Then she’d been lifted into a helicopter and taken to the hospital. She’d gone from abject misery and terror to comfort and safety in a matter of seconds. And she had thought Dylan was the most wonderful of heroes.
For the first couple of days after her rescue, he’d been kind and wonderfully attentive. Then something had happened, and for the life of her, she didn’t know what. The day of her release from the hospital, Dylan had turned noticeably cooler. She’d tried to tell herself she was just imagining it, but when he’d given her a barely perceptible nod after she’d thanked him once more for her rescue, she had known it wasn’t her imagination.
Those words of thanks were the last ones she’d thought she’d ever get to say to him, and now here he was, going to the States with her.
Realizing that both McKenna and Dylan were looking at her strangely, Jamie knew a deep blush covered her fair skin as she stammered, “Yes … of course, that’s okay with me.”
“Ladies and gentleman, flight 231 to Atlanta is now boarding.”
As the airline personnel gave boarding instructions, Jamie forgot everything other than the knowledge that she was saying goodbye to her sister. Throwing her arms around McKenna’s neck, she whispered in her ear. “I love you, Kenna.”
Her voice thick with emotion, McKenna answered softly, “I love you, too. See you soon. Okay?”
Unable to speak for the ginormous lump in her throat, Jamie nodded and tightened her arms around her sister one last time … then made herself let go. McKenna didn’t need to see the uncertainty and dread that had suddenly swamped her. After everything she’d been through, what was there to fear?
McKenna’s eyes glittered with emotion. “Call me as soon as you land. Okay?”
She nodded again. “I will.”
She wasn’t surprised to see McKenna hug Dylan—he seemed to have an affectionate rapport with her sister. Something that was sadly missing with her.
With her carry-on gripped tightly in her hand, Jamie headed to the ticket agent. At the door, she turned back for one last glance. McKenna waved and blew a kiss. Jamie gave her the best smile she could muster and turned to walk down the narrow tunnel to the plane.
“Want me to take your bag?”
Despite the massive willpower she thought she had, tears were flooding her eyes. Not looking at Dylan, she shook her head.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just hate saying goodbye.” She straightened her shoulders, determined to get past her weepiness. “Where are you sitting?”
“First class, row two, seat A.”
Startled, she jerked her head up. “I’m in row two, seat B. How’d you manage that?”
He shrugged as if it was nothing and stopped at the entrance to the plane, allowing her to go first. As she passed by him, his closed expression told her he wasn’t going to explain anything. Not why he’d arranged to sit with her, and probably not why he’d just shown up, out of the blue, to travel with her. Telling herself she didn’t need an explanation, Jamie settled into her seat and watched as the most handsome and infuriatingly mysterious man she’d ever known dropped into the seat next to hers.
Would nine hours of sitting beside him give her any insight? Like why he’d made the effort to travel with her but still treated her as though she’d done something to offend him?
Dylan stretched his long legs out and cursed himself once more for coming. She would’ve been fine traveling on her own. He hadn’t seen her in almost a month, and during that time, she’d obviously recovered. So why the hell was he here, like some sort of guard dog? Hell if he knew.
She looked healthy. No, not just healthy … she looked beautiful. When he’d rescued her from that hellhole, Jamie’s golden-brown hair had been almost to her hips. Now it was shorter, just past her shoulders, with subtle blond streaks. The bruises and swelling on her face and neck were completely gone, and her silky, fair skin glowed. Even the dark, haunted look in her eyes had vanished.
This morning, he’d been at LCR headquarters giving a review of his last op. After his meeting with McCall, he’d anticipated going back to his apartment and healing for the next few days. The job had had gotten a little dicey, resulting in a couple of bruised ribs and a deep thigh bruise. A long soak in a hot tub and about ten hours of uninterrupted sleep had been his only plan. The instant McKenna had called McCall and mentioned that Jamie was headed back to the States, alone, his plans had changed. Dylan had shot out of his chair and, on the way to the door, asked McCall to arrange a seat on the same flight. If he hadn’t been in such a hurry, he would’ve stopped to snarl at his boss’s amusement.
Had anyone asked him why he felt the need to be with her, he wouldn’t have had an answer. He’d rescued dozens of people for LCR. And while he wished them well, not once had he felt any real desire to see them again, much less accompany them home.
What was it about this woman that made him react in a way opposite to what was normal for him? Nothing could happen between them. She was going back home to live in the States. He lived in Paris.
