Rules of Entanglement

by Gina L. Maxwell

  “Maybe someday. The literal translation kind of ruins the beauty of the words. Why, don’t you like it?”

  She shrugged her shoulder. “It sounds pretty, and I like that it’s something you only use with me.” Black lashes narrowed over green eyes. “Right?”

  “Only you, I promise.”

  “Then I guess I can wait. Or maybe I’ll remember to ask a native,” she finished with a sly grin. “Now, what is it you wanted to tell me?”

  Jax took a deep breath and let it out, trying to release his tension without success. “Remember our encounter at the airport?”

  “How could I forget?” she said wryly.

  “I went there expecting… Well, I’m not really sure. But I sure as hell wasn’t expecting a fiery Scot who refused to be charmed and made it a point to call me out on my bullshit.”

  “You underestimated me. That was your first mistake,” she said very matter-of-factly with a single haughty brow raised. He’d found her arrogance sexy back then, and he found it the same now.

  “You’re right. But I made a much bigger mistake after that. It’s just that I’d never met anyone like you. You intrigued the hell out of me, and when you tried taking your bag back and you fell into me, I lost it. It was like a switch that I didn’t even know I had got flipped, and I wanted—no, needed—to spend time with you.”

  He closed his eyes briefly, ordering himself to continue when all he wanted to do was forget the whole thing as he buried himself deep inside her again and again. But starting something based on a lie was destined to crumble, whether it was a month from now or in ten years.

  “You dismissed me, V. Said good-bye and that you’d see me at the wedding, so I—”

  A short, tinny melody played from the direction of his backpack. He recognized it as the text message alert on her phone. She reached over to grab it from the side pocket, but he held her arm. “Don’t worry about it. You can check it later.”

  “Jax, what if it’s Robért with a wedding emergency? Lucie and Reid will be here tomorrow and if everything isn’t taken care of, she’s liable to have a panic attack. It’ll just take a second.”

  She planted a firm kiss on his mouth and then rolled over to retrieve the phone. He blew out a heavy breath and ran a hand through his hair. He felt like he’d been trying to tell her the truth for two hours instead of two minutes. Confessions fucking sucked.

  Vanessa gasped and cried, “Oh my God.”

  Her tone was one of terror, her fingers covering her mouth as she stared at the screen of her phone with tear-filled eyes. There wasn’t a wedding problem in the world that garnered that severe of a reaction.

  “What is it?”

  “My sister. She’s in the hospital.” V looked at him like he’d never seen her. Lost. “She was s-severely beaten.”

  Five minutes to pack up camp and another thirty minutes to hike back down the mountain to where she finally got full cell service again. Up at the falls she didn’t have enough for a call to go through, but thankfully she heard her sister’s text coming in.

  Instead of wasting more time heading back to the Mau Loa, Jackson suggested they hang out at his place so she could talk to her sister and find out what the situation was.

  When they’d parked earlier, he’d done so next to a small white cottage with bay windows. It was old with wooden siding and weathered shutters, but it had a certain quaint charm about it. She hadn’t asked whose it was, and he hadn’t offered. But now she had a pretty good idea, since he was unlocking the front door and letting them in. He flipped the lights on and closed the door after her.

  Sky blue paint disguised what appeared to be wood paneling and a worn Berber carpet the same color as the sand on the beaches covered the floors. The kitchen to the left was small but functional-looking for a bachelor. The living room had a set of tan couches and a matching easy chair facing the TV. Down a short hallway looked to be a couple of rooms, most likely the bedroom and bathroom. He didn’t have much as far as decor. No window treatments, no paintings on the walls. Though he did have a small shelving unit with pictures of his family and trophies.

  Vanessa wasn’t sure what she’d expected Jackson’s home to look like, but she hadn’t pictured this. She had no idea what a UFC fighter made, but apparently they fought for love of the sport and not the money. Not that it mattered one way or the other. He could live out of his Jeep for all she cared. But if this was how he had to live as a champion, what would happen when he couldn’t fight at all anymore?

