The man’s bloodshot eyes darted around the faces near the podium, the sweat on his face caused by more than just the hot day. He licked his lips again, a nervous habit. The women kept talking in his ear, always touching him. Goading. He was going to do something stupid. It was only a matter of time.
Jax stopped close to them and looked intently at Josh, awaiting direction.
With his subtle signs, Josh instructed Jax to move closer, as close as the crowd would allow. Unfortunately, the man and his harpies were in the middle of a throng of unhappy working-class people pressing together in their smoldering anger.
Jax raised his eyebrows, asking to go in and remove the threat.
Josh took stock of the situation.
This was a Don Jeffries call, and Don was on the other side of the executives. If Jax removed the man, there would be trouble. The women would shout and throw a fit, and the man might do whatever stupid act he was currently contemplating. The finger of blame would be pointed at Jax.
Josh shook his head and glanced at Jenna, still perfect and lovely on the podium, delivering a speech that was making the executives nod and smile in appreciation. He spared one more glance to the expensive men and their secrets on the sideline, noting that they were watching Jenna closely, and that Don was watched them.
A scowl creased the man’s face. He nodded in agreement. An arm came up with elbow raised, making room for himself. His other hand, held low, started to rise. The pot was starting to boil over.
Josh inched closer to Erika and put a hand on her waist. She looked at him in surprise and pulled away, not comfortable with his proximity. He let the strength of his gaze crash into her, crushing her resolve. Thank God she wasn’t as hardheaded as Jenna.
Jenna smiled at the business owners before turning her attention to the aggravated crowd. She noticed Josh, with warning in his eyes and his arm around Erika’s waist. Trying to keep her words clear and precise while her attention wavered, she found Jax in the crowd and staring.
She followed his gaze. A stare so hate-filled that she stuttered on one of her words blasted her. She picked up where she’d left off effortlessly, but that stutter was enough. She saw him blink with the hitch, his eyebrows dipping dangerously, his mouth grimacing, and the muscles on his right arm flexing.
His gun arm.
Jax dove into the crowd, knocking people out of his way. Josh picked Erika up around the middle and pushed people out of his way to get to Jenna.
She saw the arm raise, desperate eyes with nothing to lose squinting in accusation and determination. Sunlight glinted off the metal of a barrel.
“Get down,” she screamed into the mic as Josh collided with her.
She let him take her to the ground. Into the dirt. Yet again.
The blast of the gun shattered the silence her scream left in its wake. New screams rose as the crowd swarmed around them.
Chapter Eighteen
Josh pushed Jenna and Erika into the ground beneath him, keeping his eyes on the direction the crowd was fleeing, and the flight of the executives. He wanted to get back to the limo, but not with the important people. If there were any more shooters, they would aim for the CEO most likely, or Jenna. Josh wanted to make sure it was a decision, rather than a two–birds-with-one-bullet situation.
Suddenly the dark days in Colorado weren’t such a black spot in their history. If it led to her keeping her ego in check as he dealt with the threat, it meant all their problems might be worth the end result.
Josh held them both close, waiting for a sign of Jax or Maurice. Jax probably had the gunman on the ground, so Josh pushed through the throng of people to find Maurice. To get back to the limo, he would be using the giant man as a shield. He hoped there would be no hard feelings.
“Carry Erika, Josh,” he heard Jenna say.
Jenna’s eyes were cool and resigned. His heart leaped at her fearlessness even as he was filled with sadness. No matter the kind of life he wanted for her, she always seemed to find danger. It looked as though she always answered.
He let her find her feet before hoisting Erika over his shoulder, fireman style. He brought Jenna into the protection of his body with the other hand as he cut through the panicking crowd.
He found Maurice lying on the ground with a few white men’s limbs sticking out from beneath him. Apparently he thought lying on Mike was a good enough way to protect him. It was true; it would certainly work, if he didn’t smother the poor bastard in the process.
“Maurice, get up,” Josh barked. Sirens wailed, the police already on the scene.
