The Lover's Surrender (No Exceptions) (17 page)

A scream
built in my throat, but the sound remained trapped inside my mouth. To claim
that I was shocked by something as simple as a few words was an understatement.
I feared for my life, for my baby, for Jett, and that fear enclosed my mind and
body, rendering me unable to form a coherent thought.

Waking up
that morning, I thought I had experienced the worst. Then, after Jett’s
proposal, my life and relationship would finally move on to a better place,
that maybe we could leave the past behind once and for all and start preparing
ourselves for something wonderful.

A life together.

A family.

But now,
based on the recent events, all the facts led to one assumption.

One scary
conclusion:

It wasn’t over.

It never
had been—the past few hours of joy easily shattered by something as
simple as words.

I thought
with Nate being in prison and most of the club members exposed and arrested,
the police had put a stop to the club’s activities. But that didn’t seem to be
the case. Gina was dead; maybe even others. The nightmare seemed to continue.
It always would.

Nate’s
release might be the beginning of another nightmare, where the worst was still
to come. I had no idea how to stop him, how to prepare myself for what I feared
the most. In particular, the high-ranked club members had connections, people
who knew how to appear in silence, doing their dirty jobs, and then disappear
just as quickly and invisibly—like ghosts. Protecting myself and the
people I loved sounded insane—a plan doomed for failure.

“Good
Lord.” I stared at Jett, noticing the throbbing nerve visible beneath the soft
skin around his eyes. He looked tired. At some point, dark circles had framed
his beautiful green gaze. “How is that possible? I thought he was under
surveillance.”

My body
trembled; resignation was palpable in my voice. I hated weakness; I hated not
having the strength to pretend. All of my energy was gone, dissipated, as if
saying Nate’s name had the power to suck it out of my body.

“I don’t
know,” Jett said quietly. “All Sam said was that he found a hole in their
system and took advantage of it.”

“Good
Lord,” I repeated and crossed my arms over my chest. The shivers running
through me came hard, wave after wave, destroying any hope that we’d ever find
peace. My muscles were tense, aching from the effort, as a cold sensation
washed over me like an icy waterfall.

“The police
officer…” I couldn’t even say the words.

“Sam said
he might survive.”

Might.

I swallowed
the lump lodged in my throat.

What if he
wouldn’t? He could have been someone’s father, husband, brother, and lover.
Someone who worked hard to protect
innocents
. Someone who loved and had been loved.

“Brooke.”
Jett cleared his throat. His hands cupped my face, his gaze searching mine.

My tears
began to pool at the corners of my eyes.

Stupid
tears that just wouldn’t stop.

I closed my
eyes in the hope Jett wouldn’t catch them.

“This
doesn’t change anything,” he whispered firmly. “I won’t let him hurt you. Nor
will my friends. You know they stand behind us in every way.”

“I know,” I
whispered. “But I’d rather have him locked up than roaming free and hurting
more people.”

Jett’s arms
engulfed me. But even in his soothing presence, my body continued to shiver.

“He’ll make
a mistake, and they will catch him again.”

“How can
you be so sure about that?” I looked up, more in search of his support than to
express my anger. “He has so many connections.”

His
shoulders slumped a little bit. Before he even said the words, I knew he was
being optimistic. “Well, that’s the thing,” Jett said. “I hope I’m right.
Knowing Nate and his tendency to avoid getting his hands dirty, he probably
asked for help. The more people get involved, the greater the risk that someone
will make a mistake. Sooner or later, the police will track him down. Just wait
and see. The whole thing will be over before it even began.”

They were
supposed to be words emitting strength and faith.

For a
moment, I wanted to believe them.

If only my brain
would stop telling me that it was a mediocre attempt. Jett didn’t have any
superpowers. Like Gina, Jett was human.

Sexy and
perfect—but still not invincible.

And he
couldn’t predict the future.

Like the
police officer, he could be shot. If they never found Nate, I’d never be safe
from him. And neither would Jett. Knowing Nate and his wicked obsession with
power and death, he might lay low for a while. But eventually, he’d come after
Jett and me. It’d only be a matter of time until he reached his friends and
found new ones who shared his sick fantasies.

I nodded,
but the motion lacked conviction. Jett must have sensed my fears because he
continued with more vengeance than I wanted him to have, “If he so much as
steps in your way, I’ll shoot him. I’ll get Kenny to track him down.”

I frowned.
“I’m not sure I want you to get involved.”

“It’s too
late for that. I’m already too deep into this.” His glance locked on me. “If
someone tries to scare you, that’s my God damn business. I swear the moment I
see him, I’m going to kill him.”

My stomach
twisted.

“He’s your
brother,” I reminded him.

“No, he’s
not.” He exhaled a sharp breath. “He lost that privilege a long time ago.”

Taking in
his words, I shook my head slowly. “You’re not your brother, Jett. You’re not
like Nate. Compared to him, you’re a good man.”

“No.” He
shook his head, his mouth pressing into a tighter line. “That’s where you’re
wrong. I’m only good when I’m with you.” He looked up, his eyes meeting mine.
“Nate and I aren’t so different. The moment he messes with my personal life and
threatens you, I can’t just stand there and do nothing. I can’t just wait for
the cops to do their job, and I sure as fuck can’t wait for something to
happen. I won’t let it be too late.” He placed one finger under my chin and
forced me to meet his eyes. His stare was determined, his tone chilling. “You
have absolutely no idea what I’d do to him. Someone needs to stop him. And that
someone is me.”

