The Loss (Heartache series #1) (18 page)

“Surprise!”

Laughter ensues in front of us, the porch filled with people. I turn my head to one side and then the other. Shit! I think the whole town is here. “Back up! Back up! Move outta the way! Sheesh! Coming through.” Hailey appears, pushing through the crowd of people, and smiles. “Damn, guys. Are you gonna let us in or what?” I move aside, Jase moving with me, as she pushes past us and everyone starts following her. Jase and I both move our heads, watching them all walk past while different people pat our shoulders and arms, as they walk by us. We watch them walk through the living room, into the kitchen until I hear the back sliding door open to the deck.

I look up at Jase and see the wetness in his eyes, mine making him out of focus. “What the hell?” He whispers.

“Come on, you two! We didn’t come over here to party with ourselves!” Screams Hailey from the back deck.

Jase takes my hand and we slowly make our way there. As we get closer to the door, we see food laid out on the picnic table, coolers sitting around and lawn chairs sitting out in the yard. Some people are sitting there talking, others standing around with a drink in hand, laughing and talking. A tear falls down my face when I see Mom walking towards us. I didn’t even see her come in, there were so many. “Darling! Come on. We have two chairs especially for you both.” I nod, slightly, as she takes my arm, my other hand still in Jase’s, and we walk slowly to the side of the deck, and he helps me sit down in a lawn chair. His dad runs over, bringing the small footstool from the living room and helps Jase put his foot up. They’ve thought of everything. Plates of food are handed to us, bottled water knowing we can’t drink due to our pain medication, and I still just sit there with tears and in shock.

“Are you okay?” Jase whispers right next to my ear. I only nod, emotions filling me. He squeezes my hand and smiles.

“Attention!” Hailey screams. Everyone stops talking simultaneously and looks at her. “Yo! Thanks for coming on such short notice.” She looks around and then looks at us, smiling. “We just wanted to support you two, show you that you’re cared for and that we’re all behind you. The whole town was worried about you and helped in whatever way they could. The paper had put Bill’s picture with a post of ‘wanted’ and your pictures in it to help find you. They all wanted to protect you, help you. Best fucking town ever!” Everyone cheers, and I look around, tears are now streaming down my face. Someone catches my eye, and I nudge Jase’s arm with mine. He looks at me, and I nod out in the yard. There stands Scott, halfway behind a few people.

The crowd’s comments die down as Jase stands, releasing my hand and placing his crutch under his arm. He slowly starts making his way to the deck steps then taking one at a time until he’s on the grass then walks over to him. Scott takes a couple of steps back. His head lowers as if he’s ashamed. I stand, waiting in anticipation, along with everyone else. I can’t hear what Jase says to him, but I see him place his hand on his shoulder, leaning close to him, and then they hug, tightly. My tears cannot get any heavier in my eyes, and I cover my mouth with my hands as I watch.  Everyone starts clapping, and they talk for a little bit more then as Jase turns to walk back I see a smile on Scott’s face and the relief in his eyes.

Jase walks back up the steps and straight over to me and into my arms. His tears are coming as much as mine and my heart bleeds. I don’t know how I could love this man any more than I already do. His heart is so big and his arms so strong. He finally turns to me, pushing me to sit down, and then he does the same. He leans down, picking up our plates and handing me mine then rests his foot back up on the small stool. “Eat. You need to get your strength up and quick.” He smiles, wiping away his tears from under his eyes and my smile is huge as I nod and dig into my food.

The evening is full of fun, laughter, memories and so many people that love us. My heart is full and new memories are being made in my new life with Jase.

Chapter 18

The next few days are relaxing. After getting all of Alena’s things in place, my home feels like a home.
Our home.
Today we both got our stitches out, but I still have to use the knee brace and crutch for another week. It pisses me off, but I know it’s for the best or it won’t heal well so I’m sucking it up. I’ve been to the gym a few times, however, not for long. I checked on the damage that asshole did and checked with a few good construction workers who are willing to repair it. When we got home from Dr. Shafer’s, Alena has a mischievous look in her eyes.

