Page 21 of Feels Like Forever (Undercover Lovers #6)

JUDE

“ Y ou have a good breakfast with the girls?” I ask Ronnie.

She came in a few minutes ago with a fresh coffee in her hand for me and a kiss that had me gripping the back of her head and taking over.

By the time it came to an end, we were both breathing heavily, the desire written in her eyes more than likely a mirror of my own.

I didn’t take it further, and neither did Ronnie.

Instead, she darted to the bedroom to put her bag away, kick off her shoes, and change into more comfortable clothes.

“Of course. We drank caffeine, ate carbs, and talked about everything under the sun.” We’re on the couch, Ronnie’s head on my lap, both of us playing a game.

She’s between my legs, sitting on the floor in her usual position, and has her arm propped up on her knees.

Her gaze is locked on the screen, and her fingers are working the controller effortlessly.

It’s making my concentration go to shit .

“Glad for you, Foxy.” I bend down to kiss the crown of her head.

Ronnie called me on her way from The Social to Oak & Brew, a mixture between upset and ready to cry.

She didn’t say anything of the sort, it was in her tone of voice, saying nothing yet everything.

The last thing I want to do is wade into the business, where I don’t have a stake, but if she needs me, I’ll make a call to both her dad and brother.

“Thanks.” She takes a long, steadying breath before saying, “I’ve decided I’m not going to push anymore.

Dad’s right. It’s his bar, and while I’ve worked there for years and will eventually have a stake in it, that time isn’t now.

” She pauses the game to spin around and come up on her knees.

Her bright blue eyes peer into mine, and I’m beginning to think she’s waiting for me to give her some kind of stamp of approval when that’s the last thing she needs from me.

“Whatever you need, I’m here whenever. Still might talk to Zane about better security cameras in both areas.

The shit you all have now is just that: shit.

” I met Zane the first night when he tried to close the bar down.

Allowing Ronnie to handle her brother took a shit ton of restraint.

She did it, though, then she introduced us, we talked for a few minutes, and after we sized one another up, Zane gave me a quick nod, then walked back into his side of the storefront.

“Zane will one hundred percent go for that. Dad might, too, but you’ll have to lay it on thick.

Make a really good point about protection.

” I’m just about to drag her into my lap when the doorbell rings.

That’s fucking weird. Everyone in our group is doing their own thing today.

The girls hung for a bit, and we guys did similar, except it happened at Matthew’s office.

We had numbers to run, shit to look over, and this way, he could stay after we left to work on other shit.

Now, everyone’s dispersed, and I’m not expecting anyone.

“You know anyone who would be stopping by?” The alarm is off when I’m here with Ronnie, and my phone is in the other room, checking to see who it is, is off the table.

“Uhh, no. You?” I shake my head. We stand up together, my hands settle on her hips, and I drop a kiss to her lips.

“Stay here. I’ll figure it out.” I adjust my bulge. Greeting someone with a hard-on wouldn’t go over well, especially if it happens to be one of the neighbors. I walk to the front door, unbolt the lock, and turn the handle.

The minute the door opens, my past catches up to my future.

“Son of a bitch.” The person in front of me blanches, olive skin turning ghostly white, eyes blinking rapidly, arm being held to her chest with the other, and I’m pretty sure there’s a bruise forming along a cheek.

“I’m sorry. I had no place to go.” The voice is meek, scared, and it looks like talking is taking everything they’ve got.

“Jude, is everything okay?” Ronnie comes around the corner. Her raspy voice settles my racing heart, and while I’ve yet to open up to her about my childhood, she’s about to learn more than I wanted.

“Yeah, well, no. It will be, though.” I open the door further and move out of the way.

“Oh my god, please come in. Jude, I’m going to get the first aid kit and ice.” Ronnie took one look and surmised the same thing I did.

“How long?” I ask. A sluggish hesitant stride is taken, enough to clear the foyer and allow me to close the front door.

