Page 76 of The Pucking Date
I’m not trying to outrun my father’s shadow anymore.I’m trying to build something he never had the guts to fight for. And that sure as hell isn’t in Los Angeles.
I barely register Marcus’s rant because inside, Jessica pushes back from the table, her expression a storm.
Chad’s still talking, still smiling that slick, condescending smile, but she’s done.
She grabs her bag, fires something at him I can’t hear, but I don’t need sound to read rage.
Then she storms out. Through the doors, into the night air—shoulders stiff, blazing with fury, like she’s seconds from combusting. And every instinct in me shifts from simmer to detonate.
Marcus starts to say something else, but I’m already on my feet, chair scraping back, blood pounding in my ears.
“Where are you?—?”
“Later,” I bite out, eyes locked on Jessica like she’s the only thing keeping me from marching back inside and putting Chad Vanderbilt through a wall.
I catch up to her in three strides.
“Red,” I snap, my hand catching her elbow—firm, not forceful. But enough to make her stop.
She jerks out of my grip, spinning to face me, fire in her gaze. “Back off, O’Reilly.”
My jaw clenches. “You tear out of that dinner like a goddamn storm, shaking with rage, and I’m supposed to just watch you disappear into the night?”
She folds her arms, every inch of her back in place. But I see through it now. I know what that facade’s hiding.
“It’s none of your business, O’Reilly,” she snaps, words sharp enough to cut.
“The hell it isn’t,” I snarl, moving closer. “You think after last night I’m going to stand by while he tries to work you?”
“He offered to help me start my own firm,” she hisses. “With strings attached. I told him to go to hell.”
My chest tightens. “What kind of strings?”
Her laugh is bitter. “The kind that would make me his woman on the side.”
Something murderous must flicker across my face because I see it reflected in her eyes. Her expression shifts, hurt mixing with fear.
She jabs a finger into my chest. “I can handle myself, don’t you worry. Stay away from him. I’m trying to keep you here, Finn. With the Defenders. Because we need you. The team needs you. Don’t mess that up because of an entitled asshole.”
I blink. “The team needs me?”
She doesn’t answer.
“Jessica—”
“Don’t.” Her tone is strained. “I’m not doing this with you.”
“What? Be honest?” I push. “Because last night felt pretty fucking real to me.”
Her jaw clenches. “LA made you an offer. You didn’t tell me.”
My stomach drops.
“I was going to.”
“When?” she fires back. “Before or after you fucked me?”
I step in, heat rising under my skin. “You think that would’ve changed things between us?”
