Page 25 of Deception and New Direction (Ranger Shield Security #3)

RUTHIE

Two days after Jack’s “near-death experience” as he called it, he was feeling back to normal and we were finally off to get my cast removed. I made Jack wait in the lobby while I went into the patient room.

“Hi Ruthie . I’m Dr . Jen Foster ,” the doctor said as she walked into the exam room. “ I’ve got good news and bad news.”

My heart dropped. Was I not going to get my cast off today?

“The cast is coming off, but I want you to wear a boot for an additional two weeks, just during the daytime.”

Well, part of that was good news, though I didn’t really understand.

“Is it still broken?” I asked.

“No, and the bones are healing nicely,” she responded. “ But your ligaments and soft tissues are still healing. Also , a boot allows for controlled weight-bearing as your foot and ankle continue to heal.”

This made sense, but I wasn’t thrilled about it.

“You are very active, and I know you have a dog, so this will help us from overloading the area too soon,” the doctor said, and I nodded back.

“ The good news is that you can take this off to shower and sleep, so that will make it more comfortable. Even if you sit on the couch at night or something to watch a movie or read a book. I really just want you wearing this when you’re going to be actively putting weight on it. ”

The more she spoke, the better this sounded. Though I did feel bad because my friends and coworkers were having a party for me celebrating getting my cast off, and I would be walking in with no cast but still looking injured.

Jack was sitting in the waiting room when I walked out.

His eyes scanned up and down and noticed the boot rather quickly.

He lifted a brow as if to ask what happened.

The nurse who had followed me out—and who I suspected had a crush on Jack —felt the need to walk over and tell him everything about taking care of my boot.

I just rolled my eyes as she filled him in since it was pretty self-explanatory.

He turned to me when she was done and smiled at me. “ At least you don’t have that hideously bright pink cast anymore.”

I knew he was teasing me in order to get me to smile, so I just rolled my eyes and started walking—though it resembled more like hobbling—to the door.

He caught up with me and grabbed my hand. I looked down at our intertwined fingers then back up at him in confusion.

“Since you don’t have to use the crutches anymore, I can finally hold your hand in public,” he said as we walked out of the office together.

It was an oddly sweet comment. One that stunned me into silence—which never happened.

Now we were on our way to Vince’s loft, where everyone would be meeting up and celebrating.

“I think we should call people and tell them I didn’t get my cast off so they don’t need to bother themselves by coming if they have other plans,” I told Jack after we pulled out of the parking lot.

“Ruthie, you’re not bothering anyone, and I doubt they had other plans,” Jack said. “ Yes , Cat called this a goodbye party for your cast , but you know she and Ellie would use any excuse to put together a party, so no one will care. We’re still going.”

Before I had a chance to argue with him, his phone rang through his car speaker, the screen on the dashboard showing Archer’s name.

“Hey man,” Jack answered.

“You got Ruthie with you?” Archer asked through the speaker.

“Yes, I’m here.” I responded.

“I got a call from a buddy of mine who still works at Las Vegas PD ,” Archer said, and I knew this was not going to be good news. “ Mal got out of prison yesterday. He was paroled due to good behavior.”

Oh, splendid. The universe must really hate me today.

Archer went on to say that Mal’s early release conditions state he can’t leave the state without permission from his parole officer but that they would keep an extra eye on things just in case.

I appreciated that because I knew Mal . He didn’t care if the rules said he couldn’t cross state lines. If he wanted to, he’d find a way.

Archer hung up, and the next few minutes were silent. I had nothing to say, and Jack likely could judge my mood and decided not to say anything. He pulled into a gas station and filled up while I just sat there with my thoughts.

Thoughts of my dad, Mal , the trust money, everything.

Jack’s door opened, and he slid over a Dr . Pepper and a bag of M & Ms to me.

“What’s this?” I asked, looking down at the items now in my lap.

“A wise woman once told me that trail mix is made up of two ingredients— M & Ms and disappointment. So , I just skipped ahead and got you the M & Ms only,” Jack said to me. “ And your favorite beverage to wash it down with.”

