“Your sister just got in, but the general is at the hotel. The other sister and her family are hitting the airport tomorrow, hopefully, but she was worried about a delay with the kids. I just want everyone to know how you are.”
“You need to slow down,” Josh said softly.
“Not until you’re okay. Not until you’re all better and irritating me again.”
“I’m okay. I’m going to be okay. It was worth it.”
“Shhh. Stop. Don’t say that. And don’t ever do that again. Not ever again! I don’t want to see your bloo…” She covered her face as huge sobs racked her body. “I’m sorry—I promised myself I wouldn’t do this.”
“Don’t be sorry. Please, baby, stop crying.”
“Right, okay.” Jenna took a steadying breath, her whole body shaking. “Okay.”
She hiccupped, wiped away another couple of tears, and looked at her vibrating phone. She stopped it, and then dropped it in the pocket of her slacks.
“How long do I have to stay here?” Josh asked.
“The doctor wants to run some tests, so I’m not sure. But when you’re released we’ll get you home, okay? We’ll get you back to Colorado. I’ll go, too. Actually, when you are getting irritable because you hate lying in bed, I’m going to make a trip and leave you in Erika’s care. I want to check on Jax’s house and look at your house. I want to see where I’m going to be staying.”
“You mean, you want to make it habitable?”
Jenna gave a lopsided smile. “Something like that. Do you mind?”
“Nope. Your apartment is more of a home to me than my house ever was. Can you open the window?”
“Okay, then— What? Window? Why? Are you hot? Cold?”
“I just need some air. I need to breathe real air.”
In confusion, Jenna went to the window and opened it a crack. “That’s all it’ll open. You’ll let the hot air in, though.”
“Doesn’t matter. It helps me keep a sense of space when the walls feel too close.”
She shrugged, and then froze. She looked at him with a tilted head. “You were there. That second night. You were in my apartment. You opened the window. And took off my clothes…”
“And tucked you in, yeah. I wanted to make sure nothing happened to you. I didn’t realize you had issues with people in your space. Sorry.”
“But how did you get in?”
“Picked the locks.”
Anger flashed across her face before guilt claimed it. “It doesn’t matter. That doesn’t matter.”
“You can be mad at me. It’s okay.” Josh smiled at her beautiful flush.
“I’ll wait until you’re better. And remind me to punch Jax.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Any girl I set you up with would never have got you shot.”
Diane, his oldest sister, was in rare form. They were sitting in Jenna’s living room. Josh was splayed out on the couch pretending not to be in pain, Diane was in an armchair near the window, and his father, the other sister, Dena, and Erika sat uncomfortably at the table.
This had been the way of it since Diane had finally made the trek out to Manhattan. She’d arrived the day before yesterday, without her family, as Jenna was being shuttled to the airport, heading to check on Jax’s house. Coincidentally, it was also the day Josh was moved to the apartment from the hospital. Which meant it was the day when strangers would be entering Jenna’s private space.
Josh was no fool; he knew Jenna was extremely uneasy about opening her home to strangers, but also knew there was no other choice, not when there was nowhere else for him to go. He didn’t begrudge Jenna hightailing it out of the state until everyone was firmly in place. He just wished his sister hadn’t timed her entrance when the move was taking place.
Without the apartment’s owner. Josh was determined not to reveal Jenna’s vulnerability, but Diane was insistent that no high-caliber woman would leave Josh as she had. Any woman worth her salt wouldn’t go traipsing around the country, leaving her injured man behind on his own. Who cared that his family and best friend were present? The woman should take care of the home and her man. So Diane said. Over and over again.
She wouldn’t listen to Dena, who had spent the last week with Jenna, when she said Jenna was everything good for Josh, and more. She wouldn’t even listen to his father, who rarely gave praise. She also ignored Erika’s angry silence. Erika obviously wasn’t commenting because Jax had told her not to.
