Broken: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 3)

by April Wilson

  “You need to leave,” Jonah says to Dwight, pointing at the door. “Now.”

  Dwight huffs and puffs out his frustration, then heads to the door. He jerks it open, then faces Jonah for one final volley. “Fine! Throw away a once-in-a-lifetime career. You’ll come crawling back to me on your knees within a year – I guarantee it!”

  Dwight slams the door on his way out. Jonah stares at the closed door, his chest heaving.

  “Be right back,” I say, and I follow Dwight out into the hallway, closing the door behind me. “Hey, Peterson!”

  He stops and turns back to me, scowling with contempt. “What do you want?”

  “Just this.” I grab him by the shirt front and slam him into the wall. My hand slides to his throat and I tighten my grip, not hard enough to completely block his airway, but enough to get his undivided attention. “Look, asshole, I’ve put up with your shit because my brother asked me to play nicely. But if you give Jonah any more grief, I will put you on the floor. Do I make myself clear?”

  Dwight nods vigorously. His eyes are wide as saucers, and it takes all my restraint not to laugh in his face.

  I release him, then turn and walk away, not bothering to look back. When I return to the apartment, I find Jonah right where I left him.

  “What’d you do?” he says, looking only slightly worried.

  “Nothing. Just took care of some business, that’s all.”

  He looks skeptical, but he doesn’t press me for more information. Instead, he pulls me into his arms and kisses the top of my head. “I think we’d better go clear our stuff out of the rental house before Dwight does something stupid with it,” he says.

  * * *

  “Once I clear my stuff out of the rental house, I won’t have anywhere to go,” Jonah says. He looks hesitant. “Can I stay with you, at least for tonight? Until I find another place?”

  As we drive to the rental house, my stomach drops. There are big changes coming, and I don’t know what they are exactly. I realize we’re together, but we’ve never really talked about it. We haven’t defined the nature of our relationship. Are we having a fling? Is he interested in something more serious, something long term? Is he going back to LA soon? I have no idea what’s going on, and I have no experience to go by. I’ve never done anything more than a one-night stand since high school.

  I don’t want him to leave. I can’t imagine not seeing him every day. How in the hell did he become so important to me in such a short time?

  “You’re welcome to stay with me,” I say. “As long as you want.” I swallow hard. “Are you going back to LA?”

  “No, I’m not going back to LA. I like Chicago. Everything I want is right here.”

  Everything he wants? What the hell does that mean? I shoot him a look as my pulse speeds up.

  He’s watching me closely. “I’d love to stay with you,” he says. “As long as you’re okay with it. I can continue working in the rented studio. I guess since I’m staying, I’ll have to un-fire you. Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

  My pulse is racing, but I keep my eyes on the road.

  It takes us nearly an hour to get all of our stuff out of the rental house and into my Jeep. Jonah says goodbye to the guys, promising to transfer money into each of their bank accounts to tide them over for a few months, while they look for new work. He also promises to make some calls for them to see if he can find jobs for them. They’re all young and very talented, and he’s sure they’ll all find something soon. Jonah makes the same offer to Ruben and Esperanza.

  * * *

  That night, after taking a joint shower, we order in Chinese food and crash on the sofa to watch Deadpool, my all-time favorite movie. Jonah has never seen it, and I have fun watching him laugh every time Ryan Reynolds says something outrageous, which is pretty much all the time. After the credits end, Jonah turns off the television.

  My stomach drops when he turns to me, suddenly all seriousness.

  “What?” I know I sound defensive, but I can’t help it. He’s making me nervous.

  “We need to talk, Lia.”

  “No, we don’t.”

  I get up and start collecting our empty food cartons, anything to avoid whatever it is that’s about to come out of his mouth, but he grabs my wrist and pulls me back down beside him.

  “That can wait,” he says. “Right now, we need to talk. About us.”

  “What about us?” I’m so nervous, I’m going to be sick. “There’s nothing to talk about, Jonah.”

  Jonah smiles at me as he laces the fingers of his good hand with mine. “We need to discuss the future, my prickly one.”

  I pull my hand back. “I’m not prickly!”

  He valiantly tries to suppress a smile. “Look, I know everything’s happened very quickly, and we haven’t known each other that long, but the truth is I’m crazy about you. From the moment I first saw you, back in Shane’s office, you’re all I’ve been able to think about.”

  I frown.

  “And the longer I’ve known you, the stronger I feel. You are fierce and beautiful and so strong. I mean it when I say I’m in awe of you.” He brings the back of my hand to his mouth for a kiss. “I want you in my life, Lia, and I think you might possibly want me in yours, too.”