  Rule #3: Never date a man without a stable future.

  Shut the hell up, Rules!

  “Uh, I know it’s not much, but I don’t really require a whole lot.” He started picking up a few stray pieces of clothing and threw them into what she assumed was his bedroom. “I wouldn’t have given the maid the day off if I knew you were coming.”

  She blinked in surprise. “You have a maid?”

  His amber eyes softened. “No, baby, it was a joke,” he said, gathering her into his arms. “Sorry, now isn’t the time. I was just trying to break the tension.”

  Vanessa held on tight, her face pressed against his strong chest, and inhaled his unique scent as though he’d thrown it to her as a lifeline.

  “Why don’t you try her again?”

  She shook her head and pulled back to stare at the silent phone in her hand. “I left a voice mail and several texts already. She must not be able to call back yet. I just have to wait.”

  And she’d never felt more helpless. Knowing her baby sister was in a hospital somewhere alone, bruised and battered… It was tearing her up inside.

  “Come sit down with me before you collapse.”

  He sat in the corner of the couch, and then tucked her into his side with her legs draped across his lap. One arm wrapped around her back, and he rubbed the outside of her leg in gentle, reassuring strokes.

  “If I could have one wish—anything at all—it would be to go back in time and never leave home until Kat was out of school. Then I could’ve taken her with me.” Tears scalded her cheeks. “God, why didn’t I think of that back then?”

  “Because you needed to get out of that house, too. You deserved a chance at a future, Vanessa. You weren’t Kat’s mother. It wasn’t your responsibility to put your life on hold for her.”

  She pulled back to meet his eyes. “Why the hell not? You did.”

  He frowned. “I did what?”

  “You put your life on hold for your little sister. You did the right thing.”

  “Baby, it’s not the same, and you know it.”

  Vanessa pushed off his lap and stood. She felt like a thousand watts of electricity were zipping through her veins, evaporating her blood cells along the way.

  “Bullshit it’s not. And look what happened,” she said, pointing to the door as if her best friend stood there plain as day. “Lucie is a well-adjusted, successful adult because you didn’t leave her with people who couldn’t care less about her.”

  “Vanessa,” he snapped, unfolding to his full height in front of her. “You need to stop blaming yourself for Kat’s life. Lucie didn’t turn out as she did because of me. I can’t take credit for her accomplishments, just as I can’t take the blame for when she made the worst mistake of her life and married that asshole in Vegas.”

  Vanessa tried turning to walk out the door, but he grabbed her arm and held fast. “Let go, Jackson. You don’t get it. You’ll never understand because you didn’t fuck up.”

  “No, damn it, I won’t let go. I’m not letting you walk away from this just because it makes you uncomfortable. I’m here for you, whether you like it or not.” Without releasing her arm, he lifted his other hand to hold the side of her face. “I get that you’ve had a lot of people let you down in your life, but I am not one of those people.”

  An overwhelming concoction of emotions twisted inside her. Fear, helplessness, anger, regret… They expanded as they swirled, threatening to burst from her pores to taint everyone around her. Bu
t as she let Jackson’s light eyes penetrate deep into her soul, she felt the devotion, faith, and trust they had for each other overpowering the others until they were only a murmur in the back of her mind.

  She tried smiling but failed as more tears spilled over. “I’m really scared for her.”

  “I know you are, baby. Come here.”

  Again, Vanessa let him envelop her in the safety of his embrace. Listening to the steady beat of his heart seemed to regulate hers, as if it couldn’t stand not to be in sync with his. Though she was still worried sick for Kat, Vanessa knew there was no other place she’d rather be in that moment than in Jackson’s arms.

  “Are you hungry?”

  She shook her head. “I couldn’t eat now if I wanted.”

  “Then let’s go back to the couch while we wait for her call. I’ll try to rub some of the tension out of your shoulders.”

