Page 4 of Love Me Back (Diamond Creek #2)

Jessie

Silence followed my declaration. I wasn’t fooling my uncle. I knew the way I said it let him know Grayson was more than a friend. I didn’t care at that moment.

“Grayson Powell is well-known for the horses he trains. He would be a powerful ally to this family.”

I didn’t answer him. I ground my teeth as I waited for him to finish. I could almost hear the gears turning in his mind.

“It is time for you to settle down, Yessica . Start a family,” he said.

My silence continued. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of arguing with him. He knew why I wouldn’t settle down. I told him before I left that I would never let him use me to further his business.

I chose not to have a family so they couldn’t be used as pawns the way my siblings were. Not just by my uncle, but by his enemies. The only reason I had never been bothered was because I made sure everyone in the underworld knew that I meant nothing to my uncle.

Hurting me would not impact him in any way. He wouldn’t pay a ransom if I were kidnapped. He wouldn’t mourn at my grave if I were killed. And he certainly wouldn’t rally an army to rescue me.

Did I believe all of that?

No.

But I made sure everyone else did.

“I assure you, Yessica , I had nothing to do with the man’s accident.”

I opened my mouth to question him again, but he shocked me to my core when he said, “But I will find out what happened.”

The call disconnected, and I closed my eyes.

I had fucked up. Royally. There was no stopping him. His strong sense of family would bite me in the ass. No matter how many times I told him I wanted to be free, he still held on, albeit loosely.

There was nothing I could do but wait for his next move. Walking back into the hospital, I headed straight to Grayson’s room. Carson was in the hall with the others, and Hudson had arrived.

“What’s going on?” I asked. Everyone turned my way, but Carson spoke first.

“He woke up. The doctor’s in with him now.”

“Thank God,” I whispered. Not that I believed in God anymore. Not after everything I had seen. Everything I’d experienced. God didn’t exist in my world. He couldn’t. Because if he did, and he allowed all the things that happened in the world, well, I wouldn’t want to know him, anyway.

It was easier just to ignore him.

We waited forty-five minutes before the doctor returned from Grayson’s room.

“You can go in and see him now.”

“Doctor, how is he?”

The doctor looked at us all, and said, “He asked to tell you himself.” Then he walked off down the hall, leaving us all expecting the worst.

I followed at the back of the group as everyone filed into the room.

My eyes immediately sought Grayson’s to tell me he was okay.

I knew I shouldn’t be here. But I couldn’t stay away now.

I had done my best to keep him from breaching the walls I had built around my heart, not wanting him to be hurt.

But he was hurt anyway, and I had to find out why.

Carson and the others gathered around the sides of his bed, while King and I stood at the end. When Grayson’s eyes met mine, he frowned.

“You should go, Jessica. ”

I reared back as if his words were a physical blow. Carson turned toward me with concern. Addie frowned at her brother. And Emerson and Hudson looked everywhere but at me.

Winchester stood by my side. The look on his face said he wanted to throw me out. Only I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. I didn’t know what his issue with me was, but it was clear he didn’t want me here anymore than his brother did.

I nodded. “I’m glad you’re okay.” My eyes lingered on him for only a moment more before I turned and walked out of the room. I was halfway to the elevator when Addie caught up with me.

“Jessie, wait.”

I picked up my pace. I didn’t belong here. My place was upstairs with my best friend and her new baby. Not in that room with the man I refused to surrender to. No matter how much I wanted to.

“Jessie.” Addie grabbed my arm and halted my steps.

Securing my resting bitch face in place, I turned around.

“He didn’t mean it.”

“Yes, he did. And he’s right. We aren’t together, and that’s how I want it. I was worried just the same as I would be if anyone else in town was hurt. I wanted to make sure he was okay, and I did. Now, I need to get back to Ellie.”

Before she said another word, I spun on my heel and hurried to the elevator. When the doors closed, my shoulders slumped against the wall. Tears burned the back of my eyes, but I wouldn’t let them fall. This was my fault. I was the one who had kept him at arm’s length.

This was what I wanted. A clean break. Grayson was done chasing me, and I was glad.

Bullshit!

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened onto the fourth floor. The hallway was empty and quiet, and as I made my way to Ellie’s room, I hoped they had all left. I didn’t have the strength to field questions I couldn’t answer.

I knocked lightly on the door before slipping inside. The room was quiet. Ellie was asleep on the bed. Ryder sat in the chair next to her, holding the baby.

“Grayson alright?” Ryder asked, looking up when I slid the door closed.

“He woke up. I don’t know about his injuries, but the doctor said he should be fine.”