  The back of my hand tingles where he pressed his lips to it. “That’s pretty presumptuous, don’t you think?” I say, desperate for anything to slow this train down. I’m not ready for this. I’m not ready for a relationship.

  He shakes his head. “No. It’s think it’s a fact.”

  “And you know this, how?”

  “When have you ever in your life given a guy more than ten minutes of your time? When have you ever spent an evening at home, eating take-out and watching a movie with a guy? When have you ever had a guy in your apartment?”

  Never, never, and never. “So? That doesn’t mean anything.” Yes, it does.

  He lays his palm over my heart, and I’m sure he can feel it thrashing around, like a wild animal trying to escape a trap. “I know you’re scared, Lia. You’ve been in self-preservation mode for so long, it’s hard for you to open up to someone. To take a chance, to risk getting hurt again. But I’m a good risk, Lia. I want you, in my life and in my bed. I want everything with you.”

  “What are you saying? You want us to date?”

  He chuckles. “Try not to sound so horrified by the idea.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Yeah,” he says, nodding. “I want us to date. Are you good with that?”

  I know he’s right about me being in self-preservation mode. I’ve spent the past six years protecting myself from pain, and that meant pushing guys away and sticking to my rules. I obliterated those rules to be with Jonah, and I’ve never done that before – not for anyone. I do know that I love having him here with me in my apartment. It feels good. It feels right. And I love sleeping with him – and I don’t just mean the sex, although I have to admit that’s phenomenal. No, I mean all the cuddling and the spooning too. I could get used to that. And he makes me laugh, which is a definite plus.

  Jonah cups his hand behind my head and leans forward to kiss me. It’s a soft, gentle, unhurried kiss, not sexual, but tender. Oh, my God, he’s stealing my heart. My lips tremble as I kiss him back.

  He eventually pulls back to look me in the eyes. “So, how about it? Are you okay with us dating? Can we make it official? Boyfriend, girlfriend?”

  Alarm bells start going off in my head, drowning out all rational thought. I think he can tell.

  He smiles. “How about a trial run? Just until you get tired of me.”

  I’ll never get tired of you. “You’re crazy.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  I shrug. “I guess so.”

  He chuckles. “Good enough. I’ll take what I can get.”

  Two Weeks Later

  After spending the morning at the recording studio so Jonah could start laying down some tracks on his new song, I’ll Catch You – my song, as
we’ve started calling it – we head downtown. The plan is to kidnap Beth and Sam and Erin for lunch. But first, I have some important business to take care of at McIntyre Security. Apparently, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. This is definitely one of those times.

  Jonah and I are standing in front of Diane’s desk, holding hands like a pair of goofballs. Diane’s struggling to play it cool and not smile at us. Everyone else we crossed paths with in the building gawked at us – at Jonah, because he’s so hot, and at me because they’ve never seen me with someone before.

  “Hey, Diane,” I say. “Is Shane available?”

  “He’s in his office,” she says, picking up her phone. “Let me check.” She punches in Shane’s number. “Lia and Mr. Locke are here. Do you have time to see them?”

  She hangs up her phone. “Go right on in, sweetie.”

  “Thanks.”

  Shane looks up from his computer monitor as we walk in. He eyes our clasped hands, but wisely says nothing. I’m still working on getting used to this myself.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure?” he says, leaning back in his leather chair.

  I let go of Jonah’s hand, and he goes off to the credenza to pour coffee while I plop myself down on the corner of Shane’s huge desk. “We need to talk,” I say.

  He lifts an eyebrow. “About?”

  “Beth.”

  Suddenly I have his undivided attention. “What about Beth?”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, your girlfriend is heading straight for panic-ville.”

  He frowns, and his gaze flickers momentarily to Jonah.

  “Oh, don’t worry about Jonah,” I say. “He knows everything.”

  Shane crosses his arms over his chest. “I’ve noticed she seems a little preoccupied lately. She’s obviously worried about something, but when I try to get her to talk about it, she shrugs it off and says it’s nothing.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m here, to cut through all the drama and get you up to speed before the poor girl has a heart attack.”

  “What’s wrong?” Shane’s expression falls. “Is this about our engagement? Is she having second thoughts?”

  “Don’t be such a drama queen. It’s nothing that serious.”

  “Then what is it?”

  I lean toward my brother. “She’s freaking out about the guest list.”

  He looks dumbfounded. “What? Why?”

  I shrug. “Don’t judge. The list is up to three hundred people now, with all your work associates and hers, all the family, and the friends. You have to admit we have a huge-ass extended family, Shane. Anyway, she’s freaking out about standing up in front of over three hundred people. She wants to elope, but she’s afraid to tell you. She has this crazy notion that having a big, fancy wedding is important to you, and she doesn’t want to disappoint you.”

