“Enough.”
Jackie nearly bolted. He could make his voice far colder than she could and it sank into her bones, making her shiver. She’d barely brushed the surface and he’d reacted. “It’s not nice to dig into the past when you don’t have permission. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Liam studied her a moment then nodded. They were both private people. The friends they trusted could be counted on one hand and he realized he hadn’t made it onto that list. “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I asked you out,” he confessed, almost wishing he hadn’t brought up the past.
Jackie smiled. “I’ve come to realize that life never really turns out how you think it will. And up until now I thought this date was pretty okay.” She shifted her weight and stared down at the sand around her crossed legs, feeling suddenly awkward. “Maybe we could try it again some time.”
“Oh, really?” Liam grinned and slowly moved toward her. “Are you asking me out, Ms. Chase?” Jackie leaned into him as his arms went around her waist.
“I might be. How do you feel about trail riding?” He was intrigued by the idea as he moved his lips across her cheek.
“It’s been years since I’ve ridden.”
“We’ll take it easy,” Jackie murmured, raising a hand to stroke the soft strands of his hair. “I promise.” A soft chuckle rumbled deep in his chest.
“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?” he pointed out as he brushed his fingers over the healing bite mark. “I was a little too rough with you.”
“I’m a tough old bird. I can take it,” she assured him. Yeah, the sex was easy. It was the emotional stuff that threw her off balance. But maybe with a little practice and a few more dates… Anything could happen.
Chapter Sixteen
“TELL ME WHY YOU’RE freaking out, Sofie.” Jackie’s arms were crossed and she was staring down at her roommate who was curled up defensively on the couch. Sofie avoided her prying eyes and stared intently at the floor. She’d been out of sorts all morning. At first she’d tried to keep from showing it but Jackie had spotted the tension around her eyes. Observant friends were annoying sometimes.
“Max wants to know more about my past. He asked me about my parents and why I don’t talk to them. I don’t know what to tell him.”
Jackie’s eyes softened. “If he’s a good man he won’t judge you,” she said. “Even if Sheila never bothered to take the ad off the web, you don’t live there anymore.” Sheila, a very experienced escort, had been one of the few friends Sofie had in the United States when she first moved there. While trying to become a citizen and struggling to find a job with a reputable horse trainer, she’d run extremely short on money. Her family had cut her off for choosing horses as a career instead of just a hobby. Sheila took her in and set up a website for her German friend. She’d gotten hits almost immediately. The first man she’d met with had been in a bar the same night Jackie was there having an awful blind date.
The minute Sofie’s ‘date’ had put his hand suggestively on her thigh, she knew she couldn’t do it. Sofie quickly apologized and fled. Jackie had been on her way out, fishing in her bag for her keys, when she heard struggles and the sound of a woman crying. The first words Sofie had ever heard her future roommate and employer say were, “Hey, asshole! Get your hands off her or I’ll break your ugly fucking face.”
The rest was history. Now, however, the past was in the present and Sofie was freaked. It shouldn’t matter so much what her boyfriend thought of her. Self-esteem was more important. Still, it nagged her.
She really liked Max. He was attentive and sweet. It had been a long time since she’d met a guy who always wanted to be with her but understood when she had to work. There weren’t a lot of guys like him out there. She didn’t want the relationship to end before it even really began because of a mistake she hadn’t even followed through with in the end.
“I know you’re right. I’m just shaky,” Sofie admitted. Jackie sat down beside her and squeezed her hand comfortingly.
“Look, why don’t you come in late to work? Take a few hours and relax. No one’s coming in until one so I won’t have to deal with any people this morning, just horses.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, finally look up from the floor. The idea of going straight back to work was a little daunting since she was sure her thoughts were not going to be on the horses and that could get her seriously injured.
