After
Kayla
I unlock the door to our apartment and freeze. Jackson puts a hand at my back and then steps past me. “Wait outside a moment.” His voice is all business. I step into the hallway and look at Noah.
“The apartment is a mess,” I explain to him, and he doesn’t say a word.
Jackson opens the door a moment later, and I can see the anger on his face.
“It’s safe to come in.” I step inside and take in the damage.
The sheets have been shredded, the cabinets all torn off their hinges and emptied, as well as the drawers.
There’s nothing left undisturbed. “I’m sorry, Baby,” Jackson says, shaking his head.
“Vampires?” I ask him softly, knowing he’ll hear me.
He nods, his jaw tight. “I’ll replace everything,” he says, palming his neck.
“Jackson,” I say, stepping towards him and putting my hands on his chest. He instantly releases some of his tension. “It’s just stuff. I’ve got you and Noah; that’s all that matters.”
He wraps his arms around me again and pulls me close.
His lips linger on mine for a few precious seconds, and then I lean against his chest and look at the mess.
I give myself a minute to be held, and then I push away from him and grab several trash bags.
“All right. Everybody gets a bag; let’s get to work. ”
The three of us start cleaning the mess the vampires left behind.
Almost an hour later, somebody knocks on the front door.
I’m closest, so I open it. Shock runs through me when I see the guys from before, the ones that made me pay the extra three hundred dollars.
I don’t even get a chance to make a sound before the guy grabs my arm painfully. “Sweetheart, you’re late.”
And then Jackson’s there. He moves faster than I’ve ever seen him before.
Suddenly, both guys are pinned to the wall with a hand wrapped around each of their throats.
I take that in as well as the fact that neither one of them is touching the ground.
Shock rolls through me. I knew you were strong, Jackson; but this is next level.
He growls low in his chest, and both men hear it. “Please, Man,” the one that’s usually quiet says.
“Who are you?” Jackson demands.
The first guy starts to talk, and Jackson cuts him off. “Not you. You’re already dead for touching my mate.” The guy’s eyes widen, and I see his terror.
“No, please,” the normally quiet guy says. Jackson must realize that he’s not going to get anything out of them because he turns to me.
“Sweetheart?”
I walk over to the three of them after making sure to send Noah into the bathroom; I don’t want him here for this. “They showed up one day and said I owed an extra three hundred. Monthly,” I add.
Jackson’s eyes haven’t left mine, and I can see the wheels turning. “Is this scumbag the one who gave you the bruises you were wearing the first day we met?”
“Yes.”
I can feel Jackson’s anger through the bond, but there’s nothing on his face.
He turns back to the men, his face cold.
“So, you think it’s okay to demand extra money from people?
And hurt women in the process?” There’s a darkness to his voice, but it doesn’t scare me.
It does, however, scare the men. “How many other women have you done this to?”
The men start babbling incoherently, and I don’t really want to hear any more of it. Jackson must feel that because he jerks both of them forward. “Outside. Now.” I open the door for him, and his eyes meet mine for a moment. There’s a softening just for a second. “I’ll be back.”
I close the door behind them and get Noah from the bathroom. “Hey, you okay?” I ask.
He nods, looking totally unaffected. “Jackson will keep us safe.” There’s absolute faith in his voice.
“You’re right; he will.”
Nearly an hour later, Jackson opens the door and walks inside with Ransom behind him. Ransom grins at us. “Hey, long time no see.”
“We just saw each other two hours ago,” Noah reminds him, and I can’t help my laugh. It’s true. We just landed and came here a little over two hours ago.
Jackson walks over to me and picks up my arm, examining it. “It’s fine,” I tell him, but he sees the bruise that’s already forming.
I wanted to kill them, he sends me.
But you didn’t, right?
His eyes are slow to meet mine. No.
Relief flows through me. Good because Noah and I need you; we can’t have you going to prison.
His eyes meet mine. Baby, if I chose to take care of them; there would be no body to find. But I chose to let the police handle them.
I take a deep breath. Okay. Thank you.
He nods. “Ransom, Kayla and I have some place to be. You mind watching Noah a few hours?”
Ransom grins. “Sure.”
I glance at Jackson. “We do?” He nods and takes my hand and leads me to the front door. “We’ll be in touch.” He leads me out into the hallway and down both sets of stairs.
“Where are we going?” I ask. “We just got here.”
“I want to take you some place,” he says, squeezing my hand.
“Where?” I can’t help but ask.
We stop at the truck he’s renting. “Do you trust me?”
I don’t hesitate a moment. “Yes.”
“Good.”
I groan. “I should have said no,” I mutter, causing him to chuckle. He wraps both hands around my waist and lifts me into the truck.
A few minutes later, we leave town behind.
I give him a hard time, but I honestly can’t complain.
I’m happy to be back here. He rolls down the windows, and the scent of freshly mowed grass hits my nose.
I take in the fields of bluestem and Indiangrass blowing in the wind and feel genuine peace flow over me.
Jackson takes my hand in his. “Happy to be back?”
