TRIGGERED: A Romantic Suspense Bundle (5 Books)

by Evie Nichole

  I climbed out of the car, leaving my ruined heels behind and surveyed the damage. I was miraculously clean. Barefoot in a concrete garage, but clean. “Whatever. I just want to get inside and start organizing something. I need to calm down.”

  Brent slung his arm around my shoulders and led me to the elevator. “I heard you liked to run the course. You want to do that, instead?”

  I shook my head. “I just want to be in the quiet.”

  “Your wish is my command, hero.”

  “And you need to clean yourself up. Your face is bleeding.”

  He groaned. “That asshole sucker punched me.”

  I got onto the elevator and leaned against the wall as it ascended. “Wrong. You saw him coming. You just got punched. Maybe you should take those classes with me.”

  Brent laughed. “You’re hard on a man’s ego, Raelyn.”

  The elevator doors opened and I was suddenly face to face with the only man I wanted to see less than the biker I’d stabbed. Jack. He took in our appearances and then reached out to grab me. I saw his hand coming, though, and ducked away from it.

  “No, thanks. I’ll be in your office, Brent. Throwing away everything that isn’t nailed to the damn floor.”

  He just laughed happily and stayed next to his brother, watching me go. Crazy son of a bitch.

  I slammed his office door behind me and then proceeded to do just what I said I was going to do. With the exception of his notebooks, I threw everything away. I spent my nervous energy on his office, but I was still buzzing by the time I’d finished with the trash. I moved on to the file cabinets, but they didn’t do it for me in those moments.

  “High heel delivery for one pissed off redhead.” Brent swept into the office, carrying a shoebox with him. “They’re not the exact same ones from yesterday, but I think you’ll like them. I had Kim, Jack’s secretary, get them for you.”

  I didn’t look up from where I was bent over, scrubbing at a watermark with tissues and antibacterial gel. “Don’t say that name in here.”

  “What do you have against my secretary?” Jack’s voice asked from the doorway.

  I stood up and tossed the useless tissue in the trash. “Wasn’t Kim I was talking about.”

  “Want to talk about your case?”

  “Want to keep your tongue in your own mouth?”

  Brent snorted and backed out of his doorway. “I’ll leave you two to it, then. I’ve got a meeting, so the room is free for an hour or so.”

  I cast a worried look at him. “A normal meeting?”

  He grinned. “Normal for me.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  Jack shook his head. “No fucking way. You got lucky this morning. You could’ve been killed.”

  I glared at him. “You’re not my keeper. If I want to chance it, it’s my choice.”

  “Then go back to Jackson. At least then, I won’t have to worry about where my tongue is.”

  I balled my fists up. “Like my mouth is the only possible threat around here. Or, am I supposed to believe you’re picky, and I’m just oh, so special?”

  Jack growled and knocked over a stack of notebooks that I’d stacked neatly on the coffee table. “I’m starting to understand why Snake tried to choke the life out of you! You’re infuriating!”

  I mocked his growl and knocked another stack off the table. “I’m nothing compared to you! You’re the most aggravating, frustrating, stupid man I’ve ever at the misfortune of meeting!”

  “This is why I’ve never dated redheads. You’re insane. You’d rather scream at me than actually talk to me.”

  “Oh, I’m insane? You’re insane!”

  “Nice comeback.”

  “I wish I could kick your ass. You deserve to be brought down a peg or six.”

  “Do it, then. If you think you’re so tough, do it. Kick my ass. Let’s go to the gym right now and have it out.”

  I stepped away from him and nodded. “Fine. Let’s do it.”

  Brent waved to get our attention. “Wow. So, this escalated. Are you really going to wrestle this out like a bunch of high school meatheads?”

  I nodded. “Sounds perfect to me.”

  Jack shrugged. “If Red here wants to get her ass handed to her, then that’s her problem.”

  I poked him in the chest. “Don’t call me Red, and don’t even mention my ass.”

