“Trust me, boss,” he says with a smile. “She may be fun in the sack, but that girl’s clearly broken inside.”

“Right?” Logan chuckles with a nod of agreement.

“I mean,clearlyhas issues that you aren’t going to be able to fix. Bitch is crazy–!”

I move right in and press my forearm against Ryan’s throat, pinning him against the truck.

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