Black and Blue (Black and Blue Series)

by Khelsey Jackson

  He moved away from her and grinned down at her. “I’ll see you later,” she said and forced herself away from him toward her best friend who was saying her own good-byes to Michael. Jamie looked down at her feet, and smiled. She and her best friend were truly happy. She wondered if Michael would be going tomorrow night with Emily.

  Emily turned and a huge grin was plastered to her face as she walked toward Jamie and the car. She shook her head, and waved at Michael. He nodded once then t Kd ont siurned his attention back to Emily. Jamie laughed and got in. She waited until they were pulling out of the driveway to speak.

  “So how was your night?” Jamie asked. She turned in her face her best friend. The night she and Ryan had first had sex, she’d told Emily everything. That was the only time her ex-boyfriend had ever shown passion toward her. He’d held her afterward and told her how beautiful she was and how perfect they were together. She’d believed everything he told her, and trusted him when he went off to college.

  Emily smiled as she looked out the windshield. “I really like him, and he doesn’t pressure me for anything. He is probably the last nicest man in the world left.”

  Jamie reached her hand out to grab Emily’s. She’d had the worst luck in men, and the last one had tried to kill her. Finding her beaten and bloody still haunted her. Jamie had thought she was dead.

  “What about you? Last night your shirt was messed up when we came over. Want to explain yourself?” She glanced at Jamie quickly with a grin.

  “Things got a little…hot in the kitchen, but that was the furthest it went. Henry is different than any other man I have ever known, he is so sweet and I know he really likes me. When he kisses me I can feel his desire for me. I’m terrified that I’m falling in love with him, and I have only known him a few days,” Jamie said thinking back to the interlude in the kitchen. She wondered how far things would have gone before she stopped him. When he was kissing her, he tuned out the world around them. It had been like that since the very first kiss.

  “You always give your heart out effortlessly, but I like him. I don’t think he will hurt you. The only thing you have against you is that he’s a Blue, and you’re a Black. Plus your father wouldn’t think twice in throwing Henry in the tower and killing him. We both know what your father will do, and he won’t care what you say or do,” Emily said and stopped at a red stoplight. She looked at Jamie with a sad smile and squeezed her hand. “I know everything. Michael told me. I told him I agreed with him, but didn’t know if I could stand with him, he told me he would never ask me to. The thing I need to know is, what are you going to do? You just admitted you are falling in love with a Blue. Just by saying that out loud, you could be thrown in jail.”

  Jamie took her hand away from Emily and shielded her face. She knew there was no turning back for her. She was in this for better or worst. “I am with Henry no matter what that involves,” she said and lifted her head. “I think I have always known he was a Blue, he didn’t act like a normal Black would act.” When she’d first seen him, she was drawn to him because he was different. His piercings, and black eyeliner screamed at her; she’d wanted him no matter what then, and still did now too.

  Emily didn’t say anything for what seemed like forever. “I will stand by you, and what you love,” she said as she parked her car in her driveway.

  Jamie had always thought it was remarkable that Emily’s parents trusted her with her own door that led to her bedroom. It made it easy for them to get into the house without her parents knowing. At her house, the windows K, tes,” s didn’t open more than a foot, and there were guards that walked the property at all hours.

  Five hours later, she walked in her front door with her stunning dress and Ryan stopped her. He grinned, and she rolled her eyes. She didn’t want to deal with him, not now or ever.

  “You know you fooled your father, but you don’t fool me. Remember I dated you I know when you are lying, and when you’re meeting a boy. So tell me Jamie, who’s the lucky man? Did we go to school with him?”

  He used his height against her, and pushed her against the front door. Over his shoulder she saw Henry and her father. “That is none of your business. I will see who I want. Now move out of my way.”

  He smirked down at her, and there was a time she used to think it was charming. Now she thought it was evil. “That is where you are wrong, love. Everything you do is my business.” She glanced at Henry again and he looked like he was about to do something that they would both regret.

