JACKED (6 page)

Jack scrubbed his hand across his face. Shit, this was not going the right way. Not at all.

Weston grinned, he pointed to the chair in front of his desk. “Jack sat right
there
in my study and told me how you had no intention of going to law school. How you’d signed up to take the state exams for teaching. Jack was the one who told me.”

Jack watched the shock hit her, how her eyes widened, her jaw dropped then snapped close. He watched as she turned to face him and felt the way her gaze cut through him. Her scathing look lingered, no more than a second, just a small glimpse of her shock and pain. Then she gathered her dignity and steeled her expression.

“Maybe I meant for him to tell you all that.”

Weston snorted. “You did?”

She nodded. “Jack always looks out for me like that.”

He watched as she turned and walked back up the hallway, her footsteps echoing. Weston didn’t move, a tendril of smoke spiraled up from his cigar. He stared, barely breathing.

“She asked you to talk to me?” he asked softly. “You, of all people…”

Jack didn’t answer. She’d lied to preserve some dignity and he didn’t know what to say. The words hung in the air, swirling like the ribbon of cigar smoke.

Weston’s voice dropped. “She never liked you.”

Jack gave a curt nod. “Goodnight, sir.” He turned and moved down the hallway, past the pictures of her and her sisters, striding out of the house to the car. He yanked the door open and when he saw her sitting in the passenger seat, he got in, slamming the door shut. A soft light burned, illuminating Savannah as she stared out the window. Her shoulders were stiff and he wanted to reach for her but thought better of it.

Instead he started the truck and drove home. Neither spoke. She was furious and she had a right to be, but he was aware of his own anger. Something about Weston’s heart attack didn’t ring true. Facts didn’t align. A man didn’t go to the Emergency Room and then come home to drink and smoke.

When they got home, they went inside and Savannah stood stiffly in the kitchen while he brought in the luggage.

“I need to go to the cottage,” she said.

“It’s dark. Want me to take you?”

She shook her head.

The cottage sat at the back of his property. After Savannah moved in, he’d lined the path with lamps, hoping she’d come visit him, but she’d hidden away from him. She’d been too shy, or maybe too embarrassed about being cut off and needing his help.

“Let me turn on the lights for you,” he said.

After she left, Jack took out his phone and looked up the number of his friend and fellow Marine, Theo Brooks. Theo had been a JAG officer before he’d been injured in the Middle East. He’d been out on a good will mission to deliver vaccines to a remote village. His vehicle was hit with explosives. After a month in the hospital, he was honorably discharged and came home to Salinas Pass.

Theo quit practicing law and now spent his time buying and selling businesses. He prided himself on not having worn a tie since returning to Texas. Ornery and stubborn, he lived alone on three hundred acres outside of town. His only company was a couple of dogs, retired military dogs that he took in when he got out of the service.

Jack sat down in his study and switched on the light. A frame sat beside his phone, a picture of him and Savannah when she first started work. She wore her uniform and a shy smile, looking into the camera as she pulled a strand of hair back. The picture caught her when she wasn’t ready and the photographer didn’t think Jack would like it, but when Jack saw it he knew just where he wanted to keep it. On his desk. Where he could see it every day.

He dialed Theo and his friend answered on the third ring.

“What the hell, Jack,” Theo said, skipping any preliminaries. “You don’t tell people you’re getting married. Not even me?”

“I need a favor.”

Theo chuckled. “Trouble in paradise? That didn’t take long.”

Theo didn’t think much of marriage after his wife walked out on him two years ago. She didn’t care for his decision to quit law and packed up and left before he’d even gotten back to the states. A month later they were divorced.

Jack got right down to business. “That woman your father married, what’s her name?”

There was a pause on the other end. “Her name’s Diane. Why are you asking me about my step-mother?”

Jack picked up a pencil and tapped it on his notepad. “Isn’t her daughter a nurse?”

More quiet. Theo’s father remarried after ten years of being a widower. His dad had plenty of money, and while the woman wasn’t exactly poor, Theo seemed to think she’d been the one to push for marriage, partly or mostly to get her hands on some of his dad’s money. Theo grumbled about her daughter too.

“Sage is in school to become a nurse. She’s not a nurse yet. She’s kind of a scatterbrain,” Theo said. “She’ll graduate in May. God help us all.”

Jack smiled. “You don’t think she’s too smart. Or what?”

“She’s booksmart, far as I can tell. She just doesn’t have a lot of sense. My step-mom’s kind of in lala land too.
Step-mom
. Jesus. I can’t get used to saying that.”

“You ever talk to her?”

“Who? Sage?”

Jack heard the wariness in Theo’s voice. “Yeah.”

“Some. Her mom asked me to keep an eye on her. My dad and Diane travel all the time, so when their gone, I have coffee with Sage every so often. Make sure she’s okay. She doesn’t like it. Seems sort of scared of me.”

