Chapter 12
12
J ordan stepped from her sedan and slammed the door. She inhaled sharply and took in her surroundings. Bravon may have chosen a public place to meet, but she didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him. There was a playground not too far from where she had parked, and unfortunately, there was a little wooded area that was behind it with a walking path.
Jordan tossed her purse strap across her chest and immediately regretted not changing her clothes before she had left her house. Wearing a cute dress wasn’t ideal for meeting the man she had sent to prison. Trying to appear casual, she began the short walk toward the playground. Her gaze scanned the area, and she found it odd that there wasn’t at least a few kids or families out. The park didn’t close until dark, and they had a little time left before the sun would go down.
She ignored the chill that went down her back. There were eyes on her. Jordan arrived at the outskirts of the playground. She paused and turned around, checking her car. It remained the only vehicle in the small lot.
Not seeing anyone, she made her way over to the swings and stood with her back against one of the wide pillars. The hairs on her arms stood at attention. She glanced down at her watch and found she had two minutes to spare.
Where was he?
“I didn’t think you would dress up for the occasion,” a familiar baritone voice sounded.
Jordan’s muscles stiffened. She had hoped she would never hear his voice again on the outside of a prison cell.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Jordan replied dryly.
She didn’t want Bravon to think he had any hold over her. She turned toward him and found him walking out of the wooded area. Her heart rate increased slightly as she took him in. He certainly appeared to have filled out more. He had been physically fit before prison. Now it looked as if he hadn’t done nothing but lift weights while behind bars. He casually wore a long-sleeved button-down shirt, jeans, and a pair of popular basketball shoes. His forearms were exposed slightly from his sleeves being folded back.
Any other day he would appear as a regular guy taking a stroll through the park.
But there was nothing regular about Bravon.
He was a dangerous gangster with unlimited connections.
A calculating goon who had tried to take advantage of her, a female cop who he thought he would be able to use as an inside woman with the police.
“Still feisty, I see. You know that’s one thing I loved about you, Jordan.” He leveled her with his dark gaze.
It swept over her and had her feeling nothing but nausea. How had she been infatuated with the likes of him? Now that her eyes had been opened, the signs had all been there. She had just ignored them, not wanting to think the worst of anyone.
“You don’t know anything about love.” Jordan sniffed. She rested her hands on her waist and glared at him. He’d had his lackeys ransack her house and demanded she meet him. What the fuck did he want? “You know there are better ways to get my attention.”
“It wouldn’t be as much fun, now would it.”
He took a few more steps toward her before she held up her hand. He was too close to her. Jordan took a step back. Bravon smirked but stood still.
“I don’t think ransacking someone’s home to be fun. It’s illegal,” Jordan growled.
“Are you going to arrest me, Officer?” Bravon cocked his eyebrows. He brought his hands together in front of him. A devilish grin spread across his lips. “I wouldn’t mind you putting your handcuffs on me?—”
“What the hell do you want?” Jordan rested her hand on her purse she had left open. She could easily slide her hand in and grab her weapon if need be. “You are out of prison. Leave me the hell alone.”
“Oh, it’s not that simple,” Bravon barked, his smile disappearing. He stalked toward her.
Jordan backed up quickly but stumbled on the woodchips underneath her feet. She cursed, almost falling back, but Bravon’s hand shot out and gripped her arm. She tried to break free, but his hold was too tight.
“Where do you think you are going?”
“Let me go,” Jordan snarled.
She pulled harder, but he only tightened his hold on her.
“Fuck no. Do you know how long I’ve waited for this day?” Bravon sneered.
Jordan turned her head away as he leaned down toward her.
His grip grew tighter. “How many days I was rotting behind those bars while you were out here free.”
“You broke the law. I had nothing to do with that.”
“You had everything to do with it. I had plans for you. Plans for us.” His other hand shot out and snagged her jaw, forcing her to look at him.
Jordan fiercely met his gaze, not wanting to show any weakness to this man. He may be bigger and stronger than her, but she had one hell of a willpower.
“I didn’t want to have anything to do with your plans. You tried to ruin me.”
“You think those cops truly gave a shit about you? They turned on you, didn’t they? That’s why you’re here and not still in Atlanta. If they truly had your back and believed you, you would still be there and not here on your little SWAT team.”
Jordan grew cold at the way the words ‘SWAT team’ fell from his lips. She froze in place. Her team and his gang were bitter enemies, and it was her team that had put his uncle in prison.
“Oh, you thought I didn’t keep tabs on you. On your family? I know everything about you, Jordan,” Bravon said. “You left Atlanta. Came here with that stupid-ass sister of yours, and the police department felt sorry for you and let you transfer here.”
“You don’t know shit about me,” Jordan spat.
He barked a deep chuckle and held on as she tried to break away from him again.
