by Calinda B
“Harassment. Assault. Bullshit. I messed up his pretty playboy face when he pulled some shit.” Jace plucked a toothpick out of the dispenser on the counter and stuck it between his teeth.
“Shit,” Mike said. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the glass enclosed display case along the back wall.
“He’s dragging Neil into it, too, to the tune of a ridiculous amount.”
Mike whistled again.
“Damn. Jenner can’t afford that. The economy’s taken a toll on us all.” He shook his head. “I hear Billy’s old man’s been coming down on him. Wants him to pull his weight.”
Jace scoffed. “Like that will happen.”
“Sorry to keep you out of the loop,” Mike said, looking at Zoé. “We’re not ignoring you.”
“It’s a loop I’d rather not be in. I’ve met Billy.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Me, too,” she said.
Jace pulled her close.
“Anyway, a friend of a friend mentioned him having something to do with Jayna’s disappearance.” Mike said.
An icy chill rippled up Jace’s spine.
“What the fuck did you hear?” he growled, his palms slapping the counter.
Mike put his hands up. “Easy, Jace, I’m not the enemy here. I’m only telling you what I heard.”
“So help me God if he’s done anything to my sister —more than what he’s done already, I’m going to put him six feet under.” Jace’s pulse raced, his heart pounding against his ribcage.
The front door chime rang, and they looked up to see a couple of guys saunter in.
Jace lowered his voice, dragging his hand through his hair. “I swear to God, this makes me homicidal. Fuck.”
“I know, man, I know. If I hear anything substantial, I’ll let you know, I promise.”
Jace picked up the six packs as the two customers walked up and placed a case of Coors on the counter.
They nodded to Jace, eyed Zoé, and turned to Mike.
Mike rang them up.
“Later, Mike.”
“Later, Jace. Zoé? A pleasure. And I’ll keep you posted, buddy, guaranteed.”
Outside, Jace stalked to the truck, opening the passenger door for Zoé, and then shutting it tight once she’d settled onto the seat.
When he was behind the wheel, Zoé said, “Jace, don’t you think you should calm down? Take a couple breaths before we head out?”
“I swear to fucking God, Zoé. If he’s done anything to my sister, beyond what he’s already done, I don’t think I’m going to be able to hold myself back.”
She put her hand on his arm. “I know, Jace. I know what that feels like. The dealer who sold my brother the heroine was on my radar for quite some time. I didn’t know I had that much rage inside. I used to take Denis’s baseball bat, imagine the dealer’s face on my pillow, and beat the shit out of it. Once, I found some drug paraphernalia in my brother’s tomb of an empty room and I used the bat on his dresser. I caught hell for that.” She shook her head. “Why I tried cocaine the other night is anybody’s guess. It made me realize the high isn’t worth all the shit that goes along with it. I was so stupid.”
Jace’s eyes slid over to her and back to the windshield.
“Yeah, baby?” he said.
“Yeah. His name is Mark Miller. I know he wasn’t the big fish but I hated that man. Still do.”
Jace’s heart began to race. He knew Mark Miller. His hands shook on the steering wheel.
“Jace,” Zoé said, more insistently this time. “I know what it feels like. Think how I’ll feel if you end up in jail on murder charges.”
Jace closed his eyes and took slow deep breaths. He focused on the touch of Zoé’s hand on his arm, letting the rage inside uncoil like a rope, falling over the side of a boat and slipping into the sea. He put one hand up to his mouth, bearing down on his finger with his teeth. The other hand stroked Zoé’s silken skin.
After several long minutes, he stopped biting his finger and said, “You’re right, baby. I’ve got to be smart about this. I’ve got to find out as much as I can and nail the asshole. Let the authorities deal with him. I’ve got you to love and protect now. And, if my sis is gone, Marni, too.” He turned to Zoé, completely open, heart bared like a goddamned gorilla pounding his chest. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, baby. I…I didn’t know how much I needed you until you came to me.”