  Jamie’s father made her take self-defense, and she was thankful now. Swiftly she brought her knee up and slammed it into his groin, Ryan fell to his knees in front of her holding himself, and she stepped over him. Her father smiled at her, and his pride showed on his face. Henry was glaring at Ryan.

  “I guess I should thank you for making me take self-defense and not dance,” she said to her father, and he laughed.

  “You fought me tooth and nail about that.”

  Jamie walked toward her father, and smiled. She’d been so mad at him when he’d told her she was going to learn how to fight. He’d told her he wanted her to be able to protect herself. She wrapped her arms around her father, and he did the same. “Thank you for making me dad. Now, what are we doing today?” she asked as she pulled away.

  Her father’s smile fell, and she knew he was going to cancel. “Sweetie, something has come up and I need to take care of it. But we can have an early dinner,” he said and touched her cheek; she was used to him backing out on their plans at the last moment. She permitted her eyes to glance at Henry. He was standing next to her father with his hands behind his back.

  Jamie shrugged, and smiled at her father. “I understand, if you don’t mind I’ll just hang out with Emily again. I really don’t want to be here without you.”

  He nodded, but glanced behind her to where she’d left Ryan. “Okay that’s fine, but you know I don’t like you out there without your bodyguards.”

  She sighed, and knew he was going to bring it up again. “Dad, no one really knows who I am, so there is nothing to protect me from. It seems I need protection at home, not in the real world,” she said and smiled at her father.

  He nodded. “Fine, but I don’t like it. There is something going on and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  Jamie already knew what was going on, and she knew she wouldn’t be used. She touched his shoulder and walked up the stairs toward her bedroom. She knew that Emily had plans with Michael, so that meant she could see Henry. Her heart sped up thinking about being with him again and she wanted to be with him again. Falling asleep in his arms was amazing, and she hoped she would be tonight. Jamie hung her dress in the closet and lay on her bed.

  She knew from her history class that it was her grandfather who started the whole Black and Blue classes. Daniel Moore had wanted to have two different classes, where the rich were the leaders and the poor were the slaves. Jamie knew her grandfather was evil, and didn’t agree with him. Slavery should have ended in 1863, but her grandfather had influential friends.

  She couldn’t imagine what her life would be like without Cynthia. She was the mother Jamie needed when she was growing up. She taught her that there was more to someone besides what color they wore on their wrist. She closed her eyes hoping that sleep would take her over and she would dream of being in his arms again.

  * * *

  Henry walked into the kitchen. He needed to calm himself down before he did something he would regret. When he’d seen Ryan attacking Jamie, he’d wanted to rip off his hands. He’d wanted to start punching him and not stop until Ryan was lifeless on the marble floor. He’d almost blown their cover, but he didn’t care.

  Cynthia walked in. She had her white hair done back in a tight perfect bun and he wondered if she ever did anything else to herself or stayed the same. She smiled at him as he reached for a glass; he needed something to drink to calm himself down.

  “Hello, Henry, how are you doing?” she asked, and he filled h
is glass with some cool water.

  Henry took a drink and turned to face the older woman. She had to be in her late forties, and she had a heart shape face with light blue eyes. “I’m doing great, how are you?”

  Cynthia arched one light eyebrow at him. “I’m well,” she said and reached for his glass; he turned to watch her wash it and then put it away. “I went to school with your mother and father, you look just like him.” Henry didn’t say anything; he wasn’t his father’s biggest fan. He’d walked out on them when he was six months old. The last thing he’d heard about his dead-beat father was that he was living in the mountains somewhere. His mother was still heartbroken about it, and he wanted to kill the man who caused her pain.

  “Is there something you want, Mrs. Hudson?” he asked and crossed his arms across his chest; she nodded.