My pulse
began to pound against my temples.

No, I had
absolutely no idea what Jett would do to him.

But judging
from my earlier conversation with Brian, I had a good idea where it would land
Nate. The possibility of Jett getting hurt or killed along the way was there.

“Jett, no!”
I said. “Promise you won’t do anything stupid.”

“I can’t do
that,” he said firmly. “I’d be lying if I told you I wanted to see him alive.
He…” His words broke as anger consumed him. “He betrayed me; he betrayed my
father. He went too far. It’s all my fault.”

I stared at
him in shock. “It’s not your fault, Jett.”

“It is,”
Jett retorted firmly. “I’m the one who grew up with him. I should have known
him better, but…I underestimated him and that was a mistake.”

A muscle
worked his jaw, but he said no more. And I knew then that even though he was
wrong, there was nothing I could do to help ward off the demons consuming his
soul. The very demons that had made him lose all faith in people. The demons
that didn’t allow him to feel peace and trust and safety.

I wrapped
my arms around him and placed my head against his chest, hoping that my
presence would give him as much comfort as he did to me.

 
“You couldn’t have stopped him even if
you’d wanted to, Jett,” I murmured under my breath.

“See,
that’s where you’re wrong,” Jett said. “I could have done something before someone
got killed. God knows it takes planning to execute what he’s done. And if what
you say is true, and these were Gina’s things, then I believe he’d planned to
frame me for a long time. He wanted to get rid of me, and now I might be paying
the price.” He brushed a hand over his face, his voice oozing danger and
frustration. “That son of a bitch wants me to miss the birth of our daughter
and our wedding. He knows how much you mean to me, and he thinks he can get
away with anything. But he forgets that I could have killed him right there and
then, when you were alone with him, and I didn’t. That’s nobody’s fault but my
own. If I could turn back time, I know what I’d do.”

I placed a
hand on his shoulder and trailed my fingers down his arm, marveling at how smooth
and taut his skin felt.

“Jett?” I
said, infusing as much confidence as I could into my tone. “Someday he’ll get
what he deserves. But it won’t be you who serves justice. Do you understand?”
He remained silent, so I continued, “I don’t want you to get involved, Jett,
because that’s exactly what he wants. Don’t give him the satisfaction. It’s not
worth the trouble. Like you said, the cops will find him in no time. He’ll get
caught. It’ll probably be over before it’s even begun.” I repeated his words, this
time almost believing them.

Jett looked
at me long and hard, his green eyes darkening. The aura he radiated was so
strong I would have given anything to know his thoughts. Even though chaos was
still surrounding us, his anger began to ebb, and eventually, peace settled in
his gaze.

His face
softened, and at last, his shoulders relaxed.

“You’re
right,” he whispered. “He wants me to come after him. He might think he’s clever,
but he should never have shot that cop. Now they’ll be after him. If they get
him, they’ll probably put a bullet straight into his head and call it
self-defense.”

“Yes,” I
agreed. “You’re probably right.”

He lifted
my fingers to his mouth. Goose bumps covered my skin as his lips brushed over
me, kissing my knuckles then the inside of my palm. I felt relief that Jett and
I were seeing eye-to-eye, but more than that, I was hopeful that, whatever
differences in viewpoints we might encounter in the future, we could work
through them.

“I’d never
ever let anything come between us, Brooke,” he whispered in his sexy Southern
voice. “If I can’t get him away from you, then I’ll find a way to get you away
from him or else I’m forced to get rid of him. We’ll be taking a little
vacation.”

His
suggestion took me by surprise. For a few seconds, I thought it was over.

Going
away…that was exactly what I wanted. But was it really that simple? Could we
leave it all behind?

“You want
to go away?” I asked, unsure what to make of it.

“Yes.” He
nodded his head. “I’ve already booked a flight to Las Vegas. We’ll leave in two
days.”

My lips
curled into a smile.

I couldn’t
help it.

“Why
there?”

“No idea.”
His smile matched mine. “Maybe because Las Vegas is sin city, and my obsession
with you is kind of sinful. Besides, you said you’ve never been, and I thought
it was about time you traveled a bit before our kid starts to demand all your
attention.”

I swallowed
hard. “Yes, makes sense.”

“After
Vegas, we’ll head back to Italy,” he added casually, his glance never leaving
mine.

My smile
vanished. I eyed him carefully.

“I’m not
sure that’s a good idea, Jett. It’d look like you’re on the run,” I said.

“I’m not,
because as far as things stand, I don’t know anything about anyone.” He smiled
knowingly. “Baby, I’m not letting you stay here. It isn’t even a question; it’s
a demand. NY is not good for you—at least not as long as Nate’s
investigation’s pending. We both need to head back to Bellagio, back to where
things were simple.” He sat down, then took my hands, pulling me onto his lap.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and settled as comfortably as my growing
belly would allow.

“It’s a
good time to take a vacation,” Jett continued. “A break from everything to
focus on our engagement.” His hand rubbed my back, the motion comforting and
soothing, easing some of the pressure that had built inside me. “I only want
what is best for you, and right now, I want you to feel safe. I tried to
protect you from the ugliness that’s been all around us, but my attempts got me
nowhere. I don’t see a reason why we should be hiding.”