A small smile crept along her face. “I didn’t exactly come to you. More like you grabbed my hair and hauled me to your cave.”
“We haven’t gotten to the cave, yet. I’m still dragging you, kicking and screaming.”
“Oh, I stopped kicking and screaming a few miles back. I got the screaming out of my system.”
He chuckled and reached for her leg. “You did that, true. But we kissed and made up. And I’ve got way more ideas to try out when we get home.”
Chapter 31
Zoé
“You smoke?” Zoé asked. “It’s not my favorite habit.” Shouldn’t I know these things by now?
Her leg pressed against Jace, one hand wrapped around his muscular, Levis clad thigh.
“Smoked. Past tense. I started in high school, quit a few years later. Didn’t smoke again until Kate and I broke up. Someone handed me a cigarette at a party and all my old self-destruction came back. I smoked, drank, did drugs again…”
“Fucked empty women,” Zoé added, proud to say that without going into a jealous rage.
He glanced at her and smirked. “Right, fucked empty shells of women until I found the true gold now sitting next to me. Then, one day I woke up, realized I was being an ass, and quit. Stopped getting high, stopped smoking. The empty shells took a while. Marni made sure that ended so I’d be ready to meet you.”
Zoé winced. “I’ll forget you said that. You quit the rest just like that?”
“Just like that. When I make up my mind to do something, I do it.”
“Like seducing me,” Zoé said, running her hand up and down his inner thigh.
“Exactly. You can tuck that hand right here,” Jace said, pressing it on his erection.
“Are you ever not hard?” Zoé asked, smirking.
“When around you? Nope.”
She smiled, shook her head, and bit her lip. “Jace Savage. Jace, Jace, Jace. You make me feel like the sexiest woman alive.”
“You know my response to making you do anything, but I’ll take credit for that one. It’s easy. You are the sexiest woman alive.”
The truck headed up a hill in a sparsely populated rural neighborhood, a few miles from the store they’d just left.
Jace stopped the truck in the middle of the road. “Look ahead. See the opening between those trees?”
“Yeah.” She turned to look at Jace. “That’s our house?”
Excitement shot through her body.
“Yep,” he said, pride evident on his handsome face. “Now right there,” he said, pointing to the house next to them. “That’s where Lila, her mom, and Neil, my boss, live. Her mom’s a nosy busybody.” He pointed to the house next to Lila’s. “I don’t know who lives there —new owners,” he said. “And when I reach this spot, right here, where we’re sitting,” he said, excitement in his voice, “I feel relieved because I’m almost home. Think how I’ll feel when I’m coming home to you, baby.”
He smiled a glorious smile at her, melting her heart to bits.
Shifting into drive, he eased the truck down the road. “Now wait for this…wait for it…right here. Look.”
Zoé lifted her head to see what he pointed to. “Oh, Jace, that’s beautiful.”
She gazed at a vast body of water stretching for miles.
“This is what I call the second milepost to coming home. The view. That’s the Strait of Juan de Fuca.”
“Sounds exotic.”
“Yeah. The San Juan Islands are straight ahead and Vancouver Island is to the left. You can barely make it out.”
/> “Yeah, I see it,” she said, her excitement growing by the minute.
“Okay,” he said. “Next milepost is when I enter the driveway between the cedar and fir trees. That’s when I really get jazzed.” He turned into the dirt driveway.
“I see why,” Zoé said, her eyes wide with wonder. “Is that the house?”
“Welcome home, baby.” Jace beamed at her.
“Oh, Jace,” she said, her eyes growing moist. “Your house is beautiful.”
“It’s our home, baby. It’s been waiting for you. I’ve been waiting for you.”
They parked in a carport behind a large house, lined with windows. A field, evergreen trees, and a tangle of blackberry bushes surrounded it. She glimpsed a deck on the side that wrapped around the corner to the back.
A black and white cat darted out of the trees, heading toward Jace.
“Is that our cat?”
“Nah. That’s Mitzi,” Jace said, lifting the furry beast in the air. “She’s Lila’s cat. She likes to pester me and see if I’ll give her any treats.”