  “There is, I knew what trouble your father was, and I know what you are planning. I think it’s reckless, and I don’t want Jamie involved. Do you think you are the first one to think of rebelling against Klling. the Blacks?” She shook her head, and closed her eyes. “I know Mr. Moore better than most, and he wouldn’t think twice in killing you, you are seeing his only daughter behind his back, and you are the leader in the revolution. I don’t want Jamie to get caught in the middle.” Cynthia touched his arm, and smiled. He could see she truly cared for Jamie, but he wasn’t going to give up on Jamie either.

  He knew he had only known her for a short time, but she was his one and only. “I will do everything in my power to make sure Jamie is safe, I would give my own life for her safety,” he said and his chest ached. He knew he should let her go, and tell her to forget him. But he couldn’t, he was selfish, and wanted her.

  “She will be your death, along with your revolution.”

  Henry forced his face to show no emotions, his revolution had grown and he feared there was no stopping it not even with is death. “I’m willing to take that risk for what she and I have, I lo-,” he choked on what he was about to say, he had never told anyone besides his mother that he loved her. But if he listened to his heart he knew how he truly felt for Jamie.

  Cynthia touched his face with her small hand, and smiled sadly at him. “All the more reason to call things off now,” she said as she walked away.

  Maybe she was right. He wondered if he should give Jamie up in order to save for from the heartache she would feel if he was killed. He didn’t want her to be heartbroken the rest of her life like his mother was. He took out his phone to text Jamie’s secret phone. Hey we need to talk tonight, do you want to meet me at my place? He pressed send, and his chest felt heavy. Henry didn’t want to be without her, but maybe it was for the best. They did come from two different worlds, and he didn’t know how she truly felt for him. He put his phone back into his back pocket and walked out of the kitchen.

  Ryan was just getting up, and Henry had to hold back his grin. He didn’t like him, and didn’t think he should be a guard. He still had some personal feelings for Jamie, and Henry really hated that.

  “I still need to do a background check on you,” Ryan said as he walked by, and Henry smiled over his shoulder at him. He wondered when the background check would happen, and he knew what they would find. That he own the No B Club.

  * * *

  Jamie moaned when she heard the phone Henry gave her beep for the tenth time. She set the text message tone to keep beeping until she answered it, and now she was regretting it. She got out of her bed, and walked to her purse that she’d sat on the ground by her door. Jamie found the silver and black flip phone, and opened it. One new text message was waiting.

  Hey we need to talk tonight, do you want to meet me at my place? Her heart sank, those words were never good to hear or see from someone you cared about. Her mind thou KHermoaght of a million different things, and every single one of them ended with him leaving her. She knew they had only been together a few days, but she had already fallen in love with him. She closed her eyes and saw his handsome face, and smiled. Henry Roarke was all she could think of and all she saw when her eyes were closed. Jamie would fight him for what they had together, even if it was forbidden love. She pushed replay to his text message.

  We do need to talk tonight. I will be there as soon as I can. Wait for me? She pressed send, and put the phone back in her black and silver purse.

  Before Henry, she never thought what it was like for a Blue, only cared for Cynthia, but never thought what life was like for them outside her world. Inside her house Cynthia was treated like family, she got everything she needed and lived downstairs in the basement. In school she saw pictures of Blue houses and they weren’t pretty. The small white houses had to have a blue door, and unless they were lucky enough to work for a Black family they didn’t have much. Most still didn’t have power, and when she learned that she was sickened.

  Could she do what she needed to do, and go against her father? Would she pick the man that owned the other half of her heart, over the man she had loved her whole life? Jamie sighed and sat on her bed; she put her elbows on her knees and placed her head in her hands. She knew the answers to her questions, and it scared the crap out of her.

  “Miss Moore, you have a package downstairs.” Henry’s voice filled her room from her intercom and it made her smile. She was senseless about him; she got up and walked to her door. She wondered if it was something for her party tomorrow night.

  Jamie walked down the stairs and saw a brown media box sitting on the small wooden table at the bottom of the stairs. She looked up at Henry as he shut the door, and he nodded at her; she had to look down to hide her smile. She grabbed the box, and frowned; it only had her name and address on it, no return address or company logo.

