Page 27

27

M aggie glanced over at Jack and saw the way he was holding the steering wheel. His knuckles were white.

“Jack, are y-you all right?”

He shook his head and she sucked in a trembling breath. She didn’t think they were headed in the right direction for the hospital, but she didn’t protest.

Suddenly, he turned off and parked in a big lot that looked out over the ocean. It was a breath-taking view, but she didn’t have eyes for anyone but the guy sitting beside her. His jaw was tense as he stared out the window.

“Jack?” she whispered when she couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“Don’t be scared of me.”

Shock filled her. What?

Is that what he thought? That she was now scared of him?

“I’m not scared of you, Jack.”

He turned to face her. His face was completely blank. Which was kind of terrifying. This wasn’t her Jack.

But perhaps this man was also Jack. He was intense. He could be threatening. Deadly.

However, she wasn’t actually scared of him.

“You are.”

“I’m not.”

He raised his hand to her, holding it out. As though daring her to touch him and prove that she wasn’t afraid.

So, of course, she put her hand in his without hesitation. “I’m not.”

“I saw your face after I pulled back from that guy. You were scared of me.” It was an accusation. But she thought she saw a hint of something else in his face.

Fear? Worry?

“I was scared that you were going to get into trouble. I still am. What if he calls the police? What if he presses assault charges?” She rubbed at her chest with her free hand.

Suddenly, he drew back and got out of the truck. He moved around the front and opened her door.

Undoing her belt, he picked her up and carried her out toward the beach. Sitting on a large rock at the edge of the beach, he settled her sideways on his lap.

She snuggled in, closing her eyes and just letting him hold her.

Soothe her.

His lightly patted her bottom. “You’re not to worry about me.”

She snorted. “Hello, my name is Maggie. Have we met? I worry about everything.”

“You need to stop.”

“Tell me how.”

“By giving your worries to me.”

She let out a sharp sigh as longing filled her. How amazing would that be? But even if she could do that . . . it wouldn’t be fair. Everyone had their own crap going on and he didn’t need hers.

Especially when hers was never-ending.

“I can’t do that.”

“You can. You will.”

“Jack.” She leaned back to look up at him. “What if he presses charges?”

“He won’t. Those people are cowards. They hide behind their placards, screaming abuse at people who they don’t even know. Besides, that asshole touched you first. I had the right as your guardian to protect you.”

“Really?” she asked in a small voice.

“I wouldn’t lie.”

She breathed out a sigh of relief. “Okay. Good.”

“Fucker should never have gotten near you. I should have protected you better.”

“He didn’t hurt me.”

“He had no right to touch you,” he told her fiercely. “No one gets to touch you.”

Dear Lord.

The possessiveness in his voice should have been terrifying.

But nope, her body just wasn’t wired that way. Instead, she had this warmth building inside her.

“As much as I appreciate you defending me, you can’t attack everyone who touches me.”

“Why not?”

Was he serious?

He looked serious. Holy. Heck.

“Jack, I’m fine.”

“You were shaking. Terrified.”

“Only because I was worried about you. I knew you wouldn’t let them hurt me.”

“I wouldn’t. And I’d never hurt you, either.”

“I know that.” And she did. There was no doubt in her mind.

Reaching up, she cupped the side of his face. “Don’t let them ruin our day. Please?”

He blinked and she felt the tension in his body ease. “I won’t. Those assholes won’t ruin anything for you.”

And she’d thought that Ian was over-the-top protective. Seemed Jack was giving him a run for his money.

“Who are they?” she asked, trying to distract him. But also curious.

“The Purity Party. They believe harems are morally wrong, and they hate the current rulers. They’ve been around for a while, but lately they’ve really been gaining momentum. We think they’ve now got someone funding them. This asshole named Pinky. He was working with one of the princes’ cousins, Jeric, to overthrow the current princes. Jeric’s brothers had no idea he was plotting to rule.”

“They’re Alina’s harem?” she asked, trying to keep everything clear.

