Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
WALKINS GLEN, ALABAMA – TWO DAYS LATER
“Are you ready for this?” Jesse asked as they neared the Hawkins Ranch.
He turned his attention to Ella, sitting beside him in his RAM, her hands slightly trembling as she gripped her black denim-covered thighs. Working his focus up over the tantalizing hint of cleavage revealed by her silky black blouse, he now felt a bit underdressed for the “welcome home event” in his faded jeans and plaid shirt open to a white tee.
“They’re all there waiting for us,” she said softly before skirting her teeth over her bottom lip. “But I’m glad Rory was able to make the trip back from Virginia to be here today. She and Savanna will make me feel less?—”
“Panicked?” He waited for her nod, then redirected his attention back to driving. “I’m never going to be ready to face your family, or mine, now that they all know the truth.”
He’d hoped to return home sooner, but the team had to wait for Jesse to get released from the hospital in Salzburg, as well as for Carter’s private jet to make its way back from the States since his pilot had flown Savanna and Griffin home right before the op.
From what Jesse learned, Thatcher had discharged himself from the hospital without a word to anyone and was more than likely evading the inevitable ass-chewing he was sure to get for heading to Austria without permission, especially considering the outcome. The CIA had wanted Yuri alive, but Jesse had to believe they’d rather have a dead assassin than one still on the streets.
Thankfully, at zero three hundred hours, Aleksa, Zoran’s right-hand man, had been taken down, so all the loose ends were officially tied.
Well, almost all loose ends were tied. Zoey had a new mission. Finding out whether or not Yuri lied to her. And Jesse had a feeling the team would be seeing her again down the road, whether Carter wanted to or not.
“I just hope Beckett tones down the growly when we see him,” Ella softly said, redirecting his thoughts.
“Beckett is always growly,” Jesse remarked, noticing her fiddling with her wedding band and diamond ring before peering at his left hand on the steering wheel, forgetting he’d removed his band before the op and hadn’t put it back on. But they weren’t actually married, and now her family knew the truth, so . . .
“I’ve got you,” she noted. “ We’ve got this.” She reached for his right hand resting on his jeaned leg and squeezed. “Or we could pull over and go tomorrow instead,” she added with a chuckle. “I could give you, what’s it called? Road head?”
The truck nearly went off said road when he spied her licking her lips, her gaze settling on his crotch, making his dick jump at the idea of her luscious lips wrapped around him.
“I still haven’t tasted you. It’s not fair,” she tossed out and threw in a sexy pout to taunt him.
He lightly laughed and shook his head but quickly tore his gaze back to the road. They hadn’t gone through hell overseas just to get into a car accident now. Pulling his hand free from hers, Jesse clutched his stomach at the pain that flared up. His abdomen still hurt like a motherfucker, and although the saying, laughter is the best medicine might be true, it definitely didn’t apply after you’d been stabbed in the gut.
“You okay?” she asked, cutting off his thoughts.
He bit down on his teeth and nodded, hoping she wouldn’t notice how much pain he was in. He’d refused to take any more meds since he’d left the hospital, preferring to “get through it like a man” as Ella had repeatedly chided during the previous day, giving him a hard time for not even taking Advil.
“I’m fine, but hey, if you recall, I wanted to make love last night in our hotel room, but you turned me down. Taking a naked shower in front of me, knowing full well the doctor said I wasn’t allowed to shower yet. You’re looking for trouble, tempting me like that.” He shifted his palm to his crotch, the discomfort there more than his abdomen now.
“First of all,” she began around a soft chuckle, “showers are best taken naked. Pretty sure that’s the point. And secondly, you’re still recovering from being stabbed. I didn’t want you to get hurt if we had sex.”
“Nothing wrong with my dick, I can assure you.” He shot her a devilish grin, noticing her legs pin together at his words.
“Oh, we’re here.” Her abrupt announcement snatched his attention to the road and away from the sight of her hand as it landed between her thighs like she was aching for his cock to fill her.
