Stronger With Us (The Strength Series Book 3) (11 page)

19

We’re taking the same charter plane back that we came on, minus three passengers. Colin and Becca have decided to stay a couple more days to enjoy their honeymoon. Since there’re just four of us, we’re all spread out in the cabin. It took five minutes for Kevin to pass out on the couch in the back. James, Stephanie, and I are in the front in our own leather recliners. This really is the only way to fly.

Once we’re at cruising altitude and the seat belt sign is off, I get up and sit next to Stephanie.

“I need some help, if you don’t mind.”

“Help with what?”

“Christin.”

She looks at me with a shocked expression and then breaks into a smile. “We’ve all been wondering what happened after you were shot. I guess the rumors have some truth to them.”

“What do you mean? What rumors?”

“Oh, you know the kind of things that friends talk about when they can tell something’s going on but nothing can be confirmed. She was a raging bitch after you took off, so we figured that you hooked up and then left her in the middle of the night.”

“That’s not what happened at all. She was the one who left me.” Thinking back to that night gets my blood pumping with desire and anger all at once.

“I’m not surprised by that. Christin is a tough cookie to crack, especially when it comes to men.”

“I’m hoping to figure her out. Do you have any advice for me? I really want her to let me in.”

Stephanie sits up straight and puts her finger in my chest. “Let’s get one thing straight. If you hurt her, you’ll have to answer to me. I won’t hurt you physically because, well, you’re huge. But I can take you on in the digital world and you really don’t want to fuck with me, Jude Schaefer. Are we clear?”

Damn, this little woman is scary as fuck. I hear a chuckle behind me and turn to see Runt enjoying this moment.

“She’s serious, dude. Don’t piss her off.”

“Okay, I get it,” I say holding my hands up in surrender. “It’s hard for me to admit, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking aboutChristin since we met. She’s got me by the balls, and she doesn’t even care.”

“Oh, she cares. That’s why she’s running,” Stephanie says on a sigh.

“What does that even mean? I’m so confused.”

“Here’s what I’ll tell you. Christin had a really rough time growing up. Her mother is a whore. Literally. She paraded men in and out of the house all the time. Christin had to take care of her little brother and keep the house clean. She learned from an early age that men only want one thing, and they don’t stick around.”

“Damn. I figured it was something else, but that makes sense. So, what do I do?”

“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? I have no idea. I know it’s not the answer you’re looking for, but I’ve never seen her in a relationship. Ever. Her list of one night stands and hookups would rival anyone. My suggestion—stick around. Show her that you’re not going anywhere. And don’t have sex with her.”

I look away and think about this. Can I not have sex with Christin? She’s like a siren, calling me to my pleasure-filled death. It will be a huge struggle to keep my hands to myself.

“You fucked her didn’t you?” Stephanie asks interrupting my thoughts. I nod, but don’t look her in the eye. “You’ve got your work cut out for you then. I don’t envy you one bit.”

That makes me look up at her. “What are you saying? Is this doomed before it even starts?”

“I wouldn’t say doomed, but it’s going to be tough. You’ve slept with her twice now that I know of, and both times one of you left. The fact that she gave you a second chance is something, but I’m not sure.”

“We were really drunk. I don’t remember going to her room last night. I got the feeling that she was as surprised as I was.”

“For the love of all that’s holy, what are you thinking?” Runt pipes up again. “You two are ridiculous. It’s obvious that there’s a mutual attraction. You need to man up and tell her. These games are nothing but a distraction. Seriously, grow a pair and tell her how you feel.”

“He’s right, you know,” Stephanie shrugs.

“Fuck me,” I sigh as I punch the armrest. “This is going to suck, isn’t it?” Both James and Steph nod sympathetically. 

The rest of the flight is quiet. Everyone else is sleeping, but my thoughts are racing and rest doesn’t find me. I’ve got to figure out a way to prove to Christin that I’m sincere, and I want her in my life. Of course, that sounds really pathetic and I’d never admit it out loud, but that’s where my head is. When did I turn into a lovesick teenager?

The ride back to my new apartment from the airport is short. Thankfully traffic is somewhat heavy so I have to concentrate on driving, giving me a reprieve from thinking about Christin. Once I park and walk into my home, I’m hit with all sorts of memories. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest move to rent Colin’s old place since this is where I had my first encounter with the woman who haunts my dreams.

