Page 8 of Protecting Jess

She’d stumbled out of the building, blood streaming down her arm, with Bartholomew chasing her, yelling for her to stop or he’d kill her.

Fortunately, someone from above had been looking out for Jess, because as she’d turned the corner, there were two policemen coming out of a café. She’d launched herself at them and it’d taken them a mere second to assess the situation before one of them took off after her stalker, who was hightailing it in the opposite direction after dropping the weapon he’d been carrying.

The rest had been a blur, but she’d recovered and had survived the trial with the help of the woman standing beside her and some of her other dance friends.

Keeping it all from her parents had been the hardest thing in the world, but she’d done it and had closed that particular chapter of her life.

Or so she’d thought. Jess had convinced herself she was over it all, but clearly, the mention of someone wanting to meet her had brought it rushing back.

“Come on, let’s get changed. Then we can see who this person is and go drink the rest of the night away. No way are you not coming out now.”

“Fine. And, yeah, sounds good.” Although the last thing Jess was going to do was drink excessively. Once had been enough to realize drinking too much led to a different type of heartache.

Damn, she was having a one-person pity party, something she never did.

So, what if she’d had a couple of bad encounters? Well, one was worse than the other, but she was still here.

Still breathing.

Still dancing.

Still living.

What Jess was going to do was exactly what Kaley had said they were going to do. She was going to have a good time with her friends. Then she’d head to her parents’ for a visit while she waited for the new contract she believed she was entitled to.

A few minutes later, she hoisted her bag on her shoulder and waited for Kaley. Her friend was wiping down the tabletop.

“You know there are people employed to do that,” she said, arching an eyebrow.

Her friend shrugged. “I know, but I can’t leave it messy. You know that.”

“I do. It’s one of the many quirks I love about you.”

“Just like I love you for all your quirks,” Kaley countered.

Jess sniffed, giving off a good impression of being offended. “I don’t have any of those.”

Her bestie rolled her eyes as she collected her bag. “Sure, you don’t. Come on. I think we’ve left who was waiting for you for long enough. Maybe they got tired of waiting and left.”

She could only hope, but she didn’t think luck was going to be on her side. If it was, then Bartholomew would never have gotten close to her.

Finn glanced at his watch. He’d been waiting for a while for Jess to come out. The guy he’d asked to get a message to her had returned, advising that she’d be out shortly.

Then he’d proceeded to glare at Finn, as if he were a piece of gum someone had shoved beneath a theatre chair.

He didn’t know the guy. Didn’t know what he’d done to offend him. But Finn could have the guy shaking in his boots if he knew who he was sending his death glare to. Not that he’d do anything. Finn was trained to be able to kill with his bare hands, but he was also a healer. The need to make sure a person didn’t suffer was as much a part of him as the killer was now.

He was a contradiction, and he had no problems with being so.

“Looks like she’s not coming after all.” The guy smirked.

“Maybe. Maybe not. I know how long it takes for dancers to get rid of their stage makeup. Change. Etcetera.” Before things changed, he’d gone to many of Jess’s dance performances. It took a while for her to join them after the final dance.

Not to mention, knowing Jess, she was probably catching up with friends. She loved dance, but she loved being around fellow dancers, too. As she’d been with this company since she’d graduated from Julliard, she had probably made many friends.

Finn’s phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. It was probably Oak, asking where he was. He’d answer him when he was ready. His friend had seen too much, and the longer he was able to put off the inquisition Oak was sure to give him, the better.

The door opened and a woman with blonde hair walked out.

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