My breath hitched, and I felt my eyes water. I had never had anyone do something this simple but sincerely nice at the same time.

“Thanks,” I told him, but it was barely above a whisper since my voice cracked.

I enjoyed my kind gesture from Jack as we rode the rest of the way to Vince’s place.

When we arrived and walked into Vince’s loft, Jack held my hand again the entire way. I didn’t fight him on it because I enjoyed it—not that I would tell him.

As we got into the elevator, I noticed Jack was grinning at me. “ What ?” I asked him.

“Now that you got your cast off, I’m looking forward to letting you be on top and have your way with me.” He winked at me.

Did he seriously just say that? “ Letting me be on top?” I asked, even though it was rhetorical and I was really just allowing him the option to change his answer.

“Yeah, I think I’ll let you do all the work this time.”

The nerve of this man! I huffed and hopped off the elevator quickly and made my way toward Vince’s door without even responding to Jack’s stupid comments.

Thankfully, the door was unlocked, so I let myself in and didn’t bother holding it for Jack . Sadly , even though I no longer had my crutches, I wasn’t exactly speedy with the boot, so he caught up to me pretty quick.

I walked in to see pretty much everyone was already there, but all eyes had moved to me when we walked in, likely expecting me to have nothing on either foot.

“Hey, Ruthie . What did the doctor say?” Cat asked me with worry written all over her face.

“She said she didn’t trust me not to overdo it,” I emitted a sound that was both growl and whine. “ So , she’s making me wear this stupid thing for another couple weeks.”

“Yeah, but you can take that kind off when you shower, and they are a hell of a lot easier to clean and manage,” Diego chimed in, trying to be helpful.

“She can also take that one off when she sleeps, which will be way more comfortable,” Jack added.

I glowered at both of them, but that only made them smile bigger.

“How are you feeling?” Ellie asked me.

“I deserve a medal for making it through this day without stabbing someone with a fork. And by someone, I mean him,” I said, pointing at Jack .

He just smiled as if he thought I was the cutest thing ever and hadn’t just threatened him bodily harm.

“Well, here, come have a seat and commiserate by having some food,” Cat invited.

We all ate and chatted with each other and had a genuinely fun evening. Even though I wasn’t thrilled about not getting my full foot freedom back, I enjoyed hanging out with my friends.

I was trying to have a good time. I really was. But between the disappointing doctor’s appointment and Archer’s call, my mind was elsewhere. I decided to go to the restroom, maybe splash some water on my face, and just give myself a moment.

It felt nice to just sit in the silence for a bit and take in this crazy turn of events today.

My friends were right—it could be worse.

I could still have my cast on. At least I had more freedom to move around now, and sleeping would be a hell of a lot easier.

As for Jack’s comments in the elevator, I knew he was just trying to rile me up to distract me from the news about Mal .

I’d learned over the last few weeks that Jack was a pro at distracting me.

I washed my hands and opened the door to head back to the party, but the moment the door was open, Jack’s face came into view. His hand reached out to my abdomen and gently pushed me backwards into the bathroom.

“Jack, what are…” I started to say before he closed the door behind me and then slammed his mouth on mine.

My hands, which had reached out to grab his arms for stability as he pushed me back into the bathroom were now climbing up his muscles and over his broad shoulders as he kissed me senseless.

His hands however, were all over me. One slid behind my back as if to support me, while another moved to unbutton my jeans. Before I had time to think or react, his hand slid inside and dove down to the promised land, stroking me in the best possible way.

“You’re strung so tight right now, you can’t even enjoy the party,” Jack whispered along my jaw line. “ I’m here to loosen you up, make you feel good, so you can relax. Now close your eyes and just feel. Let me bring my girl some much-needed pleasure.”

Did he just call me his girl?

Before I could put too much thought into that, he swiped his thumb over me and all brain activity in me went on strike.

A low moan escaped my mouth.

“Shhh. Quiet , baby,” Jack said over my lips. “ I’m just going to make you come real quick, and then we can head back to the party. Give me that mouth so I can keep you quiet though.”

