Chapter 28
JASON
Just the memory now filled my stomach with bile. I’d woken with my face pushed into the disgusting motel carpet, my back on fire and every breath full of stabbing pain. The last thing I’d seen before the bullet slammed into me was Frey taking Laurel away.
I shouldn’t say anything else.
I didn’t trust myself and couldn’t get ahold of these foreign feelings pumping through me. It left me off kilter, yet I only wanted more. Wanted her, even when I knew I shouldn’t. Weren’t we past the point of no return?
So, fuck it. I shut down the protest in my brain and reached out, bringing her close.
“I thought I’d lost you.” I was a damn fool because she wasn’t mine to lose.
Her hands gripped my face to bring it down to hers, and she kissed me with so much passion it was thrilling and terrifying. When it ended, I put my forehead against hers, closing my eyes.
“Jason,” her voice was breathless, “what are we doing?”
“I don’t know.” I pressed my lips to hers softly.
I wished Shawn wasn’t in the other room, banging around in the kitchen, putting pans on the stovetop. We had less than two days left together, and the asshole in me didn’t want to spend them with my brother hanging around.
“Once Bill finds the leak, will it lead him to Frey?”
“I don’t know,” I said again. “Don’t think about it.”
Like it was that easy. I forced myself to let go of her and retrieve a shirt from the bedroom, and then begrudgingly led her into the kitchen.
Shawn had removed his suit jacket and tie and rolled back the sleeves of a shirt that was sure to cost more than my government paycheck.
“Tell me, L, how does a guy like Jason meet a girl like you?” There was suspicion in his eyes, and I didn’t like it. My brother wasn’t an idiot. He knew Laurel was out of my league. “I can’t imagine he goes to the ballet.”
For being a performer, she wasn’t much of an actress. “Online.”
Shawn laughed like he was thrilled, then sobered. “I might have believed the mugging, but that I certainly don’t.”
She tilted her head. “Why not?”
“Jason might not be as good as I am, but he’s never had a tough time finding women.”
I balled my hands into fists. “Shawn.”
The asshole flipped a strip of bacon and stood back when it splattered and popped in the hot pan.
“You won’t tell me her name, she’s obviously been assaulted, and you brought her here.
You didn’t ask because you don’t want anyone to know.
” Shawn’s gaze fixed onto mine. “What excuse are you going to give me about your back? Fell down some stairs?”
I sighed. “Yeah, all right. She’s a case.”
For a moment, no one said anything, and his expression was . . . puzzling. He stared at me like I was missing something obvious. Then his gaze drifted to Laurel.
“You’re obviously not just a case to him.” He said it like an apology. “I don’t think my brother was implying that.”
Oh, fuck.
“I know.” Her words were tight, and she refused to look at me. Because I’d hurt her and hadn’t realized how it must have sounded. But Shawn did. I wasn’t any good with emotions, but my brother?
He excelled at them.
Figure out how to fix that later, my brain said. Deal with the German first.
“When are you leaving?” I asked.
He shrugged. “It’s a big house. And, you know, mine, so I was planning to stay a few days.”
“Great,” I gritted out.
“Calm down.” He lifted his gaze to the ceiling before it returned to me. “I don’t want to be a third wheel, so let me eat and get a few hours of sleep, and then I’ll be on my way.”
He fixed a plate of food and presented it to Laurel, but she shook her head. “Oh, thank you, but I already ate.”
He gave a look that said, fair enough as he strolled toward us. He set the plate down on the island next to where she stood before pulling out one of the bar stools beneath and dropping onto it. “How did you end up here?”
He ate beside her, comfortably and annoyingly close, and inside I groaned with frustration. I didn’t want my brother anywhere near her. Women fell over themselves to get to Shawn. It was part of the reason why my brother had racked up two divorces before hitting forty.
And I’d had more than one woman leave me and upgrade to him.
“The less you know about her situation, the better,” I said.