“Do you?”
“Sometimes. But not today, cat,” he said, placing her gently in the grass. “Scram.” He grabbed the groceries from the bed of the truck and handed Zoé a six-pack. “You get the good stuff, I’ll get the food.”
She smiled, took the porter, grabbed the IPAs, and followed him into the garage. A workbench covered with engine parts and tools lined the back wall.
“Looks like a guy garage to me.”
“You can hang your pink tools wherever you like as long as they’re out of the way of my tools.”
“What makes you think I have pink tools? Mine are neon green and fuchsia,” she quipped. “You keep the Deus in here and the truck outside?”
“Hell, yes, I know my priorities. You’ll park your Jeep next to the Deus. Your Jeep now ranks higher than my truck.”
“And on equal status as the Angel — I’m honored.”
He smiled, opened the door to the house, and stepped aside, holding it for her to enter. “Come on in.”
Zoé stepped into the mudroom leading to a spacious kitchen. “Do we take our shoes off?”
“Only if you’re tucking in for the night. The rest of the time it’s not practical. I don’t spend much time indoors. We’ll have to get you some muck boots for dinking around outside in the fields.”
“Who says I don’t have some? I do work outside in the gardens of life.”
“My apologies.” He grinned and nodded toward the kitchen. “Enter.”
A huge island dominated the center of the kitchen. One wall was lined with pantry cupboards. A sink and countertops faced windows looking out on the forest. A chrome and yellow vinyl dinette sat shoved against the wall.
“This is beautiful, Jace.” She set the beer on the island, next to the bags of groceries. “The chrome table’s kind of an anomaly, but…”
“Hey, now, I love that table.”
“It’s you, Jace.”
“The place was a dump when I bought it. Neil and my uncle helped me remodel, bit by bit. I figured I’d flip it at some point but now there’s no need. I’ve got the woman of my dreams to live in it with me. Maybe I always knew you’d arrive.” He gazed at her with soft green eyes.
“You’re going to make me cry, Jace.”
“Oh, no, not the waterworks,” he teased. “Anything but that. Come in here.”
He took her hand and led her to the dining room, consisting of soaring windows encircling a huge, cherry wood dining table.
“Oh, Jace, I’m stunned.” Zoé brushed her fingers across the polished wood.
“Thank you. I’ve never sat here. I eat on the run or sit at the counter in the kitchen before I bolt out the door.”
“That will have to change.”
“I reckon so,” he said, coming up beside her. He placed an arm around her shoulder, guiding her into the living room. “Now this is where I hang out a fair bit when I’m home.”
“Oh, my God, Jace!”
The room consisted of a wall of windows overlooking the Strait. Comfortable couches and chairs dotted the room with colorful rugs accenting the wood floors. A massive television hung from the back wall.
“It’s so beautiful! I see why you love this room. It must be your favorite place!”
His eyes sparkled as he regarded her. “I wouldn’t say that. I have a better place in mind for the top of the room list. Come. Let me show you our place of naughty rest and nighttime exploration. Not that I won’t use every square inch of this house to give you pleasure.”
“You mean you’ll actually consider having sex in a bed?”
“You might twist my arm.”
“Have we ever had sex in a bed?”
“I honestly don’t remember,” he said, smirking. “I definitely recall the time on the Deus, against the wall of your living room…”
“And let’s not forget your truck parked in my driveway,” Zoé said, rolling her eyes.
“Absolutely —we can’t forget the driveway,” he said, his emerald eyes twinkling.
He led her along the catwalk overlooking the living room.
Zoé paused to appreciate the massive black and white photos hanging on the wall. “Savage” was scrawled in the corner of each one. “These are breathtaking.”
“Yeah, they came out nicely. I haven’t had a chance to frame the ones you picked out —of you. I’m thinking those will go in my office.”
“You have an office?”
“Studio, office. It’s where I review photos, tweak them with Photoshop, whatever. I have a darkroom for when I shoot film but mostly I do digital. I also have a spare room that you can use for whatever you like.”
