In The Still of the Night [The Protectors 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Monroe, Marla

  * * * *

  Light seeped in around the edges of the curtains and woke Jenna from a sound sleep. Her head felt better, only a dull throb now. Her body was an entirely different story. She ached all over, and her ribs were really sore. She turned over gingerly and found Riley sitting back in a chair with his socked feet resting on the bedrail. He looked to be asleep, but when she turned the rest of the way over, his head snapped up.

  “You need something? More pain medicine?” he asked. He sat straighter in the chair now and leaned toward her.

  “No. I’m fine. Well, better than I was anyway. I need to get up.” She desperately needed the bathroom.

  “You don’t need to get out of bed too soon. Let’s wait until later in the day.” Riley stood up, hovering over her.

  “No. I need to get up now. I have to go to the bathroom, Riley.”

  “Oh.” He looked slightly uncomfortable. She would have grinned if it didn’t hurt so much.

  Jenna pulled back the covers and attempted to sit up on her own. She couldn’t help the slight cry that escaped when she put pressure on her ribs and her hip. Riley was instantly there, helping her to sit the rest of the way up. It sure made it a lot easier to have help. She wasn’t sure her friend would have been able to deal with it. Riley was doing okay, she thought.

  “Thanks, I need to stand up now.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ll carry you.” He didn’t give her time to protest.

  Suddenly she found herself in his arms, being carried down the hall to the bathroom. He opened the door with one hand and walked inside where he carefully put her down on the lid of the toilet.

  “I can handle it from here,” she assured him.

  “I’ll be right outside if you need help. You call me to come get you when you’re finished,” he admonished her.

  Jenna took care of her needs and washed her hands at the sink. She looked into the mirror and grimaced then moaned at the pain that it caused. At least she could see out of her swollen eye now. It was actually a lot better than she thought it would be. She raised her shirt to look at the bruises on her ribs. They were a colorful combination of all the off colors of the rainbow, leaning heavily on the purples. She let the shirt drop and leaned against the sink with her head down. What was she going to do about Riley?

  She knew in her heart she loved him. She had no doubt that he didn’t feel the same way. After all, he had been leaving when she got hurt. He had told her she couldn’t handle someone like him. Why not? What was there to handle? Why did she get the feeling he wasn’t being entirely honest with her? She sighed and turned around to open the door. She was surprised he hadn’t already knocked on the door.

  Just as she opened the door, he had his hand up to knock. She would have laughed except he scowled at her.

  “I told you to let me know when you were ready and I’d get you.” He swept her up in his arms before she had time to protest.

  “I can walk, you know.”

  “You’re not until you’ve had time to rest more.”

  “Can I go to the living room and sit up for awhile? I’m sore from lying in bed so long.”

  Riley seemed to think about it, pausing in mid stride. He nodded and turned toward the living room and settled her on the couch.

  “I’ll go find a blanket or something to put over your feet. That is if Logan even has anything like that around here.” Riley left her sitting on the couch and disappeared into the kitchen.

  Tina walked into the room and with a squeal, sat in a chair across from her.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay. I’m not hurting as much now.”

  “I’m surprised Riley let you out of bed,” Tina said.

  “I thought I was going to have to beg him, but he relented,” Jenna admitted.

  “How about something to eat?” she asked.

  “That would be wonderful. I’m actually hungry.” Jenna’s stomach growled, and both women dissolved into laughter.

  Jenna had to hold her hand across her ribs to keep from crying.

  “What’s wrong?” Riley rushed over to the couch with a towel in his hands.

  “Nothing. I was laughing, and it hurt.”

  “Well, don’t laugh anymore. There’s nothing funny to laugh at right now anyway.” He settled the towel over her feet.

  Tina looked at her, and she looked back. They both started laughing again at the sight of the towel around her feet. She had to give it to him. He’d found something to use.

  “I’m going to fix her something to eat. Logan was talking to Morgan a minute ago on the phone. Why don’t you see what’s going on? I’ll see about Jenna.” Tina pushed at the big man to leave the room.

  “If she needs me, you call.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ll call you.” Tina rolled her lips inside her mouth and bit them.

  Jenna fought to keep from smiling at the sight. She knew her friend had just gotten rid of him so he wouldn’t hover. He cared. She didn’t doubt that now, but she wished it went deeper than just caring.

  “So, what would you like to eat?” Tina asked.

  “Something easy. Maybe scrambled eggs since I wouldn’t have to chew a lot for that.”

  “Oh, honey. I know it hurts. I’ll scramble them soft for you.” She walked out to the kitchen.

  Jenna found herself nodding with her head back against the couch when Tina brought in a plate full of delicious-looking scrambled eggs.

  “I put cheese in them, too,” she said. “I know how you like cheese and crackers. I hope that’s okay.”

  “That’s perfect.” Jenna took the plate and balanced it on her lap.

  “Oh, and here is your antibiotic. Take two now, and then you’ll take one every eight hours.” Tina dropped two pills in her hand and sat a glass of OJ on the table next to her.

  “Thanks. I really appreciate you guys letting me stay here.” She swallowed the pills with the OJ and then took a bite of the eggs.