  He kissed the crown of her head and pulled her to the couch again, only this time he situated her between his legs and facing away from him. Sitting sideways, she pulled her knees up to her chest, let her head drop down, and tried to relax as his hands worked under her shirt on the knots in her back.

  They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity but had only been ten minutes when her phone rang with her sister’s caller ID. Leaping off the couch, she pressed the green button and shoved the cell to her ear.

  “Kat! Where are you? What happened?”

  “Nessie, calm down or you’ll give yourself a coronary. Then we’ll both be in the hospital.”

  The weak and raspy voice of Vanessa’s baby sister was almost unrecognizable. Chills formed goose bumps on her flesh, immediately chased by the heat of righteous anger.

  “I’ll calm down as soon as you tell me what happened and where to find the soon-to-be-dead asshole responsible,” she ground through a clenched jaw.

  Kat sighed on the other end, no doubt resigning herself to the fact that Vanessa had no intentions of calming down about anything. “I’m okay, Nessie. Just a little banged up.” There was a pregnant pause, and then a mumbled, “This time.”

  “What do you mean, ‘this time’? So help me God, Kat, if you don’t start spilling your guts I will hire every P.I. in the country until I find you, upon which I will kidnap you and hold you prisoner for your own damn good.”

  “I don’t need your protection, Ness,” Kat bit out.

  “Oh, really? Then why the hell are you in a hospital?”

  Another sigh. “This is a special situation. Lenny got mixed up with owing money to the wrong people. When he couldn’t pay…” Vanessa almost heard her sister shrug through the phone. “They said they wanted to put a little fear of God into him. So they roughed me up so he could find me when he got home.”

  “Oh my God.” Vanessa sank back onto the couch. Her mind barely registered Jackson rubbing her back, but her body lost some of its tension and her heart didn’t race quite so fast. “How much does Lenny owe them?”

  Silence.

  “Kat! How much?”

  “Twenty thousand dollars.”

  “Holy—”

  “I’m so sorry, Nessie, I know it’s a lot of money, and it absolutely kills me to have to ask you. You know that. But I don’t know what else to do. They said they’d kill Lenny if he didn’t come up with the money and they’d just take me as payment instead.”

  Kat’s words had become less coherent every second until at last all she could manage was broken, choking sobs. Vanessa’s heart rent in two. She wanted to sob right along with her sister, but she took a deep breath and used her big-sister voice.

  “Okay, Kitty Kat, take it easy. Listen to me now.” She kept her tone soft but firm, just as she had when they were younger and Vanessa needed Kat to follow her instructions. “I want you to take some deep breaths. That’s it, settle down. Everything’s going to be all right. I’ll fix it, I promise.”

  Kat’s shaky breaths were followed by sniffles and then finally silence.

  “Good. Now how much time do you have before they come to collect again?”

  “Two days.”

  “Two days? I’ve never understood that about thugs. If you don’t have the money now, what makes them think you can magically make it appear in two goddamn days?” She put her head in her hand and rubbed absently at her temple. “Okay, let me think. I have some in savings, but the rest will have to come from my 401K, but that’ll take a few days to even process. Will they take a down payment as an act of good faith? What am I saying? They’re criminals; they don’t know the meaning of good faith.”

  “Tell her she’ll have it by tomorrow.”

  Vanessa spun around on the couch and stared at Jackson. “What did you say?”

  “You heard me. Tell her.”

  “Jax,” she said, “maybe you thought you heard her say two thousand, but—”

  “It’s a cell phone, V. The conversation might as well be in the room. I know she needs twenty Gs.”

  Vanessa glanced around the cottage as inconspicuously as possible, looking for signs that the man she loved wasn’t in fact as destitute as he seemed.

  “I know it doesn’t seem like it,” he said with an amused smirk, “but I’m doing pretty well for myself. Trust me when I say I can give her the money.”

  “Loan,” Vanessa argued. “You’re loaning me the money, with interest, and I’m paying you back.”

