"Be there by seven tomorrow evening." The mobster picked up a business card and scribbled a number on the back. "You can reach me here at any time. It's my personal number."
Feeling as if he had fallen down the rabbit hole, Jack took the business card. He grabbed the camera from the corner of the desk. Besian started to stop him but Jack shook his head. "Abby needs this as a bargaining chip. It stays with her. I'm not about to let her become some fucking pawn that you criminal pricks use to one-up each other."
"Careful, Jack," the Albanian warned. "This criminal prick is all that stands between you and the same wire that choked the life out of those two people." Dismissing him, Besian opened the door of his office. "Be safe tonight, Jack. I'll send my men to sit on Abby's house."
"She and Mattie are staying with me."
"Then I'll send them to your house."
Jack's skin crawled at the thought of mob enforcers sitting on his house but he grudgingly acknowledged it was the safest thing for Mattie and Abby. He wanted to choke on his tongue but he uttered a quick, "Thank you," before whisking Abby out of the strip club and into his truck.
They didn't speak on the drive to her house. He had a feeling she was too terrified or too guilty to ask what he had promised Besian during their chat. Hating that he compromised himself by agreeing to meet Besian at the auto shop, Jack acknowledged there was no other way. The decision was simple enough. Abby's life or his integrity? Abby won hands-down every time and without question.
When they reached her home, he parked in the driveway and walked around to collect her from the passenger side. Shielding her, he put Abby between his body and the house. Jack constantly scanned their surroundings. Once they were inside the house, he relaxed a little but not much. "Be quick about it, Abs. Just grab what you and Mattie need for tonight. We'll come back in the morning to get whatever else you'll need."
She looked as if she wanted to ask him a million questions, but she held her tongue and rushed off down the hall. He had barely turned back to glance out the newly replaced window when he heard her panicked voice calling to him.
"Jack! Hurry!"
Heart in his throat, Jack rushed to find her. Frozen like a statue, Abby stood next to her bed. The bedside lamp illuminated her room, and it wasn't until he stepped up behind her that Jack spotted the items left on her bed.
A long, menacing garroting wire. A picture of Mattie. A slip of paper with a phone number.
Hauling Abby tight to his chest, he wrapped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. Her terrified tears soaked the front of his shirt. Soothingly rubbing her back, Jack felt that icy resolve that had gotten him through his tours of duty seeping from his core and spreading into his chest.
This assassin had just made the biggest fucking mistake of his life.
Chapter Eight
Curled up in Jack's bed later that night, I anxiously awaited his return. Ever the protector, he was going through the house, checking windows and doors. I could only imagine the immense amount of stress he felt right now. Taking on the responsibility of keeping us safe must have been a tremendous weight for Jack to bear, but surprisingly, he seemed calm and cool about the whole thing.
I had noticed an immediate change in him since finding that stupid video camera in my bag. It was as if someone had flipped a switch inside Jack. He was no longer the civilian I had come to love so much. He was a hardened Marine, ready to strike at any moment. Going to Besian for advice and help had been difficult for him. I had seen the tightness in his jaw and the clench of his fingers, and I loved him all the more for being practical enough to admit when he was out of his depth.
We had never navigated the murky waters of Houston's criminal element. We didn't know the score between all these crews. We didn't know about the long history of bad blood between the outlaw motorcycle gang and the cartel. We sure as hell had no idea about hiring a hitman—or calling him off.
My gaze fell on the slip of paper sitting on the bedside table. I hadn't yet called the number. What was I going to say? "Oh, hey, about that video camera someone fenced in my store…? I showed it to a mob boss you might know…"
Yeah. That was going to go over really well.
Jack had called Besian on the drive back to his house to let him know the assassin had paid me a visit. To say Besian hadn't been pleased was quite an understatement. I had never in my life been happier to have friends in such unique and low places.
Because this wasn't just about me anymore. This was about Besian enforcing the boundaries of his territory and showing the full force of his ability to protect and defend those he claimed as his. He would do anything to save face and uphold his reputation around Houston.