I throw my bag down in the bedroom and go find a beer. My body thinks it’s nine even though the clock says midnight.  As I sit down to watch SportsCenter my phone pings with a message.

Transport tomorrow. Be here at 8 am for instructions. East wing.

Finally, I have something to do. I’m looking forward to this new career and the routine of going to work every day.

I wonder if I’ll ever get tired of driving into Belator’s complex. The buildings are impressive and the landscaping gives it an old-world feel, like someone traded a modern building for a castle. I’m meeting my supervisor in his office, which is away from the main building. It’s about a half-mile drive around the complex, but everything is well-marked and easy to find.

I’m greeted by a young man who looks like he just got out of the Army. Like me, he’s wearing the standard Belator uniform, has a buzz cut, and enough wisdom in his young eyes that I’m certain he saw combat.

“Good morning, Mr. Schaefer, Mr. Keller is waiting for you.” He gets up from his desk and knocks on the door behind him. After waiting a second, he opens the door and gestures for me to enter. I thank him and walk into a large office. There are plaques and awards on all the walls, a huge desk in the middle, and a man who reminds me of my father more than I care to admit standing behind it.

“Mr. Schafer, I presume?” I nod sharply and feel my Marine training coming back in full force. This man screams former Special Forces, and I can’t help but straighten my spine and come to attention.

“Come in and have a seat, Jude. We need to discuss your first assignment.” I move to the chair in front of the desk and lower myself into it quickly.

“As you can imagine, we are pretty formal here. We take our jobs very seriously and protocol is of utmost importance. We’ve put procedures in place to keep our employees safe, and we expect them to be followed to the letter. I understand that has been somewhat of a problem for you in the past. Do I need to worry about that now?”

“I appreciate your candor, sir. I don’t believe that it will be a problem. My last employer had a habit of changing procedure and expectations at the last minute or failing to communicate the changes, which caused problems. I believe that since everything here is clear from the beginning, I’ll be able to comply without fail.”

“That’s what I need to hear. We’ve got a couple of high-profile transports coming up in the next few weeks that I’d like you to be part of. You’ll be shadowing some of our best employees, so you should have an idea of how things work. For now, I’m going to assign you to local transports as a trial run. This will allow you to work independently and for us to evaluate your performance before throwing you in the deep end.”

“Yes, sir. I’m ready to get to work.” This place runs a lot like my unit in Iraq. That gives me a sense of security I didn’t know I was missing.

“All right, Benjamin will give you the file on your way out. Your vehicle has been assigned, and you will be the only one using it. However, as you know, it’s not a take-home car, so you need to return it when you go off shift. Your first case is transporting a state prisoner to court and back to prison. Call me if you have any questions.” Mr. Keller stands, and I get up and leave as quickly as possible. I get the feeling he doesn’t like having his time wasted.

I’m handed a file and a set of keys as I leave the office. “The motor pool and equipment storage are in the building next door. The tag on the keys will tell you which bay you’re parked in. There should be gas in the car. Stop by the office there and get your weapon, cuffs, and shackles. I’ve called ahead and the prisoner should be ready when you get there. Court is at two so you need to get moving,” Benjamin says before sitting back down behind his desk. I take what I’ve been given and follow his directions to the motor pool.

The drive to Taylorsville Correctional Institution takes about an hour. After I pass through the three checkpoints, I’m directed to the sally port. I drive in and the door closes behind me; I’m in the secure part of the prison. It’s a fairly straight forward process of exchanging paperwork before the prisoner is shackled and strapped into the backseat. In less than fifteen minutes we’re back on the road. Neither of us speaks the entire drive. I’m really not interested in what he has to say, and I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear my thoughts.

As I pull up to the courthouse, there are people standing on the sidewalk protesting. I don’t remember reading anything in the file about this guy’s case that would cause this kind of turn out.

“What are they yelling about?” he asks.

“No clue,” I answer as I drive into the underground sally port. This area is much smaller than at the prison, and there’s only room for two cars at a time. I move my charge to the holding cell and secure him there while I park the car. This is not the most ideal situation, and I make a mental note to discuss it with Mr. Keller before doing it again. I get back to the cell within ten minutes, and thankfully, everything is fine. We go up the secure elevator to the courtroom to await his hearing. As we sit in the hall, I realize that I’m really going to like this job.

