Page 74 of Deception
“What?”
“I haven’t told her yet. Well, I told sleeping-her, but I don’t think that counts. I don’t want to scare her. Man, I hated Cole before I even knew he was the one who treated her so badly. She didn’t deserve anything he put her through, and she sure as hell doesn’t deserve to raise a baby alone.”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “I guess I did raise you right.”
“You’re not disappointed in me?”
“For what?”
“I broke my promise to her. You always say a man is only as good as his word, and I didn’t keep mine.”
Jace moves over to Kent and places a hand on his shoulder. “You had good intentions behind it. It’s not the same as going back on something you said just because you didn’t want to keep your promise anymore.”
“Think she’ll forgive me?”
“I’m willing to bet on it. And I’m proud of you, Kent. Not just because you patched into the club, but for the man you’ve become. And hell, I never thought I’d see the day you got angry, let alone almost kill someone because of it.”
He chuckles. “I bet a few people wonder what happened to me, huh? Everyone always assumes I’m smoking joints all day to stay so chill.”
His natural personality is to just go with the flow. He rarely gets worked up over anything, but tonight, he lost all control.
“I think you impressed those who weren’t sure if you had it in you to step up when needed. No one will ever question whether you’ll fight anymore.”
“I’ve been in fights before.”
“Not like that one.”
He laughs. “True. I’ve never fought with the intention of murder before. It’s a weird feeling.”
“I bet. If you can hone that in, you’ll be almost as unstoppable as Venom and Undertaker.”
“I don’t know that I want to be in their ranks, honestly.”
“Fair.”
Smirking, he slaps his father on the shoulder. “As much as I love this father-son bonding, I gotta go find my girl before she leaves. I need to apologize to her.”
“You’re learning early that most of the relationship is you apologizing for something whether you were wrong or not. And the sooner you accept the fact that it doesn’t matter whether or not you were, the better. In the end, you’re always wrong.”
He laughs and heads downstairs, praying Gracie didn’t get a ride home from someone else. Walking outside, he feels relief to find her sitting on the table with Hailey.
“We’ll see, I guess,” Gracie says.
Hailey catches sight of Kent, and she stands. “I’ll head back inside. I should probably check out Gavin’s apartment. And figure out how the fuck I’m going to remember which one it is. Why can’t you guys put numbers on the doors?”
Smirking, Kent just nods as she pats his chest on her way inside. This confirms what he suspected: He’s definitely in trouble.
“Hey,” Gracie says when she turns to look at him.
“Hey,” he says and moves to stand in front of her. “Come inside with me?”
He expects her to argue and fight. To say she doesn’t want to go anywhere with him because she can’t trust him, but she takes his offered hand and lets him lead her inside and up to his apartment.
Inside, she takes in the room, tilting her head at the open area under the window. “You don’t get a desk?”
“They thought the space would be better used for a travel crib in case you and Nolan ever need to stay here,” Kent says, suddenly worried it was all too preemptive. “Gracie, I’m so sorry.”
“You promised me, Kent.”
