Page 31 of Trip

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Trip

Trip was a ball of rage and boiling blood on the inside. It took every ounce of training he had not to tear up the house, then ride to Meri’s and kill the fucker with his bare hands.

Training that, until that very moment, he’d cursed. When he went into the military, he hoped to be a lifer, but that changed when the MOS he trained for wasn’t exactly his primary job.

He was all but masquerading as an aide to a notable lieutenant general to bring him down when he realized that Army life wasn’t for him and didn’t reenlist.

Now, that training to look into the face of a friend or lover and lie with a simple expression was all that was keeping him from riding hell-bent for leather to his sister’s house and ending the man in front of his own children.

Trip wanted to watch the life drain from his eyes for what he’d done. He’d hurt everyone Trip cared about. His mind turned to his niece and nephew. Was Meri hiding the same secret JJ was? The thought made him sick.

Trip made a silent vow to himself… he’d end Jake Milner once and for all. That bastard would never hurt another soul. His intentions were obvious to Granite, yet anyone listening wouldn’t know it. Granite was extremely cautious, borderline paranoid about discussing things directly over the phone.

His prez understood, while others wouldn’t. Trip had marked Jake and Granite had granted him permission to be the one to pull the trigger, so to speak.

That soothed him a minuscule amount. But nothing could wash the taint from his soul. He replayed that fateful night over and over in his mind, and it seemed so obvious in hindsight. At the time, his male pride had been so wounded at the thought of Jess choosing another he’d believed Jake, and when Jess didn’t speak otherwise, he’d tossed everything they had away.

“God, babe. I’m so fucking sorry.” Trip cried as hard as JJ. Both shedding tears for actions of the past. The difference was Trip cried for his own and JJ cried for others.

“It’s not your fault. You have nothing to apologize for. You didn’t know because I didn’t want you to.” She sniffled and rubbed her face on his onesie. He didn’t give a shit. She could wipe every tear from now until the end of time on him. He just hoped he wouldn’t cause them. Hell, he didn’t want her to shed another single salty drop as long as she lived. But if she did, he’d be her tissue.

“I was ashamed and raw, and Jake said you’d never believe me. I let him get in my head.”

“This isn’t on you, Jess. But I want you to know, I will always believe you. Always. Over everyone and anyone. Know that.”

She looked up at him with red watery eyes, but a genuine hint of a smile. “I do, Cris. Even back then, I think I did. I was just afraid of how you might see me after that. Afraid of how Jake would react and what you might do if he did. You had your whole life ahead of you and the military was waiting. I couldn’t let you jeopardize that for damaged goods.”

In that moment, Trip and JJ were gone. It was just Cris and Jess, eighteen all over again, until she called herself damaged goods.

Trip leaned away from her. Gripping her biceps rougher than he needed to, he demanded her attention.

“You are not damaged goods. You are the woman I fell in love with all those years ago and the woman who owns all of me still today and will until the day I leave the fucking planet. You are my all. Never doubt or forget that. You feel me?”

She nodded.

“Remember what I said about insulting the woman I love?”

Her sheepish smile almost did him in, but her words did it instead. “I love you Cristofer James Adams, and you are my all.”

They were silent for a moment until JJ’s brain circled back to Meri and the kids.

“But what about Meri and the kids? How can Granite get to Reno before anything bad happens? I need to call her, I can’t—”

“It’s handled and you don’t need to even think about it. It’s club business now.” He knew the next words could destroy them if JJ took them wrong. “Sweetheart, I can’t let you call her.”

“WHAT?” JJ scrambled away from him to stand. “What do you mean, won’t let me?”

And she took it exactly as he thought she would. Before she could launch into a frenzy, Trip stood and wrapped her in a comforting embrace. “Babe, listen. It’s not like that. But if you call her, Jake might do something he didn’t plan on. You know Meri will sniff out that you’re upset. You won’t be able to hide it from her. It could cause him to act when he might not have. Let the club handle it. I promise, we got this.”

Trip could see the moment his words sank in. She even made a little oh sound. “But how can they? Trip, they’re so far away.”

“It’s handled. Trust me. We have friends here in Reno, not ten minutes from Meri. That’s all I’ll say about it. The less you know, the better. Do you trust me, JJ?”

“Yes.”

“Good, then let us handle it, okay? Once my friends get Jake to leave, how we handle the rest of the holidays will be up to you.” Trip left out the part about where Jake would go after he left. His ultimate destination would be Hotel California. A place where no one left once a Phantom checked them in.

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