  “No problem. I would have stayed with you, and that means Logan would have stayed and then Riley. Your place isn’t big enough for all of us. Now with Morgan and Tyler coming—”

  Jenna cut her off. “What?”

  “Morgan is bringing Tyler, another of their friends, to help with catching Gregg,” Tina explained.

  “You’re kidding. He’s called for help? I need to leave, Tina. He is worried something is going to happen to you because of me.” Jenna sat the plate of eggs on the couch next to her and tried to get up.

  “No you don’t. He’s bringing in help to keep you safe, you idiot. Riley insisted on it,” she explained. “If you don’t sit back down, I’m going to call for Riley, too.”

  Jenna dropped back on the couch with a grunt. “I can’t believe this. I’m causing so much trouble.”

  “No you’re not. Gregg is the problem. Let them catch him so he’ll never be a problem again. If they put him away this time, surely he’ll be gone a long time.”

  “I don’t know what to believe about the law anymore. They weren’t a lot of help when he was out of prison before.” Jenna picked the plate back up and began eating again.

  “I know. This time, though, you’ve got friends to help. Riley will make sure no one hurts you again,” Tina said.

  Jenna only nodded and finished her eggs. She didn’t know what Riley could do about Gregg. Once he had his mind set on something, he didn’t give up. She held little doubt that Riley was the same way. He would die before he let anything happen to her again. She believed that in her heart.

  Tina took her empty plate back to the kitchen, and she settled back against the couch to rest. Her aches and pains were annoying now. She couldn’t get comfortable anyway she moved. About the time she finally settled on the best of the worst positions, the door bell rang. Both Logan and Riley barreled out of the office toward the front door, cutting Tina off.

  “I told you not to answer the damn door, Tina.” Logan growled.

  “I was going to
ask who it was first.”

  “As long as Gregg is out there, you don’t answer the door. End of discussion.”

  Riley made it to the door before Logan. Logan drew aside the curtain on the window next to the door and growled. “It’s the cops.”

  Riley opened the door. The two officers who had been at the hospital earlier stood on the other side of the threshold.

  “Officers.” Riley greeted them.

  “We would like to speak with Ms. Randal,” the taller one said.

  “She isn’t feeling well enough for anymore questions,” Riley said.

  “We just have a couple of questions. We really need to talk with her so we can catch her ex-husband.”

  Jenna figured the best way to put a stop to Riley’s over protectiveness was to get the questioning out of the way. She stood up and hobbled unsteadily toward the entrance hall.

  “What did you need to know?” she asked from behind the men.

  Riley grabbed hold of her arm to keep her from falling over. “I told you not to get up.”

  “They need answers to catch Gregg. I want him caught. Let me help.”

  Riley gritted his teeth, working his jaw until she thought she heard teeth crack. “Fine, but do it in the living room. You’re putting your feet back up.”

  Jenna let him guide her back to the couch and help her back to a somewhat comfortable position. Then he leaned against the arm with one hand on her shoulder.

  “Now what can I tell you?” Jenna asked.

  “We need you to go back to your house. We want to lure your ex-husband out so we can catch him.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Not no, but hell no!” Riley yelled, standing up straight now.

  There was no way he would ever trust the police to keep her safe. They would fuck up a sure thing on a date. He realized he was squeezing Jenna’s shoulder and relaxed his grip.

  “We’ll have plenty of men surrounding the house and inside of it. We have it planned out already,” the shorter of the two said.

  “Jenna, don’t do it. We can take care of you here.” Logan took a step closer to the couch, still holding Tina’s hand.

  “I want this over with. If it would help make that happen faster, then I want to do it.” Jenna looked over at Tina.

  “You’re not doing it, Jenna. I’m not letting you.” Riley walked around to stare into her eyes.

  He could see her resolve though and knew she’d do it anyway. Hell, how could he keep her safe if she was going to trust the damn police? He knew they wouldn’t have the man power to keep her safe.

  “Jenna, listen to Riley and Logan. They can keep you safe. They took care of me,” Tina pleaded.

  “Tina, I have to do this. He’s never going to stop coming after me unless he’s in prison for good.”

  “And what happens to you when they don’t make it to you in time? He planned to kill you, Jenna. You know he did.” Riley clenched his hands by his sides. He wanted to hit one of the cops for asking her to do it in the first place.

  “I’ll be fine, Riley. Please understand. I want this over with. I don’t want anything to happen to any of you because of me. He’ll hurt you. Logan, how would you feel if he hurt Tina because of me?” She looked over at the two policemen. “I’ll move back tomorrow. I really need one more day to rest if I’m going to be able to do this.”

  “We’ll have everyone in place. What time do you want to do it?”

  “After lunch.”

  Riley walked off into the other room, a string of creative expletives in his wake.

  He paced in the kitchen, listening to them go over their plans with her. It sounded simple, but he knew better than anyone that things could go FUBAR, fucked up beyond all repair, in a second. How many times had he and Logan gotten stuck in situations that were supposed to be a simple in-and-out operation?

  He watched through the doorway as Logan led the policemen out of the room. He could hear the front door open then a few seconds later close.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing.” Tina’s voice shook.

