Page 66 of Steel & Jenna
Chief Cunningham was going to keep a lid on that part until they had a chance to figure out what was going on. However, he didmention in passing that it might be time for Jack to look into getting emancipated and taking legal custody of Lilly. Jack didn’t know enough about the subject to know what that entailed, but if it got Lilly legally free of their father, he was all for it.
Of course, he had to have a job to become an emancipated minor and he had no idea if he was fired after missing his shift.
As the ambulance drove off, Mr. Zarin nudged Jack with his shoulder. “Proud of you, son.”
Jack looked down at his boots. He kicked a bit of snow in frustration. “I froze,” he confessed. “All my dad had to do was threaten Lilly, and I froze. I forgot everything you taught me and I didn’t even try to fight him or disarm him. I just…complied.”
Mr. Zarin turned to face Jack. The man’s big body blocked Jack’s view of the retreating ambulance. “I call bullshit.”
Jack shook his head. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see.”
“You’re right,” Mr. Zarin agreed. “I wasn’t there, but I know which one of you is standing here without a scratch on you and which one is in the ambulance on his way to the hospital. That tells me more than you know.”
“What?” Jack asked.
“You know all those moves I’ve been showing you? All the different ways to disarm your opponent and protect yourself?” Jack nodded but didn’t reply. “They mean nothing if youpanic, Jack.” Mr. Zarin tapped Jack’s temple. “You kept calm, you kept your head. Did I ever tell you the story of Kevin Glasgow?”
Jack shook his head, not recognizing that name. “I don’t think so.”
“Kid in my class growing up. He was big into karate. Always showing off his new moves for the ladies in our class at recess. Well, we enter high school and some seniors decide to jump him after school.” Mr. Zarin shrugged, “I don’t remember why and that’s not really important. The point is that, even with all his lessons and being a black belt, when it came time to actually use what he knew,the kid froze. Couldn’t think. He panicked when it came to a real fight.”
Mr. Zarin put his hands on Jack’s shoulders and waited for Jack to lift his gaze up to meet his eyes. “You didn’t panic, Jack. So what if youdidn’t start jumping around like a ninja samurai with all these fancy moves like Jackie Chan. You kept your head and you made it homesafe.” He shook his shoulders gently. “That’s what matters and I am so fucking proud of you.”
Jack had to look away, not wanting Mr. Zarin to see his eyes tear up. “I hated seeing my dad today,” he confessed. “I’d almost…forgotten.”
Mr. Zarin lowered his hands, but his voice was gentler than a moment before. “Forgotten what, son?”
Jack swallowed hard. “That you’re not my dad. I wish you were. You’ve been more of a dad to me in this past year than mine has ever been. And I hate that you’re not my dad. I hate that I have that man’s blood running through my veins. I hate that you have to look at me andseeparts of that man in me. I hate that seeing him again today brought back the fear I’ve lived with my entire life that I’m going tobecomehim. Like father, like son, and all that.” Jack quickly wiped the back of his hand against his face. “Most of all, I hate how much of my life I have spent hating that man.”
There was a long pause after Jack finished speaking. He still couldn’t look at Mr. Zarin and instead studied the horizon that was multicolored from the setting sun.
Suddenly Mr. Zarin pulled Jack against his chest. The embrace was hard, but that pinch of pain in his ribs from being held too tightly was somehow comforting. Jack pressed his face down into Mr. Zarin’s jacket as his fists clenched into the material at the older man’s back.
“I don’t give a fuck about DNA, Jack.” Mr. Zarin’s voice broke, which made Jack not feel like such a sissy for his breakdown. “You are and always will be my son. And fuck what anyone else says.”
CHAPTER 15
Jenna’s heart was thundering as she hung up the phone with Mrs. Zarin. Jack’s dad had taken him from the school parking lot! And he wasdrunk! Then somehow Jack had driven him to Chief Cunningham’s house? She was so confused. And worried. And absolutely hating the distance between them right now.
She needed to see Jack. She needed to hold him and kiss him and make sure that there wasn’t a single scratch on him. He could have been hurt! Killed! What if his dad had insisted on driving and had gotten them into a crash?
Jesus.
Jenna didn’t bother to pack a bag. She had clothes in her closet at Port Townsend. She changed out of her school uniform, grabbed her purse and her coat, and headed for the door. Down in the lobby of her dorm room building was a reception desk. It was manned by a school employee, who acted similarly to a college dorm’s RA.
“Can you call my driver, please?” Jenna asked Amelia. In an effort to get the academy’s girls to like her, she’d insisted on being called by her first name. Unfortunately, all that did was make the preppy girls Jenna was forced to attend school with make fun of her more. Jennaand a select few were the only ones who treated Amelia with any respect, but they were also the students who wouldn’t cause problems in the first place.
Amelia looked up from the book she was reading. “Jenna, hi. Is there a problem?” She reached for the black rotary phone on her desk.
“I need to get back to Port Townsend,” Jenna explained as Amelia dialed. “Something happened today with my boyfriend and I need to be there.”
Amelia paused mid-dial. The expression on her face was one of sympathy. “Um, I’m so sorry, Jenna. I hate having to be the one to tell you this. But your parents very specifically instructed your driver that you can’t be taken out of the city during the week.”
“What?” Jenna questioned. “That’s not true. I’ve…” Her voice trailed off. She’d called for her driver during the middle of the week before, but it hadn’t been to go home. Because Seattle wasn’t her home. Wherever Jack was was home for Jenna. But those few times she’d left campus had been to go to the store for supplies or if she was craving chocolate peanut butter fudge or to go to the bookstore. In the year since she’d returned to her academy in Seattle, Jenna hadn’t tried to return to Port Townsendmidweek.
Fear gripped her. What if she couldn’t get back to see Jack?
“Can you call him anyway? This is an emergency.”