“Thank you. Actually, I could use space outside to set up a greenhouse.”
“Consider it done. We’ll make this place whatever you need it to be.”
“This is cool,” Zoé said, appreciatively, pausing on the catwalk.
“Yes, but this is hopefully cooler,” Jace said, gesturing to a doorway.
Zoé stepped next to him, gazing into the spacious bedroom. A gigantic bed faced another wall of windows, overlooking the water. Windows on the left opened to ferns and forest. A fireplace angled into the corner between the two sets of windows. A crib stood against the opposite wall.
“This is where Marni sleeps?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t think of a better place to put her crib. The guest bedroom is at the other end of the hallway and I didn’t want her to be scared. It’ll do until we get her back with her mama.”
Zoé’s heart surged. “You’re amazing, Jace. You have such a tender heart for being a bad ass bad boy.”
“Shhh,” he said, putting his fingers to his lips. “Don’t tell.”
He sat on the end of the bed and patted the space next to him.
Zoé sauntered over and sat.
“Ever since I met you, I’ve lain in this room every night, wondering what it would be like to wake up next to you.”
“Ever since we met?”
“Ever since. Instead, I got to wake up to a screaming toddler, or a babbling baby or a bouncy little girl. I didn’t know how I’d ever get you here.”
“It didn’t take you long at all, Savage. You tend to take what you want, I think.”
“I know a good woman when I see one.” He placed his arm around her shoulder and guided her to lie back on the bed. “I’ve got more rooms and shit to show you, baby. But I need food first.”
“The kind you get from being inside me?” she asked.
“Exactly. You’ve become a food group.”
“Let’s go, stud. I’m a little hungry myself.”
Thoughts of Billy’s lawsuit drifted through her brain, like plastic bobbing on the sea. Billy. Kate. Jace’s wild past. My jealousy and insecurities. Can we truly transform his life of trouble into something more peaceful and calm?
Chapter 32
Jace
“How’d the meeting with the lawyers go?” Zo
é asked Jace when she met him outside Chica Ríos after her shift had ended. Two blissful days had gone by since she’d moved in with him.
To prove she’d made the right decision, Jace had driven her to the ferry and promised to pick her up. It added about five hours to his day but he hoped to work things out with Neil. “I need a kiss before I answer.” He leaned toward her and gave her a scorching kiss. “Mmm,” he said, when he’d pulled back.
“The meeting?” she said, her cheeks flushed.
“Fucked,” he said. “And it’s only the beginning. Climb on and let’s get a bite to eat before we head home.”
She took the helmet he handed her and swung her leg over the seat. They whizzed to a café on First and Pine. A huge clothing shop across the street displayed headless models wearing the latest and the greatest in fashion. Smartly dressed business people, gawking tourists, drunks, homeless, and shoppers occupied space on the sidewalk, in a “slice of the universe” kind of snapshot.
Inside, they sat at a table near the front window overlooking the busy street. Since it was still too early for most diners, the place was empty.
A short-haired, twenty-something waitress sauntered toward them. She stood at the table eyeing Jace.
“What’ll you have, baby?” Jace asked her.
“I’ll have a tuna melt and lemonade. You?”
“Burger and fries,” he said to the waitress. “Hold the pickles. Coffee.” He handed her their menus.
She bit her lip as she regarded him.
He ignored her.
She zipped away.
He leaned forward, and took Zoé’s hands. “I’d fuck you here and now if I didn’t think I’d get arrested. Burying inside you is the only thing that keeps me sane.”
“That bad, huh?” Zoé smiled warmly at him. She slipped off her shoe and planted her foot between his legs.
He reached under the table and placed his hand over her foot, pressing her next to his hard-on.
“You know you could make me come like this,” he said, his eyes hooded. “Right here. In my jeans. In this tiny café in front of God and everyone.”
“Mmm,” she purred, eyeing him seductively. “I’m glad you’re not growing domesticated with our new living situation.”