“How long what?” We walk through the house with slow and subtle steps.

I can hear each sharp intake of breath, labored and fucking choppy.

Goddamn, I know it all too well—fractured or broken ribs, which could mean a collapsed lung.

I’m more than likely going to have to drag my friends into this mess.

“How long has this been going on?” I’ve kept track from the very beginning, watching my father’s moves, and he steered clear.

“Staying there.” A pause. “Few days.” We make it into the kitchen. Sure enough, Ronnie has the med kit on the counter, a bag of ice, and a towel.

“Can you sit down, or will that hurt too much?” Ronnie greets us, ready to dive in.

“Yeah, I mean no. I’m good to sit down.” I pull the barstool out, watching the entire scene play out.

“Take your time. There’s no hurry, and we can always move to another area if it’s too much.” Ronnie is doing more than I am right now. Then again, I’m battling with memories of my past and blaming myself.

“Thanks.” A nod of a head. Watching the person in front of me struggle to sit while trying to find a comfortable position isn’t helping matters. Right as Ronnie is about to clean up a scrape, I pull myself together.

“Foxy.” The tone in my voice captures her attention, and her hand hovers above a busted lip, a piece of gauze at the ready. I run my hand down my face, wondering how this is going to go and hoping things don’t get worse .

“Yes?” she replies, looking at me with a quizzical expression.

“This is Rory,” I state, looking from my woman to Rory.

“Hi, Rory. I’m Ronnie, short for Veronica. Only Jude calls me Foxy.” Ronnie starts to go about the task I interrupted.

“She’s my sister.”

“Yeah, I can tell. You two are the spitting image of one another, minus the hair.” I place the palm of my hand on the counter, trying to ground myself and figure out where to go from here.

“Technically, he’s my half-brother. Same dad, unfortunately, different moms. Though, I’m thinking we both ended up with the short end of the stick,” Rory says with a hint of laughter, causing her to wince.

“We can agree on that. Fuck, I’m sorry.” I’d like to say I knew about my sister from the very beginning, but I didn’t. Nearly seventeen years ago, I was still starting out on my own. I didn’t have the technology I do now and definitely not the knowledge I do now.

“It’s not your fault, Jude. The only person to blame is the one who did it.” Rory might be sixteen years old, but she’s older beyond her years.

“Are you okay with me being here for this conversation?” Ronnie asks, taking one of Rory’s hands, abandoning her lip and working on her hands instead.

“Yes,” my sister says with no hesitation. I remain quiet. Rory’s story isn’t mine to tell, and while ours are similar, I’m not living through it like she currently is.

“It might not be my fault, but I could have prevented it. The last time we talked, everything was good, and I gave you a phone to use, Rory. I’m here, no matter what.” Ronnie sends me a sharp look, basically telling me my tone of voice needs to go down a notch.

“I think you need a shower, but I have to ask, Rory, anything we need to go to the hospital for?” My sister vehemently shakes her head, tears tumbling from her eyes and cascading down her cheeks, chin trembling.

Not for one moment since Rory landed on my doorstep did I think something more might have happened.

“It didn’t get that far.” My blood boils at Rory’s response.

Her head goes down, shoulders start quaking, and thank fuck for Ronnie in this moment.

“Everything was going well enough, or I thought it was. This was the longest time we’ve been in one place, and while I know my life wasn’t unicorns and rainbows, we were fine.

” Rory swallows the lump lodging in her throat.

“Then he showed up. I’m not sure how he found our address or knew anything about our whereabouts.

Then again, it’s not like we moved states when we should have, but hindsight is twenty-twenty, because I would have had a hell of a time getting to you without transportation.

” Through Rory’s recounting of events, she’s somewhat able to compose herself even though I’m sure she’s in so much damn pain.

But Ronnie’s right we need to go to the hospital.

We’ll do that too, no questions asked. We’ll just get in the car, be there for my sister, and find the best therapist or whatever she needs.