  “I just know I can’t live with the possibility that one of you might get hurt. I could never forgive myself if something bad happened. It’s my problem. I’ll handle it.” Jenna sighed.

  Hell, she was hurting again. He could tell by the way her voice shook. She needed a pain pill. He grabbed some water from the fridge and shook out one of the little pain pills into his palm. She didn’t look up at first when he walked back in. Instead, she looked down at her hands. He sighed and held out his hand with the pain pill. She finally reached out and picked it up then took the water from him to swallow the pill

  “It’s no different than what you guys were planning on doing,” she finally said.

  “Hell yeah it is. You were going to be over there in Tina’s house, so you would have been safe. This way, you’re right in the line of fire.” Riley walked away from her then returned, angry steps eating up the distance. “If one hair on your head gets hurt, I’m going to take it out on them. Do you hear me?”

  “No you’re not. You’re going to get on your bike when your friends get here, and you’re all going to leave. Go wherever the hell you go. You are. Not. Responsible. For. Me!” she bit out.

  “So just like that. I’m supposed to not care what happens to you?” Riley asked, shaking his head.

  “I’m no one to you, Riley. I know you care, but I’m just a friend of Logan’s fiancée. That’s all. I’m not someone for you to risk getting hurt over. At least I’m not willing to take that risk.”

  “You don’t trust us to take care of you,” Riley said.

  “That’s not true. I do trust you. I just don’t trust that nothing will happen to one of you. I can’t live with myself knowing one of you got hurt because of me and my bad choices.”

  “You feel guilty for marrying him?”

  “Yeah. I knew better when I did it. I thought I could change him. A fat lot of good that did. He wasn’t about to change. I was just too stupid to know better.” Jenna swallowed then drew in a deep breath through her nose.

  She was hurting in her heart as well as her body, Riley realized. Did she still love the bastard? Despite everything he had done to her, did she still have feelings for him? That thought more than any other turned his stomach.

  “Don’t you get it? I can’t trust my own judgment anymore. I keep choosing bastards. How do I know I’m making the right decision on anything when I can’t even see someone who might hurt me standing right in front of me?”

  “And you’re going to let the police use you as bait. I’d say that was a pretty stupid choice right there,” Riley threw out. He wished it back the moment he said it.

  “Yeah, well. It’s my choice to make, isn’t it?” She pushed herself up from the couch and stood up. “I’m going to go lie down for awhile.”

  Riley moved to help her, but she pulled her arm away from him. He let her go. He watched her until she disappeared down the hall. He’d fucked that up royally.

  “What are we going to do? You know they’ll let her get hurt if she does this.” Logan leaned over and placed both hands on the back of the couch.

  “I don’t have a fucking clue what to do. She isn’t going to trust us.”

  “I don’t think it is a matter of her not trusting us, Riley. She doesn’t want to see one of us hurt. She’s right. There’s a good chance one of us could get hurt. The man is crazy.”

  “He’s not any crazier than the bastard that was after Tina. We managed just fine on that one.” Riley blew out a breath in exasperation.

  “I say we act as backup to the police. We pick our own spots to wait and see what happens. That way if they screw it up and let the bastard get away, we can grab him,” Logan suggested.

  “Oh, I plan on being there all right. I’m not letting her go through with it without me being there.”

  “Have you told her?” Logan asked.

  “Told her what?” Riley stared at his friend.

  �
�That you love her.”

  “Fuck that. I don’t love her. I care about her. Don’t go putting emotions in something that isn’t there. Just because you’re all happy and mushy doesn’t mean everyone is.”

  “I think you’re protesting too much,” Logan said with a smile.

  “I’m going to knock that smile off your face if you don’t shut up.” Riley turned and walked toward the sliding glass door. He needed some air.

  The muggy air outside did little to cool off his boiling temper. Breathing in took effort with the moist heat. He stalked over to one of the chairs and straddled it to sit down. He’d been here at Logan’s for nearly a month now. He hadn’t stayed in one place that long since his army days. Usually he was so antsy to move he couldn’t stand a place longer than a week at the most. So what was the difference here?

  Jenna.

  Man, I am all screwed up inside. He did care about her. Too much. Was it enough to want to settle down for good? Hell, he didn’t know. He wasn’t willing to take a chance right now. Not unless he knew for sure. It would only hurt both of them. He sat with his arms on his elbows and dropped his head.

  Who was he kidding? Even if he was ready to settle down, it couldn’t be with Jenna. He’s tastes ran to a Dom’s lifestyle. He didn’t want a slave. He did want someone who would submit to him though, and Jenna had been through too much abuse to ever be comfortable in that type of lifestyle.

  No, he needed to break it off with her quick and thorough. Just as soon as she was safe, he’d ride out. Maybe he would team up with Morgan or Tyler for awhile. Tyler seemed to like his place in Tennessee, might be a good change of pace for him. Or, he could always go up to Stillwater, Oklahoma. Maybe.

  He looked up at the deep green of the trees. It wouldn’t be long till they began to turn brown. Winter would be there before he knew it, which meant somewhere warmer, Florida maybe.