In the Crease (Assassins Book 11) Read online

  Shanna’s eyes narrowed as she held Wren’s gaze. “How are you a floozy if you’re married to the guy?”

  Swallowing hard, Wren didn’t want to lie, but she couldn’t tell Shanna about Bradley. There was no way in hell. If she was having a hard time telling Jensen, who she knew would love her no matter what, there was no way she could tell Shanna. “We hooked up, and I got pregnant. I didn’t tell him until about a month and a half ago. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”

  Shanna nodded slowly. “So you kept it from everyone? No one knew?”

  Wren licked her lips. “Yeah, no one knew until I told Jensen.”

  “And so you stopped talking to me because you assumed I would judge you?”

  “I didn’t assume anything, I knew you would. You wanted me to be like you, settle down, have kids, and get married, but that wasn’t what I wanted—”

  “But look at you now,” she pointed out. “And you seem happy.”

  Wren’s eyes narrowed. “I said it wasn’t what I wanted. Things are different now. I love Jensen, I love my son, and I’m happy. But I knew you wouldn’t support me, and you would get pissy with me because I wouldn’t know what I wanted to do.”

  “Because you never know what you want to do. You let your need for attention take over, and you fuck whatever you see. It’s sad because you’re a beautiful girl, a good girl, smart, but you treat yourself like a slab of meat and get fucked by assholes.”

  Too bad the main asshole was Shanna’s brother, but Wren didn’t say that. “You need to put all that in past tense.”

  Shanna’s brows pulled together. “What?”

  “All of that isn’t true anymore. You’re right, I did do all that. But I haven’t since I got pregnant, and the reason why it took me so long to tell Jensen is because I knew I would officially be done with that life, and I wasn’t ready to accept that. That’s all changed now. I’ll be the first to tell you that not everyone changes, but I feel I have. Or maybe Jensen just loves me the way I need to make myself better. But I’m proud of that because, you’re right, I didn’t think highly of myself. Due to my need to be loved, I was pathetic. But now, after knowing what real love is, I’m good. I love who I am because of the man who loves me.”

  Inhaling deeply, Shanna held her hands out. “That’s all I wanted for you.”

  “Well, at the time, I didn’t want to hear that. I wanted to figure it out on my own, but I couldn’t. I needed Jensen.” Wren’s heart sang in her chest, saying the words she had been thinking for so long. She wished Jensen were there so he could hear her because she was sure he wouldn’t believe her when she told him later. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, Shanna, for more than I can ever tell you. But I had to do what I did, for me. And call it selfish, but I couldn’t take what I knew you’d give me.”

  Shanna looked down, running her tongue along her teeth as she shook her head. “I wouldn’t have been that bad. I would have said that you needed to settle down—”

  “But I didn’t want to hear that.”

  “Jensen is a wonderful guy, and I would have pushed—”

  With her heart throbbing in her throat, Wren couldn’t take it anymore. The guilt was overpowering.

  “I lied.” When Wren said it, her own eyes widened, not expecting herself to say that.

  What the hell was she doing?

  “What?”

  “I lied about Jensen, and there is a chance you could tell everyone, but I’ll deny it.”

  Shanna’s face scrunched up. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Jensen isn’t my baby’s biological father. I know who the father is, but he told me to get an abortion after throwing a check at me. And when I refused, he told me I was stupid and he was done with me.”

  “Wren,” Shanna gasped, reaching out to take her hands. “What in the world? Who is it?”

  Your brother.

  “It doesn’t matter. He didn’t want my child or me, and that’s the biggest reason I didn’t tell you or my mom or anyone. I was trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do because of my inheritance and all that—”

  “Jesus, I forgot about that inheritance of yours. Such a stupid stipulation.”

  “Yeah, so, no, I shouldn’t have cut you out. I shouldn’t have cut anyone out, really, but I was embarrassed, I was scared, and I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do.” When her eyes started to well up with tears, she looked down at the table as her mouth twitched, trying to hold back the sob that wanted to escape. “It took Jensen coming into my life, steamrolling me into a marriage I asked for, even though I didn’t want it. He changed everything and made me realize I was worth a man like him, a love like he could give me, and a chance for my son to have a father who would love him as his own. It took Jensen. Only Jensen to make me finally love myself, and he’s the reason I’m here. He knew I owed it to you to explain myself and to apologize because, Shanna, I’m sorry. I am. Really sorry.”

  When Wren looked up, tears rolling down her cheeks, she found that Shanna was in tears herself. Holding her gaze, Wren saw the girl who had been her constant companion growing up. Her best friend and not the hostile girl Wren had done wrong.

  “Wren, you know I’ve loved you as my sister since I was four. So we hit a snag. Oh, well. I love you and I’m sorry you felt that way, but I know you, and I know you do things your way with no second thoughts. So I forgive you, I do. I just wish you’d have done this a long time ago.”

  “Me too.”

  “But all in all, this is all I ever wanted for you, Wren. Jensen is amazing, and I know he’ll love you and your son for the rest of his life. He’s a damn good dude, and fuck the dude that did you dirty.”

  Wren’s heart tightened. “Thanks.”

  “Of course,” Shanna said, squeezing Wren’s hands. “Now tell me everything. Pregnancy, everything. I want it all.”

  A grin pulling at her lips, Shanna picked up a napkin and wiped Wren’s cheeks, which made them both laugh before Wren found herself having one of the best afternoons with a friend who was supposed to be her lifelong friend. Wren had shut everyone out in the past, and that was her fault. But she knew she had found someone who would never allow her to do that to him.

  And when Jensen came to pick her up, she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him with nothing but the love and praise she had just spent the afternoon gushing about. But he was looking back into the diner, his brows up. “I don’t see blood, and it took three hours for you to call me, so I’m assuming there was no one injured?”

  Wren scoffed. “It was nice. We talked everything out.”

  He seemed surprised. “So, you two are good?”

  She shrugged. “Do I think we’ll be as close as we were? Never, I ruined that, and I own it. But I’ll check in, and we’ll text. But this needed to happen.”

  “It did,” he agreed, kissing her forehead. “I’m very proud of you.”

  She laughed. “For being an adult?”

  He grinned. “Hey, adulting is hard for you.”

  Nodding very fervently, she agreed. He loved her, even her faults. All of her. How in the world did she get that fucking lucky? To keep from crying, she beamed as she joked, “Right? Pants, wearing pants is the hardest part. I hate them.”

  “This is very true. We should all be able to walk around pants-less,” he teased, holding her close as they headed toward his car.

  “Yes! And everyone would be okay with it. But no, people are worried about indecency. Pathetic, I tell you.”

  “We should start a no-pants uprising.”

  “Yes,” she laughed. “We can be the ambassadors!”

  “We’d be the best.”

  “We would!” she agreed as they reached the car, and he opened the door for her. But when she didn’t get in, he looked down, confused.

  “You ready to go?”

  Exhaling hard, she reached up, taking his face in her hands as her eyes started to well up. She wanted to tell him.