The dark circles beneath his eyes painted a good picture of what he must’ve gone through in my absence. Even though he looked as though he hadn’t slept for days, my heart fluttered. He was beautiful. I didn’t dare touch him, fearing he might just be a dream from which I could wake up any moment.
To convince myself that it wasn’t just a dream, I looked around the room and realized we were in a hospital. Bright rays of sunlight were spilling through the windows. The door was closed, and apart from Jett’s soft breathing, no other sound disturbed the serenity around us. The pain inside my head made it all feel real, but was it real?
The room was decorated in white and muted yellow. The only splash of color came in the form of a pink calla lily bouquet in a vase on the nightstand. I could smell their faint scent and remembered they were Sylvie’s favorite flowers. And then the memories slowly started to pour in. A heavy weight pinning me to the floor. A shot, followed by Jett’s face and his arms around my body. People speaking animatedly. Oh, God, and the pain. I realized this couldn’t possibly be a dream. I was here—for real—in a hospital bed because Jett had saved me.
Again.
I smiled in spite of the pain shooting through my temples.
Somehow he had found me. We were reunited and the baby—
My heart dropped as more memories began to take shape.
Jett’s father. The arrangement. Liz. The rape. The dark-haired guy punching me repeatedly, my head hitting the floor, and the way the other guy plunged a needle into my arm, injecting some drug that rendered me unable to move and eventually unconscious. I swallowed the lump in my throat. Even if my nightmare was over, it wasn’t quite over. I had no clue if Liz survived the rape. I didn’t know whether my baby survived the beating and whatever happened after that.
Jett had been ready to be a father. Carrying his child inside me and then losing it would feel almost like a betrayal toward him. I had to find out if I was still pregnant, and I had to do it alone, before Jett woke up.
As I moved, I nearly tore out the IV needle stuck in my vein. I winced, and Jett opened his eyes.
“Brooke?” He stood and touched my shoulder gently. “I’m here. Everything’s okay.”
His eyes assessed me as if he wasn’t sure whether I suffered from amnesia and wouldn’t remember him. I smiled in spite of the tears trickling down my cheeks. I was overwhelmed. Just seeing him, feeling him, hearing him—when I thought I never would again—was more amazing than I had ever envisioned. I had forgotten how beautiful his eyes were, and the way he awakened butterflies inside my stomach when he just looked at me.
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” I whispered and let him hug me. “I can’t believe you found me.” My throat hurt, but I didn’t care. “Thanks for coming for me.”
“I would never give up on you, you know that.” He sat down on the bed, pulling me with him, and gently kissed my forehead, my temples, the bridge of my nose, the corners of my lips, and finally settled on my lips.
The scent of him, his warm body—everything was overwhelming. It was too good to be true. We rested in each other’s arms for a long time. Jett pulled back first and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear as he looked deep into my eyes. “I could’ve been too late, though, in which case I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
His words touched me to the point tears began to cloud my vision again. I smiled bitterly. “You would have moved on eventually.” I knew my attempt to lighten up the conversation sucked, but I had to give it a shot anyway. “You would have met another girl to replace me.”
He laughed darkly. I looked up, surprised.
“You’ve no idea what you’re talking about. Maybe I don’t want another girl. When I fell in love with you, I knew I’d love you at your worst. Most of all, I knew you had the power to destroy me in your absence.” His dark green eyes probed mine. “You’re not just any girl for me, Brooke. You’re the only one who matters to me.”
“Even if the baby’s lost?” I whispered. Admitting it to him was painful, but it was a possibility.
His eyes reflected his emotions as he cupped my face and drew me to him. “The baby’s okay, Brooke. I talked with the doctor.” His voice trailed off, leaving the magnitude of it hanging between us. I breathed out, relieved, and nodded as Jett continued, “Those men won’t hurt you again. They deserved what they got.” His serious tone sent a shiver down my spine. I didn’t need to ask if they were still alive. I’d heard the gunshots, and I knew what they meant. I didn’t even care who shot them. I looked through his eyes into the depths of his soul, and that was enough for me.
“What about Liz?” I asked.
“She’ll make it. The nurses put her in room 122.”
A dark shadow crossed his features. He was withholding something. I watched him rub the nape of his neck, a habit he had acquired following his father’s feigned death, which in turn reminded me Jett still might not know the truth. I almost didn’t want to break our moment, but I had to tell him.
“We have to talk, Jett,” I began, adding softly, “about your father.”
“He’s alive. I know.” He avoided my gaze. “You told me two days ago.”
Two days ago? Had I slept that long?
“My father will pay for what he did to you.” A nerve twitched below his left eye. “I promise you he won’t harm you again.”