  He poked me back. “I’ll mention whatever I want, Red.”

  “Oh, yeah. Real mature, Jacky.”

  His eyes narrowed at the nickname Stacey called him. “Come on. Let’s get this over with. Then, maybe we can handle some real business.”

  I followed after him without hesitating. I wanted to get my energy out, and if he was willing to get hit in the process, I was game. I knew I should be ashamed of fighting with him like we were kids, but he got under my skin more than anyone in my life ever had. Being around him made me want to hit him. And the idiot was giving me a chance to do just that.

  Brent waved us out of his office and shut the door. “Good luck. Try not to kill my brother, Raelyn.”

  I waved absently at him and rushed to keep up with Jack’s long strides. “In a hurry to get beat up?”

  Jack looked back at me and rolled his eyes. “Have you ever wrestled, Red?”

  Not even once. I’d seen some of the fake wrestling programs that Snake used to watch, though. I had to believe that I could do some of the moves. I had the willpower to kick his ass, so I was choosing to believe that I could. “Sure.”

  “Great. Then, I won’t have to explain any rules to you, huh?”

  Before I could help myself, I’d reached my foot out and tapped the back of his knee. It was the leg that was straightened, so the slight bump made it buckle and he nearly went down. I smiled sweetly at him. “What happened? You okay?”

  Jack grunted and refused to look over me as we walked the rest of the way to the gym in silence.

  I was wearing my skirt, but I needed to try to handle the stress with Jack. If I didn’t get around my anger at him, then his helping me with Snake was going to be a hell of a lot harder. I couldn’t seem to put my frustration aside and forget about the stolen kisses we’d shared. I was all mixed up. So, I was hoping a non-sexual altercation would help.

  There were several other guys in the gym when we walked in, but Jack immediately ordered them out. I refused to let his dominance affect me. I had no right to find it attractive.

  He headed over to the mat and kicked his shoes off. The suit jacket, tie, and button down shirt followed. Before I could protest, he was facing me in just his pants and socks. Then, he rethought the socks and pulled them off, too.

  His bare chest was a lot to take in. There were tattoos and lines of muscles that rippled and it was all just…a lot.

  I looked down at my outfit and sighed. “I thought you’d have more workout clothes for me.”

  Jack laughed and shook his head. “No special equipment, Red. Just the two of us.”

  I blew out a breath and grabbed at the stretchy material of my skirt. I hiked it up around my thighs, so I’d have more range of movement. “Fine.”

  Chapter 12

  We each stepped onto the padded floor and circled around each other. Jack moved as if he was going to jump at me and then laughed when I jumped away from him.

  “Scared?”

  I bared my teeth at him. “No. Are you?”

  Before I could even think another sassy thought, I was on my back on the mat. Jack stood over me, grinning down at me.

  “Should I have counted down or something?”

  I pulled myself to my feet and scowled. “Was that the best you could do?”

  It went on like that for longer than I cared to admit. Jack dropped me over and over again until my back ached and I was so frustrated that I thought I might cry. He was all smirks and laughter as he kicked my ass.

  I decided to give myself one more time to make a real effort. Then, I was going back up to Brent’s office to lick my wounds
in private. When Jack moved that time, I saw him coming and dove to the side. I popped back up and then jumped on his back. With my arms wrapped around his throat and my legs wrapped around his waist, he pawed at my legs, but still couldn’t get my arms off of him.

  He dropped us both to the ground, with his weight nearly knocking the air out of my lungs. I tried to hold on as best as I could, but he was a powerhouse and had no problem rolling me over. When my arms slipped, though, I tried to grab his hair and when it was too short, I threw my body on top of his, hoping my weight held him back. Instead, he easily flipped me over onto my stomach and held me down.

  I gasped as I realized the position we were in. He was spread out on top of me, his impressive bulge pressing into my ass. My pulse throbbed in my clit as I became painfully aware of his body on top of mine, of the soft material of his pants rubbing against my bare thighs, of his chest completely covering and wrapping around my back.

