Rev (Jack 'Em Up #4) (11 page)

Sorry . . . customer came in
, he finally sent. Then,
Dinner? Tuesday night after class?

In case you missed it, YES. : )

; )

I floated through the rest of my day like a swoony schoolgirl. Micah had actually, finally, asked me out. Holy Wow.

I couldn’t wait to tell the girls. On my way out to my truck after work, I pulled my phone from my purse to text Delilah. With a grin, I slid in and opened the glovebox for my key. I started the engine and pulled up my cousin’s number to text her.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of something red. I glanced up and the phone dropped from my hand.

A blood red rose was trapped beneath my passenger side windshield wiper. My hand flew to my mouth as bile rose up my throat at the immediate, visceral memory.

I unlocked my front door and stepped inside with my hand unconsciously lifted to the bruises still on my neck. Locking up behind myself, I moved to the dining room and froze.

A dozen deep, dark red roses sat on my table, their eerie color nearly black. The hair on my arms stood to attention.

“You’re home.” His quiet, angry words whispered up my backbone like the tip of a blade.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Slowly, I pivoted to face him. A sliver of satisfaction hit me at the scratch marks still fresh on his face. “What are you doing here, Nolan? How did you get inside?”

I stepped back as he took one step in my direction. “Don’t you worry about that.” His gaze fixed on the flowers behind me. “I wanted to apologize. Things got out of hand the other night.”

“Out of hand? You tried to kill me.”

“Never.” He moved closer, trapping me next to the table that held the roses. “Do you like my gift?”

Inhuman light glinted in his eyes like a rabid animal. I knew then that I had to get away.

If I didn’t, I would die.

I didn’t die, but that was the last time he touched me in anger. I survived his rage then raced out of the apartment with only the clothes on my back and my purse. I drove blindly, not sure how I was supposed to salvage my life. But I had, bit by bit, and I’d be damned if I’d let anyone hurt me again.

I jumped out of the truck and yanked the rose off the window. I glanced around with my heart in my throat. No one.

I swallowed the nerves. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Micah could’ve left it when he dropped off the truck. Or Officer Varga might’ve been trying to be sweet. There could be any number of explanations.

Anything besides Nolan finding me in the sanctuary of Baybridge.

Micah

“H
ow the hell are ya, Christian?” Sergeant Dempsey clasped me into a tight hug and slapped my back.

He’d called not long after I dropped off Jewel’s truck, and we met at a diner not far from the shop, that just so happened to serve the best burgers in town. I looked my old friend up and down, noting how the years seemed to have aged him. Gray was now peppered through his hair and light crinkles webbed out from the corners of his eyes when he smiled. He was only a couple years older than me, but it might as well have been decades with the combat he’d seen. I knew better than most how that could affect a man, and he was no exception.

“I’m good, Sarg. You?”

“Can’t complain.”

We settled into a booth and ordered lunch then he filled me in on his life and upcoming fishing trip. Sounded like he needed a break. Two more tours in the sandbox then the loss of his wife in a car accident two months after he separated from the Marines.

“Man, I’m so sorry,” I said. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah, well . . .” He toyed with the salt and pepper shakers in front of us. “Not many people did.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, but thankfully, he changed the subject to some of our old buddies. “I ran into Asher a couple months ago when he was home on leave.”

I smiled. “How’s Creed doing?”

“Still tough as ever. I think those Special Ops guys are still trying to recruit him out of the Rangers.”

“Huh.” I thought of the serious Sergeant Creed. A huge guy with a serious love for his family and his country, he and his team had saved our asses more than once in the Kandahar Province. A true badass, I could see why the Delta Force would want him.

“So . . .” He smiled at the waitress when she dropped off our drinks. “I wanted to tell you I wrote to Martinez and Franks’ families.”

My eyes flew up as my stomach sank. “You did?”

“I did.”

“Why?” I could think of nothing more painful than talking to the families of the brothers who were dead because of me.

“It was time, man. You might want to do the same. It might ease some of your burden.”

Only Wyatt Dempsey understood that burden. How could he even suggest I open that wound again? I shook my head and looked away.

He said nothing else about it as we ate, but his words were burning a hole in my gut. Suddenly, the pain I’d run so far from was up close and personal and I was struggling to focus. I tried to listen as he talked all around the elephant in the diner, throwing in appropriate responses when called for. These past years since the war, I’d learned the art of faking social niceties, but I was getting the feeling he saw right through me.

Finally, we stood to leave after settling the bill. As nice as it was to see my old friend, I was anxious to be alone. To cope with the ball of emotion he’d stirred up in me.

Outside, he extended his hand. “Thanks for meeting me, Micah. I hope we can do it again.”

I accepted his shake. “Absolutely.”

I watched him slip into his rental and fire up his GPS to get directions to the hotel where he was meeting his dad. He peered back up at me, his face deathly serious. “Think about what I said. I’ll shoot you an email with the family addresses.” He turned away. “If not for yourself, do it for them. They’d want you to.”

I nodded once, knowing he meant our fallen brothers. I just couldn’t believe they’d want anything like peace for me.

Dempsey drove away and I immediately headed for the gym. I needed to work out some of this emotion, not to mention the cheeseburger I just ate.

