I didn't know it was going to be this hard taking her back to school the first day. There was a combination of shit going on in my head. First, I didn't know who, or if, one of these fuckers had been the one to attack her on Mandy's command, and two, I didn't want her out of my fucking sight, ever.I hoofed it to her class after each of mine to walk her to the next no matter that she had her girls, and now Val, at her back.Track was acting strange as fuck but what's new? I was too focused on her to pay too much attention to his crazy, besides he'd tell me whatever the fuck was bothering him when he was good and ready.Lunch came and I was finally able to breathe. I think I had PTSD or some shit, because I freaked whenever anyone got too near her, like what the fuck?"Jace, some shit's about to go down...." I'd barely lifted my head at Track's weird statement when I saw the two cops that were working her case walk in.I held her hand tighter, not sure why the fuck they were here, but t
This hospital thing is a fucking pain. I need answers like now, but no one is saying anything, because no one knew shit. I heard them talking when they thought I was asleep. Jace had refused to come see me, how dare he?How could he despise me so much after everything we'd meant to each other? And how embarrassing! Luckily I know who's behind it though, so my ire is directed at the right person.It was a chore to keep the anger hidden, but I was able to pull it off for the last few days. My mind is full of scenarios of the many things I can do with this. It was hard not to smirk at the idea sometimes, as my blood heated up with all the implications.My wounds were beginning to ache. That was the only thing that truly scared me about this whole mess. I have no recollection of being shot or stabbed, weird. I checked my nails and wondered where everyone was.So far only two people had come to see me and I knew I had more friends than that. Didn't I? Whatever, I wanted out of here now. I n
Jace doesn't seem too worried about the cops showing up at school and questioning him, but I was still raw from the whole experience. A part of me was hoping that it was the same person who'd attacked me, but then that would mean there was a madman on the loose and my new friends might be at risk. Then there was that other part of me that didn't trust Mandy at all, and was wondering if it wasn't her own doings that had landed her in hot water.There was still that nagging memory at the back of my mind that kept escaping me about the night I was attacked, and the cops were no closer to figuring it out than I was."What are you thinking about baby?" I looked over at him where he sat not far from me as we both did the mountain of homework we'd been saddled with. Sometimes it felt like I'd fallen down the rabbit hole, especially when I looked at the ring on my finger, or when I counted down the days and weeks since we'd met.It was almost improbable that we'd only known each other such a
We need to talk Red." I hated the look that came into her eyes. Fear and hurt. I had a pretty good idea what had just entered her mind. Hopefully after today I can put some of those fears of hers to bed.It was the first time we'd been alone together like this, the first time I'd touched her in more than friendship. I had given what I was about to do a lot of thought, because I needed to be sure that this was more than just one of those high school things. Somehow I knew that with her, I had to be on point or shit could go south fast. A part of me wanted to lighten up and be a teen, but I guess I inherited my dad's intensity when it comes to the woman in my life. There was nothing even remotely subtle about what I had begun to feel for her in the short time we had known each other, and today I have decided to lay my cards on the table. Didn't know I would be this nervous though, when it came down to crunch time.I ran my fingers through her hair as I gave myself time to get my thought
My poor baby, I guess it's going to take some doing for her to realize she has nothing to worry about on that score. It's hard to remember that beneath all her bravado, I'd seen through to the real her, the sometimes insecure little beauty who was always waiting for the knockdown. After today though she'd never have to worry about that shit. Any of these pampered assholes mess with her and they'll have to answer to me."Nope, and I have no interest either.""What if what you say you feel for me is no different than what you once felt for them? What if this time next year you've lost that feeling?""I'm not sure about a lot of things babe, but I'm pretty sure that's not gonna happen. I give you my word in that." I tasted her lips to reassure her, but there was no way for me to give her that guarantee. "Hey, what about if you change your mind? You do know that's a possibility right?"I hated that she felt because she wasn't stick thin that she was any less likely to find love than anyon
"What the fuck was that today?" I paced my room like a caged animal. Yeah I know I'm too intense for a kid my age, or so I keep hearing, but when you have to deal with the shit I do it comes with the territory."Look kid, you seem to forget, we don't work for you." The asshole on the other end always had a hard on for me, but I wasn't in the mood to hand him his ass. I needed to get to the bottom of this shit yesterday. Still, every once in a while it was good to remind him of a few things."And you seem to forget I'm smarter than you that's why you people need me. You may think that you don't work for me, but we both know the deal, now what the fuck happened? I asked one thing of you and you couldn't come through?""How were we to know the local brass was going to come after him? They don't have anything as far as we can tell.""That's not the point. The point is I told you to give me a heads-up if there's any movement on that end. What were you doing, jacking off at your damn desk?"