“How did you screw up? You’re a child,” Ronnie says with disdain in her voice. “A parent’s job is to protect you, Rory, not the other way around.”

“I know,” she says, while I clench my fists, trying to remain calm and not allow my rage to make me the man I’m fucking not. “Do you want me to keep going?” Rory asks.

“Yes, sweetheart, if you can.” Ronnie looks at my sister, making eye contact and getting a nod from Rory. I settle myself down and listen.

“I heard his voice. He must have followed her home from work, and before I could barricade myself in my room, the front door slammed open. My phone wasn’t on me, and the way Mom looked, she knew it would be a bad night.

The slight shake of her head told me not to rock the boat even though the knife block was in reach.

” When I found Rory and her mom, Bobbi, a few years back, it was by chance, and it happened to be by a digital footprint from my sister.

Some kind of trending app where kids lip sync and dance.

She didn’t know any better, so her name was out there on the world wide web using our father’s last name.

I shot out of my desk chair like a bat out of hell, seething mad, pissed that a woman would entangle themselves with my dad, only to have another child he’d hurt.

My theory went out the window when I went to Bobbi’s work at a diner.

You could tell she worked hard, did what needed to be done, and at the end of her shift, she walked to Rory’s school to pick her up.

Yeah, I followed her around for a few days, keeping my distance until they were both in public, and told them my name.

The minute the name Ellison was spoken, Bobbi looked ready to bolt.

I assured her that I was nothing like my dad, and once she settled, we walked to a bookstore where we could sit and talk.

Bobbi said she hadn’t heard from my father for years, and she kept him off all paperwork, living a simple life.

Rory, on the other hand, didn’t take too lightly of me taking her phone away, replacing it with a new one for both of them, and locking it down so much it’d be hard for anyone to know what they do.

It still didn’t help them. The words swirling in my head hit me like a ton of bricks.

“I’d have to agree with your mom, Rory. That could have backfired, and he could have used the knife on both of you.” I’m still going through all of the logistics, like how she got out of the apartment and where her mom could be.

“I heard him hurt her, Jude.” Rory’s eyes close.

I imagine he did if this is what my sister has in the form of showing his fatherly love.

“When he was done, he came out of the back bedroom with his meaty paws on the back of her neck and threw her into the kitchen with me. I wanted to help her, but I knew that the minute I tried, he’d hurt me.

Especially after the threat in his eyes when he walked by me.

” Fucking hell. I got out, had friends who rallied for me, and I’m pissed at myself that I didn’t pull them out.

I could have set them up far away or make a call I should have nearly twenty years ago.

A call that will be happening as soon as I make sure Bobbi’s okay.

“Mom whimpered, and I helped her sit down while we waited him out, and when I told her I’d call Jude, he overheard me.

That’s when things went from bad to worse.

I tried to block every hit to my head, curled into myself.

Mom got his attention, and he went after her.

She screamed for me to leave. As much as I didn’t want to leave her behind, I knew I didn’t have any other choice. ”

“Foxy, I’ll be back. Rory, I’m going to check on your mom. You did good coming to me before the cops. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but things will get better, okay?” I move toward Ronnie and press a kiss to her lips.

“Jude, call the guys. Please don’t go there by yourself,” she pleads.

“I’m calling them, promise. Take care of my sister for me?” I’m throwing her in headfirst. We’ve yet to discuss my past and how it could affect our future.

Fuck me.

“I will.” My hand cups her cheek. I give her a quick nod and then move toward Rory.

“Jude, I’m sorry to bring this to your doorstep.” My sister’s bone fucking tired, like she took on the weight of the world, and it chewed her up only to spit her out.

“Rory, love you, sis. But if it’s anyone who’s going to be sorry, it’ll be me.

Let Ronnie take care of you. I’ll be back as soon as I can.

” I go to touch her shoulder but think better of it and instead kiss the crown of her head.

I’m grabbing my keys, sliding on a pair of shoes, and walking out the door in record time.