Jax was sitting back with a giant smile, loving the drama because he knew Diane would have to eat her words when she finally met Jenna.
Josh wasn’t so sure. Bottom line: Diane didn’t want to admit Josh had found someone better than she had. Diane hated to be wrong or outdone in anything. She made those who did prove her wrong suffer.
The only good news was that Jenna’s discomfort with the situation was a perfect cover for her to check on Jax’s house without Jax being any the wiser. She played it off like she was going to get Josh’s house ready for when he got home. Jax asked if he should escort her, keep her safe in Josh’s wake, but Jenna gave him a guilt trip about leaving Erika in a dangerous city with an invalid.
Worked like a charm.
Jax also thought the trip was being made to completely redecorate Josh’s house, as it had been in a sorry state since Josh bought it. Josh agreed. He was fully ready, and excited, to be going home to a house he barely recognized. Jenna had a way with decorating, whereas Josh was little better than a college kid.
He should have told her to leave his chair alone, though. It was old, ugly, and way past its expiration date, but it was the one comfortable thing he always looked forward to when he got home.
“Are you listening to me?” Diane said firmly, leaning forward to stare at him. She’d inherited his father’s way of staring someone down, and she used it like a well-broken-in whip.
There would be fireworks when Jenna got home.
“Diane, you’ve been saying the same thing for the last day and a half. I love Jenna. She is my choice. End of story.”
“But Josh,” Diane said as if she were talking to a five-year-old, “the woman was responsible for getting you shot. No high-class woman I know is ever in that sort of trouble.”
“Diane, no woman you know is that important.”
Diane’s mouth narrowed. It was a sure sign he’d struck a nerve with that one.
Point for him.
It was at that moment the woman of the hour walked through the door. Alone. Getting from the airport to the apartment without protection of any kind.
Her company had put guards on her apartment after the shooting, intending to make both girls stay indoors until they got out of town so as not to have to hire more bodyguards for each girl and Mike. More bodyguards meant more money, and apparently they didn’t think much of that idea. But Jenna had been dangerously exposed until she walked through those doors.
Jax jumped up as he checked his watch. “You weren’t supposed to land for another half-hour.”
Jenna waved him away, avoiding eye contact with everyone except Erika. She needed strength. She needed help dealing with all these people wandering around her things.
“Tea?” Erika asked smoothly, rising out of her seat and crossing to the kitchen. On her way she gave Jenna’s arm a squeeze.
“Yes, please,” Jenna said in a sigh as she continued to avoid eye contact.
She was in a classic, formfitting black and white dress with a string of pearls and high heels. Her hair was loose and flowing and her makeup made her look glamorous. She must have freshened up at the airport, because he knew she hadn’t showered in more than a day and probably hadn’t slept much, either.
Josh looked at her, savoring her beauty, realizing in that instant how much he’d missed her.
Jenna ignored Diane. Strike one. She ignored Dena and the general as well. Strike two.
Instead she gave him a once-over, scowled, and headed back into the kitchen. Strike three.
Diane was watching everything calmly, waiting for the hostess to introduce herself and welcome her. She looked gleeful. That meant she thought she was right, and Josh was dating well beneath him.
Damned bad timing.
Jenna returned at a quick, though graceful, strut, carrying a glass of water. At the edge of the couch she forcefully held out a pill. “You will take your meds.”
“I need to—”
“Don’t even bother saying you need to have a clear head. You are down for the count, Josh. You’re no good to anyone, least of all yourself, if you tax your body to fight off the pain. You’ll heal slower, you’ll hate each moment of every day, and you’ll be intolerable.” She shoved the pill in his face. “Take it.”
“Don’t waste your time, Jenna,” Dena said from the table. “We’ve been saying the same things for the last two days and he just digs in his heels. He’s stubborn.”
Jenna didn’t spare Dena a glance. She held her hand in the same position and extended the water. Her eyes held a hard-to-miss warning.
This was her revenge for all the times she’d had to listen to him when she didn’t want to.