Yeah, like that’s the only thing keeping you from pursuing something.
“What kind of business are you going back for?”
Jerked out of his dark thoughts, he shrugged. “Family stuff.”
“Where does your family live?”
He didn’t hesitate with his answer: “Florida.”
So what if “live” wasn’t exactly the right word? While he was in the United States, he figured he might as well visit his mother’s and grandmother’s graves in Florida. He could rent a car and be in Jacksonville in a matter of hours. And he’d be visiting the only family he’d ever wanted to claim.
“Are you flying out of Atlanta to Florida?”
Dylan shook his head and asked, “What about you? You headed to Louisiana?”
“Yes, I have a connecting flight to Baton Rouge about an hour after I land.”
“You going to have to see your ex?”
She grimaced. “You know about him?”
“I know that he hurt you.”
Her chin came up in a defensive gesture. “Just once. He never got the chance again.”
“Will you have to see him?”
“I don’t think so. My attorney seems to think that I can just file another complaint against him and then appear before a judge. He was only in jail for a few days.… He deserves a longer sentence.”
“You want me to go with you?” The words were out before he could pull them back. Hell, what was it about her?
If Dylan was surprised, Jamie was apparently stunned. Her eyes widening, she blushed a crimson red and stuttered, “Oh … I … well … that’s so swee—” Thankfully she stopped before she got the word out. Even when he’d been a baby, “sweet” was one description that had never been attributed to Dylan. She swallowed and said, “I appreciate the offer, but I need to handle this myself.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.” He was relieved she’d said no, so why did he have this odd let-down feeling? Damn weird.
“Besides, I’d hate to take you away from your family.”
He looked away from her, to the flight attendant headed their way with the drink cart. “Yeah, they’d be disappointed.”
“How long are you going to be in the States?”
He shrugged, not really wanting to go back to that discussion. “Just a day or so.”
“Wow, you came all the way from Paris just for a day? Won’t your family—”
“You want something to drink?”
Looking startled at his abrupt question, she said, “Oh … yes. Hot tea. Thanks.”
Dylan gave the order, hoping that once Jamie had her drink, she’d forget what they’d been talking about. Discussing his family—or, for that matter, his life—wasn’t something he liked to spend a lot of time on.
There was an awkward silence while Jamie accepted her hot tea and Dylan chugged down his black coffee. By the time she’d sweetened her drink to her taste, his cup was
empty. Though a slug of bourbon or a Scotch neat would have been his preference, coffee was the only drink he could allow himself. Maintaining his wits would keep him from uttering another stupid comment. Offering to go to Louisiana with her had been lame-brained enough.
She took a sip of her tea, and Dylan felt his mouth twitch with a smile. Everything Jamie did was feminine and … what was the word … dainty. She even made drinking a beverage a feminine action. Where he swallowed in gulps, she sipped like a delicate sparrow.
Mentally rolling his eyes at the stupidity of his thoughts, he said, “You and McKenna enjoy your time in Paris?”
Her eyes glowing, she nodded. “It was wonderful. I’ve always wanted to visit, and Kenna knows the city so well. We did all the touristy stuff, along with lots of things people who have never been to Paris might not know about.”
“You probably had a lot of things to get caught up on.”
Her eyes dimmed for an instant, and Dylan felt like an ass. Bringing up the past meant reminding her about all the crap she’d been through. Not only had she been brutalized by that scumbag Damon Hughes, she’d been held captive by the human slime Stanford Reddington and his son. Of course, it wasn’t something she’d ever be able to forget, but his comment sure as hell hadn’t helped. This was just another reminder that he needed to stay away from her. His late wife had told him more than once that he had the tact of a water buffalo.
Thankfully, Jamie’s smile returned. “We had years to get caught up on. Our lives have been completely opposite.”
“What was it like, living with your aunt?”
Her pretty mouth twisted in a wry smile. “The best description I can come up with for Aunt Mavis is a cross between an elderly drill sergeant and Miss Manners. My aunt had an opinion on everything and felt it her duty to share that opinion with everyone.”
“Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.”
“It wasn’t.” Jamie’s slender shoulders lifted in a delicate shrug. “But I was safe and warm, had good food to eat and a place to sleep. Kenna didn’t have those things.”
“Are you going to see your sister again soon?”