“Yeah. Anyway, they found Jeric and put a stop to that plan. Jeric died in custody, though. We think Pinky got to him.”

“Wow. But who is this Pinky? Why did he want to overthrow the princes?”

“For power. No one knows who he really is, but he’s into all sorts of nasty shit. He’s on a lot of countries’ most-wanted lists. MI6 had someone on the inside with him, but his cover was blown, unfortunately.”

“And you think he could be funding the Purity Party?”

“Yeah.” He ran his hand up and down her back. “We think he’s giving them money in order to help them cause unrest. He sent someone here to arrange a trade deal with Prince Kassim and if he failed, he was to kill Pippa.”

“Uncle Willy told me there had been a threat on her life. Pinky was behind it?”

“Yep. Seems like he’s out for revenge now. Against the princes and probably their cousins too. That’s why security is so tight.”

She understood it much better now.

“So if you ever see those assholes, you stay away from them. For now, they seem like a nuisance. But I don’t like it. And I don’t want them anywhere near you.”

“Yes, Jack.”

Jack pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She leaned back and his mouth touched hers. Immediately, the kiss turned hot.

He moved his hand up to the back of her neck.

A claim of possession.

Lord. The man could kiss. It felt like she was drowning.

And she never wanted to come up for air.

But all good things had to an end, and eventually, they made their way back to the hospital.

Exhaustion weighed her down, making it harder to hide the pain in her hip. She needed a good night’s sleep. Maybe even a bath. When they walked into Uncle Willy’s room, she didn’t even have time to talk before Ian moved toward her.

He picked her up in his arms and carried her right out of the room.

“Ian? What are you doing?” she asked.

“Ian! Set her down!” Jameson demanded.

Had he been in the room?

Ian carried her into another room which was empty, and set her down on the bed.

“Ian! What the hell are you doing?” Jameson barreled into the room after them. “You can’t just pick Maggie up and cart her around like that.”

Rather than replying, Ian started running his hands over her. “Did they touch you? Are you all right? Why the fuck did you leave without your phone?”

“Jack wouldn’t let me take it.”

“Way to throw me under the bus, baby girl.” She glanced over at Jack, who was leaning against the wall of the room, his arms over his chest as he grinned at her. “I’d do the same. Don’t worry.”

Okay, so intense, touch-her-and-die Jack was gone, replaced by easygoing Jack.

Cool. Cool. She could deal.

No, she really wasn’t worried that he had a split-personality. That hadn’t even entered her head.

But she might suggest to Ian that he look into therapy for Jack as well as himself. And perhaps she’d take her own advice.

“From now on, you carry it on you at all times. And you . . .” He shot a glare at Jack. “You don’t send a message like that and then not answer your phone.”

Ahh. That’s who’d been calling Jack on their ride home. Wow. He’d called a lot.

“I told you she was fine,” Jack replied.

“I needed to see for myself. Are you sure you’re fine? If those assholes hurt you . . . ”

“They didn’t. I promise.”

He still didn’t look convinced. “Jameson, you need to examine her.”

“Ian, you’re overreacting,” Jameson said calmly. “Maggie says she’s fine. Jack said they didn’t touch her. So relax.”

“I didn’t say that,” Jack said.

Both men stared over at Jack.

“What?”

Strangely, it was Jameson who snapped out the word.

“They touched you? Where?” Ian demanded.

“You all need to calm down,” she said in a low voice. “It’s not that bad. One of them grabbed my wrist. That’s all.”

“It was her sore wrist. He hurt her,” Jack said. “I heard her make a pained noise.”

She scowled at Jack. “Are you trying to make Ian’s head explode?”

He shrugged. Grr. He was so infuriating.

Ian drew up the sleeve of her long-sleeved T-shirt, revealing the fading bruise.

Jameson sucked in a breath. “What is this? How did you get that bruise?” He pushed Ian out of the way so he could take hold of her hand.

She tried to tug her hand free. Having Jameson touch her was almost too much.

