Page 60 of Bad Boy Done Wrong
An uncomfortable silence fell. Several of her friends gave her sympathetic looks.
“Sorry, Carrie,” Mad muttered.
Carrie shook her head. The apology was unnecessary and not sincere anyway. Everything she thought she knew about Zach shifted once more. From sexy bad boy to anthropology professor to troubled kid. There were so many sides to him and she was drawn to all of them. But was it just empathy she had for him, or was it more?
Hailey piped up. “On that note, who wants chocolate?”
Everyone raised their hand.
“We’ll go back to my place instead of Garner’s,” Hailey said. “Okay, Carrie?”
Carrie nodded numbly.
But when they wrapped up the meeting and headed out, Carrie changed her mind. “You go without me. I’m going to Garner’s to talk to Zach.”
“We’ll go with you,” Hailey said. “We’ve got your back. Every one of us.” She shot Mad a look.
Mad sighed. “I got your back too. But you understand I love Zach. He’s family.”
“Understood,” Carrie said.
“I’m sorry I was harsh,” Mad said. “You know you’re my sister.” She fist-bumped her. “Now go get him.”
~ ~ ~
Zach was on whiskey number three when he heard the feminine murmur of a crowd of women. Josh had already warned him that Carrie would be here tonight with her friends. He’d been counting on it. He had a thing or two to get off his chest. Like how she belonged with him. Like how much she’d love Singapore if she just gave it a chance. Gavehima chance. He deserved that much, didn’t he?
He turned and saw her—her face an expression of pure sympathy. Fuck. Did he look as bad as he felt?
She stopped in front of him and said in a soft voice, “Mad told me about your parents being criminals. I’m so sorry.” She tried to hug him, but he leaned back.
He stared at her, read the pity in her eyes, and scowled. “That wasn’t her story to tell.”
“She was defending you. Telling me how much you’ve overcome to get where you are today.”
All the old shit rang through his head.He’s a bad seed. You can’t trust him. Sneaky, a liar and a thief.He could never get away from it. Now Carrie knew. She’d always see him through that lens.
“Zach—”
“I don’t want your pity,” he snarled.
“I had no idea. Of course I don’t think badly of you for it.”
He narrowed his eyes. “But that’s what you see now. A bad seed that worked out of the pit.”
“But it’s a good thing. You’re amazing.”
He stared down at her, looking for any signs of love, but all he saw was pity. “I’ll never be a good seed, Carrie. Get that through your head. No matter how hard I worked to improve my social status.” He swiped a hand through the air. “Education. PhD. Research. Nothing changes where I came from. What I am on a cellular level. So…” He turned back to the bar and threw back the rest of the whiskey. It burned down to his gut. Good.
“Zach.” Her gentle voice just pissed him off more.
He turned back to her. “Guess you did get a bad boy. Bad, bad,bad. Can’t trust that one. Ironic that you hated all the shiny trappings.” He laughed mirthlessly. “Maybe you always saw through that. Your dad asked about my people. Here’s your answer. Be sure to tell your dad.” He leaned close. “My people come from organized crime. Sophisticated, well-planned illegal operations. Drugs, money, jewels. That’s what took my mom. Jewels and bam! Gone. Execution style.”
Her blue eyes widened.
“Yup.” He leaned back, a little light-headed from too much whiskey and too little food. Not enough whiskey in the world for this kind of pain. Heartache. It just dug at you relentlessly. He turned back to the bar, lifted his empty glass and shook it at Josh. “’Nother one.”
“You’ve had enough.” Josh said, putting a bowl of pretzels in front of him. “Eat.”