JD greeted me with a sweaty smile as he jogged a rapid clip on the treadmill. Other than him, the receptionist, and three other people working out, the gym was quiet. Just the way I liked it. I changed into my workout clothes and started with a quick warm-up on the treadmill next to JD.

He tipped his head to me in acknowledgment as he focused on his breathing. I plugged my earbuds in and started working on a sweat.

Thirty minutes on the treadmill, thirty with weights, and forty sparring with JD, and I was finally feeling the buzz of endorphins. I rolled my neck as I bounced on the balls of my feet and began to cool off. I swear, if I didn’t have this, I would’ve been insane a long time ago.

Air like a furnace smacked me in the face as I stepped outside into the bright sunshine. The streets were at a crawl for a hot summer afternoon. Everyone had probably headed south to the beach. As I climbed into my Jeep, I couldn’t help but wonder what Jewel was doing with the rest of her day.

I decided to find out. I shot her a quick text.
The truck OK now?

Her reply came ten minutes later, just as I was letting myself into my apartment.
It is. Thx

I poured myself a big glass of water and moved to my bedroom.
How was ur day?

I yanked off my T-shirt and grabbed clean stuff for a shower. I kept glancing at my phone, waiting for her reply. It suddenly dawned on me that I’d never been this anxious to talk to anyone. Ever.

Fine

I frowned at her answer. Something niggled my mind. We weren’t exactly a chatty pair, but her to-the-point answers just weren’t like the Jewel I’d been coming to know.

You sure?

Yes

That was it. I slid my finger across the screen and dialed her.

“Hello?” Her voice gave her away.

“What’s wrong?”

“What makes you think something’s wrong?”

“You don’t sound like yourself.” I moved to the bathroom and yanked down a clean towel.

“You got all that from a ‘hello’?”

“And your texts.”

She was silent several seconds. “I’m fine.”

I sighed. “Look, if you don’t want to talk about it, I get it. Believe me, I do. But my intuition is kicking my ass here. I think something’s wrong and I wanna help if I can.”

“Did you leave a rose on my truck window?”

My frown deepened. “No.”

I heard her suck in a breath. “Didn’t think so.”

“Why?” Stupid question. Jewel was a beautiful, single woman. Of course some guy would leave her roses. Probably flirt with her and ask her out and do all the normal things I couldn’t.

“No reason. I just don’t like surprises.” Her voice trembled the tiniest bit. She probably thought she was hiding it well, but in my silence, I’d become attuned to other people’s subtleties.

“Are you at home?”

“Yes.”

“Wait for me. I’m coming over.” I hung up before she could reply, totally shocked at my own words. I was never forceful or bossy, and I definitely never pushed people into things they didn’t want, but something unseen was propelling me on.

I showered and dressed in jogging pants and a plain T-shirt then shoved my feet into my tennis shoes and hightailed it to Jewel’s. I made one pit stop on the way, but I still made it in under thirty.

She opened the door and stared at me like she hadn’t really expected me to come. I perused her from head to toe. She was in short shorts, a tank top that matched her eyes, and bare feet with bright blue polish on her toes. Remembering myself, I thrust the bundle of lilies toward her.

She glanced down then back up to me without taking them.

“You said you don’t like surprises. When I give you flowers, you’ll know who they come from.”

She finally accepted my offering. “Thank you. They’re beautiful. How did you know I loved lilies?”

“I didn’t. They suit you. Plus, you don’t strike me as a rose kinda girl.”

She flinched, but pulled herself together quickly. “Would you like to come in?”

“I’ve got one better. Come for a ride with me?”

Her hesitation was brief. “Sure,” she finally said. “Just a sec.” She spun away, leaving the door open.

I watched her put the flowers in a vase with water then she grabbed her purse and slid on some flip-flops.

“Your brother still here? I’m not keeping you from family time, am I?”

She grinned. “No. He left this morning. Time to get back to the real world.”

I didn’t ask about that as I led her to the Jeep. I rolled the windows down as I cruised toward the beach. Whenever I felt overwhelmed, nature seemed to ease my mind. I hoped it would do the same for her.

She slipped on sunglasses and let the wind whip through her hair with a smile. I parked along the seawall and we began walking. I took her hand to help her step over the small stone wall that led to the sand and never let go. She didn’t seem to mind as we strolled along, the waves rushing to our left. Salt and children’s laughter tinged the air.

At a high spot, Jewel tugged me to a stop and sat on the sand, her face to the sun. “This is nice. Thank you.”

I leaned back on my hands and stared at her profile. How she’d stayed single all this time was totally beyond me.

“You wanna talk about it?”

She rolled her head to face me. “Not really.”

I glanced toward the water. If anyone understood keeping shit to yourself, it was me. “If you ever change your mind, I’m here.”

She leaned her head on my shoulder. “I appreciate it.”

I let my cheek rest on the top of her head as we shared the moment. Nothing fancy. No eloquent words, no big overtures or revelations. Just two people enjoying the day for what it was. Fleeting.

We sat there for a long time, until the sun started to sink behind the water, painting the sky a brilliant purple. She shifted and settled herself to lie in my lap. I sat up and threaded my fingers through her golden hair, letting the silky strands caress my skin.