Quake by Jacob Chance Page B

anything.
          “I wanted to tell you I was working for Sharon, but ethically I couldn’t.”
          Her arms are still crossed and she won’t look at me.
          “How long have you been working for Sharon?” she asks.
          Fuck.
          I don’t answer her.
          “How long?” she repeats the question her voice rising in volume.
          “Before we met.”
          Her eyes open wide and she laughs, but not in an amused way. She’s pissed and this is the only chance for me to come clean with her.
          “Will you come sit in my car with me so I can explain?”
          She looks as though she might say no.
          “Please,” I beg.
          She nods her head and walks beside me along the path. I open the passenger side door for her and head around to get in the driver side. She’s sitting stiffly in the seat, her back straight and eyes straight ahead.
          “Sharon hired me to watch your brother.” Her gasp of shock interrupts me. “He’d been acting suspiciously and she wanted to make sure he wasn’t doing anything wrong. We put cameras up in the house, I gave her a new phone that would track where he went and we monitored his online activities. We didn’t find anything questionable on your brother.”
          “Did you see me on those cameras?” she asks her voice a mere whisper.
          I close my eyes for a moment and brace myself for the force of her anger.
          “Yes. The first time I saw you was on a live video feed. You walked into your brother’s office to talk to him and I was immediately intrigued by you. I didn’t know who you were or why you were there, so I asked Sharon the next morning and she explained.”
          She looks over at me, a shimmer of tears in her eyes. “Did you see me in my bedroom?” she questions, her voice rising on the last word.
          Fuck. She’s not going to like this answer.
          “Yes, I did.”
          Why didn’t I tell her all of this sooner?
          It would’ve been so much better coming from me than having it sprung on her unexpectedly.
          “Oh my God.” Her head drops down and her hands come up to cover her face. “You saw private moments; moments you never should’ve seen.” She lowers her hands and her face is flushed with embarrassment. “Did you set up our first meeting?” She looks over and stares at me, willing me to answer.
          “No, that was all an accident and so was our bumping into each other at the coffee shop, I had no idea you’d be there. I was so happy to see you again. It seemed like fate kept pushing us together. I knew I had to get to know you and someday I’d tell you how Sharon had hired me. I was planning on telling you soon, but I was afraid I’d lose you over it. I don’t want to lose you Janny. I’ve fallen in love with you.”
          The tears are falling down both her cheeks now and I want to hold her in my arms so much.
          “You don’t get to tell me that now. You’ve had plenty of time to say those words to me and you choose now? Those aren’t words you can just throw out there as a way to manipulate me into forgiving you.” She shakes her head with disgust and wipes her eyes with her hands.
          “I meant what I said. I love you and I’m sorry I never told you before because I’ve felt this way for weeks now.” I reach my hand out to take hers and she stops me.
          “Don’t touch me. Our whole relationship was formed on lies. How could you possibly think this is something I’d be able to get over? I let you in—you’re the first person I’ve let in since David died and this is what I get. Maybe being with Josh is the way to go, he never hurt me like this.”
          I grimace when the arrow like meaning of her statement hits me dead on. My heart pounds with panic as she reaches for the door handle. “Janny, I meant it when I said I love