by Lee Rose
She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing she was jealous. The blonde girl was hanging on his arm tightly and Royce just sat there basking in her awe. What a jerk!
There were a million or more men on this planet. Why was she stuck on one man? One who didn’t know the meaning of faithfulness?
Chapter 15
Jessy’s head was pounding and she regretted even coming in today. She had drank way more than she wanted to, but at least by the end of the night she didn’t have to pretend she was having fun. She was. Martin had been a great date. They had a shared a small, casual kiss at her front door, but it didn’t set her body on fire.
Jessy looked up when she heard her office door open. She saw Royce standing in the doorway looking cheerful and happy. His short hair still looked wet and his gray T-shirt clung to all his muscles, making her mouth water at his rugged sexiness.
“What is it, Royce?” she said, not caring if it sounded rude. After seeing that blonde girl hanging on him all night she was in no mood to be friendly with him.
He smiled and handed her a cup of coffee. “Overdo it a little last night?”
She grabbed the coffee and drank some before answering. “Maybe. But I am not training, so…”
“I called you, at least three times,” he informed her, sitting down across her desk.
Jessy shrugged, hoping he would go away and leave her to her misery. “I don’t answer calls from friends after midnight. Is there something you need to talk about? I’m working on Jackson and Blake’s schedule if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“It has nothing to do with work,” he said firmly, looking a little anxious.
“Just because you saved my sanity with coffee doesn’t mean I feel like talking, Royce.” She knew she was grouchy but she didn’t care. She was not in the mood for pretending today.
He grinned. “You’re cute when you’re grouchy. Your cheeks turn all red.”
“Get lost, King Royce,” she muttered. “You had fun last night with your little groupie, so why shouldn’t I?”
Royce ignored her surly attitude. “Bonnie was kind of annoying, wasn’t she?”
“Bonnie? I thought her name was Bambi or Barbie.”
He shrugged his shoulder carelessly. “Maybe. I don’t think Blake cared what her name was.”
“Blake?” She felt confused. Maybe she should have stayed in bed longer. Her dad still hadn’t come in and she wasn’t sure why she did. Somewhere deep inside of her, she knew it was because she wanted to see Royce. She was addicted to seeing him every day but she couldn’t admit that out loud. Then everyone would know how pathetic she was, wanting a man who didn’t want her.
“She left with Blake,” Royce answered without hesitation. He didn’t look like it bothered him at all.
He shook his head and tried to look forlorn. “I went home all alone.”
Jessy rolled her eyes. Secretly she was pleased, since she had gone home alone, too. “I bet that doesn’t happen often.”
“You would be surprised,” he admitted softly.
“So, what was so important, Royce? If it’s not work related what could it be?” She changed the subject. She did not want to think about Royce’s sex life. She didn’t need those kinds of images in her head. She had plenty from the one night she spent with him.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about us,” he admitted frankly, sitting up.
“There is no us, Royce. We’re just friends who messed up one night,” she reminded him, ignoring the now-familiar ache in her chest when she allowed herself to think about that wonderful night.
“I know that’s what I said, but honestly I can’t stop thinking of you. I know the physical attraction is there, on my part at least. I think we need to give ourselves a chance to see where it leads.”
Jessy let out a heavy sigh looking at Royce, the man she had been wanting for so long. “A few weeks back I would have jumped at the chance, but now you put doubts into my head. Your words hurt and you burst the bubble I had been living in for almost a year. At the same time, you made sense. What if down the road you decide being with one woman is no fun? You still have unresolved feelings for your ex or you wouldn’t still be stuck on what happened with her.”
“My feelings for her are not unresolved. I feel foolish for falling for her and maybe my pride was dented, but I know I never loved her. I lusted after her, that’s all,” he insisted, but Jessy didn’t believe him.