  Using all of my strength, I pushed up onto my knees. Jack’s arms immediately wrapped around my stomach and held me tighter against his body.

  I wiggled around, not sure if we were still wrestling or not, and not sure about whether or not I wanted us to be. “Jack?”

  He immediately released me and lay back on the mat behind me. I glanced at him over my shoulder and blushed when I saw the massive boner he was sporting.

  “That’s a first for my wrestling career.”

  I laughed and fell back. “What is wrong with us?”

  He let his head fall to the side so he was staring at me. “I don’t know. I’ve never fought with someone like this before. You drive me crazy.”

  “Well, you return the favor, buddy.”

  He reached out and pushed my hair out of my face. “I can’t seem to help myself around you.”

  I sighed and pushed his hand away. “You have a fiancée. This can’t keep happening. It makes me want to scratch your eyes out and if you’re supposed to be helping me with Snake, then that can’t keep happening.”

  “Things are…different with Stacey. She’s just…”

  “Don’t start complaining to me about her, Jack. This isn’t going to work. Let’s just make a deal. We work together, but we don’t spend any time other than that together. Obviously, something is wrong with us that makes it impossible for our brains to work when we’re together.”

  Jack groaned and sat up. “There’s a problem with that, Red.”

  “What?”

  “I’m teaching you self-defense. Brent’s orders.”

  I pulled myself to my feet and pushed my skirt down. I tried to straighten my hair the best I could, but I knew it was a wreck. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Well, too bad. Now, can we meet in my office and talk about Snake?”

  “Make it the conference room and you’ve got a deal.”

  “That’s fine.” He hesitated and looked up at me from his reclined position. “Thanks for making sure Brent got out of there safe this morning.”

  I looked away and then back at him. “He seems happiest when he’s in dangerous situations. Is he okay?”

  Jack stood up and started redressing. The act felt too intimate, as if we’d just finished having sex, so I turned away. “He’s had a tough few years. He’s okay, though.”

  “Okay. I’m going to head on up.”

  “Wait a second. I’ll go up with you.”

  I looked down at my rumpled clothing and then to his. “No way.”

  He finished putting his tie on and raked his eyes down my body. “It’ll be fine. I can keep my hands to myself.”

  “That wasn’t what I was talking about, dumbass.” I shook my head and headed to the door ahead of him. “I meant we look a little rough, and I’m afraid that people will see us and get the wrong idea.”

  He followed right behind me. “Well, they wouldn’t be too wrong.”

  I punched the button for the elevator and kept my back to him. “You’re so annoying. I know we have a truce, but I just need to tell you that.”

  “You’re terrible at our truce. You’ve already insulted me multiple times.”

  “Well, you’ve already crossed the line with your—”

  “Oh, there you are, Jacky!” I recognized that sweet voice and thought about sprinting away.

  Jack made a grunting sound and then an expensive smelling perfume surrounded me. “Hey, Stace.”

  I punched the button again. If the doors didn’t open up as soon as possible, I was going to lose it. I couldn’t listen to Stacey’s sugary sweet voice anymore.

  “I have tennis with Amber and Becca at the club in a little while, but I wanted to stop by to say hi and show you some colors for the invitations. There’s the common eggshell, but we also have a satin and a pearl. I just have to get this right.”

  The doors opened and all my hopes that Jack would be nice enough to not subject me to his fiancée’s wedding planning went out the window. They followed me onto the damn thing and crowded together behind me.

  “Mom wants you to come with us to the club this week. She says we haven’t put in an appearance in a while and it doesn’t look good.”

  I jammed my finger into the button for our floor and sang the alphabet in my head. I’d faced off with a giant biker that morning, but I was ready to bash my own head in at the idea of listening to Stacey talk for one more second.

  “I know you’re busy, but people talk, Jack. I can’t look like I’m always alone. The girls already talk about how little time we spend together. I have to come by here to see you, and it’s not like we can really…” She finished the rest of her sentence with a giggle and whispered words.

