Page 151 of Cougar

“Why would you keep that from me?” Her voice cracks.

“Jayla, listen to me—” I start.

“What the hell? You all knew he was my brother?”

She turns her gaze on Alex, scanning his face, and I can see the moment it all clicks into place.

“What’s your full name, Alex?” she asks.

“Marcus Alexander Reyes-King,” he answers apologetically, and her expression morphs into a mixture of anger and disappointment.

Her eyes fill with tears before she looks to Zach. “I’m sorry, Z. I have to get out of here,” she whispers.

Zach tugs Jay closer to his chest protectively. “Then let’s go.” He releases his hold on her only to take her hand, then leads her toward the exit.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“Princess,” Bass calls.

Jay whirls around, eyes wide, nostrils flared and lips pinched. “Excuse me if I don’t want to spend another minute with a bunch of liars. I’m not a baby, and I don’t know why you keep treating me like one. I’ve been through a lot in the last year. My own brother has been right in front of me almost every single day, and none of you thought it was important enough to me to tell me the truth. I can’t be near any of you right now.” She turns on her heels and storms out of the room with Zach, Levi, and Troy trailing behind her.

Alex turns his angry glare on me. “I told you this would happen,” he grits out.

* * *

“Be nice,” Bass warns just as the call connects.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, Jayla,” I reply. “Thank you for speaking to me.”

Bass snorts a laugh. “I said be nice, not professional.”

I flip him off. “You’re in St. Thomas?”

By the time I said my goodbyes and got back to the house, Jayla and Zach were gone with their luggage. They had planned to spend their spring break in St. Thomas with their friends, but they left their friends behind.

“Yes. I just need some time alone, okay? And don’t worry, Troy and Levi are close by.”

“I’ll respect that. We shouldn’t have kept that from you. It was wrong. Don’t blame Alex, though. It was my choice. I thought with everything that’s happened, it was just too much, and it would be better to wait until after you graduated. Unfortunately, someone got hold of the information and leaked it to the media before I got the chance to tell you. I hope you don’t hate me. I—”

“Would you stop saying that? I told you before that I could never hate you. I have a lot of questions, but I need to wrap my head around this first.”

“I feel like I’m failing at this single parent stuff.” My voice cracks.

“Mom, stop. That’s not true. You’ve been the best mom anyone could ask for. I love you and your craziness. Mean it.”

“Ha-ha.” I roll my eyes. “How’s Zach? Is he ready to bail yet?”

Bass curls his lip and gives me a “you’re an idiot” look.

“Pssh. Please. Have you met Elizabeth Easton?”

That makes me laugh.

“Okay, I’m off to LA to meet with Chandler and our attorneys to see if I can get this story retracted. I won’t let the media ruin the reputation Marcus worked so hard to build. He and I loved each other, and he didn’t cheat on me.” My eyes flick to Alex. “And I won’t let them make Sophia out to be a home-wrecker. She’s a good woman.”

“Two words, Mom. Miles. Townsend.”

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