“They get him?” Maurice asked as he bent over and dragged Mike up by his suit collar. Mike’s eyes were wild and his movements stiff.
“Still working on it. We need to get this crew to the limo. Lead the way. Mike, you stay behind Maurice. Jenna, stay close to me. I’ll carry Erika.”
Everyone nodded and Jenna pulled Mike to stand in front of her. Mike huddled close to Maurice’s backside. When the cluster was set, Maurice started moving. He could have been a linebacker, because the ease and familiarity with which he moved people out of the way was impressive. Hands moving all the time, giving a slight push as needed, and the people fell away. Maurice cut a wide path through the crowd and directly to the limo in less than five minutes.
Jenna forcefully shoved Mike into the limo, then stepped out of the way so Josh could ease Erika inside. That done, he turned to Jenna.
“You’re not coming in with us, are you?” Jenna asked. “You need to get Jax.”
Josh met her gaze and fell into it. Fierce heat welled up from seeing her calm, clear blue eyes. She was such a remarkable woman. It was a wonder he had found her. “I love you,” he said without thinking.
Jenna’s lips flicked upward. “I love you too, but now’s not really the time for a quickie.”
Josh’s heart surged as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Let’s dance.” Jax scooted around Josh and shooed Jenna into the limo. “Don is going to stay behind to yell at people.”
Jax then Maurice climbed in as Josh took a look around, saw a couple of flashes as reporters documented the day, and climbed in after them.
The talking and yelling was muted as the limo door closed. The flashing blue and red lights were dulled through the tinted windows. Jazz played softly, competing against the hum of the air conditioner. The ambience inside the protective shelter was almost calming.
Until Jenna looked at Mike.
She took a second to collect her thoughts. Everything about this building had become a nightmare. If it wasn’t a professional gunman taking a shot at them, it was a local with nothing left to lose. At what point did someone take a look around and wonder if it was all worth it? At what point did they take stock of what they had, the good things they had, and decide they didn’t want to lose any more?
This point, Jenna reflected. This point right here.
“I think we should throw in the towel,” she heard herself say through numb lips. Erika and Mike stared at her. Jax raised his eyebrows with a hopeful expression, and Josh clicked on his granite mask. “I think we should give up. This is getting too dangerous.”
Mike looked out of the window at the city rushing by. “I tried. When we came back, I tried to back out. Don said I wouldn’t get the completion bonus, but I said I didn’t care. Then I got a letter from the lawyers with a bunch of legal stuff about terminating my contract early, and back damages and a bunch of stuff I didn’t understand. Clauses and whatnot.”
Jenna had figured that the company would try to pull something like that. She’d negotiated her contract when she’d been offered it, making sure to take out all the catches Mike was talking about, and left herself a couple of loopholes. She’d been at the contract game a long time, and she was her father’s daughter, after all. Mike was a company man. He’d worked there practically forever, one assignment to the next. He’d never had cause for concern before now. He’d never had reason to question the contracts he was
given with each new project.
“I was thinking about it, though,” Mike said, still staring out the window. “We are almost done. The engineers still have to wrap a few things up, but as for the design, all we are really doing is nitpicky stuff. Outside stuff. I know you are a perfectionist, Jenna, but we can get this thing finished in three months if we don’t tooth and comb everything. Two if we work like slaves.”
“Use a fine-toothed comb, Mike.” Erika rubbed her eyes tiredly.
“Let’s get back to work and make a plan. We’ll make a list of things we still need to do, and draw up a timeline,” Jenna said.
“Jenna, stop eating your Wheaties.” Mike closed his eyes. “We still have to do this stupid thing tonight, so we can be shot at again, and I want to take a nap before we do. I am at fumes right now.”
“Running on fumes, Mike. You are terrible with sayings,” Erika said, watching the world pass out the window.
“Whatever.”
“You’re right.” Jenna leaned her head back against the seat. “Plus, I am freaking dirty again. I could do with a shower. Where are they dropping us?”
