Page 28 of Fight for You
“I see you like eavesdropping.” She smirked. “I was just giving that lady on the beach a few suggestions. My fav is thriller. James Patterson. Any Alex Cross novel. I’m ready to stream the next season. Aldis Hodge is one fine brother.”
Oof.Strike one to the chest. Not because I felt threatened. In this moment, I remembered how far from ordinary I was. She wanted someone who could make her heart race. Who would sweep her into a heat-drenched kiss, pin her to the wall, and make her hot all over.
And here I was. The guy who preferred discussing the necessity of a High Altitude Low Opening for a black-ops mission. “Okay,” I replied, tone flat and sarcastic. “No Alex Cross. Got it.”
“Not fair, Jamie,” Jordyn called after me. “You’ll be hooked on that show. Alex?—”
Halfway through the bedroom, I muttered, “Nae! I’d rather watchPretty Woman.”
A snort echoed behind me.
Man, I’d walked right into that.
“What do you know aboutPretty Woman? Huh?” I could practically see her lips fall into a delicious smirk.
Without offering an answer, I smiled and sauntered into another room down the hall for a shower. The answer was: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Leith had mentioned how his wife still lovedPretty Womanand that what we were doing was similar on the drive to Tarzana Hills.
In the other bathroom encased in marble with a large shower, I ran the water—without adjusting the temperature—and wiped the silly grin from my face. I removed my cell phone from my pocket.
Though I’d left Leith’s many text messages on Delivered, Icould see his next ultimatum from the text ribbon at the top of the locked screen.
LEITH:
You’re ghosting me again?? Okay. I’ll not bother you any longer. You have until two weeks before Christmas to reach out to Mam and Da about the girl. They deserve to know about the others!
Similar to his prior messages and about six weeks’ worth of calls, and then his harping about giving me a deadline to respond as if he was being noble and philosophical, I disregarded this one too. Had too much on my mind for his mess.
Way too much.
Every muscle in my body had strained when Jordyn pulled out of her exercise clothing like it was nothing. But to me, it was everything. It wasn’t the sex. It was the intimacy. The trust. The ease in which she existed in her skin after all the damage. Or was itbecauseof the damage? Had it caused her to lose all sense of modesty?
I groaned. The cold bit into my skin while I peeled out of my shirt and shorts. This wasn’t about purity culture—which I’d used on Devi—or shame. It was about discipline. About not letting my past—or my pain—define how I loved Jordyn.
Never been with anyone.
I didn’t count seven days of abduction. Therapy helped me understand that I was still a virgin. I leaned my forehead against the marble wall and whispered into the water. “Maybe I should propose to her tomorrow. She’d called me weird for less.”
Weird or not, I’d wait for her to take the time she needed to come into her own. And one day, if I were lucky … she’d pick me. Not because I helped rescue her. She’d choose me for me and for reasons that had nothing to do with looks or returning the favor of her freedom. And then I could show her that I could love every part of her, even in ways she hadn’t imagined.
12
LOS ANGELES
Deputy Chief Nolan McGregor
December
“ ’Ello,Nolan, this is Leith. Big Brody’s son.”
As if I knew another Leith. I rolled my eyes, squeezed the steering wheel, and masked a gulp with a friendly “What can I do for you?”On this beautiful Monday morning. Care to ruin my week?
“My clan’s gonna need you to come to the house at your earliest convenience.”
Why? “Is everything alright? It’s not … Jamie. I haven’t gotten a call about him in years. Is he okay?”
“For the time being, yes. I understand that we’re in the middle of the holiday season, but it’s imperative. What time can you arrive?”
At Leith’s insistence, I tugged at the collar of my golfing polo shirt. Why’d I attach that last blasted button? And why had I set the precedence of askinghow high? when those MacKenzies ordered me to jump? “Oh, I’m sorry, son. But I’m in—” My eyes flicked past the stone walls of Loyola High School to the streetsign, Venice Boulevard. “Venice … Italy. The wife waited forever for our fifth anniversary. You know that. I invited you to the party … we have one every year.”
