Chapter 21
Jordana couldn’t stop pacing the length of Forrest’s living room. The group had moved to Forrest’s house to better take calls and orchestrate the mission. The hour was growing late, but then Hunter’s phone rang at the same time as Landry’s.
They both answered and walked in opposite directions so they could hear better. Jordana’s head kept ping-ponging between the two men to try to gauge their reactions.
Landry hung up first and joined them back in the living room. Hunter followed shortly thereafter. It took everything in Jordana not to demand to know what was happening.
Landry looked at Hunter and gave a little nod. “That was the team that went to your labs. Good thing you told us about the backup material in the hidden safe. Your lab has been destroyed. However, they got the entire contents of your safe. It’s been loaded on the U.S. cargo plane,” Landry told her.
“Along with your father,” Hunter said with a relieved smile. “The plane has taken off and is at cruising altitude. It’ll be here in eleven hours.”
Jordana crashed onto the couch with relief.
“Why don’t we all get some sleep and tomorrow we’ll regroup and head to the airbase,” Forrest suggested.
“Not the airbase,” Hunter said, holding up his hand to stop everyone from getting up. “Mags, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve offered up Bell Landing for them to stay.”
“For Mr. Alves? Of course,” Maggie told her husband. Her family’s estate would be the perfect place for his recovery.
“For Mr. Alves, and for the two agents from Sutton’s security team to guard him.
She said if her ass was on the line, then it was her people who would guard him.
I figured we could mark it down as an accounting group or church group or something to explain the suits and why they weren’t out and about in town much. ”
“Anything Jordana needs. I’ll call my parents to get it sorted.
We have the production team staying at the house, but they’ve overstayed their welcome and I think my folks will be very happy to kick them out or to move them to the cottage on the back of the property.
” Maggie dug her phone out of her purse and headed to the patio to sit with Blackbeard to make the call even though it was almost midnight.
“I can’t go to the airbase to meet my father?” Jordana asked.
“No. We don’t want to risk any record of you anywhere. They’ll bring him to Bell Landing and in twelve hours you’ll be with him.”
Rowan stood up and stretched. “I’m going to the hospital now to check on patients and to try to clear my calendar for a couple of hours so I can meet your father as soon as he arrives.”
“Kenzie and I will get everything we need and take it over to the Bells’. We’ll get his room all set up, including a hospital bed,” Gavin told her as he and Kenzie stood.
“Whatever we don’t have, we have time to grab from our medical supplier in Charleston. We’ll meet you at the Bells’ tomorrow,” Kenzie said before she, Gavin, and Rowan left.
“Everyone, get some sleep,” Hunter ordered. “I’ll talk to Granger and get some eyes on the road between here and the airbase. We’ll know exactly when they’re on their way and offer silent police backup.”
“Thank you.” Jordana could hardly contain all the conflicting emotions she was feeling. These people were saving her father. “You’re all doing too much, but for my father I would go to the ends of the earth.”
“You don’t have to go to the ends of the earth, hon,” Maggie told her, giving her a hug. “You just have to come to Shadows Landing.”
Jordana was hugged by everyone there, even Damon, before they left. The house seemed so quiet when it was only she and Forrest, but it was the quiet her nerves needed. She found herself out on the back patio with Blackbeard when Forrest went into the kitchen.
Jordana stood, absently stroking the goat’s long ears, as she stared at the stars. Somewhere in that sky her father was on his way to her.
“Here,” Forrest said softly, holding out a glass of wine before feeding some snacks to Blackbeard.
“Thank you.” Jordana giggled as she looked down at Blackbeard. “That goat really loves you.” The goat was staring at Forrest as if he hung the moon.
“He’s a good boy, aren’t you?” Forrest asked as the goat bleated at him in return and seemed to smile. “How are you holding up?”
Jordana took a seat and had a sip of the wine. “I’ll be a lot better when I see my father, but I’m so grateful for everything you, your family, and this town have done to help. I don’t know how I’ll pay them back.”
“By just being you. They don’t do this to get something from you. They do it because you’re important to me and therefore are important to them. You became part of this town and my family the second we showed up together.”
Jordana reached a hand out and Forrest instantly took it. “Forrest, we need to talk.”
“I know we do.”
Her heart sank. Was he going to break up with her? He sounded so resigned. “What do you want to talk about?”
“You first,” Forrest said, giving her hand a squeeze.
“Well, I guess there’s no point to me going first if you don’t want to stay together.”
Forrest looked at her with hurt and confusion. “Why would you think I wouldn’t want to stay together?”
“I’ve brought this whole mess to your town and then, after everyone helps me, I’m going to leave and go back to Brazil.”
“Yes, but you don’t have to go alone.”
Jordana stopped breathing from excitement alone. “Are you saying you’d go with me?”
“I’m saying we need to discuss it. Your life is in Brazil. Mine is in Shadows Landing. Do you think we can compromise and maybe split our time between the two?”
Jordana’s heart was still hammering, but now with excitement instead of fear.
“Yes. We can do that. I only need to go back to Brazil to get more samples and to see my father and friends. I can do most of the lab work here, that is if I find a place that works for me. The pharmaceutical company I’m thinking I might partner with is in the U.S. ”
“My work takes me all over the world though. Sometimes I have to leave for a month at a time. I don’t want you to feel abandoned. I can’t have you uproot your life and then realize I’m gone a lot.”
“You’ve told me about these jobs before.
I’ve so badly wanted to travel the world and see all the plants I’ve only read about.
” Jordana paused not wanting to seem clingy.
But he was right, they needed to talk this out.
“If I’m not in the middle of something in my lab, would it be unprofessional if I went with you?
You could do your work and I could explore mine.
Who knows what kind of plants and medicinal uses I could find. ”
Forrest looked shocked and she was so worried she’d overstepped.
“I would love that. It’s . . .” Forrest paused and then started laughing, which only made Jordana confused.
“It’s been Damon’s dream for me to have a partner like that in life.
And now, faced with the possibility of it becoming a reality, it’s my dream too. ”
Jordana set the wine down and jumped up. Before Forrest could stand up and hug her, she was in his lap with her arms around his neck, kissing him with all the love she had for him. “It would be a dream come true to travel and work with the man I love.”
Jordana kissed him and it didn’t take much for the kiss to heat up. It was like the pressure releasing from a volcano. Her body heated as they tore at each other’s clothes. His hands were on her breasts as she straddled his thighs and rocked against him.
Jordana needed him now. There was no time for sweet words of love. She was about to overheat and explode and she wanted him inside of her when she did it. Jordana reached for his pants, unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans while he shoved her athletic pants down to her hips.
“Up,” he commanded against her lips. The second she stood, her pants came off.
She didn’t even wait for him to push off his jeans. She couldn’t. “I can’t wait,” Jordana panted as she straddled him again.
“Then don’t. Take what you need.” Forrest’s eyes connected with her as she pulled him free.
It was so erotic the way his eyes were dark with hunger, but he’d reined it in so she could take the lead.
She rolled on the condom Forrest handed her.
Jordana positioned herself and then sank slowly down on him.
Only then did he break his eye contact with her as he closed his eyes and groaned.
Jordana grabbed onto his shoulders and that was the last slow thing she did until Blackbeard wasn’t the only one screaming into the night.