by Kelly Moore
She shrugs before handing over the fire extinguisher. “Listening has never been my strong suit.” She turns toward Todd and pulls him in for a hug. “Thank you for everything, again. I know we left quite a mess in here the last time we stayed.”
When she pulls away, his face is flushing red. As he adjusts his hat, he says, “Well, the place needed a fresh coat of paint and some new carpet. You just gave me the little push I needed to get the work done.”
A flashback hits me of the last time we stayed in his apartment: me standing behind the door, Brooklyn standing in the middle of the room looking like a deer in the headlights as one of Miles’ men came after us. I can still hear the gunshot ringing in my ears when I pulled the trigger and landed a perfect shot in his temple before he even knew where I was hiding. It seems like it was so long ago, yet just yesterday at the same time.
“I just stopped by to pick up a few tools. I had a buddy of mine call asking for help fixing his plane in the morning.”
I shake my head clear of the haunting images running through it. “I’m sorry again,” I say, reaching for his hand to shake. “If you’d been through what I have been, you’d be a little jumpy too.”
He shakes my hand and slaps me on the bicep with his other. “Don’t worry about it, John. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“I’ll take her upstairs and get out of your hair.” I take Brooklyn’s hand and lead her back toward the apartment.
“I’ll be expecting dinner and drinks when all this settles down for you,” Todd shouts back at me.
“Deal! Dinner, drinks, on me. You deserve it after all you’ve done for us.”
We walk into the pitch-dark apartment, greeted by the sound of Jake’s deep, even breathing. I pull Brook back against my chest and whisper in her ear. “Take a shower with me?”
She doesn’t answer, but I feel her lips graze my neck as she nods her head.
I move my lips to hers and place my hands on her hips, lifting her up against me. She wraps her long legs around me as I carry her to the bathroom.
The bathroom is small - so small that I don’t even have to walk, just turn in circles. I bend over, turning on the shower, and then turn back to her so I can place my hands on either side of her face.
“What is it, John?”
I shake my head. “Fuck, you’re beautiful,” escapes my lips before I lean back in and place a kiss on her collarbone.
My hands find the hem of her shirt and I yank it off over her head while my lips trail across her skin.
She pulls my shirt off before guiding my lips to hers. Her fingertips skim across my chest before she pulls away, deep concern etched on her face.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her.
Her soft touch moves from the scar on my chest to the small, circular scars on my biceps and forearms. “What did he do to you?” she asks with tears in her eyes.
I place my hands back on her cheeks and direct her eyes to mine instead of my scarred body. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.” I shake my head. “Don’t look at the ugly marks covering my body. Just look at me. See me. I’m still the same guy you fell in love with.”
She bites her lower lip and her eyes fall to the floor. “This is all my fault.”
I pick her up and sit with her on my lap with my back pressed against the door. “Nothing is your fault. You didn’t do this. Miles is just a sick son of a bitch. This would’ve happened eventually anyway. You’re not to blame here.”
“If I wouldn’t have created that vaccine, if I hadn’t of come to Chicago, none of this would’ve happened to you. You’d still be living in that penthouse of yours, taking home random girls from the bar.” Her lips turn up just a bit from remembering our first night together.
“If I didn’t have you, I would’ve had nothing to get me through these past two years. You are the only thing that got me through. I would’ve given up long ago. I kept living for you. I held on every day just for you.”
She stands and holds out her hand to help me to my feet. “What do you say we get in this shower and wash away the past two years?”
I smile. “That sounds perfect.” I pull her back against me and kiss her with everything I am. I don’t want her feeling guilty about what happened to me. Nothing was her fault. She saved me, Jake, and her vaccine saved millions of other people. Without her, I never would have made it through the years of torture that Miles made me endure.
We remove each other’s clothes and step into the small, stand-up shower. I spin her around with my lips still on hers. I tilt her head back to let the water flow over her hair while my lips trail down her neck. My lips never leave her skin as my hands massage her head, making sure her hair is soaked.
I stand and pour some shampoo into my hand and begin washing her hair. Our eyes lock and my heart pounds.
“Shouldn’t I be taking care of you? You’re the one that lived in hell these past two years.”
I shake my head. “Hell is living without you. Now that I have you, I’m never letting go.” I tilt her head back and wash the bubbles from her hair. When it’s rinsed, she spins me around and starts rubbing me down with the bar of soap. Her touch is so soft it feels foreign to me, but still natural. For the past two years, all I’ve felt is pain but her touch is something that has never left me. Even when I was being beaten or burned, it was still something I could feel. I would concentrate on the sensation of her fingers grazing my skin, her naked chest flush with mine, or her soft lips showering my body with kisses, and the pain didn’t even register anymore.
Before I knew about my son, she was the one thing that got me through.
Once we are both clean I shut off the water and step out of the shower, pulling two towels from the small cabinet. I wrap one around her tightly, and use the other to dry myself off.
“I’ll grab you some of Jake’s clothes,” Brooklyn says, stepping out of the bathroom. She returns a moment later with a pair of pajama pants. “I couldn’t see much in there, but I figured this would work for you to sleep in.”
