She jerked back, repulsed. “You bastard!” she spat. “You’d better keep in mind that if you try to hurt me through Tommy, I’ll turn the tables on you. I swear to God, I will.”
Before he could find a suitable comeback, she turned, dashed back inside, then slammed the door in his face.
Thirty-Three
Collier felt as if he’d stepped into a boxing ring and gotten the stuffing beat out of him. Even so, he was mad enough to step back into that imaginary ring and take on both Rupert and his dad.
His anger festering, he sat in his car for a moment, trying to get his bearings. First he’d learned about Rupert, then Mason. Though both punches had packed a wallop, it was the second that had knocked him out.
His instinct had been to ignore Brewster’s wild accusation, but he couldn’t. Darwin was a renegade, all right, but he wasn’t stupid. If he was willing to waltz into Collier’s office expecting to collect on a promise Mason had made, his argument had to be legitimate.
Dammit all! How could Mason, who lived by the law, stoop so low? How could he wallow in the gutter with the unethical attorneys who made their living by under-handed deals? Not Mason. Never. Sweat collected under Collier’s armpits. He couldn’t escape the fact that Brewster’s accusations had to have some merit. He was ballsy, but not that ballsy.
Collier had wanted Tommy Rogers to get what was coming to him, but only according to the law. Mason had blatantly tampered with the wheels of justice, which now put a whole new spin on things. Suddenly Collier felt cold to the bone.
Brittany.
If she ever found out, she wouldn’t throw water on him if he were on fire. His pain cut deeper. But he couldn’t dwell on his feelings. Instead he had to hold himself together and find a solution to this mess. To confront his dad right now would be a mistake. At the moment he was too shaken and upended. Mason would have to wait.
Collier slumped in the seat, then rubbed his temples, feeling his head pound as if he’d had one too many. He wished he had. If ever he were going to drink himself into oblivion, this would be the time. But when his hangover cleared, he’d still have to face harsh reality. He’d still have to face both Rupert and Mason.
And Brittany.
A shiver coursed through him. She must never find out. But how was he going to keep her from doing just that? He refused to worry about that now. He still had a date with Rupert, which he intended to keep.
Maybe once that was over he would have worked off some of his temper. Because when he faced Mason, he had to be in tip-top condition.
His dad might be getting on in years, but he was still sharp. And when it came to Jackson and his plight, he was unbending in his bitterness and blame. It wouldn’t be easy to reason with him. But right was right and wrong was wrong, Collier reminded himself. If Mason had done what Brewster said, then he was dead bang wrong.
Feeling like a pile driver was having a field day inside his head, he reached for his cell phone. Moments later, he heard her voice and his whole insides mellowed.
“Hey,” he said huskily.
He heard the slight catch in her voice he’d come to expect when he called her. “Hey, yourself.”
“Are you all right?” He didn’t know why he asked that. Maybe it was because he couldn’t think of anything else to say. If he couldn’t be with her, touch her, then hearing her sweet, raspy-toned voice was the next best thing. Right now it represented a balm to his battered soul.
“I’m…fine.”
Was there a slight hesitation, or was he imagining it? If he was with her, he could tell if anything was wrong. He gripped the phone tighter. This long-distance shit was a bunch of crap.
“Are you sure?”
Another hesitation. Something was wrong. His blood curdled.
“Have you been crying?”
“No. I’m just tired.”
The latter he believed. How could she not be tired, with the schedule she kept? As far as the crying, he was sure she was fibbing. However, if she didn’t want to confide in him, he didn’t want to push her. Besides, now was not the time to grill her, especially since he couldn’t hold her.
“What about you? Are you sure you’re okay? You sound like—” She broke off for a second, then went on. “Like you’re stressed to the max.”
“I’m okay,” he lied. “But I’d definitely be better if I were with you.” His already low voice dropped another octave, making it sound rougher than usual.
“Something is wrong.”
Careful, he told himself. Apparently he wasn’t as good at hiding his feelings as he’d thought. He had to be careful. She couldn’t know the truth until he was ready to tell her, and that wouldn’t be until he had all the facts, then a game plan.
He sighed. “I’m just missing you, that’s all.”
“Me, too,” she said in a small voice.
Silence.
“Look, I have to go now, but I’ll see you soon.” He paused, not wanting to end the conversation, feeling himself shake with need. “Are you on your way to work?”
“Shortly.”
“Be careful, okay?”
“I will. You do the same.”
A longer silence.
The words I love you almost escaped his lips, but he caught them in time, feeling another pinch in his gut. “I’ll be in touch,” he said gruffly.
Moments later he cranked the engine and headed for Rupert’s office, hoping he would catch him there. If not… He refused to dwell on the negative. Whatever it took, he’d find him. Once that task was behind him, he had his dad to face.
One hurdle at a time, he reminded himself.
Five minutes later he was in Rupert’s outer office, in front of his secretary’s desk. “Mr. Holt’s in, but he’s on the phone,” she said pleasantly.
“I’ll wait.” Collier smiled at her. “In his office.”