“Home,” Josh stated. He was still looking at her without expression, but his eyes were sympathetic. He was used to all this excitement. She wasn’t.
The worst part was, she knew there’d be more. This was going to get worse before it got better. She wondered what would come next.
Chapter Nineteen
Glowing orbs and shimmery water moats lit up the event. It was a black-tie affair, and the throng of people decorating the steps on their way into the event looked the part. The guests, currently chatting in twos and threes, wore classy dresses with top designer labels and perfectly tailored tuxedos.
Jenna, Erika, Jax, and Josh slowly stepped out of the limo, opting to arrive in a four-pack rather than a couple at a time. Josh stepped next to Jenna, lowering his hand down her back to rest on the groove right above her butt.
“Have I told you how beautiful you are tonight?” Josh asked her quietly.
He had. First when she had stepped out of her room. She was wearing a black and gold, single-strapped ball gown, the skirt a big pouf that wouldn’t look out of place among the elite of the gala event, and the top a slinky number that showcased her breasts and thin waistline. She was going for elegant and charming rather than slinky and sexy. It was the angle the PR guys had suggested, and she approved.
The compliment had been followed with a couple of “I love you”s and a quick lovemaking session, in which she had been unceremoniously bent over the kitchen counter and accosted in a most unladylike fashion. Josh seemed to have taken her loving admission earlier to heart, and it was acting like an aphrodisiac. Not that she minded at the time, but fixing her hair afterward wasn’t what dreams were made of.
The second time was when she was just inside the limo. He’d leaned over to whisper it in her ear as they went to pick up Erika and Jax. He’d followed that one up with sneaky fingers trailing up her thighs and teasing under her panty line. She’d just had time to orgasm before Erika stepped into the limo, catching her putting her dress down as Josh pulled his hand away.
This time she giggled as she pushed him away. “Hands off, Williams.”
“What about tongues?” he answered with a malicious glint in his eyes.
“Okay, ew. We’re standing right here, you know. We can hear you,” Erika said as she slipped a hand in Jax’s. “Jenna, I think I liked you better when you two were fighting all the time. You weren’t so irritatingly girly.”
“Shut up. You’re just jealous because your honeymoon period has already worn off.”
Erika made a sound of exasperation. “That wore off in the first few days. The second he started blowing gas, I rethought my Bambi-eyed devotion.”
“First few minutes, then.” Josh smiled. Jax got a punch.
They followed the red carpet up to the large entrance of the hall. Porter met them, looking dapper in his tux, polished to the nines, and smiling so much his face must have hurt. “My favorite designers!” He shook Erika’s hand enthusiastically, and then turned to Jenna. His smile turned desirous and his voice became deeper. “You look beautiful, Miss Anderson.”
She felt Josh’s hand slide around her waist. Porter looked up in surprise. “Ah yes,” he said, “Your boyfriend, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, this is Josh. He doubles as my bodyguard. I believe you met him at lunch the other day?”
Brian stepped up to Porter with a bright smile. “Jenna, Erika! Fantastic, fantastic. You two are looking radiant. Just radiant! And your handsome heroes are with you. Great! We’ve heard a lot of buzz about the four of you. Especially you, Mr. Williams. Carrying two women to safety—that was quite a feat! But, Mr. Banks, no one forgets that you singlehandedly apprehended a shooter. Courageous! Well, I don’t want to get in the way. Please, enter, enter!”
The four of them let Brian shoo them inside.
“He said I was courageous,” Jax said. “That’s better than ‘quite a feat.’ I think I win round one of the bodyguarding stakes.”
“You are both idiots,” Erika said as they reached Don.
“Can no one think of a better put-down?” Jenna asked, mystified.
Usually at these types of events Don had a glass of strong alcohol and a bored expression. He talked, he charmed, and he got out of there as fast as he could. Tonight his eyes were tight and he was drinking water. He was in his tux, just as polished as usual, but something was definitely off.
“You okay, Don?” Jenna asked quietly as they approached her.