“I really am.” We drive for a few more minutes in silence. “Are we stopping to see the pygmy goats?” I ask hopefully.
“No.”
Dispapointment fills me, but I keep it to myself. We drive for a little while longer before he turns off onto a dirt road. I look at the area. “Is this where we stopped before?”
“Yes.”
I give him a look. “The owner still doesn’t mind that we’re on his property?”
“Nope.”
“Jackson,” I start.
He chuckles. “Just ride along; you’ll see soon enough.”
We drive a little further before he turns onto yet another dirt road.
Soon, we come to a clearing. The grass has all been cut down here, and the dirt plowed up.
Several bulldozers and other heavy machinery are parked on the dirt.
“It looks like they’re going to build here or something,” I say as Jackson opens my door and takes my hand.
He keeps my hand in his and we follow a path through the high grass.
“Where are we going?” I ask, but he doesn’t say anything.
I hear a small sound but can’t place it.
A moment later, I see a fence come into view and then...
“Are those pygmy goats?” I nearly squeal.
I drop Jackson’s hand and rush over to the fence.
“Oh my goodness; they’re adorable.” I reach over the fence to pet one.
“Hi there,” I gush. Jackson walks over to the gate and opens it and then cocks his head in clear invitation.
I can’t not follow him. “Wait, Jackson!” I follow him right inside the gate. “Whose goats are these?”
“Ours.”
I stop and turn to him, even as the goats gather around us. “What?” My wide eyes meet his. “What?” I ask again.
He reaches out, and I take his hand without thinking. He tugs me towards him and turns me so that my back is against his front. I lean back against his chest. “See that construction site? That’s the future site of our home.”
I go still. “What?” I can’t help but ask.
He leans forward and kisses my neck. “And these are our goats.”
I whirl around. “Jackson, are you serious?”
His eyes meet mine. “Yeah, Baby.”
“What? How?” I can’t wrap my mind around this. “You said you knew the owner, that you had business with him.”
He shrugs. “I do business with myself all the time.”
I stare at him. “Jackson, you owned the land then? But that was before...” my words trail off. “That was before all this,” I say, pointing at the two of us. “I don’t understand.”
“The day you told Raechel that you really love it here, I made a few calls. I owned this property by the weekend.”
I clamp down on the feeling rising inside me. “But what about Alabama? What about your home? Your pack? I don’t want you doing this just for me.”
“Baby, when are you going to get it?” He reaches out and palms my cheek. “My home is wherever you and Noah are. If you wanted to live in Alaska, I’d go there.”
“I really don’t,” I say, trying and failing not to cry.
He gently wipes the single tear away with his thumb. “I want to do this; I want to live here. I love this land.”
“What about Alabama? And what about your pack?”
“We took a pack vote. Twenty-four to zero in favor of moving here.”
“Jackson, no,” I say as another tear drips.
He catches that one too. “Sweetheart, we just want to be together...all of us. None of us care where. If it helps, Ransom and Martin love it here. They were both highly in favor of the move.”
“But starting over...” I try.
“We build log cabins for a living, Baby. We can do that anywhere.” He makes sure my eyes are looking into his.
“And we want to do that here.” I can’t help it.
I throw my arms around him, and he holds me.
He places his large hand around the back of my head and holds me to him.
“This is probably a good time to ask...do you like log cabins?”
I smile against his chest. “Yes. I love them, but this is too much,” I tell him. “And pygmy goats?” I ask, my voice cracking.
“I kind of like them,” he says. For some reason, it makes me laugh. And once I start, I can’t stop. “I didn’t think it was that funny,” he says dryly.
My laughter dies off, and I bury my head into his chest. “You’re too good for me; I don’t deserve you.”
He pulls back and frames my face with his large hands. “Baby, you’ve got that all turned around. I don’t deserve you, never will. But I’m hanging on to you with everything I’ve got. You’re my life now,” he breathes the words against my forehead and kisses me. “You and Noah.”
“And what if it becomes more than just the three of us?” I ask, my eyes meeting his.
“I’ll be ready for that too. I just want to spend my life with you.”
My heart squeezes. “And I want to spend my life with you.” I stretch up on my tiptoes, and he leans down, meeting me halfway.
He kisses me deeply, and I sigh against him as he deepens the kiss.
When I can hardly remember what my name is, he finally pulls back.
“Can we go get Noah now? And show him the goats?”
He smiles. “Yeah.”
I squeeze his hand. “He’s going to love them!”
“We’d probably better bring Ransom too.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because he loves those things; he’s been here nearly every day.”
I laugh. “Of course he has.”
We walk back to his truck hand in hand, and I eyeball the land where our cabin is going to be. My heart is so full, I don’t know how to even handle it. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Jackson.”
He squeezes my hand. “And you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
I know our battles aren’t done. The enemy is still out there, but for today, life is good. Noah and I are finally safe and protected, and I am so in love with a really good man. With Jackson at my side, I’m ready to face whatever comes our way.
The storyline will continue with Jade’s story in book 6!!