Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Jud e
E ach of us at Saint had a few specialty designations that came from our time on active duty, or in Eddie James-Williamson’s case, service. One of mine was all things tech, so much of my time would be spent watching camera feeds and surveilling the film fest on a larger scale, though I had a few shifts of event security to help mix things up. Staring at a screen for hours could get really mind-numbing.
It was a bit more fun when the likes of world-famous Jack McKean and hilarious and beloved Jenna Halter were in their black tie attire wandering a red carpet, except you could never just watch the celebrities. Proper surveillance meant keeping an eye on the entire scene and anticipating the unseen.
Some celebrities had hired us for extra event security, but some had brought in their own. For one of the festival’s big sponsoring studios debuting two movies—one feature film and one documentary—they had hired a private security firm not unlike Saint, though much bigger.
And with a far more… gray reputation.
As the lead on event security and official partners with the local sheriff’s department and city, Bruce, Wilder, and Tristan were meeting with the Blackthorne Security reps this afternoon and they’d be inviting these guys and their whole team to join us for a drink at Craic.
The shakeup to our usual Friday night custom was supposed to pave the way for a positive working dynamic for the next week of the festival. The celebrities wouldn’t arrive until Sunday night at the earliest, and even though some paparazzi were trickling in early, most of them would wait until the money makers showed up.
This change to the schedule was why I walked in a few minutes later than right on time instead of going to hang with Stone. I usually left this space to Jess if she was in town because it wasn’t worth the hassle of showing up only for her to storm off.
But tonight, I didn’t think she’d leave. We hadn’t gotten to our heart to heart yet, but she wasn’t running or backing down now. And she knew things had changed, even if she couldn’t figure out how. I’d taken care of her and admitted to past feelings… but I had to assume she didn’t quite remember everything she’d said to me when she was delirious with fever.
“What a way to go.” The things admitted to—not just attraction but wanting me. It didn’t change everything, but it did mean I didn’t resist Kenny’s suggestion that I attempt to “get the girl” now. While I wasn’t confident, I was strangely… hopeful.
For what? I couldn’t pin it down completely, only that I wasn’t dreading seeing her because of the inevitability she’d leave with a snarl the instant she saw me. She wouldn’t tonight—I’d put money on it.
The bar was even more crowded than usual for a Friday night with the extra Blackthorne personnel standing around. Bruce, Wilder, Adam, and Kenny appeared to be playing host at a handful of tables, setting down pitchers of local beer and water and doing their smiley, friendly thing.
It wasn’t until I saw Pop that I realized something was wrong.
As a highly trained operator, Jessica Korbel didn’t cower, but one look and I could tell her whole being was broadcasting that something was very off. The rigidity in her posture, the blank mask on her face, and the way she’d glued her hands to her sides. I’d seen her upset enough to know her default would normally be wrapping her arms around herself but for whatever reason, it looked like she’d forbidden herself from doing so.
Then my gaze shifted to the person smirking at her and the blood drained from my face in the same instant I started moving. Every instinct told me to hitch her over my shoulder and haul her away from here.
Kurt didn’t look all that different except for slightly longer hair and a longer goatee than he’d had when he left the unit. His body language and his “panty charmer” smile, as he’d disgustingly called it, were all too familiar.
I arrived just in time to hear him say, “Damn, Jessie. You look good.” He must’ve seen me coming because he turned, and his grin widened. “And there’s the hulking beast now.”
Baser instincts said “Just deck him!” but I’d tamed those—at least for the most part—decades ago. Instead, I dipped my chin to acknowledge him, uninterested in giving him any fuel.
He’d burned everything between us long before he’d left Jess and blamed me for it. He’d lied repeatedly, and by the time I reported him, any good memories with him had turned to ash.
Now? I hardly felt anything for him. Not rage or anger or pity. But him next to Jess?
That turned my blood to lava in my veins, pumping slow, steady, but magma hot.
“Kurt.”
I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of using his old unit name. None of us would. He’d become a PNG—persona non grata—and wouldn’t be able to attend unit functions or reunions ever again. He’d thought he’d stay eligible, but as more truths came out after he left, he was out fully.
Jess must’ve missed all this, too, somehow.