“I can handle myself. Besides, I’ve decided to take Francis on a trail ride. He needs to stretch his legs out and I can tell he misses having a rider on his back.” Jackie knew from several long conversations with Lorraine that Francis had been born and breed to do dressage. He loved it. Thanks to his age and condition, he was no longer solid enough to show and that sucked a lot of life out of him. Jackie intended to make him feel useful again that morning.
Jackie had twenty-five good acres of land and she needed every inch of it for her horses. There was a handy path that wound its way around the property creating an ideal trail away from the house and barn. It stretched out alongside the arena then past the lunge ring with its tall wooden fence. She would usually turn after that and ride along the edge of the property by the street where wild foliage worked as a natural barrier. The ground was flat, the horses enjoyed it and Jackie found that it was the perfect time to reflect on how her life was going. So once she’d swung her leg over the mammoth Francis and startled into a comfortable walk, she did exactly that. Well, after she whistled for Macbeth to come along. They’d finally patched up their relationship after Liam’s invasion and she wasn’t about to insult him by forgetting to invite him for the ride. He followed behind the horse, investigating various noises he found to be suspicious.
The first thing she thought of now that she had a few quiet minutes was Sarah. She was doing brilliantly. That was one of Jackie’s main concerns. Her mother had very dramatically delivered several boxes of her daughter’s things without speaking to anyone. This hadn’t bothered Sarah much since she’d never been terribly close to her. Instead she was cheerful now that she finally had her own things. Jackie had driven her to school that morning then come home to a shaking Sofie. Still, nearly constant drama was what the mother of a small girl had to put up with on a regular basis. Jackie smiled then leaned down and scratched Francis’s withers as her mood immediately lifted.
A mother. Thanks to Liam, Jackie was going to be a mother. That one precious gift she thought she’d lost forever was really going to be hers soon. Liam didn’t let her in on how he was negotiating it all. It wasn’t hard to see why. She didn’t understand how slick businessmen communicated and she didn’t need to know how Liam was blackmailing the Crawleys into surrendering Sarah. The only thing that mattered was the fact that he was winning. Still, she wasn’t a big fan of being kept out of the loop. If the ultimate reward wasn’t as important as it was then she would be fighting that a bit more.
Francis continued to plod along, only occasionally glancing at the weeds lining the path with interest since there weren’t any tree branches nearby and those would be the easiest to nibble. At first he hadn’t gone very fast thanks to his sore leg, perpetually stricken with arthritis. The movement helped the pain and soon Jackie could tell his mood had lifted. She’d ridden horses long enough to be able to read them, especially when she was in the saddle. He was happy and, surprisingly, so was she. Thanks to Liam.
Damn, she owed that vampire more than she could ever dream of repaying. They didn’t have the most equal of relationships. Thankfully Jackie knew that even if he was a sarcastic bastard, he had a very concrete sense of honor. That was strictly confidential information, of course. It wouldn’t do for the general public to be told that Liam O’Connor wasn’t a total prick after all. It was a fact that Jackie had slowly come to realize as she got to know him. However, she hadn’t known him in the carnal sense for quite a bit longer than she’d expected. They hadn’t actually slept together since his party. There had been plenty of k
issing and a few intriguing caresses but that was about it. Jackie had finally realized that he was trying to puzzle out what their relationship was outside the sex.
Jackie hadn’t decided what to make of the shift in the way they talked to each other. They held back the snide comments more often and began to experiment with actual communication. As for trust, she wasn’t there yet. She wasn’t ready to trust a man again, especially when she knew practically nothing about his past. Honestly, she’d rather be shot.
Macbeth startled her when he started barking. Francis wasn’t bothered by the noise and continued to walk on but Macbeth appeared frantic. Jackie narrowed her eyes in confusion as her dog raced ahead of the horse, his head turned toward the brush lining the trail. “What is it, Macbeth?”