Touché.
Josh grabbed the pill and swallowed it without the water.
“Drink.”
“I don’t—”
“Don’t even say it, Josh. You’re a big boy, I know. You know how to take a pill without water. Congratulations. But didn’t you teach me, in the woods, that the body needs water to digest food? Hydrate.” She pushed the water at him again.
Josh was growing a rather impressive hard-on. She was hot when she was playing Nurse Ratched. If only he could actually get her in a nurse’s uniform…
“Not until you’re better. Drink.”
“What, are you reading my mind, now?” Josh said in a sulky voice. He was sick, or close to. He was allowed to sulk.
“I know that look.” Jenna smirked. She waited for Josh to finish the glass of water and took it back.
She bent to give him a quick kiss, and then turned to Diane with a welcoming smile. “I’m so sorry to ignore you. Men are such babies when they don’t feel well.” The general huffed from the other room.
“You know it’s true.” Dena’s disembodied voice floated from the kitchen.
“I’m Jenna.” She stuck out her hand.
Diane stood up with all the regal bearing of a queen. “Hello, Jenna, nice to meet you. I’m Josh’s sister, Diane.”
“Yes, I’ve heard so much about you. You’re even more beautiful in person, of course.”
Did Diane gush? Was his sister capable of gushing?
“How are your accommodations?” Jenna went on with a flattering smile. “To your approval?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Great. Do you need something to eat? Or perhaps coffee or water?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“Good. If you don’t mind, I’ll check on the others. I’ve planned for dinner to be brought in, but I can make reservations if you prefer to get out?” Jenna had just the smallest bit of hope in that last statement, but was doing a great job masking her trepidation.
“Oh, in would be fine,” Diane said, mouth narrowing.
Josh allowed himself a small sigh. Jenna was working her magic. Diane didn’t know whether to be pissed that Josh had found her first, or flattered at the five-star treatment. It was clear Jenna wasn’t the trailer trash Diane had been trying to make her into fifteen minutes ago.
Jenna gave Josh a wink before disappearing into the other room. Diane ignored his gaze.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing, Jenna Anderson?” Jax said from the other room. He sounded angry.
Josh had completely forgotten to be pissed about her leaving the airport without protection.
“Oh yeah,” Josh yelled from the couch, “why the hell are you—”
“Josh,” Diane cut in, “mind your swearing.”
Giving Diane a pointed look, he said, “Why the fuck are you wandering around this city on your own?” Diane glared. “Come back in here so we can talk about this!”
By the silence, he knew he was being ignored. Making a split-second decision, he painfully rose to his feet. His whole left side repeatedly stabbed him with white-hot points of agony. He took a few steps and cursed his decision.
Still, he’d gone this far.
“Josh! You shouldn’t get up! Josh,” Diane screeched behind him.
Everyone turned toward him as he gingerly walked into the dining room. He leaned against the wall in something just shy of misery before the general got up and gave him his chair. Josh sat down gratefully.
“Jenna, did I take a bullet for nothing?” Josh panted. “You’ll willingly put yourself in danger? Could you not have called Jax?”
Jenna had an expression that said she’d expected this. She bent to her purse and pulled out a folded-up newspaper. Unrolling it, she slapped it on the table.
It was the guy from the gala. The one wearing crocodile boots at the groundbreaking. The other guy, the one who had been standing right beside him, was pictured, too.
Dead. Both shot at the same time and place. Shooter unknown. No suspects, but most likely connected with drugs. At least, that was what the reporter thought.
“I don’t get it,” Dena said, angling her body to get a better look at the pictures.
“It’s the guys that threatened us,” Jenna said, leaning against the wall. Erika supplied her with a shaky glass of wine. Josh was certain she’d been offered tea.
“So…they were the ones that shot Josh?” Dena was looking around the table at everyone with a puzzled expression. Diane moved closer to the group, getting her own view of the paper.
