by Rose Nickol
Jenna screamed again and fought against the chains holding her.
“Not wet yet, boys, but she will be.” Jim laughed and rammed three fingers inside Jenna. She screamed again.
Tim knew he couldn’t wait any longer and prayed that Evan and the rest of the team were not far. Going for the element of surprise, he pushed over the crates and sprang out in a crouch. Keeping his back to the crates, he hoped he could ward off the men until the rest of the team arrived.
Two of the men came over to deal with Tim and he made quick work of them. With a roundhouse kick to the knee, he took the first man out and, coming up from the kick, he managed to take the heel of his hand and break the nose of the other man. With two of them disabled, the odds were a little more in Tim’s favor. Just two to go.
Big Jim roared and turned to the other man. “Deal with him while I take care of the bitch.” He screamed. Turning to Jenna, he slapped her again and started taking her down in preparation to carry her back to the van. Time to take the bitch somewhere else and have his fun.
Without the element of surprise, Tim was going to have more of a fight with this next jerk. Trying to watch what was happening to Jenna and fight off the attack, Tim wasn’t doing a very good job at either.
Big Jim had Jenna out of the chains and thrown over his shoulder and was heading to the door. Knowing that if the man got Jenna back in the van, it would be nearly impossible to find her, Tim charged his attacker and knocked him to the ground.
Not slowing down, Tim ran after Big Jim and Jenna, hoping to catch them before Jenna was put in the van.
As Big Jim carried Jenna out of the warehouse, several SUVs and police cars pulled up. Evan, Kyle, Craig and Dave and several members of the security team jumped out of the SUVs and the police pulled guns, all pointed at Big Jim. Thinking to distract them, Jim threw Jenna on the ground and started running.
Surrounded as he was, Jim didn’t get far. Kyle ran to Jenna as an ambulance pulled up. Jenna was unconscious. The paramedics quickly evaluated Jenna and loaded her into the ambulance. Kyle insisted on riding with them.
Jenna came to while in the ambulance and was not crazy about being taken to the hospital. Not that she had much choice at that point. She needed X-rays on her face where she had been hit to make sure her cheekbone had not been broken and to be evaluated for internal injuries from being thrown on the ground. As soon as all that was done, the doc would then decide if she could be released or needed to stay for observation.
Chapter Thirteen
What a fucked up situation. Kyle could not believe that this had happened to his baby, again. How the fuck did this keep happening? For one of the most respected bodyguards in the country, he couldn’t even protect his own woman. Making a decision, Kyle decided it wasn’t worth the risk to Jenna. As soon as she was healed, he was going to slowly back his way out of her life. It would kill him to do it, but she was not safe with him and that was most important, that she be safe. But first, he had to get her through this.
When they got to the hospital, Jenna was taken for X-rays and scanned for internal injuries. Kyle was not allowed to go along.
Although he was not happy about leaving Jenna alone, he took the time to call Evan and find out what was going on.
When Evan answered the phone, all Kyle said was, “Report.”
“The police have four of the men in custody. They feel confident that the DA will be able to cut a deal and get these four to give up the remaining four. Jim appears to be the leader and the most charges will be filed against him. They definitely have kidnapping and terrorist activity, for the torture, on these four, and if they can get them to implicate the other four, will be able to charge all of them with conspiracy, if nothing else. Dave informed the police about what had happened at the club, but we think we can keep Rachel and the club out of it if we can get them to confess,” Evan reported.
“The police are sending a detective to the hospital to talk to you and Jenna. Is she awake yet?” Evan asked.
“Yes, she came to in the ambulance. They have her in X-ray now and are going to do a CAT scan for internal injuries. Depending on what the results are, she may be able to go home tonight or tomorrow. I’m staying until she’s released, then I will be taking her home to her apartment. Get someone to do my assignments for the next several weeks,” Kyle said.
“No problem,” Evan answered. “I’ll let the rest of the team know what’s going on, and Dave and I will be there as soon as we can. If you need anything, let us know.”