“Come here, baby. I have something to show you,” she says while crooking her finger at me.

I’m giddy, thinking I’m gonna finally get sex. I’m so fucking ready. Beyond ready. She takes my hand but we walk past the stairs, and now I’m confused. Does she want to have sex in her office? Oh, yeah! A little desk sex. I’m down for that! Instead, she leads me to her desk chair, placing her hands on my shoulders as I sit down. Chair sex? I can do that! But she doesn’t straddle my lap like I was imagining she would. She leans over and moves her mouse and her computer screen lights up. My eyes widen at what I see. She’s redesigned the area at the gym where all the damage is, and it’s amazing.

“If you don’t like it please say so. I was just fooling around,” she says timidly then moves the mouse to close the screen.

“No! Wait! I love this!” I scan over all the details. This would definitely add to the look at the front entrance. “How much do you think this would all cost.” I look up at her sweet face. “I’m kind of on a tight budget.”

She sits down on my lap and looks deep into my eyes, my soul. “Jase. If we’re really together, really going to spend our lives together, we have to join forces. Let me help pay for the construction. I can more than afford it. Bill did this, because of me and….”

I cup her face. “I don’t give a shit about that, Alena.”

She places her hand on the side of my face, worry mars her beautiful eyes. “Still. If we’re in a relationship now, really being together, then it’s a partnership, sharing and helping each other. Please, let me do this.”

Her eyes search mine, and my heart melts. How did I get so lucky? She’s the best thing that’s ever happened in my life. My brows lower and I try to fight off my grin. “I will on one condition.” Her face moves back just a bit as her head tilts. I know she’s on to me. She always knows. “Sorry, I mean two conditions.” I bite my lower lip, trying to hold back the laugh that wants to escape as I watch her trying to figure out what I want. What I always want. “One; we can take it out in trade.” My brows wiggle at her, and I can’t stop my grin now. She laughs and rolls her eyes, but then I get serious and her face falls. “Two; you agree to marry me.” I grab her waist as she suddenly slides off my lap and steps back, almost falling over my crutch. She smacks my shoulder.

“Stop fooling around, Jase.”
I couldn’t be more serious in all my life.
“Jase?” Her face goes from smiling to one of seriousness, concern, confusion and then surprise, her eyes welling up with tears.

“I can’t get down on one knee, Alena. Don’t spoil it for me,” I half joke but really I’m totally serious. She stands up straight, wipes a tear from her eye and my heart begins to race as I watch her lower herself to one knee in front of me. “What are you doing, baby?”

“I’m sharing the load. Jase Briggs, I’ll share anything with you. Go anywhere with you and would love to spend the rest of my life with you.” She takes my hand, kissing the top, and looking up at me from under her long lashes, her green eyes sparkling with love.

Her hand falls on my leg as I move my hand, placing it around her face along with my other hand then I lean down, kissing the shit outta her as I pull her up and onto my lap. I feel like I’m bruising her as hard as I’m pressing against her mouth, but I can’t stop. I don’t want to stop. The feel of her hand moving up the skin of my arm, the touch of her fingers as they move up into my hair, weaving and tugging. Damn! A moan releases into my mouth from hers and if I didn’t have this fucking crutch, I’d lift her into my arms and carry her to our room.
Our room.
And lay her out on our bed.
Our bed.
And make love to her like she deserves. Instead, I’m surprised when her fingers leave my hair, my mouth turns cool when hers releases it, and she stands, taking my hand in hers and handing me my crutch. We move in silence, just staring at each other.

