Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lochlan
H er beautiful painted lips turn down, further and further, and I can’t control the rage burning inside me.
Someone’s upsetting her.
Her big, sad eyes are a magnet pulling me in because whenever she needs me, I’ll come.
It doesn’t matter where we are or what I said earlier about boundaries.
If Jo needs help, then I’ll be the one to help her.
I barely take a step forward when all hell breaks loose.
Bodies start crashing and bumping into each other as they’re being pushed away from the commotion.
The stem of it is the circle of people surrounding Jo by the terrace.
Party goers in their fancy suits and dresses are being directed hastily to another area, but my eyes are on her.
The moment she flattens herself against the wall and squeezes her eyes shut in fear, I’m plowing against the flow of people to get to her.
Men wearing suits, who typically stay within her family’s radius, are the first to challenge me.
They raise their hands, attempting to push me back as if they’ll keep me from her.
It doesn’t stop me but it slows me down enough to see that the epicenter of all this bullshit is Jo’s father.
He’s screaming at everyone, including Jo.
My hands find the bodyguards’ shoulders, and I shove, bulldozing them out of my way.
They could be Secret Service for the President of the United States, and I wouldn’t stop.
They’d have to shoot me before I let whatever is happening continue happening to that woman.
I’m within arm’s reach of their group when Jo launches herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“I’m sorry, Lochlan, I’m so sorry,” she pleads before spinning around and flattening herself against my front.
“THIS! This lowlife is who you’re marrying,” her father yells, shoving her brother’s campaign manager for simply being in his path.
A large vase takes the secondary impact and topples, sending dirt and palm leaves scattering across the floor.
I can hardly process what I’m hearing.
“Lochlan is my fiancé, so you’ll speak to him with respect or you’ll never speak to me again.”
Fiancé.
Fiancé?
“Oh my word,” her mother cries, fanning herself with a handkerchief dramatically.
Fiancé?
“This is going to look terrible for me, JoAnna, you selfish little bitch!” Her brother screams, and I’ve had enough despite my confusion.
“Don’t fucking speak to her that way,” I demand, pulling Jo back to stand beside me, away from her psychotic family.
Fiancé.
“No one asked you, neanderthal.” Her brother spits at my feet, and it flips a switch in my brain.
A huff of laughter escapes me, and Conrad balks.
I’ll kill this fucker exactly like he killed Jo’s bunny.
I take one step before a delicate hand on my chest stops me.
“Take me home, please,” she begs desperately.
Her fingers grip the fabric of my shirt.
“Please, Lochlan. Take me home.”
My attention locks onto her pleading eyes, and I can’t tear it away.
I can’t tell her no.
I never could.
“Okay.” I grip her fingers in my hand, intending to tug her back into my side when my thumb brushes over my grandma’s ring.
My grandmother’s engagement ring.
Jo didn’t know that when she picked it out, and I didn’t say anything.
She steps away from her family, keeping my hand in hers, and tugging me along.
She’s a small thing compared to me, but it takes no strength at all to walk me on the leash she has me on.
The party crowd has dissipated, but Hayes and the other guys are standing as close as they can to the excitement, waiting in the wings as backup.
Hayes talks to me without speaking, asking if there is trouble, and I shake my head.
“Not yet,” I mutter to him as Jo walks me past him.
If he’s surprised that she’s pulling me like a dog, he doesn’t act it.
It isn’t until we’re outside and Jo’s safe that some of the noise returns and the blinders come off.
“What did I do? What did I do?” Jo cries, gripping the sides of her head in her hands, mussing her hair.
We’re standing in the parking lot between the trucks while the guys hover a few feet away, pretending to give us privacy.
“Jo, what the hell was that?”
“They backed me into a corner. I panicked! ”
“And you told them we were engaged?”
“Yes.”
My knees go weak.
I hoped I was wrong and that she didn’t do what I think she did, that I was mistaking the word fiancé for something else.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“A choice? A choice! You cannot pretend to be with a man like me, Jo.”
“What do you mean?”
“It will ruin your life! I will ruin your life!”
“That’s not true.”
“Jesus. Do you know what people will say about you? What they already say about me? We can’t let this rumor spread just because you’re trying to stick it to your parents.”
“Lochlan, it’s not that.”
“What is it then? Why are you doing this?”
“They did it again.”
“What?”
“They were forcing another engagement on me.” Her words make the blood in my veins run cold.
“To who?”
“Austin. My brother’s best friend.”
I turn around in the confined space and brace my hands on the top of the truck bed.
This poor woman is trapped between the worst of two worlds.
The one that her parents want to force upon her, and mine.
The cold, dark cave that is my life.
“I told them that I couldn’t marry Austin because I was already engaged to you. That’s what caused the scene in there,” she whispers guiltily.
“I know it isn’t fair to drag you into this, but you told me that you’d keep me safe.”
“Of course, I will, but not like this. There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t. As long as I’m single, my mother will try to sell me off like a prize horse.”
“So, what? We pretend that we’re a couple, and then what?”
“I’ll finish school, get my trust fund, and then I’ll be gone. They won’t have any hold over me.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think I can do this. It’s not right.”
“You told me that you owed me, that you’d repay me for my part in exonerating you. This is it. This is what I want.”
I owe her everything, but I can’t ruin her life after she saved mine.