  “We’ll arm wrestle about it later. Just tell her to find a place nearby that accepts money transfers— No, you know what?” His eyes narrowed and his jaw set like he’d been challenged and was now readying for a fight. “Find out where she is. We’ll fly out there to make sure that man of hers doesn’t fuck it up again. That way the debt gets paid without any more problems.”

  Vanessa’s heart swelled ten times its normal size. At any moment, she expected to see it pushing between her ribs, it was so full of love for the man in front of her. She kissed him hard and fast and mouthed the words thank you before resuming the conversation with her sister and getting all the information needed to carry out Jax’s plan.

  After going over the details several times to be sure there was no room for miscommunication, and then telling Kat she loved her and would see her soon, Vanessa hung up the phone and collapsed back against Jackson’s chest.

  He wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek on top of her head. “If you have her cell number, why aren’t you ever able to talk to her?”

  “That’s a cell phone that’s programmed with only my number in it. Lenny doesn’t know she has it. Since she’s always refused my help, it was the one concession I got so she had some way of reaching me in case of emergency or to just let me know when she moves to a new city. She doesn’t use it as often as I’d like, but it’s better than nothing. When she’s not using it, it’s turned off and hidden so Lenny doesn’t find it.”

  A sad smile attempted to curve her mouth up but didn’t quite succeed. “Sometimes I call it just to leave her a voice mail about my day or to let her know I’m thinking of her and miss her.”

  “I bet she likes that.”

  “I don’t know,” she mused. “She’s never mentioned them.”

  “Sounds like she’s stubborn and has a lot of pride. Kind of like someone else I know.”

  That, along with the kiss he placed on her neck, brought a genuine smile to her face. For him to accomplish that in one of her darkest moments said a lot about his effect on her. And it didn’t even send her into a panic. Apparently miracles were possible.

  Jackson got up from the couch and grabbed his phone, letting her know he planned to have the travel agent at the resort book their flights. As he did that, she grabbed a bottle of water from his fridge and settled on the couch, letting her head fall back between sips of the cool liquid.

  “Yes, departing Honolulu and arriving in Nashville… The next flight out… One ticket for myself and the other for Miss MacGregor.”

  Vanessa’s head snapped up. Miss MacGregor?

  “No,
they’re arriving tomorrow. Place them in their original bungalow and keep the other one for Miss MacGregor upon her return… Great. We’ll be there shortly to pick up our things and the itineraries. Mahalo.”

  Jackson hung up and looked over at her. “Ready to go? The next flight leaves in a couple of hours.”

  Something told Vanessa to not ask. To let it go. It was a minute detail in the grand scheme of things right now. But in her profession, she knew it was those seemingly irrelevant details that sometimes made the difference between guilty and not guilty.

  “Jackson, why did the lady at the resort recognize my real name?”

  Lowering his head to his chest, he scrubbed a hand over his head several times before meeting her gaze again. “That’s what I was trying to tell you before you got Kat’s text.”

  “You told the resort my real identity?”

  “Not exactly.” He leaned his hips back on the short kitchenette counter and gripped the edge with his hands like it was the only thing holding him upright. “More like the resort has known your real identity the whole time.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I was trying to explain earlier that from the first time we met, you knocked me on my ass. Intrigue and lust are a damn potent combination that I’d never experienced before. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met, and when you basically told me you had no desire to see me until the wedding…I said the first thing that came to mind that would ensure we had to spend a whole lot of time together.”

  Vanessa’s insides began to vibrate, her body’s reaction to what her mind was processing. And still she didn’t want to believe it. “I didn’t have to check in as Lucie. Did I.” She left off the inflection at the end. It wasn’t a question if she already knew the answer.

  “No,” he said. “You didn’t.”

  “Which means you didn’t need to check in as Reid, or at all for that matter.”

  “No. They were aware you would be standing in for Lucie for the week.”

  “How deep does the lie go, Jackson? You fed me all that bullshit about the Mau Loa being such an exclusive resort with the high security and strict policies crap. But I’m sure there’s more,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “There always is.”