The Family Simon: Jack Part 24

"Sir," the security guard said in his ear. "We've got this."

But the reporter was already heading down the hallway and Jack kept his eyes on him until he disappeared from sight. He thanked the security guard and made his way back to Sabrina.

s.e.x tape? What the h.e.l.l? His mind was all over the place, and he took out his cell, fingers scrolling over a c.r.a.p-ton of text messages and missed calls. He noted that Derek had called him five times in the last half hour. Whatever this was, couldn't be good.

"Are you all right?" Sabrina asked quietly, handing him a coffee. The lounge was empty-thank G.o.d-and he took a sip, though he tasted nothing.

"No," he said, glancing up at her. "I don't think I am."

Sabrina sat down and patted the seat beside her. "Sit."

"How's Brett?" he asked, pushing away everything else. Now was not the time to focus on his s.h.i.t-but Jesus, s.e.x tape?

She attempted a smile, but it never really reached her eyes. "The ma.s.ses in his lungs are making it hard for him to breathe. It's just progressed so fast and aggressively." Her voice broke, and he squeezed her shoulder, trying to offer some sort of comfort.

"It's spread, and they've put a call into his oncologist but the doctor here thinks he might have a week left. Maybe less."

"Sabrina, I'm so sorry." There really wasn't anything else to say.

Sabrina took a sip of coffee and stared at the floor. "I know. Doesn't mean we won't keep fighting. Brett doesn't know any other way. He just...he won't give up until there's no fight left." She paused and exhaled. "You two are a lot alike, you know that right?"

Jack wanted to think so, but he couldn't imagine facing the kind of battle his buddy was fighting.

"Promise me you'll never stop fighting for what you want, Jack. Life is a gift, and too many people waste their gift. They don't learn that love and forgiveness go hand in hand."

He had a feeling they weren't talking about life in general anymore. He thought of Donovan. But if he was being honest with himself, he'd have to admit that he was seriously concerned that whatever the h.e.l.l she was hiding from him, was going to be so big he wouldn't be able to deal.

His cellphone vibrated. "Do you mind?" he asked Sabrina.

She shook her head and got to her feet. "No, take it. I've got a phone call of my own to make. Brett's parents will want to be here."

He glanced down and saw that it was a text from one of his aides, Jonathan Grimes, an up and comer with a good head on his shoulders. The message was short and to the point.

Derek is MIA. Office inundated. How do you want this handled?

There was a link included, and after a few moments Jack clicked it. Once he was done reading all that was there, he f.u.c.king wished he'd never done it.

Chapter Twenty-eight.

It was nearly four in the morning when Donovan heard a vehicle in the driveway. Jack's parents had returned much earlier, subdued with the news of Brett's trip to the hospital. They'd bundled up the twins and taken them back to the Campbell home so that Harry and Morgan could sleep in their own beds.

Neck sore from sleeping on the sofa, Donovan got to her feet and padded across the floor so that she could peek out the back window.

It was Jack's truck. He hugged Sabrina and then waited a bit before heading up to the house. By the time he reached the back door, Donovan had turned on a few lamps and was waiting for him.

Her entire body was a jumble of nerves, and she knew her time was up. There was nothing between her and the truth anymore.

The door squeaked open, and Jack stilled when he caught sight of her. For a moment their eyes held, and then his slid away as he came inside and closed the door behind him.

"How's Brett?" she asked softly.

Jack shrugged and didn't answer right away. He crossed over to the fridge and grabbed himself a beer. He was about to open it when he shoved it onto the counter and proceeded over to the liquor cabinet. Scotch in hand, he took a swig directly from the bottle, and then another before he bothered to look at her.

"Not good."

Unsure, Donovan's hands ran along the top of the counter.

"Is he-"

"He's not coming home," Jack said harshly. "Not coming home," he said again, so low she barely heard him.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Yeah," Jack replied, taking another swig of scotch. "So am I."

He crossed the room and stood in front of the closed blinds, staring at nothing. Pain radiated off of him, but Donovan was frozen, her feet felt as if they were encased in concrete.

"Did you catch the news tonight?" he asked abruptly, though he never turned to her.

"No."

Okay. He was scaring her. Really scaring her. Thoughts racing, she took a step. Or two.

But then he turned back, his eyes so dark they looked like liquid coal. He looked tired. Haunted. This man that she loved. Donovan made a noise and started forward, but he shook his head, eyes shiny, mouth grim.

"Don't."

One word was all it took for Donovan to know the jig was up. He knew.

"Oh G.o.d," she whispered. He knew.

Jack shoved his hand into the front pocket of his shorts and pulled out his cell. She watched him scroll through it, her heart beating out of her chest and when he tossed it to her, she nearly dropped it.

He turned away from her again, and her gaze dropped to the message he'd opened.

Derek is MIA. Office inundated. How do you want this handled?