Don surveyed them, and then looked at Josh and Jax. “Can I talk to you boys for a minute?”
That did not sound good.
“What do you think is going on now?” Jenna asked as Don and the two guys moved toward the elaborate fountain in the middle of the floor. Waitresses carrying trays of food and flutes of champagne zipped past them, on their way to the other clusters of people who were chatting and laughing. There would be a lot of hand shaking here tonight. A lot of deals made.
“I am so tired of the whole thing that I don’t even care, Jenna.” Erika hunched. “Oh look, there’s Mike. I’ll go get him.”
Without further ado, Erika walked across the gala toward Mike and his giant bodyguard. Apparently Mike’s “plus one” would not be his wife.
“Jenna,” a familiar voice said from her left.
She turned slowly toward the man she’d once known intimately. Lewis stood, tall and dapper with his handsome face and impeccable suit. As she looked, though, she couldn’t help but see a weakness in him. An inferiority that she’d never noticed before. He lacked a certain masculinity, a certain homage d’homme quality. He just seemed a little…boy band.
“Hi, Lewis. I didn’t expect to see you here.” Didn’t ever want to see you again, as a matter of fact.
“Didn’t you? I was a designer for most of the project—don’t I belong here, too?”
“As we seem to work ten times faster without you, I would say you weren’t much help.”
Lewis’s gaze roamed, snagging at her breasts. He stepped a fraction closer. “Miss me, Jenna? I see you’re standing here alone.”
“No, not alone, Lewis.” Erika joined the group, with Mike and Maurice in tow.
“What’s up, Lewis? Come to gloat about being fired?” Mike said sarcastically as he grabbed a beer from the bar.
“Mike, how are you holding up with a team full of girls?” Lewis asked with a sneer.
“I traded a nitwit for a couple of hot chicks. Let me think on that.” Mike looked around with tight eyes. He might be suffering, but he could still dole out the wit when he needed to.
Lewis leaned on the bar toward Jenna, trying for intimacy. Trying to pick up where he left off.
That was when she saw him: six feet, three inches, topping the height of the crowd like a cherry on a decadent sundae. He moved as if on liquid joints, drawing eyes to him like bees to honey. Josh. He filled out his tux, and th
en some. He was debonair, strength and power, owning his body and the space around it, showing all the confidence and poise Lewis lacked. His eyes were on hers, danger seeping through his sophistication.
Her insides filled with warmth as she watched him watching her. Her knight. Her hero. Her love.
Lewis must have followed her gaze, because he said, “Oh, I see you’re still with that trailer trash.”
Anyone could see that Josh was anything but an outsider in this group of society’s elite. The way he moved in that tux, the way he held his drink and crossed the space like it was birthright—he looked like he’d done this a million times before. He was in his element.
He joined their small group, excusing himself until he could slip a confident arm down the bar behind Jenna. She leaned into the cavern of his body. His other arm came around her, pulling her in.
“Lewis, so good to see you again,” Josh said smoothly, the gravel in his deep voice sending shivers up her back.
“Chuck. I see she got you out of the woods.”
“The name is Josh, actually. And yes, she got me out of the woods. I hear you are out of a job. Tough break, man.”
Lewis ignored the comment and the name correction. “You know what they say. Take the man out of the trailer, but you can’t take the white trash out of the man.”
Suddenly the mood changed, and it wasn’t subtle. Josh straightened up very slowly, his hand coming away from Jenna, his body taut under his expensive clothes. In a blink he changed from easygoing socialite into something out of a horror movie. Fire burned in his eyes, the killer’s spark igniting.
“What did you say to me?” Josh asked in a low, threatening voice.
Lewis’s eyes rounded, showing the fear that crossed his face. Jenna smirked. Lewis had just remembered who he was dealing with. The size of the guy he was dealing with. It was easy to forget when Josh was cleaned up, spinning charm, and completely at ease. Too late now.
Unexpected Guardian (Skyline Trilogy Book 3) Page 14
