Page 97 of Protective Love

"Because he's always so grumpy, and frightening. He hardly talks to anyone, and he doesn't like many people."

"Well, clearly I'm just special then."

His eyes soften, and he smiles at me as he walks towards me, putting his cup on the side before wrapping his arms around me.

"Yeah, that's a fair point. You really are special," he says, pressing his lips against my forehead.

Chapter Fifty

Jaylen

After devouring a heaped plate of food and having another shower with Aurora, I sit on the sofa, a towel secured around my waist as I wait for her to get dressed and for Kaleb to turn up with the list of things I asked him to buy us, and the clothes I asked him to bring for me.

"You sure you don't want to try and find something of mine to wear?" Aurora shouts, amusement laced in her words.

"I think I've already done too many embarrassing things during my life, darling. I don't need to purposefully add more to that list."

As I'm slipping my jogging bottoms on, Aurora's phone chimes from the table in front of me and then a knock sounds at the door, alerting me that Kaleb's here.

Securing them around my waist, I drape the towel over my shoulder and walk to the front door, looking through the peep hole to double check it is Kaleb before opening the door.

"I got Sophia to pack your bag because there was no way I was touching your boxers, whether they're clean or dirty, that's just too—"

His nagging speech is cut off as a bullet whizzes past both our heads, hitting the wall behind me.

Before either of us can even react, Kaleb's blood spatters across my arm and chest as another bullet tears through his right arm causing him to grunt in pain as we both drop to a crouch.

"Motherfucker almost hit my tattoo," he bites out, glancing at the sleeve of his T-shirt that's now turning from grey to red.

"Dude, your tattoo's on the other arm."

"Yeah, but I got a new one," he says, dropping the bags he was holding and reaching behind his back to grab his gun before he stands up and starts running towards the stairs.

I'm about to follow after him when I hear Aurora's footsteps padding along the floor somewhere behind me.

"Stay away from the doors and windows!" I shout, charging back into the apartment and intercepting her in the living room.

"What the fuck is going on?"

"Someone just shot at us," I tell her, placing my arms on hers and pushing her backwards, towards her bedroom. "You stay here, lock yourself in your room, and make sure you stay down until I'm back."

I turn away from her, ready to go after Kaleb, but she tugs on my arm.

"Wait. You can't go out there unarmed."

She drops to the floor and slides a box out from under her bed, flipping the lid off and pulling out a gun.

"Take it, and be careful," she says, shoving the gun at my chest.

"So goddamn sexy," I mutter, taking the gun from her and quickly giving her a kiss before I run out of the apartment, shirtless and barefoot, clad in only a pair of jogging bottoms.

Racing down the stairs and ignoring my protesting muscles, I run out onto the street, spotting Kaleb crouched down behind Leo's car, his eyes darting around the street.

"What's going on?" I ask, ducking down next to him.

"Leo saw a glare coming from the rooftop of that building before the shots popped off," he says, pointing at the apartment complex on the opposite side of the street. "I got out here and he was already running. Told me to hold things down here in case it's a distraction technique to get to Rory."

"Someone shot at us with a fucking sniper?"