“Thanks,” Kyle answered curtly and disconnected the call.
Pacing the waiting room, it seemed like an eternity before he was allowed to see Jenna. By then, the detective had arrived and went back to the room with Kyle. Kyle wasn’t able to add much to what Tim had already told the man, but Jenna was able to recall several things Tim hadn’t. Taking Jenna’s statement, the detective promised to be in touch and left Jenna to rest.
Kyle sat on the edge of the bed and softly brushed Jenna lips with his. Holding her hand, he looked at her for a long time.
With tears running down her face, Jenna looked at Kyle and said, “Do I look that terrible?”
“Baby, you look like a dream. I can’t believe I almost lost you. I’m so glad you weren’t hurt any worse. I’m so sorry this happened to you again.” Kyle was rubbing her hand and he also had tears running down his face.
Jenna reached up and wiped the tears away with all the love she felt for this man in her eyes.
Kyle didn’t know how he was ever going to let Jenna go but knew, for her safety, he had to. It was going to kill him.
The nurse came in then and tried to send Kyle out of the room, but he was having none of it. He was not letting Jenna out of his sight until he knew she was safe.
Soon the doctor came in and said, “Good news, no broken bones and no signs of internal injuries. I’d like her to say the night just to be cautious, and then she can go home tomorrow as long as there will be someone to be with her. She may have a concussion from being thrown to the ground and we want to observe her tonight.”
Jenna started to protest and Kyle just stared her down. “Thank you, doctor. She will be staying the night, and I will take her home tomorrow and stay with her as long as she needs me. She won’t be left alone for a second.”
Again, Jenna started to say something, but was stopped by the look on Kyle’s face.
It seemed she didn’t have any choice in what happened.
Once the doctor left the room, Jenna started to tell Kyle off, but thought better of it. He seemed pretty mad and she didn’t want to aggravate him.
Kyle sat on Jenna’s bed and just held her hand. Soon the painkillers the doctor had given her kicked in and she drifted off to sleep. How was he ever going to leave her, this woman that he loved more than life itself? But even as the thought crossed his mind, he felt himself mentally pulling away.
Dave and Evan came to the hospital, bringing Kyle and Jenna a change of clothes and Kyle his truck. The rest of the men had been caught and all were in jail for now. It seemed the threat was over. But Kyle knew from his work that nothing was ever truly over.
Chapter Fourteen
The next day, Jenna was released and Kyle took her home. Jenna called her office and told them she had been mugged and took a couple weeks off. She felt something different about Kyle, but couldn’t put her finger on it. He was very attentive and loving, but Jenna felt there was something missing.
Kyle stayed with Jenna and slowly she started to put her life back together. They had stopped house hunting while Jenna recovered and Kyle didn’t seem anxious to start again.
All eight of the men confessed and were given jail time. Jenna did not have to worry about a trial.
Kyle stayed with Jenna for a couple weeks until she was well enough to go back to work. Then, using the excuse that he had to work, he started to pull away from her, spending more nights at his suite at the club and doing less and less with her.
&nbs
p; Jenna knew something was wrong, but Kyle wouldn’t admit anything. She talked with the girls about it and none of them knew anything either. Kyle was pulling away from her and she didn’t know why.
Deciding she had had enough, she took the bull by the horns and confronted Kyle one evening. “What’s up?” she asked him.
“What do you mean?” he answered her.
“Kyle, you’ve been different since the attack. You’re pulling away from me and I don’t know why. Don’t you want me anymore? You don’t want to play. When we go to the club, you are distant. You only want to watch and don’t want to do anything with me. What’s going on?”
“Baby, I love you, but I need some space. I’m going to move back to the club and think we should slow things down. I think things are going too fast and we both need to slow down and take some space, don’t you agree?” Kyle hated what he was saying, but knew Jenna would not be safe in his life, and he had to keep her safe. If the only way to do that was to not be with her, so be it. This way she could go on with her life without him.