20

Here I am, doing the walk of shame again. When am I going to learn that this is not the way to live my life?

It’s still early when I pull into my garage, the sun just starting to peek out over the horizon. I don’t have to work until noon today, so I think I will grab a couple hours of pillow time in my own bed. Alone. Just the way I like it. Nobody wanting more, taunting me with hot sex that I can’t get enough of, or looking so fucking delicious I have to lick his abs.

What the actual fuck is wrong with me?
It’s been two weeks since Las Vegas, and I still can’t get that asshole out of my mind. It’s like he’s purposely taunting me with memories of hot sex. Last night was supposed to be the way to get Jude Schaefer out of my head. Unfortunately, the guy I went home with just didn’t reach the bar that Jude has set.
What if he’s ruined me for all men?
I will definitely kick his ass if that turns out to be true.

“Stop it right now,” I say out loud to myself. “You’re not this woman. You’re strong and independent, and you do not need a man for anything except a great orgasm.”

Nobody gives a better orgasm than Jude. He left me as a boneless heap and begging for more.

STOP! Just stop thinking about him.
I finally get out of my car and into my condo. I head straight for the shower, feeling a little dirty after last night. I can’t even recall the guy’s name. Allen, Aiden…something that started with A. Who cares? I’m never going to see him again anyway.

The water heats up as I shed my clothes and click the Spotify app on my phone so I can listen to music while I shower. The Bluetooth speaker mounted to the wall connects and the room is filled with the latest Meghan Trainor song. I have the best shower in the world. It was pricey but the four body sprays, the rain head mounted in the ceiling, and the handheld all make it worth every penny. I even had a bench installed so I could sit down when I shave my legs.

Once the temperature is right, I step in and let the water do its job of relaxing my muscles.

As always, I stop and get my coffee on the way into work, even though it’s lunchtime. I hate doing this swing shift; it messes with my routine. The ambulance bay is full as I drive to the employee lot. Great, it’s almost noon on a Monday and it’s already chaos. Hopefully that means that the time will go fast today.

I follow a stretcher into the ER, listening to the information being given because I know I’ll get assigned to this patient. After stashing my purse, I carry my drink to the nurses’ station and wait for Geneva to tell me where I need to be. The good thing about today is that all my regular team is here. We work so well together, and that makes things that much smoother when it’s this busy.

“CJ, take the man in room two, please. He needs an initial assessment before a doctor can see him.” I nod at her instructions and move to start my day.

I wasn’t prepared to see the person lying in the bed. He lifts his head as I walk in, and his face breaks out into a smile that reminds me of the Joker from Batman. It’s creepy as hell and takes everything I’ve got to remain professional and not run out of the room.

“Mr. Lindy, it seems that you’ve hurt yourself again. What happened?” I ask as I bring up the screen on my tablet to start taking notes. I’m met with silence so I chance a look at the patient, but he’s still just staring at me.

“Mr. Lindy, if you’re hurt, you need to tell me so I can have the doctor look at you. Why are you in the emergency room today?”

“My heart hurts,” he says quietly.

“All right, can you describe the pain?”

“It’s an ache in the middle of my chest.”

“Rate your pain on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst pain you’ve ever had.”

“Hm, this pain is probably an eleven,” he says with a grin. I know there’s absolutely no way he’s telling me the truth. He wouldn’t be able to talk.

“I see. Okay. When did the pain start?”

“The last time I saw you. It hasn’t stopped since then. I hoped that seeing you again would help me to feel better,” he says as he sits up on the bed.

The hair on the back of my neck prickles and my gut tells me to get out of this room right now.

“I need to go let the doctor know that you’re here. I’ll be right back,” I say as I practically run from the room. I make it to the desk before he follows me.

“CJ, what’s wrong?” Jonathan asks.

“That creepy-ass guy is back. The one who was here a few weeks ago. Says his heart hurts because he hasn’t seen me. Seriously, he gives me the heebie-jeebies. I don’t want to go back in there.”

“No problem, I’ll take him. Give me a second to finish up this chart. Why don’t you go to the breakroom for a while until I can get rid of him?”

“Thanks, J, you’re the best,” I say as I hurry away. I really hate these shifts.