Chapter 46
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Without Jordan or Nigel, she asked Natalie to sleep beside her in bed. Her anxiety churned like a storm gathering, and lying alone in the room where her stalker had hidden in her closet wasn’t appealing.
“I think you’re safe,” Natalie told her when they finally went to bed.
“Some very stealthy-looking men, who only seem to wear black and carry guns, had this building secured the whole time you were gone. I tried to get their numbers, but they barely spoke, like at all.” She fluffed the pillows a few times.
“I’m almost positive they hooked up cameras and spyware and other shit we can’t see.
We’re locked down tighter than the Vatican archives,” she said through a yawn.
“Your man’s got your back, babe. You don’t need me. ”
But Vanessa lay awake long after, mind restless and churning.
Sure, her man had secured the apartment, but he’d also left her with her overly exuberant cousin, who, given the chance, would probably convince the stalker they were all starring in a dark romance novel and that this could totally work as a “why choose” situation if only he toned down the fear factor a bit.
Her reunion with her phone wasn’t helping either. Notifications chimed like an orchestra warming up, so she silenced them to keep from waking Natalie. She knew late-night scrolling was a bad idea, but after spending half the night bawling in her cousin’s arms, she was desperate for any distraction.
Nikki and Landon were both blowing up their group chat, asking where she’d been and if she was okay. Not to mention the probably hundreds of other messages flooding her DMs, asking why she’d gone silent.
The upside was the chaos kept her mind off Jordan.
She must’ve fallen asleep at some point because when she woke at dawn, her eyes were like sandpaper and her head was stuffed with cotton balls.
To think, she needed to walk a runway in less than forty-eight hours.
After a shower, coffee, and a tall glass of water, she felt almost human. An hour later, suitcases packed and by the door, the knock came.
Great, so they were on knocking terms again. Why did this already feel like it was going to be the most awkward flight ever?
Natalie, full of the perky energy of someone who’d slept a full eight hours, bounced to the door and swung it open. “Oh, it’s you.”
Vanessa’s heart sank, and she went to the door as well.
Dex leaned against the frame, arms crossed, sardonic smile fixed on his face.
“Sorry to disappoint.” His gaze flicked to Vanessa and then back to Natalie.
“Don’t worry, pipsqueak, I’m only here to pick her up.
I’ll be out of your hair in a flash.” He picked up one of her suitcases as if it weighed nothing.
“New York, here we come.” His voice was anything but excited.
“Where’s Jordan?” Her voice was equally flat. Empty. Like her insides.
Dex shrugged. “At the gym, I think. He told me I was escorting you to New York, so here I am.”
“Woah wait,” Natalie exclaimed, turning to Vanessa. “Are we going to ignore that he called me a pipsqueak?”
“He’s at the gym?” Vanessa asked, ignoring her cousin.
Dex grabbed another suitcase. “Think so. I’ll come get the rest of these in a sec.” He was already out in the hall before she could reply.
What the actual fuck? It took seconds for her to slip on her trainers and chase after him.
“Bye, cousin dearest,” Natalie called after her. “Don’t forget about me when you’re famous again.”
Natalie’s words had Vanessa backtracking quickly. She threw her arms around her cousin and gave her a big squeeze. “I’m sorry. I love you so much, you know that, right?”
Natalie patted her back. “I know. I know.” When they broke apart, Nat looked her dead in the eye. “But you love him more, and that’s why you’re going straight to that gym and not leaving until you’ve shoved him into one of those Louis V suitcases of yours.”
Which was exactly what she told Dex when they climbed inside Anderson’s SUV.
Dex grumbled the entire drive to the gym. “He’s not gonna be happy about this.”
Yeah, well, she wasn’t happy that Jordan thought he could ditch her when she needed him most. “Why are you so loyal to him anyway?” She didn’t know much about Dex and Jordan’s relationship, other than they’d met in prison.
Dex shrugged. “He’s the most stand-up guy I know. Had my back, saved my life, taught me what respect was. I’d go over a cliff for him, and I know he’d do the same for me. Plus, it’s hard not to respect a man who goes to jail for his brother.”
“What?” This was something new.
Dex kept his gaze on the road as Anderson drove through the light rain. “You know Sean?”
“Yes.” She dragged the word out, because the Sean she knew wasn’t the kind of guy who flirted with prison time.
“Well, he got in trouble when he was young. It wasn’t his usual style, but when their mom was sick, it was desperate times to get her the medicine she needed.
I didn’t know them then, but I know Sean got mixed up in something he shouldn’t have, and Jordan took the fall.
” His tone was casual, like spending seven years in jail for something you didn’t do was normal.
“That’s the kind of guy Jordan is. Sean made a mistake, but he didn’t deserve to rot in jail.
No way Jordan was going to let his little brother go through what we did.
” He shrugged again. “That kind of loyalty deserves respect.”
The SUV pulled up in front of the gym, and Dex turned to face her. “Listen, don’t go in there guns blazing. He’s already going to be pissed you’re not—”
But her seatbelt was already unbuckled, and her door flung open before he could finish the sentence. She slammed it on his muffled, “Shit.”
Thompson Kickboxing was a sleek, high-end gym known for its MMA training that offered classes at all levels. She’d taken an introductory jiu-jitsu class here a while back. The gym had a reputation for grooming up-and-coming fighters and for having top-tier private coaching.
During the time she’d spent taking classes at Thompson Kickboxing, it had become obvious that Jordan was always in high demand. Now that she knew him better, she understood why.
