26. Chapter 25
Chapter 25
AJ
W atching Blake react while Jack and Jamie explained the situation was killing me. There was nothing I wanted more than to hold her in my arms and comfort her, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t only because I had to keep it professional; she still hadn’t recovered from the shock of the attack.
Hearing the fear in Blake’s voice when she defended her father was more than I could handle. I have to at least try to comfort her. I moved to her side and put my hand on the small of her back. To my surprise, she didn’t flinch or pull away.
When I spoke for the first time, I chose my words carefully. I wanted to put her fears at bay, but wouldn’t lie. The more evidence we uncovered, the more it pointed to Davenport having ties to the person threatening Blake. Not that I believed he’d intentionally hurt her, but choosing to do business with people who targeted innocent victims meant he was at least partially responsible.
“Jay’s here,” Meg said. “We’ll help him get stuff put away.”
I walked Blake to the couch and sat down with her. She hugged her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth.
“Blake,” I risked pulling her small trembling hands into mine, “this won’t be for long. And I’ll be with you every step of the way.” I wasn’t sure my promise would comfort her, but I offered it anyway.
Fear, confusion, and hope filled her eyes when they met mine.
“Why do you care so much?” she asked as the door opened, pulling her attention away from me.
Jay, Meg, and Emily came in carrying assorted bags of food, supplies, and clothes.
“I have everything we need to survive the next few days,” Jay announced, without reading the room, as he walked in.
Blake’s grip tightened as she stiffened beside me.
Apparently, no one had updated him, so he didn’t know I’d be staying with Blake.
Jack answered, “Change of plans. You’re on over watch, AJ will stay with Blake.”
I tried not to let my hope soar when I felt Blake’s hands relax. Is it because she’s relieved I’m staying with her? I shook my head. No point in wondering why it wouldn’t change anything. She’d never feel the same way for me, nor should she. I wasn’t a bad guy, but I was too violent for Blake Davenport.
“Over watch again? When are you guys going to trust me to do more than sit in a car and stare at houses?” Jay’s irritation ruffled my feathers.
I growled. “This isn’t-”
Jack put his hand on my shoulder as he cut me off. “Jay, over watch is an important job. One we’ve all done more often than not.”
Jay looked at Jack, then at me. I saw the instant he registered my scowl and my hand holding Blake’s. His amber eyes, so much like his father’s and Jack’s, opened wide for a split second before he grinned. “I get it.”
I clenched my free hand to control the burning desire to wipe the smirk off his face.
He saw it and backed away. “Don’t worry, Big Guy.” His laugh was like a cheese grater on my nerves. He shifted his focus to Blake. “I got you some clothes. I hope they’re okay,” he said, placing the bags on the floor.
Blake finally spoke, asking, “You what?”
“Don’t worry, I told him what to buy and made him send pictures so I could approve his choices,” Meg quickly put Blake’s mind at ease. “I couldn’t go,” she rolled her eyes at Jack, “but that didn’t mean I couldn’t help.”
“How’d you know my size? What style I like?” Blake asked.
Making sure she was stylish wasn’t high on our priority list, but I had a feeling it mattered a lot to Blake. The cheap department store clothes we’d purchased wouldn’t meet her standard, but they’d get the job done. She’ll be annoyed; he'd only bought her gym shoes . I’d only seen her wearing heels. I glanced at her black leather, knee-high boots— why are knee-high boots so damn sexy? —the heels had to be at least two-an-a-half inches.
Why were women so worried about being short? I liked the way she had to tilt her head to make eye contact with her striking cobalt eyes. I loved how I could shield her entire body with mine, protecting her from almost any threat just by stepping in front of her.
“The clothes won’t be what you’re used to, but,” I stopped myself before I said something stupid about not needing to look good or be in fashion where we were going.
“But what?” Blake asked.
“But you’ll be comfortable for the next couple of days,” Jamie saved me.
Meg and Emily shooed me away so they could look at the clothes with Blake.
I listened as they comforted her while they looked over Jay’s purchases. Emily made a game of it, rating his taste. When Blake said she liked some of the outfits, I made eye contact with Meg and smiled. She hadn’t told Blake I was the one who provided her size and color preferences. And she wouldn’t, unless Blake asked again.
I hoped she wouldn’t. I didn’t want Blake knowing every outfit she’d worn in the last few days was seared into my mind.