Jessy put her elbow on the desk and leaned her head on it. She wanted to believe him but she couldn’t take that chance again. Look how hurt she was after one night. Her feelings for Royce were real and would not go away easily, she knew and accepted that. She had doubts about him though. Sure, he wanted her today, and then next week he could be bored. Could she be so noble as to work with him and pretend everything was great if he moved on? Her dad depended on Royce. Her answer was clear. No
“I see by your silence you have doubts,” he guessed with a shake of his head.
She nodded. “My feelings for you run deep, Royce. You’re right, they haven’t changed. You want me now and I get we can’t see the future, but honestly I’m not sure I’m strong enough to work with you and see you with someone else down the road. You say you are over what Trina did to you, but I’m not so sure. You are still allowing that hurt to rule your life.”
She was about to explain more of her thoughts when Tom came running in, spitting mad.
“Those punks are back and they are trashing your car, Jessy,” he yelled.
“What!” she yelled loudly, following a running Royce and Tom out of her office and outside.
“Call 911, Jessy, but stay inside,” Royce yelled, picking up a baseball bat he had started keeping up by the front door.
She called the police with shaky fingers and reported what was happening.
“Please hurry,” she pleaded with the operator and hung up. Martin was off today or she would call him. She wished some of the guys were here. The bunch of them would scare these guys away.
She stood in the doorway with anxiety. Royce was yelling at one of the gang members and she could see her tires were slashed and it had been spray painted with gang signs. The second one of them pushed Tom and his face turned red. He might be an older man but he was used to sparring in the ring, and he was tough. Jessy felt sorry for the young punks. Tom threw a punch and it landed on his jaw. He landed on his ass on the ground. Jessy felt like cheering but she stayed silent, not wanting to distract Tom or Royce.
A third man came out of nowhere and the two of them jumped Royce and although she knew he was tough and could fight she hated to see them gang up on him like that. Jared pulled into the parking lot and she could hear his tires screeching to a stop. He jumped out and joined the fray, and it was all chaos from there. She watched while trying to contain her nerves and silently praying for the police to hurry.
She saw one man take a gun out and point it toward Royce’s back. Royce was too busy fighting with the man in front of him and didn’t even notice what was going on.
Without a second thought she ran toward the man, hoping to divert his attention from shooting Royce in the back.
She yelled out and he turned the gun toward her running figure. She never heard the shot but she felt a burning sensation near her chest and saw black spots in front of her eyes. She thought she heard her name being yelled out but she couldn’t be sure. Everything sounded so far away and then she knew no more.
Chapter 16
Royce couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Jessy running out of the building and then saw her fall to the ground. It took a minute for his brain to connect the loud pop with a gun going off. The gang member ran off and Royce let him. All he cared about was reaching Jessy. He ran as fast as he could toward her but his legs felt like lead. He heard the sirens in the distance and felt relief that help was on the way. He turned her over slowly and gently and saw blood pooling on her chest. He tore off his shirt and pressed down hard to s
top the bleeding, but it soaked through her shirt and his. He felt an icy cold terror grip his heart, like this was all a nightmare. Any minute he would wake up and she would be smiling at him again.
“Jessy, my baby.” He heard the deep anguish in Jared’s voice as he dropped to his knees next to Royce. Jared grabbed her limp hand. His face was pale and ashen in color. “How bad is it?”
“She’ll be okay, Jared.” He tried to sound confident, even though he was scared to death right now. She was shaking despite the heat the sun was pouring on them, and her lips were turning blue. The police and the ambulance arrived together.
The attendants scooted him over and began to work on her, applying an IV and loading her on a stretcher in a quick manner. Royce sat on the ground where a pool of her blood still lay. He couldn’t seem to make his legs move.
He felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He looked up into Tom’s concerned eyes. Tom handed him a T-shirt from the gym. Royce finally gathered the strength to stand up and pulled the clean shirt over his head. “Jared rode with the ambulance.”
