Part 25 (1/2)
”Does it really matter?” she said eventually.
”h.e.l.l yes. Don't you want to know who threw you under the bus like that? I sure as h.e.l.l do.”
”I've got other things to focus on, Rick.” Like the second positive pregnancy test.
”You haven't heard from Jack, I take it?”
”No.”
Silence. ”s.h.i.+t, I gotta go, Donnie. I'll be out of town for a few days. A business meeting with some foreign distributors for this indie film. Beau will be there, and we want to get this nailed down now.”
”I'm okay. Don't worry about me, really.”
”I'll come see you when I get back.”
Donovan hung up the phone, eyes on the second pregnancy test she'd taken the day before. The one that told her without a doubt she was pregnant.
She sat in her oversized comfy chair for hours, only getting up to grab some food and then slide right back into her spot. She sat there until the shadows grew long and her bedroom was so dark it was hard for her to see. Until all the chaotic thoughts in her head went away, and she was finally left with a clarity that she needed.
She was going to have a baby. A baby she'd made with the man that she loved. She might not have much, but she did have that. It was time for her to stop feeling sorry for herself and start acting like an adult.
She picked up the phone from beside her bed and made an appointment to see her personal doctor. After a few moments, she dialed another number. It was time to face a few ghosts from the past and do what she'd always done. Just get the h.e.l.l on with it.
”Mama? We need to talk.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine.
Jack flew into Florida two days after his buddy Brett's funeral. He picked up his Mercedes from valet parking and didn't bother driving to the beach or his house. Grace had taken Coco home with her, so at least the little ball of fur didn't need looking after.
That was good. He had someone to see first.
He drove in silence. The anger that boiled beneath his skin told him he was alive, even if he felt as if he'd been through the ringer. He was sick of the press. Sick of the media circus that had landed in his lap. And he sure as f.u.c.k was sick of Derek McKenzie calling his cell.
He was about to put that puppy to rest.
He drove through the familiar streets of Cypress Hill, giving a mental finger to a bunch of paparazzi near the entrance to the gated community. It boasted one of the nicest golf courses around, and when he parked in the driveway of 101 Cypress Lane, Jack hopped out of the car, tossed his ball cap onto the pa.s.senger seat and ran up the steps without pause.
His body was full of adrenaline and he clenched his fists as a fresh wave of anger rolled over him. He banged on the door. Once. Twice. And was just about to beat the h.e.l.l out of the heavy oak panels when it swung open.
Derek McKenzie looked like s.h.i.+t and smelled worse.
”Hitting it pretty hard aren't you?” Jack said roughly, pus.h.i.+ng past Derek.
”Well h.e.l.lo to you,” Derek said, bloodshot eyes following Jack as he strode through the foyer.
”Where's Janice?” Jack asked.
”She's been gone for days.” Derek slurred his words and took another swig of whatever the h.e.l.l was in his gla.s.s.
”Good.” Jack was guessing his wife wasn't coming back.
Jack took a moment because right now he was overloading on emotion. This guy right here...this guy used to be like family to him. Those kinds of ties didn't just disappear. Even when adulthood brought new perspective.
”Jack, I...buddy-”
”Shut the f.u.c.k up, Derek. I don't want to hear it. Don't apologize to me, because I'm not here for that. I just want to know the truth. Did you screw Donovan?”
Derek thrust his chin forward and attempted a smile, but he was so wasted it came off more like a sneer. ”She wanted it.”
Red hot fury momentarily blinded Jack, but he got his s.h.i.+t together. He needed to do this.
”When?” he barked.
”That last night. The four of us were together, and then you and Donovan had a fight. Janice left because she had a f.u.c.king headache, and I stayed and listened to Donovan whine and cry.” He shrugged and staggered to the left, dropping his gla.s.s. ”What can I say? She was a h.o.r.n.y b.i.t.c.h, so I gave it to her.”
Jack took a step forward, and Derek laughed. ”That's right. I stuck it to that b.i.t.c.h more than once.”
Jack's fist swung out, and he took Derek down with one heavy punch.
”Jesus f.u.c.king Christ,” Derek shouted, scrambling to his feet and yelping when he cut the palm of his hand in the shattered gla.s.s on the tile. ”What the h.e.l.l did you do that for?”
Jack raised his fist, ready to smash the b.a.s.t.a.r.d's face again.
”I did you a G.o.dd.a.m.n favor. Don't you see? She was f.u.c.king trash from Arkansas. What the h.e.l.l does someone like us want with someone like that?”
Unease slid through Jack. Derek's choice of words didn't sit right.
”What do you mean, you did me a favor?”
Derek rubbed his b.l.o.o.d.y hand over his forehead and leaned against the wall, chest heaving from his effort to stay on his feet.
”Monique. Now she's the type of woman to get you all the way to the White House. Not some white trash, honkytonk from Arkansas.”
Jack got right up in Derek's face again. ”I'm only going to ask you one more time. What the f.u.c.k did you do?”
”Besides f.u.c.k her? I took some pictures and some videos, and I told her that if she ever showed her face in Florida again, I'd use them.”
Something twisted inside Jack, and he let loose with several more quick hits that put Derek McKenzie back down on the floor. When he was done, his knuckles were as b.l.o.o.d.y as Derek's face.
”You did all of this?” he roared, stepping away because if he didn't, he just might kill the b.a.s.t.a.r.d.
”No,” Derek gasped. ”I didn't. Cooper has them. I.... He...he took them a couple years ago.” He coughed and made it to his knees. ”I would never jeopardize your bid for senator. Never. I swear,” Derek said roughly. ”It wasn't me. Cooper must have leaked the information.”
”Why the h.e.l.l would Cooper do that? It makes no sense.”