“No, I don’t agree, but if that’s what you want, I can’t stop you.” And she ran to the bedroom crying. Slamming the door, Jenna threw herself on the bed. What did I do, she wondered? Knowing she couldn’t keep Kyle if he didn’t want to stay, she knew fighting would do no good.
Kyle hated hurting Jenna, but this was best for her. He had to keep her safe. Looking at the bedroom door and listening to her cry broke his heart. But he needed to be strong. This wasn’t about him. After staring at the door for several long minutes, Kyle took a deep breath and call out, “Jenna, I’m going to the club now. I’ll call you soon.” He wanted to go in the bedroom, strip her naked and fuck her into tomorrow, but that would just make things worse.
Chapter Fifteen
For the next several days, Kyle tried to call Jenna, but she wasn’t taking his calls. He spent most of his evenings sitting at the bar in the club talking to Craig. He hated what he had done, but had to keep Jenna safe.
“Man you are crazy about that girl, how can you give her up?” Craig asked one night.
“I have to. She won’t be safe with me,” Kyle said as he took another shot of whiskey.
“No one can guarantee that everyone around us is safe. You can’t live your life in fear. Sometimes you have to give in and take happiness with both hands and go for it,” Craig told him.
“I thought bartenders were just supposed to listen,” Kyle answered grouchily. He hadn’t been sleeping well and had been working a lot of hours, trying to keep his mind off of Jenna.
“And getting drunk and pissing off your friends won’t help.”
“Who have I pissed off?”
“Me, for one. You can’t see a good thing when it’s right in front of you.”
“I see it. I just know what’s right, and it’s not right to keep putting her in danger. I protect people for a living and twice while in my care, Jenna has been hurt. What does that say about me?”
“That you’re human. That you’re not perfect. That you’re worthy of the love that girl has for you. And that you have for her. Get your head out of your ass and go after what you want. We spend our whole lives looking for happiness, and you were lucky enough to find it. Don’t let it or her go.”
Kyle knew Craig was right, but he was so bullheaded that he wouldn’t admit it.
“Fuck you man, you’re doing the same thing with Rachel. Don’t deny it.”
“I admit that I was keeping distant with Rachel at first, afraid of hurting her or getting hurt myself, but since the incident here at the club, I realized that if I want something I have to go after it, it won’t come to me. I need Rachel and she needs me. You haven’t been around, but Rachel has been staying with me since that night and we are going to make it permanent, just like you and Jenna should.”
“Whatever!” Kyle grumped. Craig didn’t know shit. He was doing what he had to do and nothing was going to stop him. “I’m going to the suite now. I have whiskey in there and don’t have to listen to bullshit to get it.” He stomped off to his suite.
Chapter Sixteen
A couple weeks passed by and Connie and Dean came into town for another demonstration. The girls talked Jenna into coming to the club to watch. It was hard for Jenna because Connie and Dean had done the same demonstration the first night she was at the club, and she ended up sitting at the bar talking to Evan.
Evan was sweet and cute, but he wasn’t Kyle. They talked and Jenna enjoyed herself, but something was missing. When he asked her if she would be interested in doing a scene with him, she thought, what the hell? She hadn’t played with anyone but Kyle, but why not? Evan was tall, not as tall as Kyle, about six feet three inches and stockier, but still very attractive. He was blond where Kyle was dark and other than the fact that they had been in the Air Force together, they were both very different men.
While they were talking, Evan placed his hand on Jenna’s leg and had been steadily moving it up and down. Reaching up and putting his hand around her neck, he pulled her mouth to his. Gently pressing his lips to hers, he kissed her. She slowly opened for him, not sure how she felt about this. Evan was a good kisser, but didn’t compare to Kyle. Jenna tried to relax and enjoy it, but the feelings just weren’t there.
He kissed her for a minute, but could tell that she didn’t have feelings for him. “It’s Kyle, isn’t it?” he asked her.