“Thank you.” I take the pants from her and pull them on. She slides a pair of panties up her long legs and tugs on an over-sized T-shirt, then takes my hand and leads the way down the hall and to the Murphy bed. “Once we are home, in our own bed, there will be no clothes between us.”
She softly laughs. “You obviously have no idea what it’s like to have a toddler. It won’t be just ‘our bed’ for a while.”
We both fall into the bed, and I wrap my arms around her middle, pulling her back to my chest. I listen to her deep breathing, her heartbeat, and let her sweet scent carry me off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I wake in a panic long before the sun rises. Miles is going to know I’m gone soon. I sit upright suddenly, causing Brooklyn to stir awake.
“What’s wrong?”
My body is covered in sweat and goosebumps. “We have to get out of here. We have to get to your dad.”
“Why? I called him last night and filled him in. He has his top security personnel by him at all times.”
“That didn’t work out for him so well last time, and Miles is going to know I’m gone soon if he doesn’t already. He’s going to be looking for me, but not before he hires someone else to take out your dad. We need to get there.”
“Can’t a guy get some rest around here?” Jake says, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
“Not today, bro. It’s time to run.” I stand from the bed and pull Brooklyn up with me. “Go get dressed,” I tell her with a swat to her ass. She giggles and walks back to the bathroom.
Once she is no longer in view, I sit on the edge of the bed and look at Jake. “I’m sorry for bringing this all back into your life.”
He looks at me like he can’t believe what I’m saying. “What the hell are you talking about? We’re just happy you’re alive. We’ll take care of the rest of this shit. Besides, if you didn’t need my help, you wouldn’t have sent me a text.”
“I want you to take Brooklyn back home.
I never expected you to bring her with you. I don’t want her involved with this shit.”
“No fucking way!” Brook is back and she’s fuming mad.
“Fuck,” falls from my lips.
She marches over to me and kneels in front of me. “I’ve lost you once, I’m not doing it again. We’re going with you.”
I meet her dark eyes. “What about John? He needs someone to protect him, someone who knows what’s going on and what dangers are really out there.”
She shakes her head. “We have a safe room and the nanny knows all about our past. She’s not your typical nanny. She’s a part of the secret service. She’s a trained bodyguard. John will be fine.”
I stand and start pacing with my hands on my head. “There’s no talking you two out of this, is there?”
“Not a chance,” Jake says.
I stop my pacing and look at them both. “Do you even know what we’re about to get into?”
Brook nods and Jake shrugs. “Whatever it is, we’ll be together,” Brooklyn says as she stands and walks closer to me. She takes my hand in hers.
I look at our joined hands and back up to her dark eyes. “Alright. It’s time to get out of here.”
Everyone springs to action without hesitation. Twenty minutes later, just as the sun starts to peek over the horizon, we are all dressed and ready.
I tuck one of the small pistols from the black bag into the waistband of my jeans. “Let’s go. The race is on,” I say as I open the door and lead them down the stairs.
I stop at the edge of the building and peek around the corner, scanning the lot before us. “Which car is yours?” I ask them before stepping out into the open.
“The blue Jeep Wrangler that’s parked in the front row,” Brooklyn replies.
“Alright. Let’s go.” I step from the side of the building and keep my head down while walking as quickly as possible.
Nothing seems out of the ordinary as Jake gets behind the wheel. I take the passenger seat while Brooklyn gets in the backseat. We toss our bags back to her.
“Where to?” Jake asks.
“DC,” I tell him.
He nods before pressing on the clutch and shifting into first gear. He pulls out of the parking spot, turning left to exit the lot. As we pull up to the street, a familiar black Hummer turns slowly into the lot.
My eyes zero in on the men in the front seat. One of them I’ve never seen before, but the other is Miles. I lean back so he doesn’t see my face. “Jake!” I yell loud enough that he looks over at me.
“What the hell?”
“That is Miles pulling into the parking lot. Don’t let him see your face, but pull out of here as calmly as possible. We don’t want to draw any attention to ourselves.”
We both look back at the entrance, but the Hummer has already turned and is parking.
“Go!” I tell him.
Jake pulls out onto the street and drives as casually as possible until we’re no longer in their line of sight, then he hits the gas and shifts into sixth gear, blowing through stop signs and traffic lights.
“Why didn’t you just take him out?” Brook asks from the backseat.
“You think Miles goes anywhere without protection? He sent his minion into the apartment while he sits in the car, surrounded by bullet proof glass. This is our safest option right now.”
“If you smashed the bracelet, how do you think he found you?” Jake asks.
I shrug. “Who knows. Maybe that was the last location it recorded before it was smashed. We’re on our own now so let’s get this shit done.”
Jake turns onto the freeway and heads in the direction of DC. I sit back and pray that this is all over soon. I want my life back. I want my family back. And I want Miles gone forever.
Chapter Eleven
Brooklyn
“Yes, Dad, we are headed your way. We need to come up with a plan to keep all of us safe. Yes, I know you have men for that, but this has to be stopped one way or another. We can’t keep letting Miles ruin our lives and if your men haven’t been able to find any dirt on him, then we have to find a way to get some solid evidence against him. He’s going to send men after you. Please be extra careful. We’ll see you tonight.” I don’t even put the phone away.