She nodded. “I haven’t told her because I wanted to surprise her, but as soon as I settle things in Louisiana, I’m going back there to live.”
Dylan felt a kick to his gut. “In Paris?”
“Yes. I fell in love with the city, and being so far away from Kenna isn’t something I want to do again. Family is so important, don’t you think?”
Since everyone in his family was dead and most of them hadn’t been worth much alive, he didn’t have an answer that wouldn’t cause more questions. He settled for a vague nod and another question: “Are you going to continue teaching?”
For the first time since he’d known her, he saw a flicker of secrecy in her expression. She shrugged and took another sip of her tea. “I’m not sure yet. There’re a lot of possibilities out there.”
That was about as vague as one could get. “McCall has a lot of contacts,” Dylan said. “He could probably help.”
Yet another slight flicker, but all she said was “That’s a great idea. I’ll give him a call as soon as I get settled.”
The seat-belt sign went off, and Dylan used that as an excuse to get up and walk around. He needed a few minutes away from Jamie, not only to come to terms with these damn odd feelings of protectiveness but also to deal with the news that she was moving to Europe. It’d been easy enough to stay away from her the last month. He’d been away, working, and Jamie had been recovering. What was he going to do now that they would be living in the same city? How was he going to stay away from her when he hadn’t gone a day without thinking about her since they’d met?
Hell!
Jamie took one last sip of her now tepid tea and grimaced. Aunt Mavis had been a hot-tea drinker, and it irritated her that she’d instinctively requested what her aunt would have expected her to order. Though she’d had only five years of living with the woman, her aunt had worked hard to fit a lifetime of strict lessons into that time. Aunt Mavis had been gone for several years—she had died peacefully in her sleep. Jamie couldn’t help but wonder if she’d just decided to die that day and had then done it. The woman had had that much iron-willed discipline.
“You want to get up and stretch your legs?”
Swallowing a gasp, she jerked her head to gaze at the man standing beside her. He moved so quietly, she hadn’t heard him. “Quiet” was a good description for Dylan Savage. He didn’t talk a lot, and when he moved, he barely made a sound.
She smiled her thanks. “No, I’m fine.”
As he eased into the chair beside her, she noticed a slight wince, as if he were in pain. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a couple of bruises.”
“From a job?”
He nodded.
“Did I ever thank you?”
For the first time ever, Jamie saw a small smile at his lips. “Yeah, about twenty times that first day.”
“I wanted to send you something, but McKenna said that wasn’t necessary.”
He looked over at her, a slight softening in his eyes. “I don’t think anyone’s ever done that before. What were you going to send?”
“For saving my life?” She laughed, pleased that she actually found some kind of humor in referring to those dark days before her rescue. “I was torn between a fruit basket and a bottle of Scotch. McKenna said Scotch was your favorite drink.”
“You didn’t need to send anything. It’s my job.”
She ignored the sting of his comment. Of course that’s what she was to him: a job. How silly to think he’d be attracted to someone he’d rescued. “Are you married?” Oh God, had she just asked that question?
“No.”
Feeling like she’d opened a giant hole and was teetering on the edge, she added, “Me neither.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Jamie fought hard to control the blush that spread over her entire body, knowing it was useless. When she said stupid or inappropriate things, her fair skin glowed like a beacon. And this had to be one of her stupidest comments to date. Of course he knew she wasn’t married; they’d just talked about her ex-husband. Besides, there was little the man didn’t know about her life—at least, he’d heard about the awful parts. Whereas she knew next to nothing about his.
She looked up as Dylan stood again and pulled something from the overhead compartment. He handed her a small pillow and then, sitting back down with a pillow of his own, reclined his seat, put the pillow behind his head, and closed his eyes.
And just like that, all conversation stopped. Not that it was his responsibility to entertain her. Still, she couldn’t deny the sting. His response to her single status wasn’t exactly encouraging, even if it had been an inane statement.
Jamie looked out at the bright blue sky. Okay, so what if he had no interest in her. She had more on her mind than starting a relationship that could go nowhere. The news she’d received this morning before leaving—news she hadn’t shared with McKenna—was going to occupy all of her thoughts. Because if things progressed as they looked like they might, she was going to have to figure out how to not only hunt down and capture a fiend but also find a way to stay alive.
Table of Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
&nbs
p; Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Excerpt from Sweet Revenge
Sweet Justice Page 34