It wasn’t fair that he was so gorgeous. Especially when she was a wreck. She was wearing black jeans with rips on the knees. A long-sleeved top that had been washed so much that the black now looked gray. And her hair was probably a rat’s nest.

Maybe she should consider getting a pet rat instead of a cat.

But having a pet was kind of impossible when she traveled so much.

“I wish I could have a pet,” she muttered.

“What sort?” Jack asked.

Oh. Oops. Had she said that out loud?

“A rat.”

Jameson tightened his hold on her hand. “A rat?”

“What’s wrong with a rat?” she asked. “Rats are cute. They don’t eat much, which is good since I can’t afford much. They’re surprisingly clean and they’re very trainable.”

“Maybe we should replace Ian with one since he’s none of those things,” Jack said with a wicked grin.

She had to stifle a laugh as Ian grumbled.

“It’s unusual, but I suppose you can have whatever pet you like,” Jameson said. “You still haven’t told me how you got this.”

“It was her uncle,” Ian said.

Jameson’s hand tightened on hers to the point of pain.

“Jameson, ease up,” Jack barked.

“What?”

Ian slapped his hand away. “You’re squeezing her hand. What is wrong with you?”

“Uh, sorry.” Jameson ran his hand over his face. “Sorry, Maggie.”

“Um, it’s all right.”

“Her uncle grabbed her when he nearly fell,” Ian told him, watching him strangely. “It was an accident.”

“Right. And then this guy grabbed you here today?” Jameson asked as he took hold of her hand again, this time much more carefully.

“Yes, but my wrist is fine. Really.”

“There’s no swelling, so I think it will be all right. Just watch for signs of tenderness or swelling,” Jameson told her.

“Thanks.” She withdrew her hand.

“How did they get so close to her?” Ian barked at Jack.

“Don’t blame Jack!” she told Ian. “It wasn’t his fault.”

“It was my fault and it won’t happen again,” Jack said.

“Hey! I was trying to defend you and you’re ruining it.”

“I don’t deserve your defense,” Jack told her.

Okay, she didn’t like seeing Jack this way. It definitely wasn’t his fault. And nothing really happened.

Exhaustion washed over her. Her wrist was throbbing and so was her hip. She just wanted about twenty-four hours of sleep.

“Can I go back to Uncle Willy now?” she asked, trying to slip off the bed.

Jameson put his hand on her thigh to still her, then drew it back suddenly.

“My apologies,” he said.

“For what?”

“Uh, touching you without permission.”

“Relax, man. You touched her thigh. You didn’t grab her ass. Although you should. It’s a damn fine ass.”

“Jack!” everyone said together.

Jack just grinned.

“Good news,” Ian said. “Jameson is letting your uncle go home tonight.”

“Well, I was going to,” Jameson said, running his hand through his hair. Damn, how did he do that without messing it all up?

And what did he mean going to? Why was he rethinking that?

Then he glanced down at her wrist and away, and she realized why he was rethinking the decision.

“That’s great!” she said brightly. “I’m sure he’ll feel much better out of the hospital. I’ll go get him ready.”

“Maggie, I need to talk to you about his care,” Jameson told her.

“I’m sure the nurse will go through it all,” she said. “You don’t have to worry.” The last thing she needed right now was another lecture from Jameson about Uncle Willy.

Because she knew it all already. And even though she knew she needed more help, that they both did, there was nothing she could do about that.

“And you already told me,” Ian added, giving Jameson a look. “He needs quiet and lots of rest. We should check on him regularly and you’ve told me what to watch for. We’ve got your number on speed dial. And the number of that night nurse if we need her.”

“If you’re so concerned, maybe you should come stay with us,” Jack said, coming over to help her off the bed. He took hold of her hand.

She tensed, waiting for Ian and Jameson’s reactions. Would they be mad? Upset?

Ian glanced down, and to her shock, he looked surprisingly happy. But Jameson . . . he just appeared shocked.

Then Jack led her out of the room and into her uncle’s.

What would it be like to have Jameson live with them too?

Heck. It just might make her head explode.