  Shane relaxes in his chair. “I don’t care how we get married,” he says. “We can get married on a street corner for all I care. I just want to be married to her.”

  “That’s what I told her! Seriously! I said almost the exact same thing.”

  Jonah sits down in one of the chairs in front of Shane’s desk. He’d carried over two paper coffee cups with little sleeve wraps and lids. It took him two trips since his hand is still in a cast. He hands me one of the cups. “Here you go. Black, no sugar, sugar.”

  “Ha, that’s funny. Thank you,” I say. Then I turn back to Shane. “So, elope.”

  Shane looks skeptical. “Are you sure she’s not got her hopes set on a big wedding, with the gown and the bridal party, and all the decorations and hoopla? I thought that was something all females fantasize about.”

  I scowl at him. As if! “Yes, I’m sure. This is Beth we’re talking about. Take her somewhere – anywhere, as long as it’s quiet and private – and put a ring on her finger. You’ll be doing her a favor, trust me.”

  Shane looks pensive as he processes the information. “You’re sure about this?”

  “Absolutely.”

  He nods. “All right. I’ll do it.”

  I smile. “Excellent!” Then I hop down from his desk. “Good talk. Thanks for the coffee.”

  Jonah follows me out of Shane’s office, and we shut the door behind us.

  “Is everything okay, dear?” Diane asks.

  “Yes. I just did your boss a huge favor.”

  She smiles, her soft blue eyes crinkling heavily at the corners. “Oh, well that’s good,” she says, even though she has no idea what I’m talking about.

  Jonah and I head for the elevator and wait for an available car. Once we’re inside – alone – Jonah backs me into a corner and leans in for a kiss.

  “Careful, the coffee!” I gasp, as he bumps my cup. Thank goodness the cups have lids on them or we’d both be wearing their contents.

  “Sorry.” But that doesn’t deter him. He leans in for another kiss, this one deeper and hungrier than the first. His lips feel heavenly against mine, warm and searching. I’m definitely getting used to this dating thing.

  “I’m thinking of keeping you,” I murmur against his lips.

  He grins. “Really?”

  “Yeah. You definitely have your uses.”

  “Just wait until I get my cast off. I’ll be even more useful then. You should see what I can do with two hands.”

  “Don’t push your luck, tiger.”

  The End...

  Although it’s just the beginning for Lia and Jonah

  Thank you!

  Dearest readers, I hope you enjoyed reading Lia’s and Jonah’s story as much I enjoyed writing it. I would be very grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a quick little review on Amazon. You don’t have to write anything long or involved. Just a couple of sentences telling other readers what you thought about the book is all that’s needed. I would be eternally grateful to you if you did. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. :)

  Coming Next

  Stay tuned for more books in the McIntyre Security, Inc. series!

  I have several exciting new books planned for 2017!

  Follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter for up-to-date information on the schedule for new releases.

  Acknowledgements

  Books aren’t written in a vacuum. Authors are often greatly indebted to the support and kindness of friends and associates. I’m no different. Here are some of the people I’d like to thank.

  First and foremost, I want to thank my darling daughter, Chloe, for her unending patience as she puts up with Mom’s crazy work schedule. I’d like to thank my sister, Lori Holmes; she’s not just my alpha reader, she’s my best friend. I’m so grateful for the friendship and support of Christy Peters Rouzie – author extraordinaire; I look forward to our daily e-mail chats! I’d be lost without you, Christy! You’re the best writing buddy a girl could ever have. Thank you to Becky Morean, another fabulous author, co-worker, and friend, for sharing your insight and expertise with me. Thank you to Carolyn Egerszegi for sharing your invaluable time as a reader and as an adviser.

  I’d like to give a huge shout-out to my wonderful beta readers: Lynn Amann, Becca Davis, Carolyn Egerszegi, Keely Knutton, Tiffany Mann, Becky Morean, and Lynsey M. Stewart. I’m very grateful to you all for sharing your valuable time, insight and feedback with me. Every one of you helped make Broken a better book!

  Thank you to Hannah Webner and her mother, Marsha Quillen Webner, for their kind support. Hannah is the gorgeous model on the front cover of Broken. She really made this cover come alive, with her beauty and her poise. She’s the perfect physical embodiment of Lia, and I can’t imagine a better model for this book cover. Thank you, Hannah!

  A giant thank-you to the extraordinary photographer Elizabeth Callahan-Stekli, of Callahan Photography in Centerville, Ohio, for shooting such a fantastic image for the cover of my book. Elizabeth is an amazing photographer! She worked with me every step of the way, totally getting what I wanted in a front cover image. Elizabeth’s pho
tography is unsurpassed! Check out her portfolio on Facebook.