Chapter 16
sixteen
EZRA
Jo has gone silent. I don’t know her well. I don’t know her at all really, but I can tell her silence isn’t good for my health.
“I can walk,” she finally says.
“No,” I grunt back at her. I’m pretty sure her ankle is fucked up from the size of it and the backs of her calves have some bad burns. She’ll notice the pain once the shock and adrenaline wear off.
“Put me down, you oversized ape!”
I hold back a laugh. If she wasn’t fucking my future husband, I might like her.
She beats her small fists on my back, and that does make me chuckle a little.
I had to throw her over my shoulder so I could get her back to my car.
Running with her in a bridal hold would’ve been faster, but she wouldn’t stop trying to get down.
If I run with her like this, I risk breaking her ribs.
“Where are you taking me?” she yells again.
“Safe house.”
“Who are you? Jason Bourne? Normal people don’t have safe houses.”
“There’s nothing normal about me, baby.”
“No fucking shit,” she mutters under her breath. “Don’t call me baby!”
Jason’s house is a fifteen-minute walk from mine.
I didn’t take my car because I wanted to be able to clear my head in the fresh air on the way to the meeting.
I’m having regrets right about now. It takes even longer to get inside because I have to sneak around the back and check to make sure no one is watching me haul a raging blonde woman into my house.
Although Jo stopped screaming at me once she noticed we were close to civilization again. She’s smart, I’ll give her that much.
The moment I get inside my house, I drop her down on the counter and hand her a reusable grocery bag.
“Grab whatever food you can. Try not to put pressure on that ankle.”
“Where are you going?” she asks as I leave her in my small kitchen and head to my bedroom. I ignore her and grab my go-bag. I quickly grab a second bag and shove extra clothes into it. None of them will fit Jo, but we can’t exactly stop to go shopping.
“Let’s go,” I say, grabbing the bag she filled and wrapping my arm around her waist to help her walk to the door.
“Don’t touch me!” she yells, trying to pull away, but I keep a strong grip on her.
“Will you stop fucking fighting me and let me get you to safety? Maverick just risked his life for this! For you!” I don’t even try to keep the hurt out of my voice.
She freezes and then nods, allowing me to guide her out of my house and into my car without another word.