Royce nodded, feeling like his chest wanted to explode. “This is all my fault, Tom. I shouldn’t have run out here to confront them. I should have just called the police and protected Jessy.”
Tom patted his shoulder with a shake of his head. His voice was hoarse with fear, but he was trying to hide it. “She was protected, Royce. I don’t know what made her run out here in the line of danger, but I know Jessy. She would have stayed inside. She must have saw that no good punk pull out the gun. This is not your fault, son. That girl is headstrong like her papa.”
Royce took a deep breath and saw Blake and Sam jumping into Blake’s truck. He assumed they were heading to the hospital. He started walking to his own jeep, still in a fog and feeling like everything was running in slow motion.
“Let me drive,” Tom suggested. Royce missed the concerned look Tom gave him and just nodded. Once in the car he closed his eyes and prayed harder than he had ever prayed before. He couldn’t imagine a world without Jessy in it. How ironic that when her life hung in the balance it hit him how important she was to him. His doubts and fears no longer mattered to him. Even if she hated him, he wanted her to live. He pushed her away all this time, telling himself and her he wanted nothing permanent. Now it might not be up to him.
* * * *
“Royce.” He heard his name being called from far away. He had just finished washing up in the men’s bathroom down the hall. As the blood mixed with the water and ran down the drain he let the tears fall. He couldn’t stand to think of her dying. Everyone loved her at the gym, but he loved her more than anyone, except Jared. How would he handle not seeing her again? He wouldn’t be able to handle going into the gym knowing he wasn’t going to get a brief glance of her working out or walking around and joking with the guys. He went and sat down in the hospital’s waiting room, but he hadn’t spoken to anyone yet. He wasn’t sure he could swallow past the lump in his throat. They had rushed Jessy straight into surgery and there was nothing to do but wait. He turned to see Blake and Sam looking at him with worry in their eyes. It had been over an hour and they had no news as to how the surgery was going. He wouldn’t be able to breathe easily until he saw those beautiful green eyes opened and looking at him, even if it was with grouchiness. Did he deserve a second chance with Jessy? He sure hoped so.
Sam sat next to Royce, running his hand through his blond hair. “She is strong and stubborn. I know she’ll make it, Royce. I can’t let myself think anything else.”
Blake sat down on Royce’s other side. His eyes were red and Royce guessed he must have cried before he got here. Blake was a tough guy when it came to using his fists and putting on an act around people, but Royce knew Jessy was the one person he let get close to him besides Sam. “Jessy has to pull through. She’s like a sister to me and I can’t let myself think anything negative. She’s my only family.”
Royce nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He knew Blake never spoke about his family. Jared had once mentioned Blake’s mom had been a drug addict and he had spent most of his life in and out of foster care. He saw Jared, Adam, and Tom standing by the window and talking. The atmosphere was gloomy and Royce decided right then and there he hated hospitals. The white walls, the gloomy mood, and smells of bleach wading through the air as a janitor mopped down the hall.
They heard the elevator ping and looked to see Officer Lopez accompanying Gabriel and an older Latina woman stepping out of the doors. She wore a blue waitress uniform that looked old and faded. Her black hair was pulled up in a hair clip.
Officer Lopez shook Jared’s hand. “This is Gabriel’s mother, Lucia Martinez.”
“I am so sorry, Señor Daniels. I pray for your daughter. Gabriel is my only child too and I worry for his safety always.” She spoke softly with only a slight Latina accent. Her skin was a golden brown like Gabe’s. “Gabriel told me how kindhearted your daughter is. I hate that this happened.”
“Thank you.” Royce could hear the unshed tears in his boss’s voice and knew the man was barely keeping it together. He had already lost his wife. Jessy was all he had left.
Royce stood up and joined the group. He patted Gabe on the back. “Hey, kid.”
Gabe looked over at him with sorrow in his eyes. His eyes were watery and Royce knew he was trying to keep it together. “I know Jessy will make it, Royce. Mom and I stopped at our church and said a prayer for her. She is a good person with a good heart.”