“How fun to have the gang back together again,” he said, and hooked an arm over Jess’s shoulder. “I sure missed you, Jessie.”
She hitched forward, almost like she’d dry-heaved. “Please remove your arm.”
He made a face but did so.
Good to see he can listen now, at least.
“I guess you’re both still bitter, huh? Silly me for imagining we’d all let water run under the bridge. But I’m not the one who couldn’t handle losing a prize now, was I?” He raised one eyebrow at me like this would move me to respond.
It didn’t.
I wasn’t scared of Jess finding out he knew I’d been in love with her. He’d told her something along those lines when he’d claimed I didn’t want them together. She must not’ve believed him based on her response to my confession, but he’d tried to place any blame fully on my shoulders. Technically, he wasn’t wrong about my feelings, but it wasn’t simply because I was a petty jerk who didn’t want anyone to “have” her if I couldn’t.
“Just do what you came to do and leave when the job’s done. We’ll play nice and won’t even let on what a jerk you are.”
Her words were completely calm, but her posture still had that stick-still quality to it.
“Aw, Jessie. Of course I’ll do what I came to do. I’m with Blackthorne. ” He said it like it was something to be proud of and not where anyone with questionable ethics landed post-military. They were mercenaries at best.
“Don’t say her name.” It came out like a growl, completely unplanned, and I saw Jess stiffen next to me.
Kurt chuckled like my threat was empty. He had no idea how much I’d love an excuse to introduce his face to the pavement.
Jess didn’t use words, but the ice in her voice and her total lack of acknowledging my statement effectively shut down any more comments I might’ve made.
“Good for you, Kurt. Glad you found your way.”
Her eyes flicked to mine and her jaw flexed as she clenched it, then she turned on her heel and beelined for the table where her friends stood watching.
I tipped my head toward the women, whose eyes were all on me and Kurt. Dove grinned, Elise dipped her head, Nikki and Catherine offered soft smiles, and Jo and Winnie had already turned their attention to Jess as she arrived at the table.
“Pretty pathetic, man. I would’ve thought you’d have hit that by now. ”
He glanced after Jess with a leer I wouldn’t have imagined possible for a man who’d supposedly loved and planned to marry the woman, but at this point, I didn’t put anything past him.
I didn’t bark at him or slap him across the face like I might’ve loved to do. Instead, I just gave him a dead-eyed look I knew he’d hate. He’d never been able to keep his mouth shut and he’d always hated how I could.
“Still pining after her. You probably followed her here, sniffing at her feet, huh? If she hasn’t fallen for it yet, she’s not going to. I’ve been out of the picture for more than five years—if she was going to move on with you, she would’ve done it.”
A hundred thoughts raced through my mind—insults, visions of clocking him right in his stupid smile, fantasies of grabbing him by the collar and pinning him to the wall like a high school bully… instead, I just grunted and moved away.
He made some kind of dismissive noise which I ignored. In a few seconds, I’d reached Jess’s table. Was she okay? Had he said anything awful before I got there? Could I do anything to make it better for her?
“Hey, do you?—”
She whipped around. “I do not.”
I blinked. I hadn’t finished the sentence. She had no idea what I was going to say. So… I’d try again.
“I was going to say do you?—”
“I. Do. Not. I don’t want to talk to you. I do not want to debrief about seeing my jerk of an ex, and I do not want to talk to you after that ridiculous display in front of him.” Her cheeks flushed red. “Have a good night.”
I stared at the back of her head for a moment before moving away, not wanting to make her even more angry by hanging around and not in the mood to deal with any small talk her friends, well-meaning as they were, might attempt.
Why was she sending all that fire my way? Of course seeing Kurt stirred up drama, but my gut clenched at the evidence it did so between us. We had a lot to talk about still, but I guessed I’d fooled myself into feeling like we were allies on this front, at least.
I made for the exit, seeking the cool fall air. Kenny was chatting with someone but saw me and tipped his chin, letting me know he’d be out in a few.
Fine. He knew Kurt for a minute before he got out. He definitely knew how I felt about him.
And he knew Jess, too. Maybe he could help me make sense of why, after seeing the man who’d cheated on her and left her, she was angry with me .