“Yes. You are very attractive and any woman would be lucky to have you, but it’s just too soon. I still don’t know what is going to happen with Kyle and I don’t want anyone else to be hurt. If I got involved with you and then by some miracle Kyle and I got back together, it wouldn’t be fair to you. I can’t hurt you like that. There will be someone for you,” she explained as she cupped his face in her hand.
Sitting together at the bar, her knees between his legs, they looked very intimate. Their heads were bent low, almost touching. Which is what Kyle saw when he walked into the bar.
He stopped and stared a long minute. He wanted to go over and knock Evan out, when he thought a minute and decided that maybe it was a good thing Jenna was moving on. If he couldn’t be with her, she needed someone who could take care of her. Evan could be that person. Head down and moving fast, hoping they wouldn’t notice him, he headed toward his suite. He saw Jenna look up and her eyes met his. He quickly looked away and kept moving, but not before seeing a tear escape.
Evan also noticed the tear and saw Kyle moving fast toward his suite. “Oh, honey, I’ll talk to him. It will be all right. You two will work things out. Kyle just needs to get his head on straight. He’ll come around, you’ll see.”
Jenna smiled up at Evan. “Thanks. I’m sorry, but I think I need to leave now. I know I said I’d like to scene with you, but I’m just not into it right now. If I could just call a taxi, I’ll go home.” She rode with Sadie and didn’t have her car.
“I’ll take you home, no taxi,” Evan said. And when I get back, I’m going to talk some sense into Kyle if it takes me all night, he thought.
“Thanks, let me go tell Sadie I’m leaving,” was all Jenna said.
Chapter Seventeen
Kyle got back to his suite and went straight to the minibar. Whiskey time. Part of him still wanted to go and grab Jenna, bring her back to the suite, and turn her over his knee for just talking to Evan. How dare she talk to another man in his club? She was his baby and no one else could touch her. Another part of him knew that he had brought this on himself, and only had himself to blame. What a fucked-up mess. He wasn’t happy without her, but knew she wouldn’t be safe with him. What the hell was he supposed to do? Getting drunk wasn’t the solution, but he did it anyway.
After dropping Jenna off, Evan drove around for a while, thinking about what he was going to say to Kyle. Even though it wasn’t his business, he was going to talk to him. Somebody needed to do something. Anyone could see that Kyle and Jenna belonged together, even if Kyle was too stubborn to admit it. With his mind set, he dro
ve back to the club and went straight to Kyle’s suite.
Kyle answered when he knocked on the door and Evan could tell he was too drunk to listen to anything. Making an excuse for knocking, he went to his own suite to make a plan. If Kyle and Jenna weren’t gonna see the light, he was going to find a way to make them.
The next morning, Evan woke with a plan in mind. Now to put it into effect. He would need the help of Sadie, Rachel, and Connie, but didn’t think that would be a problem. Making a few phone calls, he planned on meeting the girls for lunch to discuss his plan and see what they thought. He was a man with a mission, and Kyle and Jenna were that mission.
Sadie, Rachel and Connie all agreed with what Evan had planned and Connie made arrangements to come back into Denver the next weekend so they could put it into effect. Her being in town was a big part of the plan. Now to get Jenna and Kyle to cooperate.
Evan also talked to Dave, Dean and Craig, letting them all in on the plan. He was going to get Kyle and Jenna back together if it killed him. Anyone with eyes could see that those two were meant for each other, and neither one of them would be happy without the other.
Jenna was glad Evan took her home. She couldn’t stand being at the club without Kyle. Definitely, she was not going back. No way. No matter what. She would just have to find another place to hang out with the girls. Maybe they could just stay in and watch movies. That’s it, she’d buy a bunch of snacks and booze and have a girl’s night in at her place next weekend. Maybe Connie could come back then. Jenna was sad she hadn’t gotten to watch Dean and Connie’s demo, but she was sure she could get Sadie to tell her about it.