Things are getting entirely too weird in my life. Ever since the cops came to the school, Jace's dad has us literally under armed guard. Jace is taking it all in stride, but I'm beginning to freak out. Jace on the other hand, thinks that all he has to do is say 'I've got you' and the worry would just fade away.I think it's finally setting in that I was attacked, and that the culprit was still out there somewhere unknown. It didn't escape my notice that the reason I was only now acknowledging the severity of the situation, is because Jace had pretty much insulated me from the moment I left the hospital until now. I guess seeing him that close to being carted off in handcuffs had finally put things in perspective for me. The school is in an uproar, because Mr. Saunders made good on his threat to oust the principal and things were pretty much helter-skelter at the moment. If I weren't the one stuck in the middle of this mess I guess I would find it hard to believe.Mom and dad seemed a
Coming here serves a twofold purpose. Of course I needed to be here for Sian, but I wanted to find out what I could if anything about Mandy's attack. I didn't even have to be obvious; from my last experience here I knew that people talked. I was betting on things being the same today.I left Si with her mom getting poked and prodded and made my way from one wing of the building to the next after she questioned me like the Gestapo with that knowing look in her eyes. She's so suspicious, damn. A few well placed questions was all I would need to get me what I wanted I was sure and I could be in and out no problem. I had to be back in time for the quack's diagnosis and so I would know what to do to take care of her. If left on her own she'd lie her ass off just to keep me out of her hair.She was still worried about the cops questioning me, but I wasn't even on that shit anymore. I knew I wasn't guilty so I pretty much didn't care. Plus my dad had my flank so there were no worries.Track
They looked around the room at each other until Logan nodded his head. I guess that was the go ahead because Mancini took point again."What we're about to share with you doesn't leave this room. We've come together along with some other friends that you didn't get to meet this time, to form a kind of group if you will.""Each of us serves a purpose in this group. It's also top secret, which you should understand." He looked at Track and I moved to stand in front of him. "It's okay Jace, he knows.""I'm not working for the government, no disrespect." I looked at the SEALs. The men in the room started to smile. I wasn't sure what the fuck they were, but it wasn't hard to tell that they were something. What with the compound that was more secure that the Pentagon."That's not who we are. What we propose, if we all agree is that you boys become part of our elite group. We'll fill you in on all the pertinent details a little later once you get on board. If not we can stop this lit
I just held her and let her get it out, knowing that she'd be right as rain in no time. "Come on baby, let's get you dried and dressed." I turned off the water and lifted her to take her out of the shower."Jace, do you ever regret marrying me?" I want to answer this shit for the one hundredth time. What is it with women? The guys were all complaining about the same thing, except for Alex who was always smiling these days, the fuck."Sian, just like I told you yesterday and the day before that, even if I live to be a hundred, I won't ever regret the best decision I ever made.""But we're so young." I rolled my eyes and dried her feet that she couldn't hardly see anymore. "Does that mean that you regret it because you're younger than I am?"That one always stumps her but she still asks the same damn question over and over. So I knew what was coming next. "But it's not the same for men.""That's not sexist or anything. I should start worrying as often as you ask me that. Maybe
Not scared like a punk, more like amazed at the shit these fucks can get up to. So when he so casually mentioned something that he should have no knowledge of, I got the sense there was much more left unsaid. I'm sure a man of his caliber wasn't just wasting his time on some kid that he didn't even know."I sense a catch.""No catch, I just think you're wasted on those fucknuts is all. Anytime you're ready give me a ring." He'd rang off after that but there was no mistaking the smile in his voice. I'm pretty sure he knew that I was going to look into him.And that was my reason for being hesitant about taking Jace with me. I'd got a glimpse of where those SEALs live and I have the feeling that shit would only give Jace ideas. He was already making noise about building a place like the one on the island where we all could live. The kid's a damn hippie at heart.***JACE***"Track wants us to go to Georgia to meet his sister. We're going this weekend if you're not too sick