  Jamie pulled on a corner of tape and pulled until the box opened. Boom! A loud ringing screamed in her ears as she was flying backwards. She felt her body hit a something hard, and she screamed, but all she could hear was a loud ringing.

  Brilliant light blue with specks of navy blue were staring down at her, and Henry’s mouth was moving, but she couldn’t hear him, just the high pitch ringing. She reached up to touch him and she saw her hand was bleeding; she brought both of her hands close to her face to see them. Her hands where cut and bleeding and she remembered the package. The only thing she could think of was a bomb, but who would want to hurt her? Jamie tore her eyes off of her wounded hands and to Henry. She hoped the rebels weren’t behind this, because that meant the man she was falling in love with, just tried to kill her.

  Her father and Ryan came behind Henry and pushed him away. Jamie’s father took her into her arms, as her hearing came back a little.

  “What the hell happened!” her father yelled and looked over his shoulder a Kis r bt Henry. She couldn’t see him anymore.

  “I don’t know sir, a package came for Miss Moore, and she opened it,” Henry said, and she closed her eyes. Her hands felt like they were on fire, and she moaned.

  “Ryan, call Doctor Martin, now!” Jamie’s father yelled, and he looked back down at her. She had never seen her father cry before, and he had fresh tears in his eyes along with some running down his cheeks. “Shh, you’re going to be okay,” he said and moved her hair out of her face.

  Henry came back in her vision, and he looked pale. She took a deep breath and looked back at her father. “M-my hands,” she said, and he nodded.

  “I know, sweetie, the doctor will be here soon to fix them,” he said, and lean down to kiss her forehead. Cynthia appeared next to her father with a white wash cloth, she smiled sweetly at Jamie.

  “Let me clean up your wounds, so when Doctor Martin gets here he’ll know what to treat them,” she said, and her father nodded. Jamie felt the warm wet wash cloth gently wipe her face, and it stung; she kept her eyes on the older woman. This was the woman that kissed her scraps when she was a kid. Jamie loved this woman as if she was her mother. “Jamie, I’m going to spray some cool water on your hands. I want to clean them for the doctor; it will help him treat you faster.�
�� Jamie nodded and closed her eyes. She felt a little relief when the cool water hit her burning hands.

  “The doctor will be here soon, sir,” Ryan said from somewhere behind her father.

  Her father stood up and started walking toward the large downstairs study. “Tell him we are in here.” Jamie could now see Ryan, and when he saw her his mouth dropped opened.

  Ryan placed his hand on her father’s shoulder before they could pass. “Sir, I need to talk to you about what just happened. Maybe let the Blues take her and treat her until Martin gets here.”

  Her father looked down at her, and some of his hot tears fell on her face. “Okay, Henry I need you to bring Jamie to the study. Cynthia can you just be there for her, make her not hurt as bad until Martin gets here?” He took his green eyes away from hers and looked over to where Henry and Cynthia were.

  “I will do my best, sir,” Cynthia said, and Henry walked up to her and her father.

  “I need you to help her, but be careful.” Her father said, and Henry nodded. He took her as gently as he could, but her left hand rubbed against the front of his shirt; she screamed and he looked down at her with panic all over his face.

  He carried her out of the room and toward the study; when they were away from her father and Ryan she pressed her face closer to his warm chest.

  Chapter Nine

  Confessi NHermon="on

  Henry gently laid Jamie on the large wood table, and he felt sick; he should have checked the package for a bomb. He should have opened it first to make sure it was okay, this was his fault. Now she lay moaning with pain because of him; he wondered if this was the rebels but shook his head. They didn’t know about her, not yet.

  “H-henry.” He heard Jamie whisper his name, and he moved back to her side. Her beautiful porcelain was now covered in scraps, and bright red blood.

  He took her burnt hand gently in his. “Jamie I promise you I will find out who did this and they will pay.” If this was the rebels they would hurt by his hands.