He continued to snarl then whirled on Francis and let out a savage growl. The gelding, startled, hopped a little to the side until Jackie got a firmer hand on the reins. At the same time she heard a faint sound, like a pop, then she was nearly knocked out of the saddle by something small but hard burrowing into her left arm. Francis immediately panicked and broke into a gallop, shooting off toward the barn. Jackie let out a soft whimper as the horse’s loping stride jostled her injured arm. Instinct was the only thing that kept her from falling out of the saddle. She clutched the saddle with her knees, her right hand clinging to the horse’s mane.
By the time her head finally cleared, which took a considerable amount of time since they’d been at the opposite end of the property from the barn and now they were within a few yards of it, Francis had slowed to a trot. Jackie concentrated on breathing evenly as she pulled him to a stop and dismounted. Her first concern was Francis. That had been more running than he had done in a long time. She gripped the reins with her right hand and led him into the barn, keeping her eyes on his legs to see if he was limping at all. So far everything looked good. He even had a little excitement in his eyes. Jackie smiled weakly, ignoring the numbness that was sneaking through her body. She made sure he was secure in the crossties before she took a look at her arm.
There was a hole in the upper arm of her dark green, long-sleeved shirt. The material around it appeared stained black all the way down to her elbow. She’d been bleeding heavily. “Crap,” she muttered. Jackie pulled off her glove with her teeth and pressed it against her arm tightly before hurrying down the aisle toward the exit. “Sofie! Sofie, I need some help here!”
Her words probably wouldn’t be clear at this distance but the noise was enough to attract attention. The horses had begun to respond to the blood in the air, letting out panicked whinnies and squeals. That worked to her advantage, too. Horse people didn’t ignore the sounds of panicked animals. The numbness continued to spread and Jackie wondered if she was going into shock. “Sofie!” she tried shouting again. Her head spun and she leaned against a stall door. Sampson poked his head out and whickered to her, obviously concerned. “I’m fine,” she mumbled, failing to be reassuring even to herself. Slowly, she slid down into a sitting position. Jackie looked at her wound again, realizing that the glove wasn’t doing much good since she was rapidly becoming unable to apply the pressure needed. Her fingertips were stained with blood. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
“Jackie! Oh my God, Jackie, wake up!”
Her eyes opened for a moment to take in Sofie’s pale, frightened face. “Liam. Call Liam,” she murmured. She must have passed out because the next time her eyes opened she was staring at her couch. Jackie closed her eyes again so she could make sense of what had just happened.
“The bullet went straight through her arm and clipped her side,” someone, a man, was saying. She was aware of pressure being applied to her arm and a point fairly high up on her ribs. So that was why she’d passed out. She was bleeding from more than one place.
“Is she going to be all right?” That was Sofie’s voice but it sounded strained, like she’d been crying.
“She should go to the hospital.”
Hospital? Fuck, no!
“No!” she snarled, jerking upwards with her eyes wide open. Suddenly the hands on her became like iron restraints. She couldn’t even begin to fight them. The man’s face was familiar to her. It was Jack, Liam’s friend. “Absolutely no hospitals!”
“Jacquelyn, calm down.” Liam was finally in her line of sight. Some tense, frightened part of her relaxed as he took Jack’s place, his hands covering her wounds.
“I don’t do hospitals,” she explained, gradually calming down as he’d suggested. “The last time I… They cut into me. They took… I can’t go back.” He nodded. His warm brown eyes were ridiculously soothing. This was yet another version of Liam she never saw. He was caring for her and it made her feel protected. And that made her uncomfortable. “So what’s Jack doing here?” she asked, struggling to pull herself together as she glanced in the other vampire’s direction. He looked more comfortable in a black Henley and jeans than he had at Liam’s party in formal wear. Cute, too.
“Jack was with me when Sofie called. Plus, he was a medic in the Civil War so he’s seen his share of gunshot wounds,” Liam added lightly as if getting shot really wasn’t that big of a deal.
“Oh, yippy,” she mumbled. “So tell me, doc, can I keep the arm?”
Jack’s lips quirked upward at her tone. Unbeknownst to Jackie, she had just sounded exactly like Liam. “The wound on your side closed on its own but your arm needs stitches.”