And that meant Jack wouldn't have to put his life on the line for me. I couldn’t bear the thought of the man I had loved so long being badly hurt—or worse—trying to guard me from this mess that had fallen into my lap. A warrior to the core, Jack wouldn't hesitate to take a bullet for me. I would do anything to make sure that didn't happen.
The door swung open and Jack stepped inside the bedroom. His taut expression relaxed as he swept his gaze over me and shut the door. "You look good there."
I smiled at him. "It feels good to be in your bed."
"We'll have to see about keeping you there." Jack shot me a look that promised so much. "Did you talk to Mattie?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He told me that he saw Flea selling the camcorder to Dan one evening when I was working late in the front of the shop. He was hanging out in the storeroom doing that make-believe archaeologist thing he does when he heard Dan open the back door and let Flea inside. He didn't think that it was okay for Dan to buy things that way so he waited and swiped it off the shelf."
"And stuck it in your backpack?"
I nodded. "Apparently he planned to tell me about it, but he got distracted and forgot. You know how he is about things like that."
"Yes."
"He didn't look at the video. In fact, he was really pissed at me for even suggesting he would do something so rude. I've always been able to tell when he's lying. He's telling the truth on this one. He hasn't seen the video."
Jack let loose a relieved sigh. "Well thank God for that. It's the last complication we need."
"I agree." Though Jack and I could keep secrets, Mattie had never been able to handle them.
Jack crossed the room to sit on the end of his bed. With his broad shoulders toward me, Jack leaned down and unlaced his sneakers before peeling out of his shirt and tossing it aside. He rested his elbows on his knees and placed his head in his hands. Not for the first time, I counted all the scars marring his skin. God, what pain this man had known.
Overtaken by the urge to touch him, I pushed away the sheet and crawled toward him. I caressed his back with long, slow swipes of my hand and massaged his shoulders. I dotted kisses all along his neck and upper back. "I'm sorry about everything, Jack.
"Hush." He reached back and covered my hand with his. "You'll be safe here, Abby. We have a security system. Finn is taking the first watch downstairs. No one will touch you or Mattie."
"What happens when we have to leave your house? I have to go to work. Mattie is already talking about his art class tomorrow night." Guilt swamped me as I remembered how easily I had lied to Mattie about why we were staying at the Connolly house. Thankfully Eric had bought the lame excuse I had given. Mattie had been so excited by the prospect of kicking it in Kelly's room that he hadn't even asked any questions.
"We'll figure it out," Jack promised. "Between me and Finn and the help Besian has offered, we'll keep an eye on you two."
"And you? Who keeps an eye on you, Jack?"
"I'm a big boy, Abby." He signaled an end to that line of questioning by pushing up off the bed and turning toward me. Hands on either side of my thighs, he leaned into me, capturing my mouth in a sensual kiss that blasted away the anxiety gripping me. His tongue flicked against the seam of my lips, coaxi
ng me to let him inside. Powerless to fight this man, I whimpered softly and granted him access. Jack's tongue dueled with mine, twirling and stabbing until I was clinging to his shoulders and throbbing all over.
He pressed me down to the bed and shoved my camisole out of the way, baring my belly and breasts to his tormenting mouth. When he sucked my nipple, I arched up off the bed, my back bowing and toes curling into the mattress. It was all I could do to stifle my pleasured cry. I clapped a hand to my mouth to muffle the sounds as Jack did wild things to my breasts, licking and suckling and nibbling at them until they ached.
He bit the waistband of my tiny boyshorts and started to drag them down my hips, nuzzling his nose against my mound as he revealed my naked pussy. Keenly aware that my brother was cross the hall and his was downstairs with his father, I protested his determined onslaught. "Jack," I whispered in a begging tone. "We can't. Finn, your dad and Mattie—"
"Hush," he gently admonished and whisked away my undies. "I can be quiet. Can you?"
He rubbed his mouth side to side against the plump lips of my sex. My clit pulsed with anticipation. "You know I can't. Not when you're doing such wicked things to me."
