“Happy? Jared.” I shake my head. “You’ll just end up resenting us for it and I couldn’t bear it.”
“You know what I couldn’t bear? Losing you.” He rubs at his eyes and turns around, stalking for the bathroom.
I deflate like a punctured balloon.
A scented candle, a hot bath, and mind-blowing sex hasn’t fixed anything, not that I expected it too. We’re a fiery combination. We always have been. We’re Valentines. We don’t know how to back down, but I know I need to learn.
I walk into the bathroom. Jared is standing naked over the vanity, gripping the edge with one hand and splashing water on his face with the other. Sensing me behind him, he lifts his head and catches my eye in the mirror. With a heavy breath, he turns off the tap and grabs for a hand towel, swiping it over his face and tossing it to the side before turning around.
“I’m sorry.”
He lets out a small huff, as though I’m a fucking idiot, too. “Don’t apologise.”
“I just … wasn’t expecting that.”
“Really? After today? What you went through because of me?”
“It wasn’t because of you. It was because of Grudge.”
“You can dress it up in all the pretty words you like, but the fact is, Evie, we made business difficult for the Vipers, and they wanted us out of the way because of it.”
“So you just step aside like they want? You’re letting them win!”
“I’m not.” He reaches over, plunging his hand inside the bath. He pulls the plug free and sets it to the side. Water gurgles down the drain as he straightens. “I’m just passing the baton. I handled Grudge. The AFP can handle the rest. But I’m out. I’m all the way out.”
He folds his arms, his expression fierce as he silently begs me to just let him have this. But it’s not up to me, is it? “It’s your decision. You’ve already made it,” I mutter, my tone bitter because yeah, it hurts that he did this without talking to me first.
“Evie, how did it feel when they slid that vest on you?”
His question knocks the air from my lungs. All I remember is sheer, crippling terror. I felt death knocking at my door.
My expression seems answer enough because he asks another. “Could you go through that again?”
No.
My stomach roils sickeningly, and I feel myself sway.
Jared gathers me up in his arms. They wrap around my shoulders until my face is buried in his bare chest. “Because I can’t let you go through that again. And you’re right. You are in the public eye, and the Valentines have a reputation that will always put us on some bastard’s radar, but I can’t live with myself if I knowingly put you in danger.”
“So what will you do?” I can’t imagine Jared not being a member of the Badass Brigade anymore. It doesn’t feel right.
“The Bright Penny Foundation,” he says, referring to the charity he started with Casey, the one that grants wishes to foster kids. “I’ll take it on full time.”
“Will that be enough for you?”
Jared takes hold of my shoulders, nudging me back so he can look at me. “That foundation is the highlight of my workday. And I’ll still be working under the umbrella of Jamieson and Valentine Consulting, just in a low-key capacity. It’s what I want, babe,” he tells me, and his expression is nothing but open and honest. “What happened with you is simply the catalyst. Do you trust me?”
“I do.”
“Then trust me on this,” he begs, pulling me back into another hug. “Please.”
I swallow. Maybe … just maybe this really is what Jared needs. I have no choice but to trust him with this decision, and he needs to know that. “Okay.”
His chest expands against the side of my face. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry for calling you a fucking idiot,” I mumble to his left pec.
“That’s okay. We’re a team, remember? That makes us fucking idiots together.”
A snort of laughter escapes me. I pull back and look at him, his teasing grin making me lighter. “I’ll get shirts made.”
“Just make sure you get yours in extra-large.”
My gasp is so sharp it sticks in my throat. “Jared!”
“You’re pregnant!” he cries out defensively, flinching back as I smack his chest with my open palm.
“Yes, I’m pregnant. With a baby, not a freaking whale!”
“Babe.” He grabs my cheeks and ducks his head, laughing against my lips as he kisses me. “We’ll see.”
My eyes narrow and my husband is a big chicken because he runs. “Yeah, you better run,” I yell after him, “because I happen to have a really big gun and I know how to use it.”
“Babe.” Jared turns and grins, walking backwards as he palms his dick, hot eyes roaming over me. “How about you use this?”
“How about never,” I retort.
But he starts to get hard under his own hand and it gives me the tingles. He sees my interest and laughter trails him all the way to the bed.
“Bastard,” I mumble, hot on his heels.
“You love me.”
“God help me, but I do.”
“Good.” He seats himself on the edge of the bed, fully hard and rubbing his erection. “Now come sit on my dick.”
And because I like to be a good wife when it suits me, I do exactly what I’m told.
THE END
Stay tuned for Book 6 in the Give Me series
Coming late 2021
Thank you
Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed Give Me War, please consider leaving a review.
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Stay tuned for
THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
The Coaches of Colton U series
Esther James.
The new counsellor at Colton University.
Stubborn. Smart. Spirited.
She’s worked hard to get where she is.
The game plan: provide guidance for all student athletes, even if it means getting in his way.
Jude Granados
Coach of the best college soccer team in the country.
Fiery. Arrogant. Superior. A retired great.
Listed by Forbes as one of the twenty best soccer players of all time.
The game plan: win at all costs, even if it means getting her fired.
Neither counted on love getting in the way of their game.
If you don’t want to miss this upcoming release, or other future books, you can subscribe to my monthly newsletter. https://www.katemccarthyauthor.com/join-1
Books by Kate McCarthy
The Biker and the Thief
The End Game
Fighting Redemption
Fighting Absolution
The Beautiful Game (coming soon)
The Give Me Series
Give Me Love
Give Me Strength
Give Me Grace
Give Me Hell
Give Me War
Give Me Book 6 (untitled - coming soon)
find out more via
https://www.katemccarthyauthor.com/
Acknowledgments
To my readers, I thank you for your constant encouragement, and for reading Give Me War. Your support inspires me daily, motivates me, and makes me strive do better with each book. I’m eternally grateful for all of you.
To all the bloggers, reviewers, and bookstagrammers who have helped spread the word about this book. There are no words to express the level of my gratitude and appreciation of your constant hard work and support. Thank you so very much.
A special thank you to Jeremy Hodson, who helped make this novella so much more than what I hoped it could be. You’ve been a wonderful support, and a fantastic inspiration. And I can’t wait to write the next Give Me series book with you!
About the Author
Kate McCarthy lives in Queensland, Australia.
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Give Me War Page 14