An incredulous look came over her face, and she opened her mouth, only to snap it shut. For a second Collier almost felt sorry for her, knowing he’d put her in an awkward position with her boss. Her job was to make people without appointments sit and wait.
In all fairness, when the notion hit him, he could be as intimidating as hell. Apparently she’d picked up on that and decided to leave well enough alone. Smart woman.
After nodding and giving her a smile that didn’t reach anywhere near his eyes, Collier opened the door and crossed the threshold. Rupert was just hanging up the phone. When he realized who had barged in, his face drained of color. Then, with blatant hostility marring his features, he rose to his feet.
“Why, Collier Smith, to what do I owe this honor?” The sarcasm and hatred were right up-front. But Collier ignored that, wanting to say what he had to say and get out.
“I would offer you a seat, but—”
“Skip the bullshit, Holt. This isn’t a social call, and you know it.”
“Would it by chance have anything to do with the appointment?” Rupert paused. “The one you’re not going to get.” Snideness now overrode the sarcasm.
“I ought to tear your head off,” Collier responded harshly, every muscle in his body on high alert.
Rupert’s face turned mean. “If you think you’re man enough, then come on. I’ve never backed down from a fight in my life.”
“Especially not when it comes to a woman, huh?”
His lethal barb struck its mark. Collier watched as a gamut of emotions played across Rupert’s face, from fear to belligerence to contempt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I think you do. Otherwise you wouldn’t be messing in your pants right now.”
“Listen, you cocky bastard,” Rupert hissed. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with. If I choose, I can squash you like a cockroach.”
“Save your pompous blustering for someone who gives a shit. My only reason for being here is to advise you not to lay a hand on Brittany Banks ever again.”
At first Collier had thought Rupert had simply lost his color. Now he actual
ly looked like he was dead and had been embalmed standing upright. “Why you…you—”
“If I had my way,” Collier interrupted, “you’d be in jail for assault and attempted rape.”
As if he realized the jig was up, that to deny he’d hurt Brittany would be futile, Rupert smiled a sudden and cruel smile. “How do you know she didn’t ask for it?”
Collier saw red. Before he could control himself, he was eye level with Rupert, his hands clenched by his sides, so furious he couldn’t utter a word or make a move.
“Is she a good piece of pussy?”
“Shut your filthy mouth, old man, before I decide it’s in your best interest to put you out of your misery.”
Though undisguised fear clouded Rupert’s eyes, he didn’t back down. “I saw you sneaking out of her hovel and told your old man.”
Unwittingly a hand closed around Rupert’s tie and Collier jerked him closer. “Stay out of my business, and don’t even think about taking your beef with me out on Brittany.” Collier let him go and backed away.
“Get out of my office.” Rupert’s voice shook uncontrollably. “Now! But before you go, know you’ll never see the inside of a judge’s chamber!”
Collier closed the distance between them, his breathing as labored as if he’d run a mile up a mountain. “Stay away from her. Otherwise, you’ll be sorry you were ever born. Got it?”
Rupert swallowed hard, blood replacing the pallor in his face.
Then, with a finger, Collier jabbed Rupert in the chest. Obviously caught off guard, Rupert went stumbling backward, where he landed in his chair.
Collier jabbed him again. “Remember, you’ve been warned.”
Jackson’s eyes wandered leisurely over Haley’s nude body, taking in her long neck, her full breasts, her tiny waist, her long limbs. For a moment his eyes lingered on the red curls nestled between her legs, and he felt himself react again. He still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that he’d buried himself in that moist hotbed several times already.
Sex. He’d actually had sex. No, he corrected himself. He’d made love, and there was a difference. Suddenly he wanted to shout hallelujah at the top of his lungs. But he contained himself.
He’d had no intention of making love to her until he’d come to grips with the change in his body. Haley, however, had had different plans.
She had come over to discuss wedding plans, even though he was still in stalling mode. Not so Haley. Since she’d asked him to marry her and he’d accepted, she’d assumed it was a done deal and gone full speed ahead.
“What are you thinking?” she asked in a husky voice.
He grinned. “How much I enjoy what I see.”
“So you still like my body?”
“Nah, I was just kidding.”
Haley poked him in the ribs, then rolled onto her side and snuggled against him. He hugged her close.
“Was it good for you?” He heard the anxiety edging his tone but couldn’t control it.
He felt her eyes seek his. When he peered down, he noticed hers were dewy. Squeezing her tighter, he rested his head on top of hers, feeling her silky red hair cushion his chin.
“It was perfect,” she whispered.
A sigh was all he was capable of uttering.
“Remember how we used to do this all the time?”
“What?”
“Make love in the afternoon.”
“You’re right, we did.”
“It couldn’t have worked out better today, with Harry off and your dad at the office.”
He chuckled. “Would it have mattered?”
“No.”
He tapped her on the nose. “Don’t ever change.”
“Change how?” she asked in a sassy tone.
“Don’t ever become meek and submissive.”
She poked him harder in the ribs. “What you’re saying is that I’m assertive.”
“What I’m saying is that you’re a steamrolling dynamo.”
