Page 39 of Fight for You
I smirked as he opened the passenger door for me.
Jamie got in the car, using his phone again. After a few minutes, he put the phone down and sat there. Fingers raked through his hair. “I don’t know how they found us.”
“It was Aleksandr. This is all”—I bit my wobbly lip—“my fault. I’m so sorry about your house. You said something about an LLC. Does that mean you owned it?”
“Yep.”
“Sorr—”
Jamie cut me off. “I knew the consequences of taking you from Aleksandr Chelomey, Jordyn.”
No JorJor? The nickname had grown on me. While it didn’thave the same ring of Pookie, Boobie, Fatts, or other popular handles in the Black community, it was personal.
“My money, except for that”—he pointed his thumb to the backseat—“is wrapped in an LLC. I prefer my privacy.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m assuming the identity of Jamie Mack at the moment. My military days were also under this alias.”
Though I still didn’t understand, Jamie trudged on. “The police probably got a call from neighbors. I just erased the digital footprint of my LLC.” He tapped his phone. “Now that I’ve offloaded that online trail, the Santa Barbara PD can’t return to their police post and pry into who owns the LLC anymore. But I can’t confirm how it got compromised. Unless that’s not how they found us.”
“Is there another way he could’ve found us?”
“Possibly.” With a hand, he forked his hair away from his face and fixed me with an intense stare. “Did you call anyone since arriving?” He shook his head and muttered, and the look that reminded me of a scalpel dissecting a body vanished. “That was dumb of me to ask, especially after so long together. You might have friends. I should have discussed outside communication with you. Of course you can have your friends; it’s just that I would need to vet them first and make sure they didn’t tell Chelomey.”
“No. No calls. Friends?” I snorted. “Hell no. No friends, nor was I cool with any of the girls at Aleksandr’s home …” Just … the person who wanted to help set me free before Jamie came. People were transactional, and this person was also young. Reckless.
I know that car making a ruckus out there. An Aston Martin—good, good. You have higher standards than you let on when moving into the chef’s quarters.
I blinked away Aleksandr’s arrogant retort. My friend in the Aston Martin claimed to have people to help. Could you really trust anyone these days? Some people talked too much. Case inpoint: Aston Martin. Still, I probably should tell Jamie that someone was out there and might be allowing emotions to get the best of them—while trying to save me—since the guy in the pantry said I was themission. “Um, Ja?—”
“Emails are another way our cover could’ve been blown.”
My eyes widened. Sweaty palms ran over the front of my cotton pants. Silence.
“Jordyn …” he probed.
“So, here’s the thing. I sorta went to a free clinic the day that I came. And I sorta”—Dang, Jordy, you’re too grown for this—“used an old email address that I haven’t in a while. I wanted to make sure I didn’t have any STIs.” Weak with embarrassment, I nearly melted into the seat and slid to the floor in a puddle. Then I squared my shoulders. So what? Jamie preferred to take things slowly, and I deserved to know about my health. Sex wasn’t on my mind. And it definitely wasn’t the driving force for me to get checked out. “Had to use my email for that,” I repeated.Don’t be mad. Please don’t be mad.
Jamie nodded. “That might be it.”
Mm-hmm. Too kind to point the finger. I just tore down this man’s life.
“I understand your health is important to you. Those were things on my list to discuss with you once we opened up the floor for conversation. Then I forgot and?—”
“No. I’m a grown woman.” I turned in my seat. The dim, flickering light from the cement ceiling cast shadows along Jamie’s angular face. “I was a Queen B for the longest. When I let you in, you were perfect. Always wanting me to feel comfortable at your home. You thought of everything. You had a list. I … just have this mouth. This mouth of venom.”And this mind of torment. Though I felt stronger in the last five months, a long road sat between me and feeling whole. Fully whole.
He leaned over and cupped my cheek in his hand. “We’ll getour life back. Just trust me. Things are gonna get worse, full disclosure. We’ll figure it all out once we get to Long Beach.”
Where his family lived?
Old vows of vengeance swelled in my chest. He was taking me to his family. The very family whose inaction left me even more broken than I was during those seven precious days that Jamie was captive with me too. I couldn’t voice that. Becausethatvile, tiny idea seemed to suggest misery loves company. While I knew my entire heart belonged to Jamie, I still hated me some Clan MacKenzie.
16
HUNTINGTON BEACH
Deputy Chief Nolan McGregor
