Page 127 of Reclaiming Adelaide

Jake sighed and wrapped his arms around me as I tucked my head against his chest. His excited rhythm beat against my eardrum.

“Take out the reasons he did it and look at how he handled it. He kept you in the dark, abandoned ship and left his friends to die.Correct?”

But people made mistakes when faced with life-altering outcomes. I sighed, my shoulders sagging with defeat. “Yeah.”

“So I hope you see that he’s getting what he deserves.”

I nodded once more and cleared my throat. Holeo didn’t deserve to live while his friends feared for their lives because of him. While my life had been turned upside down and shaken, Skipper had lost his Torpedo… he may not survive.

“Good. Now…” He pulled me away from his hold and drew me out of the room after looking at the address on my screen again. “We’ve gotta get going.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Turn even the slightest memory of them to dust.”

“What if they expect that?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll have a team with me.”

“Who areyou?”

He shook his head. His brows turned together as his head shook slightly from left to right. “I don’t understand?”

“What tech mogul has a team of men at the ready to deal with moralistically corrupt mercenaries?”

Jake pulled back, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll have that conversation with you when I get back.”

“You’re leaving me here? I thought you said ‘we?’”

He scoffed. “I’m not taking you anywhere near them. When I said we, I meant Max and me.”

“And Charity?”

“She’s staying here to protect you.”

Jake and I slaved away on the computers while Max and Charity made themselves scarce, doing things I didn’t want to know or ask about.

“You trust her to protect me?”

I’d watched their interactions. He didn’t like her, and he certainly didn’t have lengthy conversations with her. Besides, she gave me the creeps, like there was a light missing inside, which sent my warning bells ringing.

Jake propped his hand on his hip and ran his other down the length of his jaw, scratching at the scruff. He glanced behind me and then back at me.

He ushered me back inside the computer room. “You’re going to stay in here until we get back.”

“What? Jake. You can’t be serious right now?” My chest constricted at the thought of staying there while he went out there into harm’s way, dealing with men who did this for a living and thought he’d survive. “What if the house catches fire?”

“Then go outside to safety, Adelaide.” He shook his head as if my fear was so comical and plopped me back in my seat.

“Don’t laugh as though my fears aren’t valid.” Tears burned at my retinas. “What if you don’t come back?”

“Adelaide.” He bent down on his knees before me, his hands gripping my waist as he rolled my chair closer. “Stay here. Keep our baby safe. And know that when I come back—and I will—it’ll all be over.”

He bent down, his back curling as he pressed his lips to my stomach. I thread my fingers through his hair which had grown longer since all of this began.

“Okay,” I whispered. “But I don’t have to like it.”

He stood, taking my face in his palms, and kissed me like it was the last time. My toes curled as his tongue caressed mine, our lips crushed together in a bruising touch.

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