“No, they ordered someone to shoot me,” Jenna said in resignation. “And possibly Erika and Mike. Josh got in the way. Saved my life.”
“They ordered it?” Diane asked. “What are they, the mob?”
“No, not the mob,” Jenna said, suddenly letting the fatigue show on her face.
“Similar, though. Just small time. Not as big or as powerful,” Erika supplied, her own glass of wine in hand.
“So…they’re dead, and you gals are…”
“Free,” Jenna said as Dena searched for the word. “No one is going to try and take us down without payment. Without those guys at the helm, Erika and I, and Mike, aren’t threatened. We’re free. We’re safe.”
The general looked at Josh subtly, eyebrows raised fractionally. Josh shook his head slightly. It hadn’t been him.
“Advantageous for you and Erika that these two men apparently had many enemies,” his father said mildly.
Jenna allowed herself a small smile, and flashed Erika a look that Josh had come to realize was her “job well done” expression.
“Advantageous, yes,” Jenna replied, just as mildly.
Josh looked at Jax, wanting to see if he’d made the connection, and knew he had. His buddy was looking worriedly at Erika, who was looking at Jenna with a relieved expression. If Josh hadn’t already suspected, now he knew. So did Jax. It was a troubling thought.
Now Jax knew how Erika felt when she found out he could kill in cold blood. It was startling to learn your loved one had hidden abilities that were on the dark side of life. He should be looking at Jenna differently, too. He should be in disbelief that a woman with her lifestyle, who had a rich father growing up, who always had plenty of money, would know such seedy characters. That when she needed someone to disappear, she could make it happen.
He should, but he wasn’t. He’d always known she was extraordinary. That the demons lurking inside her mirrored his own. It was what held them so tightly, so deeply, together. Deep down, he was proud of her. In the woods, it had been his know-how that saved them. In the city, he took care of the day-to-day issues while she worked at the root. They were a good team.
In opposition, Jax was looking at Erika now the same way Erika had looked at Jax in the woods. Like one had never seen the other before. L
ike the stranger in front of them was dangerous. Like maybe that wasn’t great news.
Those two were both ridiculous. At least Josh and Jenna were of the same mind when it really mattered. They might have fought and bickered, but at least they both knew, without a doubt, where the other stood in the world. It looked like Jax and Erika were still learning those parts of each other.
Oh man, now he was thinking about feelings.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“I’m warning you, things have changed a bit.” Jenna helped Josh out of the car and waited for his reaction.
Josh stepped out, pretending he didn’t clutch the car roof so as not to wobble, righted himself, and stepped onto the sidewalk in front of his house. He checked the landscaping, saw nothing was amiss, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Jenna had been right—the outside was his domain. Well, he was good at it, so that figured.
They made their way slowly up the walk. Only a week had passed since he’d had his homecoming into her apartment. With all his nosy family. It had almost killed Jenna to allow them in, knowing the questions would start, and knowing that she would be pressed to answer them.
When they came—the hard questions, the hurtful observations about her mother, about how beautiful she was, about what caused her death—Jenna was surprised it didn’t stab as deeply to answer as she’d feared. She found herself reciting the horrible accident without crumbling into a soggy puddle.
She was relieved to get sympathy without pity. They had lost a mother, too. It wasn’t as violent, but cancer was as devastating in its own gruesome way.
Their sympathy unbuckled the last restraint, and Jenna felt infinitely better at having them in her home.
“Ready,” Josh said, snapping her reverie.
“You really should have stayed in New York another week,” Jenna said as they neared the front door.
“I’m fine.”
Jenna sighed. Of course he was. He’d been fine since he’d woken up. He’d been fine every time he winced or gratefully took the proffered pain medication.
Before they’d left, every time Jax heard a “fine,” he would start laughing. He’d been in the same place once, after all. Although he’d been much, much worse off.
Unexpected Guardian (Skyline Trilogy Book 3) Page 28