My head is spinning, as well as my heart. My emotions fill me as she leads me up the stairs and waits for me to get up them because of my bum knee. Taking my hand, she walks me to our bedroom. She pushes my arm until I turn around, then my shoulders as I sit down on the foot of the bed. At that moment, I watch the most amazing thing. My cock twitches as she pulls her tank top over her head and reaches behind her, unclasping her bra. I lick my lips as she pulls a strap over one shoulder and then the next, letting it fall down her arms and onto the floor. I follow it with my eyes and look up. Her eyes are full of lust, love and desire. I look back down when I see her hand unbutton her jean shorts, sliding them off along with her panties, and kicking them away as she steps out of them. She kneels in front of me, naked as the day she was born, and tugs on the hem of my t-shirt. I oblige and lift my arms, letting her pull it up and over my head. As she makes quick work on my gym shorts, I raise up so she can remove them. I watch her gently pull them over my braced knee then down to the floor. I’m about to lift my feet out of them, but she grasps my foot, lifting it and pulling them off, then the other. I’ve never had a woman take care of me, really take care of me, and to see her down on her kneels, naked, and full of love makes me choke a little on all that I’m feeling and wanting to push her down and dive deep inside her. I want to pick her up and squeeze her, hold her so tight she can’t breathe, but I wait, trying to be patient. Not my strong suit.

She rises, slowly, and climbs up on my lap. Her mouth presses against mine as her fingers thread through my hair and my eyes close. I gasp into her mouth as her other hand clasps around my already hard cock. Damn, that woman’s touch is my undoing. I can hardly concentrate on her kiss as she strokes up and down. My heart beating in overtime and my balls are tightening already. Fuck! She moans, the sound traveling down my body. She lifts and I feel her completely as she slides onto my cock. “Ungh!” A moan leaves my mouth before I know it.

I open my eyes and find her staring at me, glaring, and her eyes are half closed and full of desire. She rides me harder, faster. I reach down, placing my finger on her clit, rubbing, pressing. Her head tilts back, exposing her unblemished skin on her neck and my mouth latches on to it, kissing, licking, and sucking as we move together. Her body begins to tremble, her movements slow as her muscles clench my cock tightly. She yells out my name, her body slacks as she leans forward, resting her forehead on my shoulder. I buck once, twice more, until I release into her, expelling my seed and my love.

We sit there, holding each other, panting and sweaty, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Her head rises, looking into my eyes, and smiles. “Amazing,” she whispers. I’m about to tell her she is when she adds, “Damn, I needed that.” I burst out laughing, and it feels so good. All the things that have happened, all the loss and emotions lately. This is exactly what we needed, and she soon follows, our laughter filling the room.

“Come. Let’s go take a shower. I don’t know about you but I’m ready for round two.” I wink and grab her slim waist, lifting her into the air and steadying her as her feet hit the floor. She laughs again as I stand and pull her into the bathroom but her mood changes quickly when we step into the shower. The kitty purr I’ve missed so much was very active and loud.

“I’m only gonna be gone for a little while. Miss me already?” I ask after telling her I’m going to the gym to catch up on some paperwork. I’ve got to get the bid ready for the construction. We’re using her design and some of her money and after two days of being held up, mostly in our bedroom making up for lost time, I really need to get things ready for the crew chief who is coming over there in the morning.

“But it’s so late. Can’t you do it in the morning?” She whines but her eyes tell me she’s concerned, always worried about me.

I lean down and kiss her forehead as she sits on the couch. “I won’t be long. If I go now I can get done quicker, less people there and it’s almost closing time, then I can be here longer in the morning, with you.” I wiggle my eyebrows, and her face softens a bit. “Trust me. I don’t want to be there any longer than I have to but the crew chief is coming by at eight in the morning and I want to be ready.”

She sits up, brings her face close to mine and kisses me. “Okay. Just don’t stay too long, okay? I don’t like it when you’re gone. Besides….” Her mouth moves up to my ear, and I feel her teeth nip at my lobe. Fuck! “Maybe you’ll get lucky tonight.”

I make myself step away from her or I’ll never leave. “I won’t be long. You can count on that.” She leans back into the couch and picks up the remote, winks at me as I turn and walk to the front door.