He peppered noisy kisses up and down the seam of my pussy. "If you want it bad enough, you'll find a way."
The daring way he said it warned me I was in for the tongue-lashing of a lifetime. Grasping my thighs, Jack spread them wide open and swiped the pointed tip of his tongue between my folds. He zeroed in on my clitoris, fluttering over the little pearl, and then suckled it with long, slow tugs. Unable to help myself, I lifted up on my elbows and watched the drop dead sexy Marine with his face buried between my thighs. The sight of strong, powerful Jack kneeling at the edge of the bed to pleasure me did crazy things to my heart.
Falling back to the mattress, I sifted my fingers through his dark hair and concentrated on the delicious sensations that skilled tongue of his evoked. He had quickly learned the combination to unlock all the frenzied passion within me. The right pressure, the right speed—Jack gave me exactly what I needed.
My toes bit into the mattress, and my thighs flexed as I swiveled my hips just a bit. He slid his hands under my bottom, cupping my flesh in both hands, and delved into my pussy with wild abandon. I covered my mouth with my hand and tried to maintain enough control not to shriek as Jack's tongue wiggled side to side across my clit. Any second now…
"Uh!" Breathing hard and desperately trying to contain the ear-piercing shriek that threatened to erupt from my throat, I undulated atop the bed, hips jerking and fingers clawing at the quilt beneath me. Wicked, wicked Jack just kept right on pushing me, his tongue fluttering and flicking until he sucked my swollen bud between his lips and sent me reeling head first into another even more shockingly wonderful climax.
Shuddering and panting, I hadn't even managed to open my eyes when he roughly flipped me onto my belly and grasped my hips. He hauled me up onto my knees, pressed his cock between the slick petals of my pussy and thrust deep. I bit my lip and pushed back against him, desperate to feel him taking me long and hard.
With all the danger that surrounded us, I needed this connection to Jack more than anything. The way he pumped into me, his fat dick pounding into me again and again, told me Jack craved the same thing. When he gripped my hair in a tight fist, I nearly exploded again. An illicit thrill rocked me, my pussy clenching his shaft as it glided in and out of my slick heat. He had never been rough with me, but the small taste had me wanting more.
Jack must have realized that I liked it because he pulled a little harder, urging me into a kneeling position. With one hand clutching my hair, he used the other to squeeze my breasts and pinch my nipples. I had never felt anything like this. The changed angle in his penetration made me see stars. He stroked deep inside me, bumping up against the entrance of my womb and rubbing that sensitive spot that made my damned thighs quiver.
Lips against my ear, Jack whispered harshly all the dirty things he planned to do to me when he took me to that hotel suite he had promised me. I imagined all the erotic delights in store. Jack never broke a promise. Soon enough, I would know what it felt like to be tied up, spanked and fucked with total abandon, to be left weeping and trembling with pleasure overload.
"Touch your clit, sweet baby." Jack bit my earlobe and then nibbled the curve of my neck. "I want to feel this wet cunt milking my cum."
This uber-alpha, dominating side of Jack made my head spin. I gulped in air and slid my hand down my belly to the juncture of my thighs. His cock glided in and out of me, his strokes faster now and his erection steely and thick. Stretched and filled by the man who had owned my heart since the first time he had flashed a smile my way, I strummed my inflamed clit. One sharp tweak of my nipple and Jack shoved me over the edge.
His hand clamped over my mouth, muffling the noisy moan that escaped my lips. He sucked hard on my neck, marking me as his with his lips and teeth, and slammed so deep inside me that my knees came up off the mattress. Suspended in his powerful arms and balanced on his cock, I shook like a leaf and rode wave after incredible wave of blissful ecstasy.
We collapsed to the bed in a sweaty, shuddering heap of tangled limbs. Jack curled up to my back, tucking his knees beneath my bottom, and caressed my bare skin. His callused palm followed the outline of my belly and breasts before touching my cheek. He turned my face ever so gently and claimed me with a tender kiss.
Grinning teasingly, he said, "We're pretty good at this quiet sex thing."