Jackie’s eyes swung to Sofie who seemed a great deal happier now that her fearless leader was conscious again. “I’ll go get our super duper first aid kit,” she said, starting toward the bathroom. Then she paused and turned back to Jackie. “Francis is fine, by the way. He’s happy as a clam in his paddock.”
Jackie smiled a little before looking to Liam. “Mind letting an injured woman up?” He rolled his eyes and stepped back. She stood up, swayed once and was abruptly lifted off her feet into Liam’s arms. Jackie let out a surprised squeak then glared intensely at him. “Oh, come on, don’t baby me. It’s just a little hole in my arm.”
“And more blood loss than what’s good for you,” he added, carrying her into the relatively sterile kitchen.
“Funny. I could have sworn any blood loss wasn’t good for me,” she said.
Sarcasm was a good sign. It meant she was recovering. Liam had all his senses concentrated on every beat of her heart and inhalation of her lungs, looking for the slightest irregularity. He’d gotten a very unwelcome reminder today that Jacquelyn was human and vulnerable. It was easy to forget that when she acted as the impervious foundation for everyone around her.
Uncharacteristically, he’d forgotten it as well. Liam assumed he had time to wait for this thing with Jacquelyn to slowly become whatever it was going to become. And he did have time. She didn’t. She was thirty-seven, less than three years away from forty. Every day she not only aged but also put herself in physical danger with her horses. The corpses of dead girls who probably thought they had time when they were alive were piling up. Time was an illusion. He had no time.
Finally Sofie returned to distract him from his gloomy thoughts with the materials Jack would need to stitch Jacquelyn up. The woman with a hole in her arm stretched and sighed. “Okay, someone distract me from what’s going on. Start talking. Any subject, it doesn’t matter.”
“Would Jack’s many experiences fishing bullets out of vampires suffice?” Liam inquired, sitting across from her at the kitchen table.
Jackie glanced up at him as she noticed the sour note in his tone. She wondered for a moment what had crawled up his ass and died. Then Sofie sat in the chair beside her, taking her hand so she could have something to squeeze through the procedure, and brought Jackie back to the present. “Yeah, that’d be fine.” So as Jack closed her wound, and she grit her teeth through the pulls of the needle, he explained how much trouble vampires could get into when the few with a conscience protected humans.
The image of immortal beings whini
ng as Jack dug for bullets embedded in their skin actually cheered her up. After all, the damage from her own bullet encounter could have been much worse. Sadly they couldn’t avoid the obvious for long
“We should probably look into why someone took a shot at you.” Jack glanced over at Liam as he pulled off his medical gloves. They both knew one possibility. Jackie missed the exchange and shrugged.
“Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that Macbeth started to go mad and then… Wait, Macbeth! I haven’t seen him since Francis took off.” As if waiting for his cue, Macbeth stepped through the dog door with the greatest of dignity. Both vampires stiffened. Jackie looked between the two of them with a frown. “What is it?”
“He smells like blood.” Jack caught the panicked look on Jackie’s face and hastened to add, “Human blood.” Macbeth briefly bared his teeth at Jack and Jackie saw what the vampires had sensed. His teeth were stained red. Sofie’s hand tightened around hers.
“Oh,” she murmured. Her half-wolf dog trotted up to her and put his head in her lap, waiting for his reward for protecting her. She let go of Sofie and stroked his head gently, a little unnerved. “Could you guys check to see if I’ve got a dead body out in the bushes somewhere before you go?”
“Ugh,” Sofie muttered, feeling a little queasy at the thought.
“I’ll check it out,” Jack promised, already moving towards the back door.
“And I’ll visit Gregory Crawley,” Liam said from his seat in an equally promising tone. Everyone turned to look at him.
“What makes you think it’s him?” Jackie asked.
He raised a brow. “Have you pissed off anyone else who’s rich enough to hire an assassin, no matter how incompetent?”
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