I’m walking a little better with my crutch, but it’s still such a nuisance. Hopefully just a few more days and the doctor will let me get rid of it. I decide to take my truck since walking takes longer with this thing. At least I only have to drive around to the next street. When the gym first opened, I used to leave my truck over there in the back parking lot. I could see it from my backyard and I’d just walk back and forth. The lot is fairly empty as I drive in and park. Closing time is in about thirty minutes but there’s always a few people that workout later in the evening, after work and dinner. When I walk into the front door, Scott looks up from the counter and smiles, tipping his hand at me, and I wave back, walking straight into my office, shutting the door behind me.

I get lost in time as I work on the contract, looking over everything multiple times as I look at the graphic Alena emailed me. Just a little bit longer and I’ll be done and in the arms of the woman I love, hopefully causing her kitten noises to multiply tonight. Shit! My cock’s hard just thinking about it.

I hear a knock on my door and it opens. I look up to see Scott standing there. “Night, Jase. You doing okay, man?”

“Yeah, just going over some stuff. You have a good night, Scott. Anyone left?”

He smiles and nods. “Nope, everyone’s gone. Night.”

I watch the door close and then get busy again. Things have gotten almost back to normal with us. He’s still upset about telling the asshole where we were, but I’ve explained it until I’m blue in the face that it wasn’t his fault. I don’t wish anything to happen to anyone on account of me. He’s a great guy and has been one of my best friends all my life.

I’m just about done when a knock comes on the door again. That’s odd. I thought everyone was gone. I power down the computer and grab my crutch and head to the door. I start to open it when I’m pushed back into the wall behind it, a large hand is pressing against my throat, making it hard to breathe. The crutch drops to the floor when he grabs my wrist, pulling my arm back behind me, slamming it against the wall and I feel something pop, my other hand is on the strangers arm, pushing hard to get free. I feel the weight of my cell phone slide from my shorts pocket and thud to the ground.

“You owe me money, fucker. Mr. Wells was supposed to pay me for services rendered but we know why he didn’t,” he sneers.

“Fuck you,” I choke out. A fist slams into my side right where my wounds were and are still tender. “Ungh!” His hand on my throat tightens, and I start to feel lightheaded. I kick him in the shin, and he hits me again in my side. Darkness starts to fill my eyes as I gasp for air, struggling but still too weak to fight back. Suddenly, light fills in the room, and I smell smoke. Bastard set my desk on fire!

“Give me the money! Now!” He yells as his fist connects with my side again and the darkness returns in my eyes. I struggle more, my adrenaline kicking in. My knee comes up, hitting him right in the groin and his hand on my throat lessens in strength. I push him back, hitting him over and over but I start to falter. He falls to the ground, and I limp to the door, opening it, my hand shaking and bloody from his face. I stumble out into the front area and head back to the locker rooms. There I can use the phone to call 911. As I walk past one of the large poles, I hit the fire alarm. Loud sirens start blaring all around me as the water sprinklers start up, shooting water all over. I’m drenched by the time I make it into the men’s locker room and start heading for the phone on the wall. I’m stopped when a body knocks into my side, taking us both down to the ground. I hit my head hard, my side hurting from the impact and his fists earlier. I land on my arm, twisting it the wrong way, pain sears through it. Rolling over onto my back, my eyes going in and out of focus, I feel like I’m watching a dream play out in front of me. I can vaguely see a man running into the area. He picks up the attacker from the ground, pushing him up against the nearest wall, and starts beating the shit outta him. The man finally passes out. His body slumped against the wall as the other man holds him there with his hand. He lets the body fall, pulls something out of his pocket and brings it up to his ear.

“Yes. Send men. Battle Ground Fitness. In the locker room. Man down. Send ambulance. He’s….” He looks over at the unmoving body. “He’s dead. Okay.” My eyes blink, trying to stay in focus but everything is in a haze. He walks over and bends down beside me. “Hang in there, Jase. Helps on the way.” He gently pats my shoulder and looks over at the other guy.

