Page 57 of Tempting Jupiter
Jupiter turned her in his arms, pressed her face against his chest, and pressed his lips to her forehead. He understood now. He understood what she wasn’t saying. “You were the first born. They sent you to the factory.”
Her nod brushed against his lips. The moisture of her tears soaked into the thin material of the shirt she’d given him as her hands fisted in the fabric. “But you survived. You’re a survivor.”
“No, not really. I was saved. Rescued.”
Jupiter remembered her love of the man who’d raised her. After she’d escaped this hell, he realized. “Your Roland?”
“Yes.”
He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Why did you want me to see this?”
Tears overflowed her warm brown eyes and clung to her cheeks. “I just…It’s part of me. I wanted you to know me.”
When she tried to look away, he wrapped his hands around her face and held her there. He wanted her to see his feelings for her in his eyes. “This is a part of you. Your past. But it’s not all that you are. I’ve been coming to know you every day since the moment we met. From the moment you rescued me.”
He thought she’d argue. He could see what she wanted to say lodged in her throat and choking her. She swallowed it down and the moment was lost. She gathered her strength around her like a cloak, her shoulders back, her spine straight. Jupiter rubbed away her tears with the edge of his thumb.
She smiled—no hint of her grief left on her face—as she stepped back from him and patted one palm against his chest. “Keep that in mind the next time you feel like killing me.”
She turned and led the way back and Jupiter followed, confused and saddened, not by what she’d said, but by what she hadn’t. Despite her claim that she wanted him to know her, she still hid from him.
***
They found a booth in the Crooked Path and waited for Toolman. Feeona did her best to hide her impatience. She didn’t like being in town and out in the open. They had too many people looking for them. And Jupiter’s hooded cloak stuck out more sitting inside.
He sat across from her with a local beer sitting in front of him. He hadn’t liked the taste. One sip and he’d been done. Her whiskey was half gone, but it hadn’t done a thing to slow her heart rate or dull her heartache.
She liked that Jupiter didn’t enjoy the taste of beer. It made her smile when she wanted to scream at the universe for making her choose between this man and the kids.
The sound of the door swinging open drew her gaze just as it had every other time it had opened since they’d arrived. Some part of her still hoped Toolman would arrive and that she’d be able to talk him into giving her the kids on credit.
Her stomach twisted. It wasn’t Toolman.
There were two of them. She recognized one. He’d been with Morgan the last time she’d seen him. Morgan’s men were here early. Damn. Damn. Damn.
Her heart pounded like the wings of a wild bird caught in a trap. She could hear the rapid beating in her ears. Jupiter’s ears pricked and his body tensed. She reached across the table and grabbed his wrists.
She pleaded with her eyes. “Don’t fight them. Please. Don’t fight them and they won’t hurt you.” It was a stupid thing to say. There was nothing better to be said.
She expected him to fight. Despite her warning, she expected him to fight. Instead, he sat stone still. There was hurt in his eyes. Disbelief.
A shadow fell across the table. “Hello there.”
The man whose name she couldn’t remember stood with one hand on the weapon he wore on his hip. The other man held a hypo-injector and stood at Jupiter’s shoulder. Jupiter’s arm twitched, moving the wrist beneath her grip. Beyond that he didn’t acknowledge Morgan’s goons. His eyes never left her. She wouldn’t break down again. She created this drama and she would play her role, even though it would cost her Jupiter.
She wanted to tell him so many things. She was sorry. She hadn’t thought it would come to this. None of it mattered. She’d betrayed him. And whatever was between them was over. She couldn’t expect anything different. And she couldn’t give away her feelings for Jupiter. Morgan’s men couldn’t believe she was weak. Couldn’t know she had skin in the game. Feeona pulled her hands back and turned away from Jupiter. “You’re early. My contact isn’t here yet.”
“Never count on a thief. A lesson someone should have taught this one.” Morgan’s man indicated Jupiter with a thumb in his direction.
“You’re a real charmer, aren’t you?”
The man, she remembered now his name was Ibor, shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting him to be so cooperative.”
Feeona forced her gaze back to Jupiter. Her heart crumbling into smaller pieces with every minute. “You’re going to cooperate, right?”
“They’re not from Roma?” A muscle ticked along Jupiter’s jaw.
She shook her head. “No. They’re not.”