“Who am I going to tell?” He broke off a piece of bacon and popped it in his mouth.
“I heard a man confess to killing someone,” she said, “and when I escaped, he came after me.”
“L,” I said under my breath.
“Is it really that big of a deal? I’ve told him hardly anything, and he’s letting us stay at his place.”
He considered her statement critically. “But the Marshals Service paired you with Jason and . . . sent you here?”
She shook her head and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “The man after me knew where the safe house was, and he attacked the place they moved me to. That was where Jason got shot.”
My brother’s eyes widened.
He hadn’t known exactly what had caused the injury, although he assumed it was from violence. He spoke again in German—his was always better than mine—but that made sense. It was his native language, whereas I had learned English first.
“You were shot?” he asked. “Are you okay?”
“It hurt. It still hurts, but yeah,” I responded in German. I could tell Laurel wanted to know what was being said, so I switched back to English. “Can we not talk about this?”
“Fine.” The concern for me drained away and he focused on her. “Do you have siblings, L? And if so, are they as irritating as my younger brother?”
“I have an older sister.”
His eyes lit up. “Do you?”
She didn’t miss a beat. “Sorry, she’s married.”
“No, she’s not,” I said.
She froze. “What?”
Shit. I swallowed hard. “There’s a record that she filed for divorce a few months ago. Sorry. I thought you knew.”
“No.” She looked sad, but also sort of relieved, like perhaps she hadn’t liked her former brother-in-law. “Like I said, we haven’t talked in a while.”
Her statement hung for a long moment.
“What happened there?” Shawn asked softly.
She looked like she wasn’t sure how to answer that, but then she reached beneath her and pulled out a stool. Anxiety ringed her eyes as she sat beside him, her hands woven together and resting on the countertop.
“Our mom had cancer. Kara wanted her to keep fighting, to not give up, but . . .” Laurel was eerily emotionless, like she’d cried so hard that there were no more tears left.
She’d used up all her emotions. “There was no winning, nothing left to fight, and it’s brutal at the end.
Mom just wanted it over.” Her gaze settled on the stone counter.
“She gave me medical power of attorney, and that was that. Mom had chosen me over her.”
I swallowed thickly. I knew a little what that was like, didn’t I? Shawn shifted uncomfortably on his stool and refused to meet my gaze.
“At least, that’s how Kara saw it,” she continued. “I haven’t seen her since the funeral.”
“When was that?” he asked.
Her shoulders tensed. “Six years ago.”
“That was a while ago,” I said.
“Yeah, well, she said some pretty hateful things that are still good and fresh in my mind.” She rose abruptly from her seat, and instinctively Shawn did as well. Our mother had taught us to respect women and be gentlemen, even though neither of us were much good at it these days.
“Thank you for letting us stay,” she said. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to take a shower.”
Shawn nodded and probably had more to say, but she was gone before he could get the words out. I moved to follow her, but angry German came flying at me.
“You’re fucking witnesses now?” he demanded. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I told you,” I turned to face him, “it’s not like that.”
His expression was condescending. “Oh, so I didn’t see you put your hand inside her underwear, and I didn’t hear you say you couldn’t keep your hands off of her?”
My shoulders slumped. “Fuck. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing,” I admitted. “I’m going to lose my job, and it’s like . . . it’s like, I can’t fucking stop myself.”
The house was quiet. I wanted my brother to disappear so I could get back to the illusion that there’d be no consequences and Laurel wasn’t being hunted by the same man who’d killed my partner.
Two partners now.
The thought of her being taken again made me sick to my stomach. She was just down the hall and already too far away.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to explain it to me.” Shawn’s deep voice was muted. “For once, I understand.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“That thing you’re feeling.” He grabbed his coat and tie. “If I don’t see you again before I leave, stay as long as you want.” His heavy footsteps took him to the door, where he turned to add, “I can’t say I blame you. She’s beautiful.”