  I jammed the button harder and swore under my breath. If I had to listen to her for one more minute I was going to call Snake and give him my exact GPS location. I couldn’t handle it.

  The elevator jerked to a stop, in between floors, and I cursed louder than I ever have in my life. I swung around on Jack with a wild look on my face. “Fix it!”

  He pushed his fiancée out of his arms and edged around me to get to the panel. “I’ll look at it.”

  “Don’t look. Fix. I can’t be trapped on this god forsaken thing!” I pulled at my hair and then bunched the curls in a ponytail and wrapped it up. “Is it getting hot in here? I think it’s getting hot.”

  Stacey shot me a sympathetic look. “Are you claustrophobic? I had a friend once in college who was. She would just freak out over the littlest thing. Just imagine you’re in a big space, honey.”

  I wasn’t claustrophobic, but I was prone to freaking out when trapped in an elevator with the guy I’d been making out with lately and his fiancée. I pulled my camisole away from my body and fanned it in and out, trying to get a breeze. I could tell my face was bright red and I was seconds away from prying open the ceiling hatch and scaling to the next floor.

  Jack pushed a button and the elevator immediately started moving again. “Looks like you accidentally pushed the stop button.”

  I laughed, but it sounded more like a shriek. “Silly me. Oh, man.”

  Stacey was staring at me, at my appearance, and then glancing at Jack with uncertainty, like she was afraid I was going to snap and kill them.

  “You okay, Raelyn?”

  Hearing him say my real name just made it worse. I felt like the dirty side chick who was trash. I bit my lip and nodded. I just needed to get away from them. As soon as the door opened, I sprinted out of the elevator and to Brent’s office as I’d never sprinted before.

  Not ten seconds after I shut the door, it opened again. I turned to see Jack shutting the door behind him. He frowned and moved closer to me.

  “I’m sorry. That was bad timing. I have to talk to her for a few minutes, but then we can have our meeting.”

  I crossed to Brent’s desk and leaned against it. “Fine. Go back to her, Jack.”

  He nodded. “I’d better.”

  When he just kept standing there, I frowned at him and pointed to the door. “Go, Jack.”


  He groaned and pulled his hands down his face before turning and leaving.

  I sank into Brent’s chair and grunted. Things weren’t good. I let my thoughts drift to Carly and what she would do in a situation like the one I was in with Jack. She’d definitely go for it. I looked at the phone of Brent’s desk and sighed. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted her to know that I was okay. I wanted to know that she was okay.

  I slipped into the heels that Brent had delivered and walked down to Bo’s office. He was on the phone, but he waved me in and pointed to the chair in front of his desk.

  I sat down and looked around. His office was nearly bare. It had a laptop and a few notepads, but that was pretty much it. I raised my eyebrows at him.

  “Alright, I’ll be in touch.” Bo hung up his phone and then smiled at me. “What brings your judgmental eyes to my office?”

  I frowned. “I have a question.”

  “No, I can’t go to prom with you. I have my hands full with a case I’m on.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I have a friend I left behind in Jackson. Is there any way for me to contact her safely?”

  He sat back in his chair and nodded. “Sure. I can get a line for you to call her on. As long as you don’t tell her where you are, you’ll be fine. Unless she’s grabbed and interrogated about you. In which case, it’d be better for you if she didn’t know where you were.”

  I swallowed and got an uneasy feeling in my stomach. “I need to hear her voice and make sure she’s okay.”

  He punched a few buttons and then had me give him her number. The phone rang for a few seconds before it clicked on. No one answered, but I could feel that someone was there.

  “Carly?”

  “Ahh… I was wondering when you’d call, bitch.”

  Chapter 13

  Snake’s voice filled the line and I immediately slammed the phone down, ending the call.

  “What? Raelyn, what’s wrong?”

  Instantly, I regretted hanging up and grabbed the phone. “Do it again. Call again. Now!”