“If I hadn’t been,” she said on a huffy note, “you’d still be sitting in this room alone, sulking.”
Before Haley had come back into his life, he would have taken umbrage to that statement. Now, however, he knew it was the truth. She had forced him to take a closer look in the mirror, and he hadn’t liked what he’d seen.
“I missed you so much, Jackson. I didn’t realize how much until I saw you again.”
“Does that mean you love me?”
“Oh, yes,” she whispered. “I’ve never stopped.”
“And I love you, too.”
“When are we going to tell your dad?”
He played dumb in order to stall. “Tell him what?”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” She sat up in the bed and crossed her legs Indian style. “I want to get married tomorrow.”
Jackson gasped. “Tomorrow? There’s no way.”
“Sure there is,” she said calmly. “Just gather our families, find a church and a preacher, and it’ll be done. We’ll be husband and wife.”
He stared at her. “You’d do that?”
Her gaze didn’t waver. “In a heartbeat.”
Jackson swallowed against the emotion clogging his throat. “Are you sure you want to be saddled with a man in a wheelchair? We’ve never talked about that.”
“That’s because there’s nothing to talk about. I know what I’m doing, Jackson. I’ll take you any way I can get you.” She paused, her eyes tearing up. “I love you that much.”
He leaned over and kissed a nipple. She moaned. For a while the room fell silent again. Afterward he whispered, “I hate you having to help me.”
“Why? I love being on top.”
He sighed with a grin. “You always did.”
“Now, with that out of the way, we can move on to telling Mason.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Will you stop it? I’ve told my mother, and she’s all for it.”
“I know Dad will be, too. He’ll be over the moon, especially when I add whip cream to the dessert and tell him I’m returning to the firm.”
Haley gave him a spontaneous hug. “Oh, Jackson, we’re going to have a wonderful life.”
“That we are, darling.” He paused and frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“I was just thinking about my brother.”
“You mean with that girl?”
“Yep. Right now, he’s in the demon pit where I was before you breezed back into my life.”
“If word gets out about her and her brother, will it really nix his chances of getting on the bench?”
“Maybe, especially if that juicy stuff finds its way into the wrong hands.”
“We’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that doesn’t happen.” She paused. “Do you think he loves her?”
“Yep, only I don’t think he knows it, or else he won’t admit it.”
“And how do you feel about Brittany? That’s her name, right?”
“At first I was knocked for a loop, but now that I’m in love, I understand how the poor bastard feels. Besides, his sister shouldn’t be held accountable for her brother’s sins. Brittany didn’t run over me while under the influence.”
“What a mess. I bet Mason’s about to have a stroke.”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“Since you’ve gotten your shit together and rejoined the human race, maybe that will help his feelings.”
“I love it when you say what you really mean.”
She giggled. “Just part of my charm.”
He leaned over and kissed her other nipple. “That and your delicious body.”
Her eyes glazed over. “You’ve made me wet again.”
A groan escaped him in concert with an impatient knock on the door. “Jackson, may I come in? I know Haley’s here.”
At the sound of Mason’s voice, they both froze and stared wild-eyed at each other. Thank God he’d thought to lock the door before they made love.
“Uh, we’ll be down shortly,�
�� Jackson called, managing to maneuver himself out of bed without Haley’s help. “Just wait for us in the study.”
His dad didn’t respond right off, as if trying to figure out what was going on. “Whatever,” he said at last, though his tone was testy at best.
Once they were sure he was out of hearing range, Jackson and Haley looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Thirty-Four
“How long may I stay?”
The tall, robust guard looked at her with sympathy. “As long as you like, actually.”
“Thank you,” Brittany said, her relief obvious.
“He’s in room number three, on the right side.”
Brittany murmured her thanks again, then made her way with firm, quick steps toward Tommy’s cubicle, feeling as though her heart was in her throat. The prison had called just as she was grabbing her purse, ready to walk out the door. She would already have been gone had it not been for Collier’s call.
After the prison spokesperson had identified himself, her first thought was that Tommy had been in another fight. But then she was told he had a bad virus and was in the infirmary. In order to make record time, she’d broken every speed limit possible, without so much as seeing a cop.
Now, as she made her way to Tommy, she noticed that the small hospital was spotless, which made her feel somewhat better. It was terrible to be sick, but being away from home and family made it ten times worse. She hated the fact that she couldn’t take him home.
A sudden bout of depression almost overwhelmed her, especially when she found his room and saw him. After tiptoeing to the side of the bed, she sat down and watched as he slept, noticing how pale he looked. Still, under the light sheet, she could see the bulging muscles of his upper arms.
He was obviously fit otherwise, which would be in his favor in shaking off the virus. Still, the fact that he was sick enough to come here frightened her. She wouldn’t stop worrying until she talked to the doctor and found out what was going on.
“Hey, sis.”
Rerouting her thoughts, Brittany scooted closer to the bed and smiled at him, then reached up and laid her hand on his forehead. It was burning hot. Her fear heightened. “I don’t have to ask how you’re feeling.”
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