Page 67 of The Wanted One

“We’re all set,” Oliver called out, and that was fast. Too fast. Because it stole my chance in sharing my thoughts with Gwen and Mya.

Gwen reached for my forearm and gave it a light squeeze. “Maybe catch us up on everything after we’re out of the jungle?” She tipped her head, eyes meeting mine like she was trying to determine my guilt or innocence.

“Okay,” I whispered, doing my best to force the word out while hiding my fear and disappointment.

“We’ll be right in,” Jack told them.

Gwen let me go, and I motioned to Lucy to head in, and we shared a quick wordless exchange. A sister thing. Attempting to read each other’s thoughts. I narrowed my eyes and gave her a slight nod I’d be okay, and only then did she leave.

Once Jack and I were alone with nature, he came around to face me. He was still shirtless, every rippling muscle on display becoming a slight distraction to my focus.

“Gwen’s right,” I blurted, feeling oddly nervous now about spilling my guts. I wasn’t sure if I could handle his judgment of not only me, but my mom. “Maybe we get out of this mess first before I explain everything? I mean, this doesn’t seem to be about me, right? So, I’d rather not make it about me,” I rambled.

He was quiet for a moment, but when he spoke, his words rocked me to my core. “There’s one thing I do need to know now.” He gently cupped my chin, commanding my eyes on his, and I hesitantly peered at him. “After this is over, if I can get you out of whatever mess it is you’re in, will you stop running?”

That was an impossibly big “if.” And he had no idea just how hard of a task that’d be.

“Do you want to be Charlotte Lennox again?”

I hadn’t heard my real name in so long, I was beginning to forget it was even mine. But God, the way it rolled from his tongue . . . it sounded almost as beautiful as Charlotte London. Ha, two cities for a full name. I could handle that. Wait! What? “We barely know each other,” I frantically said, jumping straight over his immediate question and answering the forever one he hadn’t even asked.

“I’d like to get to know you.” His tone was so genuine. And the way he was looking at me, I was about to melt into a very cliché puddle. Maybe even ask him to kiss me so I could pop my foot up behind me like I’d seen happen in old-school movies. “But I can’t go all in unless I know you’re not going to run afterward.”

Geez. The truth. Just like that. Honest and direct. No attempts to mind read or guess. This is another age-difference thing, right? Or is it just a Jack thing? I’d been ducking the truth for so damn long, did I even know what it was anymore? Hell, I wasn’t sure if I even remembered who I was before I became a wanted woman.

“Charley?” He let go of my chin, possibly discouraged by my silence, and I didn’t blame him. I was a bit thrown myself. He shook his head and backed up a step, eyes moving overhead to the canopy cloaking us from the sun.

Worried I was about to lose him, I drew myself closer, snaking my arm behind his neck, bringing our bodies flush. He lowered his focus to my face, and I stared up at him, fighting with myself to say the words he needed to hear, but I didn’t want them to be a lie. If I said them, I had to know in my heart they were the truth.

You’ve got your own walls. Baggage, too. Don’t you? I swallowed. Who made you afraid to feel something for me without worrying I’d . . . “Who broke your heart?” I pushed out the question, a tremble flowing along with my words.

His eyes fell closed, and he brought his forehead to mine as he murmured, “Jill.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

JACK

I’d never been so grateful for my best friend and his “perfect” timing. Before Charley could summon a response to the mention of Jill’s name, the soft rustle of vegetation alerted me to new arrivals. I looked up just as Gray came into view, Jesse stopping right beside him, both kitted up and looking like they’d been to hell and back.

“My friends are here,” I whispered in her ear, tipping my head in their direction.

She untangled herself from our hold on each other and whipped around.

“You two good?” I stepped alongside Charley. “What happened?” I pulled Gray in for a quick one-arm hug, then turned my attention to Jesse, giving him a friendly nod. We were friends but we weren’t hugging-type friends. Not yet, at least.

“Not our blood,” Jesse remarked casually, his curious gaze bouncing between Charley and me. “We encountered another team heading your way, and we got to them before they could get to you.”

“We good for now, or do we need to relocate?” I asked, tracking yet another new sound coming from overhead. At least it was only a small monkey gnawing on some food while creeping on us. Having reinforcements arrive was great. Other human intruders, not so much.

“We’re fine for now.” Gray’s answer snagged my attention. Specifically, the for now part. “Two guys from Camila’s security team are with us, but they’re hanging back, covering the perimeter. They’ll alert me over my SAT radio if we have company and need to move.”

Good. We needed all hands on deck if we were dealing with a cartel on their playground. “So, um, as you probably know by now, this is Charlotte.” There’d been plenty of awkward back-and-forth looks between the guys and my girl, but no actual intros had been made. My girl. Why’d that have to sound so damn perfect even in my head?

“You can call me Charley.” She offered her hand; Jesse was the first to take it. A wary expression crossed his face, but I doubted he gave her too firm of a grip.

“Jesse.” He let go of her, then deferred to Gray to make the next move.

Gray kept his eyes on her for a few painful seconds, allowing the uncomfortable silence to stretch as he determined whether she was a threat. More likely concerned she was a threat to my heart, not to our team. The man had my back, what could I say? “Grayson.”

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