Jesse peered at the sign, Hawkins Ranch , and his shoulders fell as he turned onto the road leading to the ranch. There was still a decent stretch of distance between where they were now and the main house on the property, at least.
Feeling a bit fidgety, he flicked the brim of his ball cap, then spun it around backward. Then faced it forward again, deciding maybe he ought to hide his eyes a little for when they showed up.
“I’ll handle Beckett. Don’t worry.” She patted his leg. “But Mom said on the phone that your dad is there too.”
The tightening of his abdomen at the mention of his father had his stomach hurting again, but it now competed with the pain filling his chest at the idea of facing that man. “You think Zoran’s son, Nikola, will be okay?” he whispered at the memory of the stricken look on the boy’s face, and he could only hope he didn’t grow up to become like his father. “I think I became a fighter because of my dad, and so . . .” He gulped, and she smoothed her hand up and down his jeaned thigh a bit more to try and comfort him.
“He’ll be much better raised by whoever adopts him than under the care of criminals, and didn’t he say as much himself?”
“Yeah, but I had morphine in me at the time, so I don’t know. Plus, he had to witness all that violence.” He shuddered at the memory.
“Mm. You’re forgetting something.”
He slowed the truck, trying to stall their arrival a bit. “What’s that?”
“He also saw some heroes in that castle too. He saw good prevail.” Ella paused for a moment. “But I’d like to check in and find out what happens to him.”
“Agreed.”
Ella smiled, and damn was it infectious. “And I’m sure that McKenna will also be okay,” she softly added.
“She’s tough like her aunt.” But his heart still squeezed at the thought of what McKenna had witnessed at the sheriff’s station. And from the sounds of it, the damage from the explosive breach set by Yuri’s men and the resulting fire was going to require Beckett to rebuild at least part of the station.
“A.J. said he’s working on him,” Ella said, reading his thoughts.
When the house came into view, Jesse’s heart climbed into his throat at the sight of all the cars parked in the circular driveway out front. A grand welcome back? Ha. Sure. More like he’d be receiving a few punches to the face.
Parking behind Shep’s Jeep, Jesse unbuckled and said, “Let’s, um, just get this done, I suppose.” He released a few shaky breaths, feeling more nervous now than when he was trapped in the room of the castle unarmed.
“Like I said, we’ve got this.” Ella palmed his cheek and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. He held his face near hers for a moment, relishing in the fact this woman was finally his.
A few seconds later, he figured it was time to face the music. Hopping out of the truck, he quickly navigated around the hood and opened the passenger door, offering Ella his hand as she stepped out.
Jesse smoothed his hands along the lapels of the red and black plaid jacket-style shirt to steady his nerves, and Ella went for his hand and laced their fingers together. That helped the harsh pangs in his chest.
Before they had a chance to climb the steps of the wraparound front porch, the door opened, and Bear came barreling out.
Ella quickly dropped his hand and jumped in front of him, arms outstretched to intercept the dog and keep him from jumping on Jesse, as was his habit.
“Protecting me?” Jesse asked with a smile as Rory spoke a command for Bear to sit.
Ella peeked back at him, still on guard. “Always.”
He reached for her hips and drew her back to his chest. “Ditto, darlin’,” he whispered into her ear before he allowed reality to settle back in that he had a whole lot of people to confront.
“There’s my favorite brother,” Rory said in a playful tone, but as soon as Jesse sidestepped Ella, he saw the emotion in her eyes. Relief that he was okay and had made it home alive.
“I thought I was the annoying one,” he responded, thinking back to their text exchange the night three years ago when she’d set him up with Ella in New York.
“The only one,” Rory returned while looping her arms over his shoulders and hugging him, careful of his stomach.
She turned her attention to Ella, swiping tears from beneath her eyes. As Jesse crouched to scratch Bear on the head, he looked up to see Chris exiting the house alongside A.J.
He’d spoken to A.J. since Yuri had died, but seeing his best friend face-to-face after he’d put his little sister in danger was harder than he’d anticipated.
“Welcome home, brother,” Chris said, hurrying down the stairs. He gave Jesse a quick one-arm hug before tossing a look back at the house where everyone had begun filtering out the front door.