I didn't feel shit when I put pressure on his neck. Everything was happening so fast. Sian was screaming, finally giving into the fear and Track was trying to talk me down."I told you not to touch her you fuck. Did you forget?" I tightened my arm around his neck, adding just the right amount of pressure and barely restrained myself from doing more "I'm going to break your fucking neck.""Jace no, let him go, he's not worth it." I ignored Track and twisted my arm quick, snapping Stanley's neck. "Call the cops.""Fuck Jace! What the fuck did I say?""Call the cops.""No, let me think let me clean this up. Shane, Alex bar the door make sure no one gets by..." I hadn't even heard the others rush in behind me. But turned to see them now with horror in their eyes. "He's not dead Track his neck's just broken. Call the cops." I dropped Stanley on the floor just as the men who were supposed to be watching the school came through the door."What took you guys so long?""He didn
For now, it was fine. For the next nine months I knew she was going to keep me on my toes. We had an appointment with the best Obstetrician of course, who'd been vetted to within an inch of her life before I agreed.I was trying to make it so that she only had to worry about school and giving birth, other than that I was there to pick up the slack. I had the fridge in our suite stocked with all the things she's been asking for lately and hoping for smooth sailing.I was getting used to waking up with her in the morning to hold her hair while she threw up. Then her horny ass would need a fix on the bathroom floor after a quick nap.Other than that, there was no sign that her tiny ass was even pregnant. Of course she's decided that she can get away with shit now, because I can't fix her ass, but I have other ways of keeping her ass in line.That Monday as soon as we'd reached the school yard the whispers started. It wasn't long before we heard the whole story of Mandy being dropp
Mom came down with a tray of something in her hands instead of letting one of the servants do it."Hey mom, how come you're doing this yourself?""I don't know. We didn't go to the shelter this year because we've invited everyone, so I guess I'm feeling a little bit guilty.""Didn't you donate all the food this year? I'm sure they don't mind us missing one year mom, we'll go for Xmas, and make everyone that's here today come with us.""Sounds good son. By the way, I'm going to let you off the hook for telling your dad before you told me.""Shit, mom...""It's okay, he explained. By the way her parents know so you two don't have to keep putting it off any longer.""How?""Veronica is a mother son. We both figured something was going on that day in the hospital.""Well, that's all good and well but Sian has decided she's never telling her dad. She doesn't want him to know she's having sex."Mom thought that shit was hilarious but the rest of my crew, except for Track,
With Mandy behind bars, all I needed was to find Stanley to tie her into the attack on Sian. I need that to put her away for the rest of her life.I'd been leaving clues and making anonymous phone calls to the cops for a while. Once I'd contacted the men she'd been extorting and told them the truth about her age, some of them were more than happy to come forward. The only ones that tried to hold out were the married ones. Some of them I let slide, like Cassie's dad. But the others I put the squeeze on.That's why I'd needed her phone and the stuff that she left behind when she got kicked out of her house. My team had already confiscated it all. That, along with the computer stick Liz had mailed me, were locked away in my safe. Everything except the phone which had been mailed to the cops. I was still protecting Carter, but I had to do it for Cassie's sake.The ones that did have sex with her when she was underage, their names had been handed over to the cops. There were going
I drove down the driveway slowly with the lights off. There was one light on in the house and I wasn't surprised that it was in Sian's room. I got out of the truck and looked around at the dark night.It would be so easy... But I couldn't do anything here, not where my girl's family slept. Instead I walked around back. How did she get in anyway? And how do I get in without alerting her to the fact that I was here. I wasn't left wondering long.The alarm hadn't been set because of the workers going back and forth, which was an oversight. No one expects to be robbed in this neighborhood, but still. I knew it wasn't on since the night I'd come back here for her medicine, but hadn't thought much of it. Missed that one.I walked up the stairs, being as quiet as I could and stepped into Sian's bedroom door. Mandy was sitting on the bed, the new bed that replaced the one that had been burned in the explosion."What are you doing here?" It was obvious what she was doing. The door to Si
I'd been so excited I'd forgotten to score some drugs. I hadn't seen a male anywhere in that stupid place anyway, that might've been willing to help me, so it was most likely a bust. I sat in the car and formulated my next move in my head. How can I get close enough to do what I have to do? There was no way to get onto the Saunders' property without being noticed.Unless...No they've had the same domestic staff for a while, they probably know each one on sight. How can I get there? I don't have anything suitable, anything that would disguise me until I got close enough. Close enough to destroy her, that bitch.I drove around for a while still no closer to a solution. Thanksgiving was in two days. Another thought hit me. It was something I'd learned about Jace and his family even before we dated. When he still used to act like I didn't exist. When I used to read anything I could get my hands on about the ultra-wealthy family. Yes, that would be perfect. I'd forgotten all abou