“I may come off as mild mannered and many have doubted whether or not I’m capable of protecting what’s mine, but I don’t think you understand the dangerous game you’re playing. The fact that I’m a good person is the only reason your life hasn’t left your body.”
She cried and murmured as I talked to her. “How could you treat me like this, Jacob?”
“Treat you like what? I’m not nearly as vile as you are. You should have never come here, Justine.” The scowl I gave her must’ve let her know I wasn’t the man she thought I was.
She ran out the front door, and I went to the window to make sure she was off my property. The street lights were back on and I saw her running down the driveway onto the street. I didn’t see a car, so I assumed she snuck into my secured community on foot.
I propped my back against the closed door and took a deep breath. Just when things were going good, there was always something. How was I going to explain this shit to Destiny?
Chapter 13
Jacob
The Weight of the World
Destiny… My sweetheart had been gone all day. I wondered if Justine had done something to her, as I took the stairs and went back into my library to get my cell phone. There were two messages from a number I didn’t recognize. They were both were from Destiny saying she was at the county jail and needed me to come pick her up.
I dashed into the shower to wash up, got dressed and within twenty minutes I was out the door headed downtown. I didn’t know what to expect when I got to the jailhouse. However, I was one hundred percent sure there was no way this day could get any worse.
I was livid when I found out the better half of me was sitting in the city jail, while I was unknowingly being seduced by Justine. No woman of m
ine should be near a police station, much less in handcuffs and detained by authorities as if she was a hardened criminal.
“Mom is going to straighten this out,” I said with certainty, after Tasha explained to me what happened. It was time that I stopped playing with Mom and use the cards I was holding.
“Jacob, I don’t want to talk about your mother right now,” Destiny said as we walked out of the police station.
I held her close as we made our way to the car. It took everything in me not to scoop her up into my arms and squeeze her until we melded into one. I wanted to carry her to the car, as if to make sure she didn’t have to stress about one more thing. “You’re shivering baby, let me get my jacket out of the trunk,” I said, as I started toward the trunk.
“No, I’m fine,” Destiny said, holding onto my arm. She had been too upset to talk about what went down at the restaurant, so Tasha explained everything to me while we were in the police station.
From the sound of things, Mom and her friends were out of line. Although I wasn’t too thrilled about Destiny’s reaction, the feeling of being pushed against the wall was fresh on my mind. Mere minutes ago, I was about to go savage on Justine, and Lord knows, if she pushed me any further, I didn’t know if she would survive the game she was playing.
My physical cravings betrayed Destiny, even if I wasn’t aware of what I was doing. The last time I was pushed to the edge like this was in dealing with Montie. I could feel myself getting angry all over again as I flashed back to the morning I entered Grady Memorial Hospital and asked the assistant at the front desk for Destiny Baker’s room number.
I was immediately met by Ms. Clara and Montie both insisting I couldn’t see Destiny. They stood in the way of me being there for her at a time when she needed me the most. I knew I never should’ve left Destiny’s side; however, Montie disrespected me in a major way, so I knocked him out cold. I bet Destiny felt the same way when my mother stood over her table talking to her the way she did.
I forgave Destiny for her ultimate betrayal of sleeping with Montie based on the likelihood of my actions leading her to react in an illogical way. But the biggest reason I forgave her was because I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, the most important part of her belonged to me. I never doubted I had her heart. I just hoped she would find it in her heart to be as lenient, if the mess Justine pulled tonight ever hit the fan.
I was standing by the car with Destiny wrapped in my jacket, holding her in my arms. I helped her into the front seat of my car and Tasha got into the backseat. I drove Tasha to pick up her car and we headed home.
“Do you want to stop and get something to eat?” I asked Destiny, once we were approaching a few restaurants.
A tear fell from her eyes as she sighed. “No, I’m not hungry.”
It wasn’t long before I pulled into our long, winding driveway. The garage door opened and I pulled in and put the car in park. I reached over to push her hair behind her ear. “I’m calling Mom right now and she’s going to apologize to you,” I said.
“No, Jacob, I’m the one that should be sorry. I let your mother bring me out of my character and I feel so stupid for doing that. I should’ve kept cool and walked away. After all, she is your mother and at the very least that’s a reason for me to respect her.”
“Mom has shown you nothing but disrespect, and I’d never ask you to respect anyone who disrespects you,” I said. I could feel my entire body tense as I thought about the shady things Mom had done. “This incident has taken the disrespect to a new level.”
“Yeah, but that’s on both of our parts. I should not have put my hands on her. Your mother is twice my age. There is no reason we should be fighting.”
“On that much I agree,” I said, finally acknowledging my disappointment in her actions. “Her being twice your age and my mother should be reason enough for her to treat you with respect, Destiny,” I added blowing off fumes.
“I don’t feel good about this at all. You may not feel it now, but I fear it will cause problems for us later.”
I ran my fingers through my hair briefly. “Look, we’ve both had a long day. Right now, let’s just go in the house and relax. I’ll talk to Mom first thing in the morning, and what I want to see happen is an apology from her.”