In the Crease (Assassins Book 11) Read online

  She just couldn’t.

  Between being embarrassed and her general hate for the guy, she couldn’t. How would Jensen react? They had all grown up together. Bradley lived right down the road, five houses down, her whole life. He used to play hockey with the boys. He was the fourth amigo sometimes, but he was so much younger than everyone, so he was often treated that way and left behind a lot. But still, everyone knew Bradley, loved him, and for him to do this—to Wren—it would be ugly.

  Shit, was she protecting him?

  No, no, she was protecting herself because she couldn’t help but feel like everyone would think it was her fault.

  He was allegedly a stand-up guy. Loved his momma, his sister, great with his nephews, and was very successful. The guy Wren was dealing with wasn’t the guy everyone knew. But Wren was Wren. She had slept around, she had fun, she was stubborn, and as her mother put it, dramatic. They’d all assume he would have wanted Wren and the baby, but she blew him off. Or something along those lines. No one would believe her.

  Well, Jensen would.

  Wouldn’t he?

  “You’ve been quiet, babe.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve been very vocal with you.”

  “You haven’t spoken to your parents.”

  “’Cause I need time to think.”

  When she met his gaze, his eyes were dark. “How’s that going?”

  “Awful. I basically called myself a dumbass at least twenty times and decided the sooner we go home, the better.”

  “Why?

  “Because I want to go home. Our home. I hate it here.”

  “See, I don’t think you’ve been like this before. Yeah, you and your parents have your issues, but last time I checked, you loved coming home. You used to come all the time. So what happened to change that?”

  Bradley.

  Glancing at the clock, she exhaled hard. “You’re going to be late.”

  “Wren—”

  “Jenny, please. I’m exhausted. Go have loads of fun.”

  A silence fell between them as he walked to her side of the bed, sitting on the edge as his hand came to rest behind her back, his other cupping her face. “I can’t have loads of fun without you. Maybe a little fun, but not loads.”

  Her lips curved up as she leaned into his hand. “Then go have some fun.”

  “I wish you’d come.”

  She shook her head. “I’m tired and not even the least bit ready. I would make you late, and I just don’t want to go.”

  He nodded slowly. “Okay.”

  Looking up at him, she could see the wariness in his eyes as he leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. Closing her eyes, she covered his hand with hers as she deepened the kiss, twining her tongue along his. She felt horrible. Guilty. And she knew she should tell him the real reason she didn’t want to go to the Cup day, but as he pulled back, a smile faint on his lips, she said nothing.

  “Call me if you decide to come.”

  “I will,” she answered as he kissed her once more. “Have a tiny bit of fun.”

  He smiled as he got up, squeezing her hip. “You enjoy your nap.”

  “Oh, I will.”

  He laughed as he gathered his wallet and keys before leaving the room, shutting the door softly behind him. As she let out a long breath, her shoulders fell, and she leaned back into the pillows. Without her even realizing it, a lone tear rolled down her cheek, down her jaw and onto her chest as she bit her lip.

  Closing her eyes to keep the rest of the tears in, she couldn’t help but think she was playing with fire. Coming home, bringing Jensen as her husband, and him claiming the baby as his was bound to produce flames. She wasn’t sure when or how, but she was sure it would blow up in her face. That alone should give her reason to tell him, but when did she ever listen to reason?

  Crawling out of bed, Wren slid up a pair of cloth shorts and then tugged down her big Assassins tee before pulling her hair up. She had slept for a couple of hours and felt somewhat refreshed, but her earlier thoughts were weighing heavily on her. She wasn’t sure what to do, but she was pretty sure if she didn’t figure it out, she could lose Jensen in the process. Something that she did not want—at all.

  Huh. Funny how things had changed.

  Wren pulled open the door to her old childhood room that, praise God, her mother had ordered a bigger bed for since trying to get her pregnant ass and Jensen’s long ass in her old bed would have been a feat. She headed out into the hall, on her way to the kitchen. Her mother had ordered a new living room suite earlier that year, trading in the trusty yellow love seat for matching brown recliners and a nice, cream-colored couch. Pictures of everyone growing up were everywhere, and they brought a grin to her face. This was her home. But lately, she hadn’t wanted to be there, and she didn’t like that. This was supposed to be her safe haven.

  Now, she was finding that her safe haven was Jensen’s arms.

  She expected the house to be quiet, but the radio was playing in the kitchen. Her mother must have left it on when she left. Or, so Wren thought, but when she entered the kitchen, her mom was sitting at the bar, all the wedding planning stuff in front of her. Wren hadn’t spoken to either of her parents since Jensen had had it out with them, but the last she had checked, they were both supposed to go to the Cup day.

  As Elaine looked up at Wren, her smile was very unsure. “Hey, honey, how are you feeling?”

  Wren cleared her throat as she came into the kitchen, heading for the fridge. “Better. I was just really tired.”

  “Oh, good. Jensen was worried, and since he couldn’t skip, I told him I’d stay.”

  Wren’s brow rose as she reached for the OJ. “Miss gushing over Vaughn and Jensen to all your old biddies? I’m surprised. Plus, didn’t you throw the party for them?”

  Elaine waved her off. “I did, but there are people there running it. Vaughn wouldn’t let me do it all myself.”

  “Oh, good, you don’t need any more stress.” Reaching for an apple, Wren grabbed a knife to cut it. “But you don’t need to stay, Mom. Go. I’m fine.”

  “No, I want to stay.” Wren chewed on the inside of her cheek as she cut the apple slowly, unsure what her mother was doing. “Do you want me to make you something? Emma told me this morning that all she did was cook for you and sneak you food when Jensen wasn’t looking.”

  Wren beamed as she nodded. “Yeah, it was funny. Between her and Ant, I was well fed, despite Jenny’s efforts at enforcing portion control.”

  Elaine smiled back as she nodded. “I see he makes you walk.”

  “Yeah, I bitch the whole time.”

  “He’s sweet.”

  “He is.”

  “And Emma is the best cook I know.”

  “She is. It was great. We had a blast.”

  Elaine’s smile faltered a bit as she looked down. “And then you come here, and you’re not having fun.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You don’t have to. I mean, you only come out of your room for food. I’ve known Jensen for fifteen years, and never once has he raised his voice to me. But he did, and that hurts, Wren.”

  Wren shook her head. “I didn’t tell him to say that to you—”

  “I didn’t say you did, and neither his tone nor his words hurt, Wren. It was that everything he said might be true.”

  Wren looked up suddenly and her brows touched. “What?”

  Holding up her hands, Elaine reached over, taking Wren’s hand in hers. “Do you truly feel that way? That we ignore you?”

  Blinking, unsure of herself, she shrugged. “I mean, yeah, sometimes. It’s real Wells-heavy around here. Sprinkle in some Jensen and Vaughn, and yeah, no room for me.”

  Elaine looked stricken. “I don’t mean for it to be. He’s just so needy. I always knew he was gay. I also knew that your father wouldn’t take it well, so I think I baby him because of it.” She held her hands up. “Which isn’t right at all, I know this, but you’ve always been so independent.