“She can never know Denny, not with her brother dying of an overdose.”
“Jesus.” Mason hissed.
“You think it’s our fault don’t you?” Denny asked surprised.
Looking away guilty I ran my hands through my hair.
“Fuck me Jonah it is not your fault and it is not mine either I don’t remember standing over the boy making him take whatever the fuck he took.”
“It doesn’t matter we handle the money we make it possible for people to get the drugs.” I snapped banging my hand against the dashboard.
“Oh get off it Jonah.” Denny said shaking his head.
“How about you both get off it and let’s focus on finding Olivia.” Mason offered being the voice of reason.
I should have listened but Denny was just not getting it. “If it doesn’t matter then why did you let Rachel go?”
The fist hit me so fast I never even saw it coming.
“Don’t go there again Jonah.” Denny snapped shaking out the fist he’d hit me with. “Now look for your girl we’re on the road she should be on.”
Wiping the blood from my lip I looked out the window.
“There!” Mason yelled pointing to a small figure all in back running down the sidewalk.
Not waiting I jumped out of the car as Denny slowed down and ran.
Olivia’s eyes widen in shock looking back and forth she stepped into the road getting ready to run.
“Olivia!” I screamed.
Snapping her head back towards me her face fell and a sob left her throat. Her body started to fall as my arm circled her pulling her into my chest.
Relief hit me hard making me tighten my hold, I had her now she was ok, and we were ok.
“Shh baby, you’re fine.” I whispered into her ear.
Cole’s car pulled up as Denny and Mason got out of theirs.
“Anyone?” Denny asked Cole and Ben.
“No one and no black car.” Ben answered through the rolled down window.
“Do another search then go home. Both of you call when you’re home, we don’t know who this person is or what they want.” Denny said looking up and down the street.
Nodding their heads Cole pulled away.
Picking Olivia up I slid into the backseat cradling her to my chest like a small child, refusing to let her go.
“Where are we going Jonah?” Denny asked getting behind the wheel.
“Our house. I want Olivia behind a security system.” And my gun pointing at any fucker who unwisely thought to try and take her from me.
I’d always questioned if I would ever be able to pull the trigger, the answer had always been no, but for Olivia it was a different story.
Running my hand down her body to reassure us both that she was ok my hands touched something wet and sticky on her knee. Looking closer I saw a huge cut across her knee and blood all over her leg.
“Olivia baby what happened to your knee?” I spoke quietly not wanting to frighten her.
“Fell.” She said simply as her eyes closed and her breathing slowed.
I was going to kill whoever it was that went after her.
Chapter 11
Olivia was so tired she didn’t wake up when I carried her to my bed or when I cleaned up the cut on her knee.
Running my hand gently across her cheek that was thankfully warming up now, I made my decision. Now it was time to take another risk. Pulling the blankets tighter around her tiny body I kissed her forehead and left her to sleep.
Denny and Mason were both in the kitchen when I came down the stairs.
“How is she?” Mason asked while Denny turned his back on me obviously still pissed.
“Sleeping. Can you sit with her for a while, I need to go out?”
“Sure.” Mason said standing up.
Grabbing my keys off the counter Denny stepped in front of me blocking the back door, “Where the hell are you going?”
“To see Vinnie.”
“You’re so fucking stupid you’re going to get yourself killed for this girl.”
“What would you know about it Denny you chose Vinnie and the business over Rachel.”
“You don’t know one fucking thing that happened between me and Rachel.”
“Maybe not, but I know you’re miserable without her, trying to screw your pain away. I won’t end up like that, I’m done.” Pushing past Denny I opened the door and stopped. “I should have done this a lot sooner. It’s not worth the risk Denny.”
****
Pacing back and forth in Vinnie’s office I tried to get my anger under control but nothing was working. When Vinnie finally came into his office I almost lost it.
“What can I do for you Jonah?” Vinnie asked like it was normal for me to be in his office at five in the morning.
“Did you have Olivia followed?”
A smile spread across his face as he sank into his chair. “Who’s Olivia, Jonah?”
Shaking my head I laughed without humor, “You know exactly who Olivia is.”
“Possibly. Tell me Jonah how much do you really know about her?”
I was done with his games. “Did you have her followed or not?” I shouted leaning into his desk causing guns to be pointed at me from all around the room.
Waving them away Vinnie’s guards stepped back but didn’t put their guns away. “No, I did not have Olivia followed. Now sit down and tell me what happened.”
Screw that. “A black car followed Olivia tonight, possibly not for the first time.” I said, still leaning over his desk.
“I don’t know anything about that but I can find out.”
“Forget it I’ll do it myself.”