“No, Jett.” I shook my head vehemently. Strangely, I felt defensive of his father, despite all he had done. Compared to the men, Robert hadn’t tried to kill me, but then again, maybe our meeting had been nothing but the stunt of a good liar. “We don’t know if it was him. The men who captured me killed his driver before taking me to that building. It wouldn’t make sense. Your father wanted me out of your life but promised to keep me safe. He knew about our baby. I don’t think he’d break his promise.”
Jett nodded, but I could tell by his skeptical expression he wasn’t convinced. I was about to recount the meeting with his father when someone knocked, and a physician walked in holding a chart. Jett stood and they both exchanged glances, before the doctor turned to me.
“I see you’re awake, Miss Stewart.” He stepped closer, and I realized he was young, maybe five or six years older than Jett. “I’m Dr. Barn. How are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better.” I returned his smile hesitantly.
He retrieved a penlight from his pocket and shone the beam into my eyes. “Is your head hurting?”
“A little.”
It hurt a lot, but acknowledging it would only alarm Jett.
Dr. Barn pushed the penlight inside the pocket of his robe and checked my vitals. Eventually his attention focused on the chart in his hand.
“You received a blow to the occipital lobe, which is the cause of your headache. Results show no signs of swelling, though. You have no internal bleeding and no signs of trauma.” He peered from me to Jett, who hadn’t moved from the spot, and then back at me. “Your blood test shows you’re pregnant. Were you aware of your condition?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “First term.”
“It looks like you were lucky, but I would strongly suggest you see your gynecologist upon your release,” he said.
“Why?” Jett asked. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, ignoring the sudden need to groan and slap his arm. I was alive, the baby was okay, Jett and I were reunited. Basically, in spite of the bruises on my arms and the thudding inside my head, I was having the best day of my life. Yet he looked like he was about to strap the physician to a chair and commence an interrogation.
“I’m sure it’s just a precaution.” I squeezed Jett’s arm gently, silently begging him to stop his intimidation tactic, but his intense gaze remained fixed on the doctor, staring the poor man down.
“Well.” Dr. Barn shifted uncomfortably as he considered his words. “As far as I can see from the tests we’ve run, nothing’s wrong, but of course the drugs—even the brief exposure—could have influenced fetal development. The chance of damage is possible but minimal. To know for sure, we strongly suggest regular checkups.” He let out a breath, as though he had been holding it.
“Thank you, Dr. Barn.” I shot Jett a confident smile. His face remained a stony mask.
Intense.
Possessive.
Overprotective.
My smile widened at the words my brain chose to describe Jett. Even though he drove me crazy at times, I was thankful for the fact he never gave up. It was one of the many things I loved about him.
“You’re welcome.” Dr. Barn shook my hand and then turned to Jett. “She’ll be released today. Take her home, and make sure she sleeps off the headache. Brian is expecting you tonight. Same place as usual.”
There was something strange in the way the doctor’s tone had become more intimate, not to mention it was an odd thing to say. Besides, the name “Brian” rang familiar. And then I remembered someone had shouted it before I blacked out.
Dr. Barn wished me well and left.
“What was he talking about when he said Brian would be waiting for you? What place?” I asked as soon as the door closed.
“Long story.” Jett sighed and dropped into the recliner, facing me with an expression that told me he wasn’t keen on elucidating.
I inclined my head, my eyes matching his stubbornness. “You’re lucky I have all the time in the world, Mayfield. So start spilling.”
“Sam—Dr. Barn—and I go way back. He’s the only doctor I trust, which is why I brought you here.” He gestured around him. “It’s his private clinic, where no one would find you.” His eyes shimmered with hesitation, signaling there was more than he let on.
“Okay, but who’s Brian? What does this have to do with Sam?”
Jett remained silent. I wasn’t going to drop it, and he knew it. Finally, he caved in.
“When Kenny couldn’t track your GPS, we had no other choice but to ask my old gang for help to find your whereabouts.”
My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to ask the million questions ambushing my mind like wildfire, but Jett’s fingers pressed against my lips, stopping me. “It was the only way. Either that or giving up. So I struck a deal with Brian, the leader.”
“What deal?” I whispered.
“That I return.” He looked away, hesitating.
I took a deep breath, and then another, unable to speak. I remembered the few stories he had told me and knew that part of his life hadn’t been a pleasant experience. After he had left, he had vowed to never return. Now he would—because of me.
“I did what I had to do, Brooke. It was the only way to find you. Do you understand?” He took my hands in his, his eyes meeting mine. “Right now you’re not safe. It’s only a matter of time until whoever’s responsible for your abduction finds you. Hiding with the people I once trusted is the only way I can be sure no one will find you, until I can take care of everything. So tonight I’m fulfilling part the deal.” He ran a fingertip across my cheek and let out a deep breath. “There’s going to be a race. Brian wants to see whether I still have what it takes. Whether I’m worthy of his crew. It’s part of the deal.”
