BAD HEART: A Stepbrother Romance (A Step Over the Line Book Book 2) by Aurora Hayes, Ana W. Fawkes Read Free Book Online Page A

station,
there are five people standing out front. I can ’ t
believe the attention the marriage between my father and Rebecca gets. I mean,
it shouldn ’ t surprise me
much because my father insists on thrusting all of us into the limelight. Yet
he always ignores Jake. So it leaves Jake to be the one to fuck up and get the
negative attention.
    I almost feel bad for Jake.
    I pull around back and go in
through a side door.
    It takes all of ten minutes to get
Jake being led to me by two officers. He looks tired, his face is cut up and a
little swollen. There ’ s not
an ounce of shame in his commanding eyes. In fact, as soon as he sees me, he
puckers up and kisses the air.
    He looks back and says, “ Hey, can I get my wallet, cash,
and smokes? ”
    One of the officers slaps a clear
bag against his stomach.
    I see the wad of cash and it shocks
me.
    What is he doing with all that
money?
    Jake walks right by me and to the
door. I wait patiently as we ’ re
outside walking to the car. He gets in the passenger side and I get in my side.
I have to hurry and drive away before anyone realizes that Jake has snuck out
of the police station.
    I give it a mile, maybe less,
before I look at him and speak.
    “ What
the hell …”
    “ Can
I smoke? ” he asks.
    “ No, ” I say. “ Not in my car. ”
    Jake shakes his head. He then
boldly takes his cigarettes out of the bag and sticks on between his lips.
    “ I
hate you, ” I say. “ So much. ”
    “ No
you don ’ t, ” he whispers, the unlit
cigarette bouncing between his lips.
    “ Before
I ask about the fight, why do you have so much cash on you? ”
    Jake takes the cigarette from his
mouth. He holds up the bag. “ It ’ s two grand, sweetie. ”
    “ Yeah,
that ’ s a lot of money to
me. ”
    “ You ’ re rich. ”
    “ My
father is rich. I ’ m not. ”
    “ Your
boyfriend is rich, ” he says
with a smirk.
    “ Again … I ’ m
not. ”
    Jake drops the bag. He sighs and
runs his hands through his hair. “ I
always have cash on me. ”
    “ For
what? Drugs? Women? ”
    He snorts. “ I don ’ t
pay for women, sweetie. ”
    “ You ’ re gross. How …”
    The question is How many have
you fucked since me? but I can ’ t
ask that question. I can ’ t
go there. I don ’ t want to
know. But I kind of do.
    “ How
what? ” he asks.
    “ How
could you be such an asshole all the time? ”
    “ You
really want to know why I ’ m
carrying two grand? ”
    “ Actually,
I really do. ”
    “ Because
I always do, sweetie. Okay? Because I never know when something is going to go
wrong. If I need a place to crash and pay. If I need money to go somewhere for
a little while. My life isn ’ t
like yours, okay? ”
    “ Like
mine? ”
    “ You ’ re pampered, ” Jake says. “ It ’ s
all laid out for you. You have your father and his money. He chooses your
boyfriend. College is all taken care of. The path is there and you just walk
along it. Nothing bad can ever happen. ”
    The words cut into me and hurt me.
    “ You
really believe that, Jake? ” I ask.
    “ I
don ’ t need to believe it. I
see it. You all went to New York as the perfect family, right? And when I get
cut out and off for good, and I ’ m
forced to disappear … that ’ s why I keep some cash with me. ”
    It ’ s
actually almost heartbreaking to hear.
    We ’ re
almost home now. I don ’ t
know what else to say to him. So I sit in silence and just drive.
    “ Want
to know about the fight? ” I
ask.
    “ Sure, ” I whisper.
    “ I
was about to go down on a woman in the bathroom. Then some guy that wants to
fuck her busted in with two of his friends. So I had to fight them. ”
    My heart races with anger. “ A woman … I should have guessed. ”
    “ Hey,
I ’ m not fucking dead, ” Jake says. “ We have a deal again, right? I
still have needs. You have your boyfriend to fucking take care of you. What
about me, sweetie? ”
    I clench my jaw shut tight. I want to
explode on Jake, but I don ’