I giggled. "I don't know about that. Mattie will sleep through a tornado but Finn?"
"He's a grown man. If he heard anything, he won't say a word." Jack moved away just long enough to peel off his socks and step into a pair of shorts. He tossed my panties back at me. "Put those on. Where are your shoes?"
"Over there," I pointed to the chair in the corner.
He retrieved the shoes and dropped them on my side of the bed. "Just in case," he said before leaning down to switch off the lamp.
"Just in case...?"
"Just in case we have to run." He opened the drawer on his side of the bed and removed a mean looking pistol. An expert with weapons, he checked the immaculately clean handgun and set out not one but three loaded magazines.
Though I was a firm believer in the Second Amendment and had made a tidy sum on firearm sales, I was also understandably nervous about having weapons out in the open. "Jack, please be careful with that. Mattie has always followed the safety rules Granddad put into place, but he's so curious about things."
"I'll lock it up in the morning." He turned off the lamp on his side and slid into bed with me. "Finn and I have already checked the gun safe in the den. We've got two weapons out, one for him and one for me. Both are in our hands or at arm's reach at all times. Mattie won't get close to them."
"I'm not trying to be a nag."
Jack hauled me against his body and pressed my cheek to his chest. "You're a good sister. I understand why you're worried. Mattie is lucky to have you." He kissed my forehead. "You're going to be an amazing mother."
"I don't know about that."
"I do." He spoke firmly and brushed a damp curl from my face. "You're loving and patient. That's all it takes."
Drawing my initials on his chest, I admitted, "Sometimes I worry that I'll be like my mom."
His arms tightened around me. "I worry that I'll be like my dad."
"You won't." I believed that with every fiber of my being.
His lips brushed my forehead again. Rather pensively, he asked, "Do you want kids?"
"Sure."
"Soon?"
My heart skipped a beat. "Well...not nine months from now soon."
He laughed softly and trailed his fingertips down my arm. "I didn't mean that soon. I meant two or three years."
I swallowed hard. Was he asking me what I thought he was asking me? "That depends."
"On?" When I didn't find the courage to answer, Jack rolled me onto my back and framed my body with h
is larger, hotter one. His thumb grazed the apple of my cheek. "Does it depend on me?"
"Yes." I had never been more thankful for the shadows hiding my nervous expression.
Jack's thumb traced my lower lip now. "And what if I told you that I had been in love with you since the first time I saw you swinging with Mattie at the park behind the gym?"
I blinked. "What?"
His thumb slid along the cupid's bow of my upper lip. "It was a couple of weeks after I came in to get that loan from your granddad. I had taken the small class I was training to run on the trail there. You and Mattie were laughing so hard and swinging like a couple of kindergartners. It made me smile. It made me feel happy to watch you two." He went silent. "It had been a long time since I had felt that way, and for the rest of that week, I kept thinking about you, about your smile and your sweetness, and I just..." His voice trailed off to nothing. "I knew, Abby."
Feeling lightheaded, I asked, "You knew what, Jack?"
"That it was you. That it was always going to be you." He swallowed noisily. "This is all moving fast. For me, it seems like a lifetime because I've been waiting for my chance to come clean with you about how I feel, but for you—"
"I love you, Jack." I blurted out the four words in the most unromantic way possible. I didn't think he would mind though.
"Yeah?" I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Yes."
"God, I love you, Abby."
Our lips touched finally, and we shared a kiss filled with endless possibilities. I didn't know how we were going to get out of this mess we were in, but I believed that somehow we would find a way—together.
* * *
She loves me.
Jack let Abby's admission of love warm him as he carefully disentangled himself from her arms and slipped his pillow into the spot he had vacated. She made a soft sound but settled back down quickly. He rose from bed, pulled a shirt over his head, grabbed his gun and extra ammo and stuffed his feet into his sneakers. Despite his many years in the civilian world, Jack had never been able to shake his light sleeping habits. He was glad for that quirk tonight. He hadn't even needed an alarm to let him know it was time to switch out watch shifts with Finn.