Page 25 of Coerced

“That’s what IknowI am. People can use me to get to you.”

“That’s true of anyone who cares about somebody else. If someone snatched Gigi, you don’t think Jax would do whatever they wanted to get her back? It’s the risk anyone takes when they decide to open themselves up to others.”

“But—” I lowered my eyes to his jacket zipper.

“But what?” He put a knuckle under my chin and raised my face. “What’s really bothering you, angel?

“Am I—” I hesitated, then let it all out in a rush. “Am I worth that risk for you?”

He stood frozen for a second, then pulled me into a hug.

“Angel,” he breathed in my ear, “there ain’t nobody on this planet as worth the risk as you are. Like you once told me, if there is a price for being with you, I’ll pay it and have no regrets.”

His words calmed the flutter of panic that had been living in my chest lately, but the worry in my mind didn’t ease at all.

I did not doubt his sincerity, but he epitomized the type of high-stakes power that unscrupulous people tried to harness and control for their own ends, and I was the chain they could use to enslave him.

I will protect you, my sweet boy. Even if it’s from myself.I squeezed him in a hard hug that made the air huff out of him.Even if it breaks my heart.

“Gemma, you know I can see straight through you, right?” He grabbed my upper arms and moved me back enough to look into my eyes. “Don’t get any crazy ideas to sabotage what we’re building together because you think it will protect me.”

“But when we go out into the Real World on a mission, I’ll be your vulnerable spot—”

“I will kill anything that tries to hurt you or take you away from me.” He bent down so that we were nose to nose, and his smooth blue eyes were dead serious. “And breaking up with me wouldn’t work because it won’t change how I feel about you. You could tell me to get outta your life tomorrow, take off for Argentina, and spend the next two hundred years cursing my name - and I’d still come running the second you called me.”

I blinked.

“Oh.”

“See? Even if we weren’t together, an enemy could still use you against me. In fact, if I was you, I’d be more worried about them usingmeto get toyou.” He stood up straight and dropped his hands. “You’re as powerful as I am, Gemma, and I know a lotta bad men who’d do anything to me if it meant they could pull your strings.”

“Yeah, but you can get out of those situations.” I shook my head. “You have the strength and the know-how to escape if someone tries to capture you.”

“And you don’t?” He raised an eyebrow. “You’re a level 10, too, you know. You can knock them out. Put ’em to sleep for a hundred years. Look, if it’s bothering you this much, we’ll find some solutions. We’ll have to get creative because you ain’t always gonna be able to touch your opponent.”

“Creative? My warden told me he put healing in a bottle of bubbles to help you last fall. Do you mean that kind of creative?”

“Yeah. And remember how you once zapped Argaud with a bolt of pure power? We could practice that. See how far you can zap it.” He smiled. “I’ll help you, okay? We’ll work on it together.”

He was right. I could protect myself and others. I just needed to think about it creatively, and he could get pretty creative when it came to using power.

And hurting people.

I brushed that thought away.

“Okay,” I agreed. “Do you have any ideas off the top of your head?”

“Not really. Sleep splat bombs, maybe. I dunno. Something that gets your power into a projectile.”

As we started walking again, my imagination fired up. I was deep into designing a coma grenade when he reached over and linked his pinkie finger with mine.

“Gemma?”

“Hmm?”

“If you everdowanna get rid of me, straight up tell me and I’ll understand. Just promise me it won’t be for some bull reason like trying to protect me, okay?”

I looked up at his battle-scarred face, then let my eyes drift to his wide shoulders and down the line of his arms. Under his coat, I knew his biceps were the sizes of baseballs and his pecs were hard as rock.

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