I sat in the chair on the other side of my friend. I wanted her to wake up, but I knew she needed her sleep. Having a baby was hard. It was exhausting and painful, and I wouldn’t disturb her rest. No matter how selfish I wanted to be.

“You okay?” Ryder asked, his voice laced with concern.

He was a good guy. We didn’t always understand each other, but we had grown close since he and Ellie had gotten together. We had to be. She was the most important person in both of our lives.

“I’m fine.” I knew he didn’t believe me. But he didn’t argue. He didn’t question my words. He accepted them at face value, knowing that when Ellie woke up, she would grill me about Grayson, my feelings, and why I wasn’t downstairs with him.

And I would have to tell her the truth.

That he no longer wanted me.

“Do you want to hold him?”

I hadn’t held the baby yet. Ellie would never let me avoid it, no matter how scared I was.

“Okay,” I answered softly.

Ryder stood from his seat and walked around the bed to mine.

He put the baby in my arms. Helping me to make sure he was secure.

I didn’t know if Ellie had told him this was the first newborn I had ever held.

I had avoided holding Beck’s baby when we went to visit.

But with Ellie there was no way to get out of it.

“He’s so small,” I whispered in awe of his tiny little fingers and his cute button nose. His eyelashes were long, and I was envious of them. I had to apply multiple coats of mascara if I wanted long eyelashes, not that I wore makeup that much. It just wasn’t something important to me.

I didn’t need to dress myself up to catch a guy because I never planned on catching one. I never planned on meeting someone like Grayson Powell.

Someone who would find a way under my skin so fast it terrified me. I would have run away. Would have left Diamond Creek if it weren’t for Ellie. I was here now, though.

“I wasn’t sure you would hold him.”

I heard the smile in Ellie’s voice before I looked up and saw it spread across her face. I smiled back at her before quickly looking back down at the baby.

He was still there. Snuggled in my arms. I was convinced that if I looked away, he would disappear. Somehow fall out of my arms and be hurt. I would protect this little boy with my life. He and his sisters.

“How is Grayson?” she asked.

Ryder had stepped out of the room after giving me the baby. It was just me and Ellie. And Sebastian, but I didn’t think he would tell anyone my secrets.

“He woke up. I don’t know whether he’s hurt.” I kept my eyes on the baby in my arms. The look I was sure was on Ellie’s face would cause me to lose it. Ellie had never seen me cry. I didn’t want to worry her. She believed I was strong. Nothing fazed me. It was a ruse I had perfected over the years.

In my family, you didn’t show weakness. If you did, it could have dire consequences. So, my siblings and I learned to be tough. We learned to survive.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“There’s nothing to tell. I went to see him, and he woke up. He asked me to leave, and I came back up here.”

“He asked you to leave?” Ellie whisper-yelled, not wanting to wake up the baby. “What do you mean?”

I took a deep breath before I started. “King and I went down to see him. Carson was in the room when I walked in, and he was still unconscious. I left and called my uncle.”

I paused there, waiting for her to ask the question I knew she wanted an answer to. But when the silence lingered, I looked up. Ellie sat on the hospital bed staring at me.

“What? ”

She shook her head and looked out the window. “Do you really think he would do something?”

No, I didn’t, and I believed him when he said he had nothing to do with it. But there would always be a corner of my mind that wondered how much he would interfere in my life.

“I had to be sure.”

Ellie knew my uncle was controlling. She even knew he was the head of an illegal operation. I’m sure she assumed drugs were involved. He was in Mexico after all. I just never told her he took over the cartel.

I never went into detail about exactly what my uncle did. Or who he worked with. Who he killed. I shared that once in high school, and the friend I confided in stopped talking to me. She acted as if I didn’t exist. That taught me to keep my mouth shut.

“What happened after you talked to your uncle?”

“I went back to see him. He had woken up, and everyone was gathered around his bed. King and I at his feet. He looked up at me; no, it was more like he looked through me and said I should go.” I shrugged, and the baby fidgeted in my arms. I stood up and brought him to Ellie, letting her take him from me, not trusting myself to handle him too much on my own.

“I guess he got tired of chasing after me. I knew he would eventually.”

“Jessie.”

“Don’t.” I shook my head. “It’s better this way.

I can move around town now without worrying about running into him and making more excuses.

” I leaned over and kissed her forehead, then walked to the door.

“I’m gonna let you rest. Ryder should be back any minute.

” I held the door open and looked back at the best friend I ever had. “You did great. I am so in awe of you.”

“Jessie—”

“I love you. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

I pulled the door closed before she could say anything more. Walking down the hall toward the elevator, I thought about Grayson. I told myself the same thing I told Ellie. It was better this way.

I had gotten really good at lying to myself.