“Scared of you? Smart girl. I like her already. You’re a scary guy… what are you, six three and two twenty?”

“Two forty. I’m lifting three times a week again.”

“Maybe that’s why she’s scared of you. That and you’re a surly son of a bitch. I want you to call her and ask her to find out if Weston Michaels was in the ER anytime today. He claims he was checked out for a heart attack and I’m calling bullshit on that.”

Theo snorted. “You know that’s illegal, right. They can’t divulge personal information.”

Theo might have the biggest heart of any of his friends, but he had no problem bending rules, or laws for that matter. “That’s right. Sometimes I forget what a law-abiding citizen you are.”

“Yeah, well, Sage is more law-abiding than I am. She’s just a little nursing student. They might not even let her log on to the computers. She seems to care what her superiors think of her and wouldn’t want to go behind their backs.”

“Look, I don’t have time to chit-chat with you. Call the girl. Do whatever it is that scares her and find out-”

“I’m in. Hang on.”

Jack straightened in his chair. “What? Did you just hack into their system?”

“Not exactly. I’m looking at their security camera footage from the ER front desk. Starting at midnight. This will take five minutes or so. I think Sage did a rotation in the ER last night.”

Neither said anything for a few moments. Theo groaned. “I can see the clock on the wall and it’s six in the morning. Waiting room’s totally deserted except for a young couple with a puking baby. Damn…the things I do for you, brother. That’s just disgusting. I might take a vow of celibacy after watching this. Wait a minute…There’s my pretty little nursing student. Let me slow the feed down a bit and spy on Sage.”

Jack got up from the desk and wandered to the window to check if he could see Savannah. Talking to Theo had loosened some of the tension he felt. He peered out the window. The lights were on in the cottage. She was hiding from him, holding out in the cottage, and if she didn’t get back by the time he was done talking to Theo, he was going to go down there and get her.

“Are you finished spying on Sage? Pervert.”

“Well, shit. She just took the baby. See what I mean? Not. Smart.”

“She the reason you’re lifting again? Trying to look good for the hot nurse?”

“Sage is a total pain in the ass. I’m just trying to keep her from showing up on the ten o’clock news is all. The girl needs a body guard.”

“Riiiight.”

“Okay, Sage and the baby and parents are gone. Waiting room is empty. Someone bleeding from their head. Young couple arguing. Hispanic guy. Two African-American ladies…wait a minute. Bingo. Here’s Mr. Michaels.”

“Shit.”

“He looks okay. He’s waiting at the counter. Looks irritated. Whoa…”

A jolt of alarm hit Jack. “What is it?”

“Sage just came to the counter. She has her hair down. I’ve never seen it down…”

Jack waited for Theo to go on but the line was quiet. He sighed. “Listen Theo, this is going to feel a little weird if you start breathing heavy on the phone or something.”

“I was just looking at her for a second. I didn’t know she worked the front counter. She never tells me anything.”

“Finish telling me about Weston and then you can go back and finish your hand job.”

“Okay. He’s talking to her. He’s got a fucking grin on his face. Yeah. As soon as there’s a pretty girl paying attention to him he’s smiling. Bastard. Hitting on the nurse while you’re having a heart attack. People these days. I’m kidding, Jack. He’s fine. He’s actually leaving. That was quick.”

Jack smiled. Weston Michaels was a liar. He knew something was off with this story. He couldn’t decide if he was happy about this or not. “Keep watching.”

“Right. We’re at lunch time…ugh, someone
else
with a baby. I’m kind of afraid to watch. A couple of families with kids. Another nursing student is working the front desk. I wonder if they pay these girls. I’m sure they’re breaking labor laws….Now we have a girl pushing an old lady in a wheelchair. Aaaand we’re at real time.”

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head. Weston Michaels played dirty. He’d played the biggest and baddest trump card he had and in the process scared the hell out of Savannah.

“Hey Theo,” he said quietly.

“I’m on it. I’m sending it in an email with a link.”

“All right. Good. Thanks.”

“Just a wedding present for the happy couple.”

“Asshole.”

“Listen, Jack. You had to know shit was going to hit the fan. Give everything a little time. Don’t show her that unless you have to.”

“Right.”

“Another thing.”

“What?”

“I’m happy for you, Jack. Congratulations.”

Theo’s words sent a wave of surprise through him. His cynical friend was the last person in the world he thought would offer congratulations. Jack’s cellphone, sitting on his desk, dinged with an email notice.

Well, maybe not the last person in the world.

The cottage door burst open and Jack filled the doorway. When they got home, his expression had been somber, pensive, now his eyes glittered with satisfaction. He stalked into her den. She’d lived there for months and he’d never come to her home although she’d always hoped he might. He was respectful and distant. Now he stood in the middle of the den like some sort of feudal lord come to collect rent. Or something.

“Don’t get too cozy,” he said. “You don’t live here anymore.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “Backstabber.”

