Page 66 of Jett in Jeopardy

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I nodded. “I’m okay. It’s just been a long day. Know what I mean?”

“Yeah.” Brody sighed. “I get that.”

He came after me. I was trying not to read too much into it, that it was Brody who showed up to help me stop Simon and almost wound up dead because of it.

“How did you know? How did you find me?” I asked.

Brody opened the passenger door so I could climb into the seat. “I saw him dragging you across the street and into his car. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life.”

Climbing into the passenger seat, I pulled my seat belt across my chest while Brody shut my door and moved around the truck to get in on the driver’s side. Once he’d closed his door, he turned to me.

“Are you really okay?” he asked again.

I swallowed hard. Maybe it was exhaustion or everything that had happened today just hitting me all at once, but I felt shaky and weirdly emotional.

“I’m okay,” I told him, even though I wasn’t entirely sure it wasn’t the truth. “It’s just strange to think after everything, it’s finally over. And I’m relieved. Simon hurt a lot of people. He hurt me and Grier… Alistair, and he would have hurt you, but I didn’t want it to end the way it did.”

“You feel bad because he died, because I killed him when the gun went off.”

“No!” I shook my head. “You did what you had to do, and between you and him, I would pick you over him every time. It’s just his father really fucked with his head, and it sucks that the guy was still getting to him, even from prison.”

“Hey.” Brody reached out across the truck, cupping the side of my face with his hand and running his thumb over my cheekbone. I could have melted into the warmth of his skin. “What happened with his father, with you, with the other men his dad assaulted. It was obvious he was guilty. Simon had to have known his father was guilty. He may not have wanted to believe it, but that isnoton you.”

“I know,” I tried to offer him a shaky smile but failed miserably. “Thanks for coming after me.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I would do it again.” Silence settled between us, and Brody turned the key and started the engine. He looked over at me. With only the soft glow from the lights in the dash, his expression was impossible to read.

“I know I said I’d drive you home, and I will, but I wondered if maybe you wanted to come back to my place for a bit. I’ll take you home after whenever you’re ready. If you don’t want to, it’s fine. It’s late. I get it.”

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind going back to your place. My stuff’s still there anyway. I should probably take it home with me.”

He nodded and steered out of the police station’s parking lot. Once we were back at Brody’s, I dropped onto the couch, feeling like every part of me was equal parts sore and exhausted. I probably should have just gone home.

“Do you want something to drink?” Brody asked, hovering in the kitchen.

I shook my head. “No, thanks.”

He nodded and sat next to me on the sofa. Brody looked tense and uncomfortable, as if he wanted to say something, but hadn’t worked up the nerve. Maybe he thought I’d romanticize what happened today, and I’d think him coming to the rescue, helping me escape Simon before he could kill me, meant he wanted to be with me.

Not going to lie, the idea was not unappealing. Fortunately for both of us, I was far too down to earth to let myself get sucked into fairy tales that didn’t exist.

“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” he started.

“You don’t have to,” I said. “We’re good.” I wasn’t sure what was worse, him ghosting me for the past week or listening to him let me down easy. The prospect of either was terrible.

“No, I really do,” he said. “I’ve been an asshole, and you’ve deserved so much better than how I’ve treated you. I’m sorry, and I don’t know what else to say except that you scared the hell out of me.”

I was confused. “Because of Simon?”

Brody shook his head. “No, because of Ryan. When I lost him, I didn’t think I’d get over it. I promised myself I wouldn’t ever let myself feel that way for someone again. So, when you came into my life, I couldn’tletmyself feel anything for you beyond sex. I couldn’t let myself love you. Because if I’d lost you too, it would destroy me. But the thing is, it’s too late because I have already fallen in love with you.

“I know I’ve been a coward, and I don’t deserve a second chance, but I want one more than anything else in this world.”

For a long moment, I sat there gaping at him, trying to make sense of his words with my sleep-muddled mind.

“You love me?”

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