“I know you Jordan, and I’m not done with you. Like I said, I had plans for you and us?—”
“There is no us!” Jordan hollered. She finally broke free from him and backed up. He was fucking crazy if he thought she would have anything to do with him.
Bravon calmly walked toward her; she took another step away from him.
“You think that boyfriend of yours and his dog will keep me from you? I will have a bullet put in each of their heads, Jordan.”
A fear unlike anything she had ever know washed over her.
Bravon nodded, seeing how his words had affected her. He sidled up close to her, his breath blowing across her temple. “Or how about Omara. Little Jason. Your parents. What’s your boyfriend’s daughter’s name? Nova, I think it is. I will kill everyone you love. I won’t fucking stop until I get what I want.”
Jordan swallowed hard as a cold sweat broke out on her forehead. There weren’t many times that Jordan had ever known a fear like this. Not only fear but hopelessness. Bravon was crazy enough that he would do it all and more. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them again. She pushed that fear down. Now wouldn’t be the time to lose her shit. She had to remain strong. Her mind raced with all of the possibilities she had to save her family.
“What do you want?” she asked calmly. Coldness entered her, and she stood to her full height. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to protect her family and Rhys’s. They were all innocent in this and they didn’t deserve to be punished for her lack of judgment when it came to men.
Bravon stood back from her slightly. The devilish glint in his eyes sent a chill down her spine. This man was the Devil here on Earth. He had to be stopped. Jordan swallowed hard again and slid her hand down to her purse. She could almost feel the cool steel of her gun inside. It wouldn’t take her long at all to withdraw it and have the safety off. She would risk it all to save the ones she loved.
Badge be damned.
“Tsk, tsk. I wouldn’t reach for that if I were you,” Bravon warned.
He snapped his fingers, and it was then Jordan saw a few thugs standing amongst the trees presenting themselves. They had rifles and other weapons trained on her. She quickly calculated how fast she could be. Could she have her weapon drawn and fired before their bullets hit her?
“Killing me won’t stop anything, Jordan. You kill me, everyone you love is dead. You want them to stay safe, you will do as I tell you.”
“What the fuck do you want?” she demanded again. She hated having to repeat herself. Bravon was a man who thrived off of power and torturing those he felt were beneath him.
“Your precious SWAT team.”
“No.” The reply was automatic. There was no way in hell she would give up her teammates to him. The war between SWAT and the Demon Lords was long and vicious. Jordan would rather die than turn on the guys.
“Your loyalty to them is impressive, Jordan. I just hope theirs to you is as strong.” He reached out and ran his thumb along her cheek.
She scowled and automatically turned away from him.
“Beautiful as ever. I can almost forgive you for what you’ve done.”
“Forgive me?” Jordan spat.
“Yes, forgive you. Those cops brainwashed you. We were good together,” he murmured. His hand gripped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
It was official. This man was deranged in the head if he thought Jordan would come back to him. She stared at him, shocked. Was he trying to win her back?
“As my woman, you would have power. Status. Respect. Loyalty.”
What. The. Fuck?
He had lost his marbles.
But she would play by his game. It would buy her time until she could figure out a plan.
“I need to think about it,” she said. She tried to relax a little. She leaned into his palm as if wanting his touch. She beat down the nausea that rose in her belly. She just prayed her acting skills were up to par.
“That’s right. You remember how it was between us.” His other hand came to cradle her face. His eyes even softened. He was falling for her act. “Get rid of him.”
She didn’t have to ask who the ‘he’ was that Bravon was speaking of. Like a lot of men, he wanted to conquer, and she was the one who’d got away from him. In his eyes, he had to have her. Jordan knew now what type of man Bravon was. He wanted what was his, and right now he was demanding to have her back like a little boy taking his toy car from another kid.
Jordan fought the urge to knee him in the balls and kick his ass for even mentioning she leave Rhys.
“And if I do, will you leave him and his family alone?” she asked quietly.
It pained her to even ask the question, but she had to know. He quietly studied her. Jordan held his gaze steadily without blinking.
“I’ll erase him from my mind,” Bravon replied.
“I need time, Bravon. This is so sudden,” she breathed. Apparently, her acting skills were better than she had realized. This Oscar-award-winning performance was certainly convincing Bravon she would get back with him.
“Twenty-four hours.” He kissed her lips hard before backing off.
Jordan blinked in shock at the abrupt move. She hadn’t even had time to react. He spun on his heels and stalked away from her toward where his goons stood. Jordan’s heart slammed against her chest as she exhaled. She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath.
“I’ll be in touch.”
She stood frozen, caught between a rock and a hard place. Bravon strode confidently. His goons surrounded him and walked along with him, leaving her standing alone. She blinked and looked around to ensure no one still remained. She glanced down at her hands and found them trembling.
What the fuck was she to do? He wanted her SWAT team and her.
She could never betray them.
And as for Rhys, could she break things off with him in order to save him?