He strode into the room and she retreated. Lust lit his eyes, his lips curved into a sexy smile.

“I didn’t stab you in the back, sweetheart. You needed help. I parachuted in. I came when no one else did and I offered you this.” He held his arms wide. “This cottage. What I really wanted was to take you to bed right then, but I was trying to talk myself out of what I felt for you.”

That was new. She hadn’t remembered seeing any signs of his interest. Why would he try to talk himself out of anything?

“Why was that? Because our parents are married?”

“That. But mostly because you’re just a kid. I’m ten years older. I wanted you in my house. I wanted you there because I knew you’d make it a home. I wanted to have babies with you because I think you’re sweet and kind and loving and perfect.”

“Why didn’t you just ask me out? I…I had a crush on you. You probably knew that.”

He took a few more steps, closing in on her, deliberately crowding her. He smirked. “A crush?”

She retreated and bumped against the wall. “Yes. Didn’t you have one on me?”

“I’m thirty years old. The last time I had a crush I was in eighth grade. What I had for you was no crush. I wanted to strip you down, tie you to my bed and keep you there. Do dirty things to you. That’s what I wanted. But somewhere along the way it changed.”

His words sent a jolt of awareness down her spine. She hated that the mere mention of sex made her body respond to him. Her breasts tightened.

“You don’t want to do those things anymore?” she asked, her tone almost petulant. He was making her crazy. She wanted to push him away, to punish him and she wanted him to lean in closer, to whisper things to her. She wanted to hear what sorts of dirty things he wanted from her.

He set a hand on either side of her, caging her. “I still want to do those things. But now I want more. I want to come home and find you in my house, making supper, or maybe we go out to eat or I cook for you. I want you pregnant. I want six kids with you. I want you to get the degree you choose. Maybe a masters. I want to go to sleep next to you and wake up and see you first thing. I want more than just a chance to do dirty things to you, Savannah. I want it all.”

She searched his eyes. “I was so close to finishing on my own. And you had to take that from me.”

Something behind his eyes shifted, hardened. “You’re going to blame me for that? Your father goes ape-shit because his youngest isn’t going to…what? Join the Happy Family Law Firm?”

“He could have died. What if his chest pains hadn’t been a false alarm?”

His lips thinned and he stared at her for a long moment. Slowly he lowered to whisper in her ear. “Walk or carry.”

His breath on her neck sent shivers across her skin.

“What?” she breathed.

He brushed his lips across the curve of her neck. “You can either walk or I can carry you out of here.”

She tried to will her hands to push him away, to keep him from unraveling her thoughts or crushing her defenses. He would take her back to the house, undress her, murmur sweet or dirty things and she’d fall completely under his control. Even now, her body betrayed her, wetness gathering between her legs and the impulse to press against him almost overwhelming her.

“I don’t want to make love with you,” she whispered. “Not tonight.”

He chuckled softly and nipped the tender skin under her jaw. His hand slid down the wall and he set it on her hip, a casual gesture, but one that communicated dominance. It was probably totally obvious to him she was lying. Her breathing was faster than normal. A shimmer of arousal skimmed over her skin. She should just give in, let herself slip under the spell he was weaving.

“Inside everything feels raw and hurts.”

He froze and after a moment lifted to look at her. The predatory gleam that had been there when he came through the cottage door was gone. In its place was a searching look. His eyes softened and in his gaze she saw a flicker of tenderness. He cupped her face and she thought he might kiss her, but he didn’t.

“Okay,” he said. “Come home with me, though. You’re done living out here by yourself. Now you live with me.”

She nodded. “In your house.”

He lifted his brow. “In
our
house.”

When she didn’t respond, he took her hand and wordlessly led her to the door. He shut off the lights and pulled the door shut. They walked along the path, following it as it wound through the gardens, past a gurgling fountain and beneath a bower of honeysuckle. The flowers’ perfume hung in the air, carried by a gentle evening breeze.

He led her inside the main house, locked the doors while she waited for him, standing in the middle of his kitchen. She felt like a guest, waiting to be told what to do, where she would sleep. She’d only been in his house once and it was with the rest of her family. It felt foreign. The kitchen looked immense. The marble counters looked cold and she shivered for some reason.

He came back to the kitchen, flicked off the switch and led her upstairs to his room. Their bags were already there, sitting side by side and she unpacked just what she needed to get ready for bed. Teeth brushed, dressed in a night gown, she padded across the room to the bed and found him waiting, sprawled across half the bed.

He wore a pair of pajama bottoms, a draw string pair of grey flannel pants. He kept his gaze trained on her as she rounded the bed.

“Come here,” he said. “I want you right beside me.”

She crawled to his side and he gathered her in his arms, pulling her close. It came as a surprise that he wanted to hold her, but the comforting gesture was exactly what she needed from him. She closed her eyes and sank into his arms. Resting her head on his chest, she fell asleep.