Chapter 37
The moment my eyes opened, memories of last night flooded in. The way Mitch looked at me as he held me to the bed. Me believing I was going to die. Me thinking I’d never see my dad or Abby again. And then the deep regret that I’d never told Jackson how I truly felt about him.
The chaos of the memories faded as I turned to my left and saw Jackson sound asleep, his arm nestled over my belly, protective even in sleep.
The last thing I was looking for when I took this job was to get romantically involved with him.
Sure, I’d fantasized about it, but what red-blooded woman wouldn’t?
The man was drop-dead gorgeous, and although it took me a bit to get acclimated to his personality, he’d softened around me the more time I spent with him.
Plus, he’d literally saved my life. If he hadn’t taken the time to show me how to defend myself, I truly believed I’d be dead right now.
I owed Jackson my life.
I wanted to give him my heart.
But my head told me to be careful, that I was rushing into a situation blindly. My emotions seemed to be calling the shots, however.
He rolled toward me, pulling me closer at the same time. There was no longer any space between us, but I wasn’t complaining.
His lids opened one by one, and as his gaze landed on mine, he smiled. “Good morning, beautiful.”
“Hi,” I whispered, gingerly touching my throat. I winced at the slight contact, and I tried to return his smile, but he shot out of bed before I could do so.
“How are you feeling? Are you in pain?” His concern was touching and made my heart flip, but I didn’t want him to stress himself over what happened. I’d be fine. I just had to convince him of that fact.
“I’m okay. My throat hurts, but otherwise I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I squeezed his hand. “Please stop worrying about me.”
“That’s impossible. And more so now that I promised your father I’d keep you safe.”
I quickly sat upright. “What do you mean? When did you talk to my dad? How did—”
“He was banging on your door early this morning. I went out there because I thought it was him, but instead it was your father, whom I met while I was in my underwear.”
I didn’t mean to, but I laughed, flinching when the muscles in my throat rumbled.
“Oh my God, Jackson. No.” My laughter continued to escape me. “I’m sorry you met him like that.” Then suddenly my smile disappeared. “Wait. Does he know you and I are… you know?”
“Together? Yeah, he knows. It was kind of hard to tell him otherwise after I informed him you were sleeping at my place and I’d answered the door in my boxers.” He stood to his full height and stretched his arms behind him. “You should call him.”
“I will.” I leaned back against the bedframe. “Well, at least that’s out of the way now.”
“Us meeting? Yeah, not ideal, but it happened. And if I’m honest, he kind of scared me a little bit.”
“You were scared of my dad?” I asked. “I don’t believe it.” I couldn’t imagine Jackson fearing anyone or anything.
“He’s pretty intense.”
“He’s a teddy bear,” I playfully argued.
“That’s because you’re his daughter. And I’m the guy sleeping with you.”
“You have a point.”
We simultaneously shook our heads in amusement, and for a moment, I was able to shove aside the memories of last night.
But all blissful moments must end.
We’d gone next door to my place so I could take a shower before we headed to the police station. I didn’t have to ask Jackson to come with me because he refused to leave my side.
“Sophie, can I come in?” he asked, knocking on my bedroom door.
I was only wearing a towel. Even though he’d seen me naked, I appreciated the privacy he’d given me last night when I changed into his shirt.
But now was a different story. My shock from the attack had waned, and I didn’t feel the need to hide in front of him any longer.
He’d gone out of his way to make me feel protected as well as supported.
“Yes,” I shouted, rifling through my dresser drawers. The door opened, but Jackson stood in the doorway instead of entering the room. “You can come in.” I tossed a pair of underwear and a bra on my bed.
He surveyed the room as if he’d never seen it before.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, noticing the tenseness in his shoulders.
“You don’t have to go with me to the station.
I’ll just ask my dad if you want. I don’t want to go alone.
” Whatever reservations I picked up from him were gone as he strode toward me.
“I’m going. Why would you think I wouldn’t want to?”
“Because you look like you’re going to give me bad news or something. I just figured you didn’t want to miss training, which you’re late for, by the way.” It was well past the time he was supposed to be in the gym.
“I’m not training today.”
“You have to,” I argued.
“No, I don’t. What I have to do is be here for you. That’s all I care about.”
I caressed his cheek, loving how he relaxed into my touch. “I don’t want to be the reason you slack off, Jackson, especially so close to your fight.”
“It’s only a day. I’ll be fine. And speaking of my training, I want you to take a few days off to rest.”
“I can still do my job.”
“I know you can. But please take the time. If not for yourself, then for me.”
“I don’t want to be here alone while you’re in the gym.” My voice hitched in worry and my chin trembled. Apparently, I wasn’t completely over what happened, which I supposed was to be expected.
“Speaking of,” he said, briefly averting his eyes, “I’m going to have someone watch over you while I’m training, and when I’m done, you’ll be with me. You won’t be alone.”
“I don’t want some stranger guarding me.” Jackson was strong-willed and he wouldn’t back down easily, especially when he was doing something to protect me.
“You think I’d hire someone I don’t know to watch over you?” His mouth twisted into a grimace. “No. Elton will do it.”
“No…. I don’t want to be a bother…. I’m sure he has more important things to do.”
“Nothing is more important than making sure you’re safe.”
“Well, what exactly is he going to do? Stand outside my apartment?”
“Yeah.” His casual answer surprised me because I hadn’t been serious. I didn’t expect his manager to just stand outside my place for hours while Jackson trained.
“No.”
His brows dipped together. “Yes.”
“Your guys are going to hate me,” I mumbled, but he heard every word.
“Don’t say something like that. They each offered to help as soon as they found out what you’d been through.”
“They did?”
“Of course, Sophie.” He reached for my hands. “You’re part of our family now. Whatever you need.”
Because I was more terrified of being alone than feeling weird about Elton being put out, I agreed to have him protect me while Jackson trained.
“Okay.”
“You’re good, then?”
“Yeah.”
“Great. Now there’s just one more thing.” He squeezed my hands and paused a moment before continuing. “I’d like to take pictures of your bruises. The cops said they’ll document them, but I don’t trust that they won’t accidentally get misplaced.”
He made a good point, and although the situation would be uncomfortable, it was necessary because I didn’t want there to be any reason for Mitch to get away with what he’d done to me.