I did just that. I gave him my mouth and the rest of my body as his fingers continued to slide inside. I felt the divine sensation as he filled me. Then I closed my eyes as the pleasure coursed through me. I moaned into his mouth before collapsing back against the wall.

God, what this man could do to my body.

He reached around to grab some toilet paper and helped clean me up, all while staring at me like I was the best dessert on the shelf.

“Jack, why don’t you let me...” I started to say, wanting to return the favor.

“This isn’t about me,” he replied, shaking his head. “ This was about giving you some stress relief and making you feel better so you can actually enjoy the party.”

God, this man.

“I’ll go back out,” he said to me while washing his hands. “ Why don’t you take a few seconds to fix your hair, and meet me back out there.”

Jack kissed me quickly then walked right out the door, closing it behind him.

I turned to the mirror and saw I had full-blown sex hair, a nice pink glow on my cheeks, and a smile I hadn’t realized was even there.

Well, I guess when life hands you lemons…you have an incredibly hot guy give you an orgasm in your friend’s bathroom.

I chuckled at that thought and made my way back out to the kitchen. As I walked in, everyone was cheering and clapping, and Vince and Cat were making out.

I turned to look at Jack to try to figure out what I had missed.

“Vince just proposed to Cat ,” he told me while sliding his arm around my waist and pulling me in close to him.

“Holy forking shirtballs,” I whispered.

“Did you just…was that a curse word?” Ellie asked beside me.

“No,” I grumbled.

Jack snorted next to me and Ellie giggled.

“Thursday. Dinner and drinks,” Ellie commanded. “ Wade said we could have our own section at the Watering Hole if you want, or we can also go someplace new and different to celebrate for your birthday if you’d rather do that.”

I wasn’t used to people making a big deal of my birthday, and honestly, with all the stress of the trust fund stuff, I really just wanted to keep it low key.

“The Watering Hole is perfect,” I told her.

“Do you think your grandfather would come?” Ellie asked. “ We can definitely invite him.”

I laughed because my granddad was ornery and stubborn about crowded places, but it also would be a good thing for him to get out more. “ I don’t know, but we can definitely ask him.”

* * *

We got back to Jack’s house, and I let Dash out myself, enjoying the semi-freedom I now had with the boot as opposed to the cast.

Technically, I could go back to my own place now that I didn’t have my cast on anymore, but I found I wasn’t in any particular hurry after my place had been broken into. Plus , as hard as it was to admit, I actually enjoyed the feeling of contentment that Jack’s house gave me.

I could be myself around him. I didn’t need to try to be someone I wasn’t just to appease him—like I did with people when I was younger.

He oddly loved the attitude I threw back at him, though only God knew why.

My dad had reminded me constantly that agreeable women were more fun to be around.

I know my father was a jerk, so his comments meant nothing, but even my brother—who had loved me in his own way—also mentioned to me several times that you could catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

I tried to take that advice, but it didn’t always feel right.

Jack , on the other hand, never minded my vinegar.

In fact, I sensed that, oddly, it turned him on.

I walked back into the kitchen with Dash to see Jack making popcorn and putting together a few other snacks.

“How are you even hungry after all the food we just ate at the party?” I chuckled, having realized over the two months I had lived with him that he was a bottomless pit.

“Movie snacks,” he responded. “ Let’s take these to the bed and pick out something to watch.”

We had just settled in to watch a movie when Jack’s phone buzzed. He answered it and talked to Diego for a bit. I could tell, though, that this was not a friendly call.

“Sorry Ruthie , I gotta go out and provide backup for this job Diego’s on,” Jack said after he’d hung up the phone.

I knew which job he was talking about since I had logged it into the system. Seemed like a routine stakeout job, but there was definitely the possibility something could go wrong, and it sounded like that’s what had happened.

“No worries. I get it.”

“Stay in my bed, please,” he said to me as he changed out of his plain T -shirt and shorts and into his tactical gear. “ I want you here when I get back.”

He asked so nicely, and admittedly I was too busy staring at him changing that I realized I agreed to it. But it was fine. Jack’s bed was comfy, and if it was one less thing for him to worry about while he was out on his operation, I would do it.