Okay, so we’re doing this right here? Jesse swallowed and pivoted his focus to the group standing on the porch. Everyone except Beckett and McKenna.
“Ella,” Savanna cried out, running with open arms, and Griffin strode behind her and tipped his head Jesse’s way in hello.
How would he face the rest of her family? Look Ella’s dad, Rick, in the eyes after what he’d put the man’s only daughter through? And then there was the marriage lie.
“Jesse, a word.” The sound of his father’s voice was like another knife to the gut. Jesse slowly turned his gaze toward the man. Time hadn’t changed the fact that Jesse resembled the bastard more than a little, something he’d always hated. “Over here.”
Jesse glanced at Ella, finding her now surrounded by her family and barely visible as they went in for hugs.
He avoided making eye contact with his mom on his way to his dad, who now stood off to the side of the house for privacy.
“I knew you were a fuckup, but this, this is beyond anything I could ever imagine.” His dad crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Jesse.
Jesse bowed his head. He was now taller than his dad though only by an inch, but Sean McAdams, even in his late sixties, was still strong and fairly jacked. Not that Jesse doubted he’d win in a matchup with him. And he’d be lying if he said that over the years he hadn’t envisioned such a fight. But it was time for him to put the past behind him so he could start fresh with Ella.
“I have nothing to say to you,” Jesse remarked, unwilling to offer his father an apology or any excuses. Hell no.
“Boy, look at me when I’m talking to you.”
Jesse bit down on his back teeth and hissed between his barely parted lips as he slowly forced his eyes on his dad’s, not because he’d ordered him to, but because he was no longer the boy who had to stand there and take it. He was a man whose days of putting up with this bastard were long over.
“I’m so pissed at you I can barely see straight,” his father went on, just like back in the day. Jesse shook his head when he glanced down and saw his dad’s palm twitch. Would he really try to hit him out here in front of everyone? Expose himself as the asshole he was? All that talk of redemption . . . his mother deserved better if he was still the same man he’d been all those years ago.
“Walk away,” Jesse slowly said. “I advise you to leave before you make a scene, or I promise you, the only one who will end up flat on his back will be you.”
“You don’t deserve that girl. You know that, right?” His dad leaned in closer, and Jesse smelled the alcohol he’d supposedly given up on his breath.
“Jesse,” Ella said from behind just before she sidled up next to him and secured a hand around his arm. “You should do what he says,” she boldly stated, lifting her chin, eyes dead set on his dad. “In fact, you should get off our property before I tell everyone about the kind of man you really are.”
Jesse’s focus remained riveted on the firecracker trying to protect him once again.
“What nonsense did he peddle to you?” his dad asked.
“Just the truth,” Ella calmly said. “And if you don’t walk away right now, I will punch you. You can count on that,” she added, her tone grittier this time, and heaven help him, he was going to kiss her right there.
“You two belong together, then.” His father huffed out a deep breath and hip-checked him like an immature ass while walking past.
Ella guided Jesse’s focus to her, an attempt to calm him down. “Some people don’t deserve forgiveness. I’m sorry, but I won’t ever forgive him for what he did.”
He angled his head and studied her, unsure what to say. He had so many emotions flying through him right now.
“Your mom and sister should know though. They need to know what he did to you,” she whispered.
“We’ll see. But first, I need to face your family.” Chills coated his arms when he saw Beckett and McKenna circling the house from the back, striding side by side, and Ella turned to follow his gaze.
“Ella!” McKenna called out, breaking free from her father’s side to race their way. Ella dropped to her knees and wrapped McKenna in a tight hug while Jesse stared at them and set a hand to his chest at what felt like a fist pumping there. But it was just his heart working double time.
“Jesse,” Beckett said in a clipped tone on approach, which had Ella quickly untangling herself from McKenna and turning their way, looking ready to do battle with her brother if necessary.
But in this case, Jesse didn’t want any barriers between him and Beckett.
“Thank you for safely returning her home,” Beckett said, his tone low and deep. “Now get the hell off our property before I remove you myself.”