Ivy, who ran the physical therapy clinic attached to the gym, was at the front counter when Vanessa stomped in. “Oh my God,” Ivy said, eyes widening. “What did you do to my rabbit?”
Panic flooded Vanessa’s already frayed nerves. If something was wrong—
“Is Nigel okay?” she blurted.
“He’s pining for you. It’s honestly pathetic how besotted he is.
” Ivy shook her head. “He parked himself by the door all night, staring, tail twitching. At first, I thought he wanted to stretch his legs in the hallway, but when I let him out, he hopped straight to your door and sat outside looking up at it like a forlorn, lovesick puppy.”
Vanessa slammed her palm to her chest. “He did that?”
“Yes,” Ivy cried. “My rabbit is down bad. For you!” She threw her arms up, incredulous.
“I called Jordan, and he explained how you and Nige bonded while we were gone. At this point, you’re probably more connected to him than I am.
I mean, I never let him sleep in my bed.
So if you ever want to come over for a snuggle, feel free. ”
Tears pricked Vanessa’s eyes. Snuggling Nigel had become her main coping mechanism during the last few weeks. They hadn’t been apart for even twenty-four hours, and she already missed him almost as much as she missed Jordan.
Maybe it was a trauma bond, but it had gotten her through some of the hardest days of her life.
“But I’m guessing you’re not here for me or Nige.
” Ivy jerked her thumb over her shoulder.
“He’s in the ring with Sean. If you’re here to yell at him, make sure you don’t hop up there while they’re fighting.
I made that mistake once, and—” She shook her head earnestly.
“Ten out of ten do not recommend. Wait till they’re done. Then you can have at him.”
At the back of the gym, a sparse crowd had gathered around the boxing ring. Others pretended to lift weights nearby, but their attention was locked on the two men inside the ring. Not that she could blame anyone, because the scene before her was impossible to look away from.
The brothers were evenly matched in height and build.
To her untrained eye, their skill levels also seemed balanced.
What stood out was the difference in their demeanors.
Sean looked like he starred in a protein-shake advertisement.
His muscles were well-defined, as if he were carved from marble. Perfect. Polished. Safe.
So unlike his brother, who looked like he’d received his training in a prison yard.
Jordan was wearing his usual tight athletic tank, covering most of the scars and tattoos she now knew intimately, but nothing could hide the hollow, bruised darkness in his eyes, or the rugged energy that emanated from his body.
His dangerous power stole her breath, mesmerizing her.
The two titans collided. Powerful, lethal, unyielding. Their hits could’ve killed a man, but neither of them went down.
Jordan went low, hooking one arm around Sean’s knee, while the other pressed hard on his chest. In a motion so quick Vanessa could barely keep up, Jordan drove forward, lifting, sweeping, and slamming Sean to the mat with a momentum that had Vanessa slapping her hand over her mouth.
A couple of onlookers cheered and clapped before dispersing as Jordan held out his hand to help Sean up.
Sean jumped up, laughing, as though he hadn’t been slammed onto a hard mat a second ago.
He shook his brother’s hand and slapped his back, their easy camaraderie perceptible even from where she lingered at the edge of the gym.
It wasn’t until the men were making their way to the side of the ring that Sean spotted her.
His step faltered as he slid a cautious look to his brother, then back at her.
When Jordan’s gaze met hers, time stopped. As if they hadn’t seen each other in months, all the pieces of her jagged world fell back into place. Her mind cleared, her soul quieted, her heart slowed…then started racing when the dark clouds stormed his eyes again.
She stayed planted, remembering Ivy’s cautionary tale, and waited until the brothers approached her.
“What are you doing here?” Jordan’s tone wasn’t angry. More demanding and a bit confused.
“I came to yell at you,” she replied evenly, ignoring Sean’s snort of laughter.
“You’re supposed to be at the airport,” Jordan stated neutrally as he unwrapped a long strip of cloth from his hand.
“You’re supposed to be with me.” Her annoyance grew like a ball that had started as a low, anxious knot in her stomach this morning, and gathered steam since.
“Dex had you.”
“I don’t want Dex,” she shouted, knowing damn well she sounded like a petulant child. She wanted to stomp her foot to annoy him as much as his aloofness was annoying her right now.
Of course, he added fuel to her fire by remaining silent. So she decided to add some to his by telling him what was really on her mind.
“I want you, and I’m terrified everything you said to me during the last three days meant nothing.
That everything you said was lip service.
” She pressed her fingers to her temples until they hurt.
“I’ve been in my head over it, and when I woke up this morning to freaking Dex collecting me like I’m an overdue homework assignment, made me think that none of it mattered to you. ”
A muscle jumped in his granite jaw as he regarded her with hard, black eyes.
“Whelp, brother, I’m going to leave this in your capable hands.” Sean squeezed her shoulder as he passed. “Lovely seeing you as always, Vanessa.”
Their stare-down lasted until Jordan finally broke. Gripping her arm, he led her up the gym’s main staircase, past rows of ellipticals and stationary bikes, to a modest office.
He closed the door behind them and immediately pinned her to the wall, his forearms braced on either side of her head, eyes sharp and blistering.
Then he kissed her. And kissed her. Then kissed her some more, until she wasn’t sure where she was, or remembered anything she’d said downstairs.
When he finally released her, they were both gasping for air. “My turn to talk, princess. And I’d appreciate it if, for once, you’d just listen.”