"Click on the link." His voice was rough and low and so full of anger that it made Donovan wince.

Her fingers didn't seem to work, but she finally managed to click on the link, one that led her to a report from the Hollywood Tattler website. There was a photo of Donovan and Jack from years ago and a smaller picture of Derek just underneath. Bile rose as she read the headline and blurb.

Donovan Does Derek. Reported s.e.x tape being offered up, showcasing the singing sensation doing the nasty with Derek McKenzie, campaign manager to her on-again, off-again boy toy, Jack Simon. Makes us wonder, here in Tattler land, are Jack and Donovan officially off after their relationship heated up again?

Donovan read it over and over and over. It was as if her mind was stuck, and she just couldn't move forward.

"Is it true?" he asked, still not looking back at her.

What to say to that?

I woke up naked with him inside me, but I don't remember anything before that? He took pictures and video and used it to make me leave you? He blackmailed me with them? Made me promise to never see you again or he'd destroy your career?

How did she explain all that? How did she tell the man she loved that yes, I had s.e.x with your best friend. Once she said those words the rest wouldn't matter.

"You don't have to say anything."

Donovan's head whipped up, and she found him looking at her. No longer were his eyes dark and shiny. They were hard and angry.

"Did you take the test?" he asked.

"What?"

"Are you pregnant?" he asked again.

Donovan winced at the tone. At the utter lack of emotion in his voice. "Yes," she answered, holding his gaze. "I took the test."

Jack's hand fisted at his side, and he took another good swig of scotch. "And?"

"It said I was pregnant."

Silence greeted her news, and Donovan slid onto the large overstuffed chair to her right. Her legs had nothing left in them, and she was just about done. Everything from the past few weeks-h.e.l.l the last several months-hit her in the gut, and she thought that she was going to pa.s.s out.

"Take another one when you get back to LA, and we'll talk then."

"That's it?" she said dully.

"It's all I got."

The pain in her chest was so tight that she clawed at her T-shirt in order to alleviate some of the distress. Gasping for air, she started to get up from the chair, but she had no energy. She didn't even recognize her own voice when she finally managed to speak.

"You said that you loved me enough to handle the truth. You said that Jack. You said that."

Oh G.o.d. She was going to lose it. She sounded pathetic.

Jack regarded her in silence. And just when it had spread way too thin and way too long he spoke.

"I was wrong."

His threw the bottle of scotch across the room, and she jumped when it shattered against the windows and blinds. His breathing was erratic, and she knew that he was barely holding his anger in check. Coco appeared from nowhere and began to bark, but with one look, Jack silenced the little dog. He shook his head, eyes grim and dead.

"f.u.c.king the guy I considered my best friend is something I apparently can't get past."

He strode past her and scooped up the beer he'd abandoned earlier. Hand on the door he paused. "Get Maverick to take you home. I'll be in touch. If you're pregnant, I'll deal with it. I'm not the guy who will abandon his kid."

Donovan fell back into the soft cushions. She was done. There were no more tears left inside her.

"What the h.e.l.l?" Maverick took the stairs two at a time, eyes sweeping the entire room.

"He knows," she said dully.

Maverick paused near her, his hand on the chair as he looked down at her. "You told him?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Then how?"

"I don't know. There are reports online. It's out there. For all I know there are...." Her voice broke. "There are pictures and video of me spread all over the internet. How am I going to deal with that? I'm so ashamed, Rick. Cooper was right. I'm no good for him."

"What the h.e.l.l does Cooper have to do with this?" Maverick looked fierce, with his long hair all askew and his intense dark eyes.

"He has the thumb drive.. I don't know how, but he...he must have released it to the press just like he told me he would."

"I'm going to kill him. What a f.u.c.king mess," Maverick growled. He paused. "Look. Don't worry about anything right now. I've got you looked after. I'm going to get you home, and then we'll figure this out."

"Can we leave now?"

The thought of facing Jack's parents made her nauseous, and all she wanted to do was climb into her bed and disappear.

"Yeah," Maverick replied, hand on her shoulder. "We can leave now."

Three days later, Donovan was ensconced inside her home in Los Angeles with a c.r.a.p-ton of paparazzi camped outside, when Maverick called to let her know that Brett had pa.s.sed away.

"How's Sabrina?" she asked, heartbroken for the woman.

"I don't know her real well, but from what I could see, she's one tough lady."

"Are you going up for the funeral?"

"No. They wanted a small private ceremony, though Jack and his parents are still up there." Silence filled her ear. "I talked to Cooper, finally. He says he's not the one responsible for the leak."

For the past three days, the news outlets had sensationalized every aspect of Donovan and Jack's story. Derek and the supposed s.e.x tape were mentioned in each and every one. But so far no actual photos, or videos for that matter, had surfaced. As for Donovan, she wasn't talking to anyone, not even her publicist.