Royce nodded emotionally. “She is, Gabe.”
“Officer Lopez said they got Benny, the shooter,” Gabe announced with satisfaction. “I hope he rots in jail. To try and shoot a man in the back. That is cowardly. Everyone is saying that.”
Royce agreed with him and they all sat down to wait in silence. A heavy dark cloud loomed over them as they all sat, lost in their own thoughts and prayers.
Jared thanked Lucia for the prayer and led her to a chair. Royce could hear them speaking softly. Adam was on his cell phone talking to Jackson. Tom had gone to get coffee. He hated waiting. He wanted to walk right into the operating room and demand to know what was going on and to make sure they were doing everything they could to save her life. He couldn’t handle any other outcome. The tormenting thought raced through his brain.
The doctor came out still dressed in his green scrubs and cap over his hair. “Is this the family of Jessy Daniels?”
Jared stepped up looking pale and frightened. “Yes, we are. I am her father. Is she…”
The doctor looked a little too grim for Royce’s comfort. “She made it through the surgery. She is not out of the woods yet. She lost a lot of blood and the next twenty-four hours will tell if she will pull through. I’m hoping for the best but I can’t make you any promises.”
Jared nodded, his shoulders slumped, and Royce knew this was hard on him. After losing his wife to cancer, how would he handle losing his only daughter, too?
“She is a lucky young lady to make it this far, so don’t give up on her yet. With a family this big I’m sure she has a lot to live for. She’ll be in ICU for the night,” the doctor told the whole group.
“Can I see her?” Jared asked, still looking concerned, and Royce could understand. He wanted to stand over her bed and demand that she live. He wanted to see her breathe and looked at him.
“For a few minutes only,” the doctor agreed. “The rest of you go home and get some rest. She will need her family. It will be a long recovery.”
* * * *
Royce entered his quiet apartment and poured himself a whiskey. He had wasted so much time trying to deny he felt anything but lust and like for Jessy. He had been a coward when he could have had her as part of his life. He wasted all this time denying her and not wanting to put himself in a vulnerable position. Now he didn’t know if he would be blessed with a second chance or not. The doctor had sounded grim. He was filled with so much regret he felt like his chest might burst.
He poured himself ano
ther drink. The burn going down his throat and into his chest was a welcome change from all the turbulent emotions inside of him. He leaned his head back on the sofa and his mind went back to his night with Jessy. It was all stored in his brain like an old home movie that one played over and over again. He had not touched another woman since her. He should’ve seen that as a sign that Jessy was important to him. Instead, he had been so focused on his own fears, telling himself he was doing what was best for Jessy. He was protecting her from being hurt by him.
They had shared a few drinks one evening and it had relaxed his brain enough to make him forget all the reasons he should not give in to his desires. He had wanted her so badly for so many months and he was tired of listing all the reason they were wrong together. He had brought her here to his personal space, when he never brought a woman home. He remembered that night like it was yesterday. The two of them naked together.
He had caressed her breast and cupped its fullness in his hand. His thumb rubbed over her bare nipple and he had been pleased by the sharp intake of breath. She had closed her eyes.
“I love the weight of your breast in my hand. You are so beautifu,l Jessy,” he whispered against her neck, loving the satin feel of her skin and the smell of vanilla. He swirled his tongue around the nipple and the soft, sexy noises she made added to his own excitement.
He felt his body react to the memory of that night and he wished Jessy was here right now with him. This time he would take his time exploring every inch of her pale skin. He would drive her mad with passion until she was screaming out his name and only his name. He would make sure she was so satisfied she would no longer find the need to go out on dates with other men. She would be too busy spending her days thinking of what he had done to her all night long.
She had to make it. There was no other thought in his head but positive ones. Jessy was a strong woman and matched him in passion. She had been so open and honest about what she had wanted that night. No coy games. His mind went back to that night again.