Three days and two performances after my infamous phone call with Jake, I lounged in a giant hotel suite the label had provided for my brothers and me. I was counting the hours and minutes before I could see Jake again.

At the sound of a Mariachi ring tone echoing through the room, I grinned and picked up my phone. “Hello, AJ, what’s shaking?”

“Hola, Abuela, como estas?”

My brows furrowed as I pulled the phone away to make sure it was really AJ. Then I replied in Spanish, “Um, I think you have the wrong number.”

Still in Spanish, AJ replied, “Yeah, I got the right number. I just can’t speak freely at the moment. That’s why I’m talking in Spanish.”

I gasped. “Is it Jake? Is something wrong?”

He drew in a ragged breath. “He’s in bad shape, Angel. He’s totally shut down, and I don’t know what the hell to do.”

“But why? What happened? I just talked to him last night.” My mind spun frantically as I tried to remember anything unusual about our conversation. He’d mentioned the nurse was worried Susan’s pneumonia might be getting worse, but Jake hadn’t told me much more.

“The pneumonia took a greater toll on her system than the nurse and hospice people thought. She’s been practically comatose all day.”

My stomach churned, and I fought the urge to throw up. “Oh God…poor Jake…poor Susan,” I murmured, gripping my phone tight as tears burned my eyes.

“Even though he won’t say it or admit it, he needs you. Can you come?”

My mind whirled with the next few days of shows. The logical answer was I couldn’t go, but there was no way in hell I was leaving Jake alone when he needed me most. “Of course I can. I’ll get the next flight out.”

“Good. I’ll come pick you up, okay?”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“See you soon.”

“Bye.”

Surprisingly, my brothers and parents didn’t protest about me leaving. They believed my place was with Jake and Susan. I was able to get a flight two hours later, and true to his word, AJ was waiting to pick me up. After he filled me in on everything that was going on, we spent most of the drive in silence.

Cars were parked everywhere along Jake’s driveway. Since it was raining, AJ dropped me off closer to the door and then went back to park. With a shaky hand, I rang the doorbell. I half expected a nurse or one of Jake’s relatives to answer it. Nothing could have prepared me for Jake throwing open the heavy mahogany door. At the sight of me, he did a double take. The color drained from his face before he demanded, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

I jolted back at the harshness of his tone. It took me a moment to find my voice. “AJ called me and told me about Susan. I came as soon as I could to be with you…and her.”

He stood there still staring at me. My heart ached at his appearance. Rough stubble covered his face from where he hadn’t shaved, and his usually styled-to-perfection hair was unkempt. Dark purple circles formed under his eyes. He wore a ratty Runaway Train t-shirt and a pair of holey jeans. While he had yet to ask me in, I threw myself forward, wrapping my arms tight around him. “Oh, baby, I’m so, so sorry. I’m here for you, and I love you.”

He didn’t hug me back. In fact, his arms lay limply at his sides. I pulled away to tenderly kiss his cheek. “Talk to me, Jake,” I implored.

His body shuddered for a moment before he shook his head. Without a word, he pushed out of my embrace. Taking my hand, he jerked me further into the foyer and down the hallway. I thought we might be going to Susan’s room, but instead, he ushered me into his room and slammed the door.

“Jake, what are—” He silenced me by crushing his lips to mine. The kiss was demanding and harsh, nothing like I was used to experiencing with him. Taking my shoulders, he whirled me around and shoved me back against the door with such a force I cried out. His hands raked over my body as I tried getting away from him.

“Stop it!” I cried against his mouth.

When he pulled away, his fingers went to the button on his jeans. When he started to undo them, I shook my head. “What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna fuck you. That’s what you came here for, right?”

My mouth, bruised from his earlier assault, fell open in shock. “No! How could you think such a horrible thing? I came to be with you because I love you and you need me.”

With his blue eyes blazing, his hips pinned me against the wall again. His lips curled into an angry smirk. “All anyone ever wants is a piece of me—a way to further themselves through me. That’s what you want too, right? You’re Jake Slater’s girlfriend—the one who finally tamed the notorious womanizer.”

I shook my head wildly back and forth at his accusation. “I’m your girlfriend because I love you—not because of who you are or what anyone thinks.” I brought my hands to cup his cheeks, forcing him to look at me. “I know you, Jake. I see every single imperfection you have, and I still love you. There’s no one else in the world for me but you. And when you’re hurting, I want to be with you. When you’re broken and shattered like you are right now, I’m going to help you pick up the pieces. That’s what love is, baby.” I leaned over to whisper against the coarse stubble on his chin. “Trust me when I say that I’d do anything to be able to take away the terrible hurt you’re feeling right now. But you have to let me in a little.”

He grabbed my wrists in his hands and shoved them above my head. “You’d do anything for me, huh?”

“Yes,” I murmured, fighting the urge to cry out from the pain of his grip.

“That’s a fucking pity. Because all you’ve done is become my whore.”

My head jerked back like he had slapped me. It was as if a total stranger had taken over Jake’s body. I’d never seen him act this way, even his infamous drunken bus escapade paled in comparison. “Jake, please don’t do this! Don’t shut me out now.” Tears burned my eyes. “I know you’re hurting, but I know you love me and you need me.”

With a cruel sneer, his hands left mine to slide down my body and rest on my hips. “I’m sorry, Angel, but that’s where you were mistaken. You were just another piece of ass to conquer—although yours was a little more of a challenge. But I have to admit how surprised I was that some romance and a profession of love had you parting those sweet thighs faster than I ever thought.”

“That’s a lie! I know you loved me then, and you do now. You’re just twisting everything around because you’re mixed up inside.” I gripped his shoulders. “You have to fight this, Jake. You can’t give over to the darkness. That’s not what Susan would want either.”

A stormy mix of emotions flickered in Jake’s eyes. “You can think what you want to, but I know what I’m saying about screwing you. I’m glad I got to break you in because you were meant for fucking. The way you cried out my name and came so hard on my tongue when I went down on you…Mmm…baby that was hot.”

“Stop it,” I protested feebly as tears of frustration and hurt streamed down my cheeks.

“Now don’t cry, Angel. It was an honor to be your first. And I promise I’ll remember you as one of the best fucks I’ve ever had—the innocent little angel who let the Big Bad Wolf inside her tight-as-hell walls.”

The frayed strands of my emotions snapped in two, and before I could stop myself, I brought my palm hard against his cheek, causing a loud crack to reverberate throughout the room. Any hurt within me gave way to white hot anger. “You unimaginable asshole! Don’t you ever talk to me like that again! I know your mother is dying, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to spit and trample upon everything we are. You better wake up fast and realize what you’re saying. You need to get it through your thick skull that I wasn’t just a piece of ass—that I was everything you ever dreamed of, but you fucked it all up because you had to push me away when you needed me most!”