Page 88 of Spiritwarrior

“I’m not giving you an option. Go home. I’m going to stay the night at my apartment. There’s no need coming in tomorrow, either. I won’t need you.”

“You’re ditching me because your parents are here?”

“I’m sure you have better things to do rather than play bus boy for me. I’m not ditching you; I’m taking a break. A break where I can get my head back on straight and decide if I really want a future with you without being influenced by how good you are in bed. I just don’t know how compatible we would be once we grew tired of each other.”

Each word cut him deeply. While he had been falling in love with her, she was regarding their time together as sex. How many women had he told the same thing? The old saying of the shoe being on the other foot played through his mind.

“My parents are waiting.” Brushing past him, she went around the counter to the door without looking at him.

She unlocked the door, and he felt the same stark emotion he could read on her face.

“Listen to me—”

“I need to hurry, Jody. Please, just go.”

Hearing the crack in her voice, he went through the door, waiting for her to turn off the light and lock the door.

“At least let me drive you,” he argued.

“Do I need to go to the police station to get you to leave me alone?”

Jody felt as if he had been smacked in the face. “No, you don’t.”

Walking around her, he went to his truck. When he got inside, he saw Sophie crossing the street. She was only acouple of blocks from her apartment building, but darkness was descending. She wouldn’t make it before it turned pitch dark.

Starting the truck, he rolled the window down, watching Sophie until she turned the corner. After waiting several minutes, he pulled out of the parking lot while looking in the direction she took. Jody could see her when he stopped at the red light. She had a straight shot to her apartment building. Turning the wheels of the truck, he started to edge out of the traffic so he could keep watch over her when a breeze blew in the window, ruffling his hair.

Come home.

Silas’ voice spoke to him through the wind.

Wanting to disregard his order to watch over Sophie, frustrated, he turned the wheels back in the other direction of the main road. Silas would be able to watch Sophie closer than he could unless he wanted to chance Sophie seeing him and calling the police. He was afraid that if she did, soul mate or not, he didn’t know if he could forgive her. He would never harm Sophie, so her thinking she needed protection from him was like a spike through his heart.

The whole drive home was a test of wills to turn back. Silas wouldn’t have called him home unless it was important. He would know, with the sighting of the blood star, he was concerned about Sophie’s safety.

When he turned into the driveways, he wasn’t surprised to find all of his brothers were out, watching the sky. What did shock him was the Porters being there.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Fear dogged her footsteps the whole way to her apartment. Walking to her parents’ car, she looked inside and saw it was empty. Then she heard a car door open and close.

Jerking around, she saw the man who had come to the restaurant for the money Marty owed him.

“You didn’t expect me to keep them out here in the parking lot, did you?”

“Where are my parents?” she managed to get out through her fear-clogged throat.

“Safe and sound for now. You ditch the boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

“Good move. Someone is waiting to blow his brains out if he shows.”

“I did what you wanted.”

“I want something else.”

“I told you I don’t have two hundred thousand dollars.”

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