Page 42 of Fight for You
“Copy that,” the dispatcher replied. “I’ve routed officers. They’ll proceed with caution.”
Which meant they’d also take extreme measures to neutralize all threats if necessary. Some cops got a bad rap. The truth of the matter was everyone wanted to take off the badge and live another day. Speaking of which, I dialed the number for a cop on the beat in the area.
Too bad for Jamie, one of the boys in blue would put him down.
Officer Walsh, to be specific.
17
LOS ANGELES
Jamie
I rubbedmy groggy eyes with my forearm, lowered my face to the straw, and took a pull of Sprite and lemonade. With bacon, eggs, and cheese burritos cuddled beautifully in the cardboard boxes in my arms, I strolled down the street. Palm trees swayed from the Santa Ana winds half a block away from where I parked. While I stood in the line that was nearly around the corner for El Chuy—the best Mexican food Los Angeles had to offer—I’d kept a vigil to ensure Jordyn hadn’t awoken yet.
I figured Aleksandr wouldn’t find us here. Looking down at Rebel at my side, I noticed her stiff gait. A bandage wrapped around her abdomen from where an overnight veterinarian had done surgery, without question after seeing the money I’d handed over to save my girl. The bullet had missed all of her vital organs, but you couldn’t keep a good dog down. Not after she smelled El Chuy from three blocks away. “You’re supposed to be doing minimal walking, girl.”
She huffed.
“Don’t give me that. Of course I didn’t forget, your tortilla is gluten-free. As a matter of fact, I told them to put the salsa on the side.” I wheeled around a deep crack in the asphalt, juggling the three breakfast burritos and drinks.
And now my girl offered a pleasant bark.
Her ears pricked like razors, and we both glanced toward where the passenger door thrust open as if I’d given a lift to the Incredible Hulk. Jordyn rushed out of the vehicle, palms on top of her head. She spun around, glaring at the 76 Station across the street. The line for fuel was nowhere near as hectic as the one still at the Mexican spot.
She set eyes on me and visibly deflated in her crumpled sweatsuit. Shrapnel pierced my heart. I remembered that feeling. Every day, the second I awoke from a night terror, the cruel whispers of the worst acts anyone had ever done to me rang through my mind. It got until I didn’t want to sleep. Didn’t want to wake up either.
I closed the distance between us as Jordyn ran toward me, her body wired tight with fear. A fear I hadn’t meant to inflict. I held the cardboard boxes wide so that she could loop her arms around my neck. The tortured expression returned for the brief second it took Jordyn to rise on her tippy toes. She pressed her wet eyes into my neck as if she needed the physical stimuli to remind her that this was real. That she was safe.
I kissed the top of her head. “You were asleep.”
“I know,” she murmured.
“That’s all?”
Jordyn settled back onto the heels of her feet. “What?”
“I thought you’d tell me off for leaving you in the car. I remember what it feels like. I’ve awakened with the same thoughts as you before.”
A smirk twisted her plush mouth as she relieved me of the cup container. “I’m learning to be more appreciative. My mouth is no longer a weapon.” That twist turned another notch and becamesuggestive, and then, as if realizing that she didn’t have to pay me physically for not leaving, she heaved a sigh. “I’m glad you didn’t leave.”
“How many times do I have to tell you, JorJor? You’re not a burden. A problem. A bother.”
“I know.”
“Nae. You don’t.”Arg. She said I sounded Scottish. Maybe the Scot rose up when I needed to get something through her thick skull. Like Da and Mam—ahem. No dwelling on them. I blocked Jordyn’s path as we strolled toward my Gladiator. “Jordyn, you’re everything I realized I needed.”
“When?”Always a comeback with this one. Still, she tugged her bottom teeth through her lip, grinning. “When, Jamie?” Her tone carried a lilt that almost made desire pull me deeper than I should allow. “When did you realize I was everything you needed?”
“Stop teasing me, JorJor.”
The look in her eyes read that it was the only card she had up her sleeve.
Little did she know.
The teasing ended when I noticed her fingers digging into her palms. I took her hand in mine and lifted it to my lips to kiss the tiny, vicious half-moons. “Do that again.Ye’llbe in trouble.”Note to self: breathe in when aroused so that you don’t sound so husky. And Scottish.
Holding the sodas at her side, Jordyn rose on her tippy toes toward me.
