Page 24 of Jordan

“I’m thrilled.” He huffed, which caused me to sigh again. “Thank you.”

“Was that so hard?”

“As a matter of fact, I’m getting better at being… kind. So no, it wasn’t.”

“Go handle your next torture victim while coughing on them. Send me a pic of Latte later and kiss her head for me.” I peered down, knowing I’d do nothing of the sort. I didn’t want dog hair on my lips. Just the thought made me cringe.

“Goodbye, Romeo. Tell Caius he better be doing his job. I heard about the fan who got too close,” I growled. Caius was Dash, Romeo, and Tristan’s bus driver while on tour. He was also one of my guards who was damn good at his job. Normally. If he slipped up again, I’d send someone to put him in a body bag.

“She was high as a damn kite. I don’t know how she moved so fast, but he took care of her.”

“As he should. That’s what I’m paying him for.” And I was the one paying him. Not the band’s label. They’d never hire someone as skilled as I would.

“Goodbye, Jordan.”

I hung up and focused on Reghan. “Why is Vail here?” I would like to see him again, just not when I was in this condition.

“He brought you something. He said he heard you were sick and has soup.”

“Soup?”

He shrugged.

“How does he… Dexen,” I muttered. Dexen texted me and asked how I was doing after everything was said between Jordan and me. I mentioned the germ spreading that was going on and how I caught it. He must have asked Vail to bring me soup. I didn’t want it if he was told to come here by Dexen. The gesture was nice, but it also stung for some unknown reason. If Vail was going to visit, I wanted him to because he desired to see me.

I must have another fever. There was no other way to explain the shit I was thinking. Moving to the couch, I sat down and dropped my head back. If the antiviral wasn’t working, I was going to burn the flu out of my system with alcohol, whether it was good to do so or not.

“Should I let him up?” Reghan asked. Fuck, I forgot he was waiting for an answer.

“Make sure he knows I have the flu. I wouldn’t want him to get sick.” He drove down here. I might as well see him. From a distance.

It was quiet for a few minutes until the elevator arrived. Latte decided she was suddenly guard dog material and sounded the alarm at our intruder. It lasted all of five seconds. Once she saw Vail and he started talking sweetly to her, she remembered she was just a ball of fluff and went to him with her tail wagging.

Vail placed a cooler on the floor and hung his coat up before bending down to pay attention to her. It was sweet. Vail was sweet.

No, there was no reason for me to think about him in any way. Same with Hartley. I was losing my mind to think about anyone.

“Jordan, are you okay?” Vail asked.

I must have closed my eyes because when I opened them, he was standing in front of me. Jeans hugged his thighs. The navy Henley he wore did nothing to hide the muscle he had beneath it. But it was his face I was drawn to. A shadow of scruff lined his jaw while his eyebrows drew together in concern. He reached for my head, but I ducked away and got to my feet.

“What are you doing?” I asked. “You shouldn’t be near me. I’m contagious.”

“I’m not worried about catching it. I have a good immune system. You might have a fever. Let me check.”

“By using your hand? They have thermometers for that.”

“Do you have one?”

“No.” Apparently one was on its way.

He lifted his hand again. This time, I let him put it to my forehead. His fingers were cold from being outside. They soothed my inner turmoil more than my flu-ridden head with their simple touch. “You feel warm.” He dropped his hand.

“Your hand is cold.”

“It’s a solid guess.”

I needed to get back to why he came. “What did Dexen tell you to bring me?”

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