“Alena,” I choke out, my eyes beginning to close.

“We’ll send for her. Don’t worry.”

Darkness.

♥    ♥    ♥    ♥

My eyes open, the TV is showing an infomercial. I must have fallen asleep. A noise woke me up, but now it’s quiet. I must have been dreaming. When I look up at the clock, I’m surprised it’s one o’clock in the morning. Where is Jase? Why didn’t he wake me? A knock sounds on the front door and my heart speeds up. Who could that be this late? Maybe Jase forgot his key. Silly man. I’m so gonna razz him for this. I get up and walk to the door, getting ready to let him have it but when I open the door, Jase isn’t standing there.

“May I help you?” Fear sets in and I take a step back, keeping my hand on the door, ready to slam it and run.

“Sorry, Miss Spencer. My name is Tanner Clark. You don’t know me but I work at Battle Ground and kind of know Jase.” He seems jittery, like he’s anxious or hyper.

I don’t remember Jase mentioning a Tanner. This man is really built, tattoos are showing down his arms from beneath the sleeves of his t-shirt, and wearing gym shorts with tennis shoes. He could be telling the truth. Maybe I’m just squeamish after everything that’s happened.

“Jase isn’t here right now but should be back any moment,” I tell him apprehensively.

He looks down at his shoes and then back up at me. “I’m sorry, Miss Spencer, but there’s been an accident at the gym.” My heart just dropped, and I start to sway. He quickly grabs my arms to steady me, and I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. “He’s okay, well, pretty banged up.” My knees give out and he catches me, helping me sit down on the floor. “Do you need some water or something?” I shake my head fast, pleading with him with my eyes. “He’s on the way to the hospital. I came over to get you. Can you walk?” I nod, and he helps me stand. “Come on. I’ll take you to him.” He leads me out the door, but I stop and reach around, grabbing my purse from the small table inside. I take out my keys and lock the front door then he helps me down the steps and over to his SUV. After opening the door, I get in and buckle up, fumbling with it as my hands are shaking so badly.

I finally manage to buckle it by the time he gets into the driver seat, starts the car and backs out of the driveway. “I’m sorry this is how we have to meet, Miss Spencer.”

“Alena,” I whisper.

“Alena. Thanks. Jolie’s told me some about you and I really haven’t spent too much time with Jase, yet. Just moved here not too long ago and….”

I stare out the front of the car, my thoughts only on Jase. “What happened?” I choke out feeling emotional, scared and worried.

I can see from the corner of my eye that he looks over at me. “Some guy came after him. I’m not giving you the details, Alena. It’s too much for you. Just know, he’s pretty banged up. I want you to be prepared for what you see when we get there.”

“Please…. Hurry.” Tears well up but I forbid them to fall. I need to be strong right now. He’ll need me. He needs me.

It seems to take forever to get to the hospital. Things keep flashing in my head. How badly injured is he? He went through a beating. He’s strong. What will I find when I see him? I can’t live without him.

Tanner pulls into the lot by the emergency entrance, and I don’t wait for him to put the car in park before I open the door, slam it, and start running to the doors. I hear his footsteps behind me, catching up, and have to stop when it takes so long for the sliding doors to open. Jogging, I head straight for the nurses desk, slam my hands down on the counter, panting. “Jase Briggs. Just brought in.” My breathing is ragged, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Just a moment please,” the nurse behind the desk says lazily.

My hand starts tapping the counter and she looks up at me and sighs. Really? “Please, hurry,” I ask in a shaky voice.

She looks at her computer screen, ignoring me, and then finally speaks. “He’s been taken to ICU, upstairs, fourth floor and….”

I take off running for the elevators, Tanner hot on my heels. “Alena! Wait!” ICU, that’s not good. My heart races and I feel ill. ICU. Oh, my God! I slap the button of the elevator over and over again, looking up at the lights showing the floors. Fuck! Hurry up!