“Hi, Grace. How is J-Man?” John turns and gives me an odd look from the front seat. “Yes, we found him, and we’ll be bringing him home as soon as we tie up some loose ends here. Give him a kiss for me.” I throw my phone in my purse and dig out a hair tie so I can pull my hair up into a ponytail.
“You call him J-Man?” John finally asks.
“That is my nickname for him and it kind of stuck,” Jake answers him, grinning.
“J-Man,” John repeats looking down. “I hate that I’ve missed out on so much with him.”
I place my hand on his shoulder. “Hey, you have a lifetime with him now. You’re going to be a great dad. Next kiddo though, I want you in the delivery room.” I laugh out loud.
“Hey now, once I got up off the floor, I did fine.” Jake looks at me in the rearview mirror.
“This I have to hear.” John turns in his seat with the most beautiful smile on his face. He never seems to get to be happy for very long, but once I get him home, I plan on keeping him that way. “He passed out cold as soon as the baby came out.”
“He was all gooey,” Jake says with a look of disgust.
John laughs so hard he snorts. “I can’t believe you passed out.”
“Just wait, you’ll see. Those little suckers are gross when they come out.”
I smack Jake in the back of the head. “He was beautiful.”
John loses the smile that was covering his face. “At least you got to see him be born.”
The Jeep starts sputtering. “Oh, shit.”
“Don’t tell me we’re out of gas?” John says looking at the gauge, tapping it with his finger.
“Okay, I won’t tell you then.” Jake offers up a nervous grin.
“Look, there’s a gas station right there on the left.” I point over his shoulder.
We’re lucky. It stalls out right in front of the pump. “I’m going to go get some Munchies while you pump the gas.” I open the back door and John is on my heels.
“No Funyons for you.” He wraps his arm around my waist. “I want to be able to make out with you in the back seat and those things stink.” He kisses my temple as we walk into the store.
“I’ll forgo them for a make out session with you. Which base do you plan on making it to?” I tease with him.
“I’m always up for a homerun.” He swats my ass and heads over to the coffee.
I load up on chips, Pop Tarts, crackers, candy, and finish it off with a supersized Icee before meeting John back at the register. He’s wearing a pair of sunglasses with the little plastic tag hanging down in the middle.
“Do you plan on sharing any of that?” He slides the glasses to the edge of his nose.
I lay the items down on the counter and face him. “These are all for me.” I reach behind him and grab his ass. Then I steal the sunglasses. “I’m taking these too.” I place them on the counter. He leans in and kisses the top of my shoulder.
“I’m going to have to get a second job just to feed you.” He sneaks in and grabs a candy bar.
“Hey, get your own!”
He peels off the wrapper and bites off half, then sticks the other half in front of my mouth. “It’s called sharing.” He laughs at my pouting lip.
I hug my bag to my body and walk past him. Jake is finishing up pumping the fuel. “What did you get me?”
“You’re as bad as your brother. These are mine. I think he’s inside stocking up for the two of you.”
“You’ve got like two huge bags there. You aren’t going to share any of it?”
I open the back door and throw the bags inside. John comes up behind me with a Twizzler hanging out of his mouth. “Here,” he hands a bag to Jake, “I’d keep these away from her if I were you.” He steals th
e sunglasses from my face and slides them on, getting in the back seat with me.
We climb in and Jake eases out into traffic. All I can think about is making out with John. I place my hand on his thigh and begin tracing my fingers up and down his leg.
“What are you doing?”
“You said we could make out.” I bat my eyes at him.
I yelp when he straddles me over his lap. He bites my lip and then kisses me. I’m breathless when I come up for air, but I notice the car behind us. “Um… isn’t that Miles’ Hummer?”
He nearly throws me off his lap while turning around to look. “Fuck, how does he keep finding me? Step on it Jake!”
“There is a traffic jam out in front of us,” he says.
John leans over the backseat and takes out his gun. “You need to trade places with Jake.”
“What? You want me to drive?”
“Yes, I need Jake back here with me fighting them off. Besides, you’re a better driver and Jake’s a better shot.”
Jake starts to slow down. “No, we need to keep going. Make the change before we get to a dead standstill behind that traffic.”
“You want us to switch places while we’re still moving?” I look at him like he’s crazy.
“Yes, and hurry your sweet ass up.”
I climb over the seat and sit as close to Jake as I can. “You lean up and I’ll go under you.” He takes one hand off the wheel and puts it on the door for support. As he leans up, I slide under him, causing him to bump his head on the roof of the Jeep, and we jerk to the right. He manages to gain control just before we run off the road.
“Grab the wheel,” he yells. He slides off me, keeping his foot on the gas pedal. “Are you ready?”
“I got it, I got it,” I say as my heart races. I watch in the rearview mirror as Jake climbs over the seat, and John hands him a weapon. As we get close to the traffic jam, I increase my speed, and shift into sixth gear, running it off into the shoulder. The Jeep bounces, flinging Jake against the door.
“Shit, Brook!”
“Sorry.” I shrug.