“If you didn’t want my help why did you come here?”
“I came to tell you I was done. I’m out Vinnie. I can’t be a part of this business anymore.” Turning away I walked through the bodyguards still pointing their guns at me.
“A black car sounds like a professional hit.” Vinnie said when I was just a step away from the door.
Fuck it I should have walked faster. “Who would order a hit on Olivia?”
“If you were still working for me I could find out. I could even get my boys working on it right away.”
Shaking my head I turned back to Vinnie, God he loved his games. “I’ll find out myself.”
“Don’t be silly Jonah, you don’t have the rescores to find out something like that. But a respectable drug lord does.”
“I want out Vinnie.”
“Stay until we figure out who wants your girl dead then we can talk again.”
Like every other time, it was just stay for one more thing. How many times was I going to let Vinnie do this? But this time it wasn’t just about me it was about Olivia too. The truth was I would do anything for Olivia; even stay with Vinnie for just a little longer.
****
Denny was sitting on the deck steps smoking when I got back from Vinnie’s.
“Thought you quit?” I said nodding to the cigarette.
“I did. Did you?”
Sitting down beside him I let out a long breath, “I tried. Vinnie pulled me back in.”
Snorting Denny took a long drag from his cigarette, “Of course he did.”
“He thinks the black car could be a professional hit.”
“Who would want Olivia dead?”
“I don’t know but my starting point is the dead brother Alex.”
“Tread carefully, anyone who runs to a grave in the middle of the night is not dealing well.”
Standing up I looked down at Denny's slumped shoulders and the slight tremble of his fingers, “I’m sorry for bringing up Rachel that was a low blow I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s not like it wasn’t true.”
“Have you seen them lately?”
“Yeah, dropped money off at her dad’s house, caught them leaving. He’s got my eyes man.”
“I’m sorry Denny. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Go take c
are of Olivia Jonah.”
Shaking my head even though Denny was turned away from me I went to go take care of my girl.
****
Someone was staring at me, my eyes weren’t open yet but I could feel eyes on me.
“I know you’re awake.” Jonah said his voice sweet and gentle.
“How do you know I’m awake?”
“You stop wiggling when you start to wake up.”
Damn.
“Keeping your eyes shut won’t stop us from talking about last night.”
Damn.
Opening my eyes Jonah’s tired face was staring down at me.
Damn again.
“You haven’t slept have you?”
“You scared the shit out of me Olivia.”
“I’m sorry.” I said pulling myself up so that my head was resting on his shoulder. “I was going to tell you.”
“Not yet.” he said putting his finger to my lips. “I have never been more scared than when I heard your voice over the phone. I never want to hear your voice sound like that again.”
“Jonah−”
“Stop talking.” His finger gave way to his lips which came down on mine, kissing me with so much desperation I wanted to scream how sorry I was, that I would never do anything to scare him again.
Pushing one hand into his hair and the other around his lower back I tried to pull him closer but he wouldn’t give up control.
Sucking my lower lip between his teeth he bit down licking away the sting with that damn tongue that drove me crazy.
Lifting off me he smirked, “You’re so sexy when you’re hot and bothered.”
“You going to finish what you started or just smirk at me.”
“Neither.”
My face fell so fast I had no chance to stop my bottom lip poking out in a pout that had Jonah busting out laughing.
“Food or bath first?” He asked tugging on my lip.
“Jonah you know what I want.” I whined.
“God lord I’ve created a sex monster! Now food or bath?”
“Bath.” At least that would get me closer to what I really wanted.
“Good girl.” He said rolling off the bed and picking me up like a small child that weighed nothing.
Setting me beside the sink he bent over the bathtub adjusting the water giving me a beautiful view of his tight ass and ripped back muscles.
Sweet Jesus I was a sex monster, but with a man that looked like Jonah I could not be blamed.
Letting the tub fill with water, Jonah removed the bandage he must have put on my knee this morning. My knee was all sorts of dark colors and an ugly cut ran straight across the top.
“Does it hurt?” Jonah asked feeling around it lightly.
“No.” I said even though it really hurt like a bitch, but I was just too amazed by how gentle a guy his size could be.
“Arms up.”
Lifting my arms Jonah pulled his shirt over my head. Throwing it to the ground he lifted me off the counter and softly put me into the hot water.
“I forgot the bubble bath shit.” Jonah mumbled. Raising my eyebrows he shook his head, “Not mine, Denny’s. Be back, one minute don’t move.” Kissing my forehead Jonah darted out of the bathroom.
Well a girl could get use to this. And who would have guessed I would be smiling on a day that four years ago almost killed me. Was Nicky smiling today? The thought was like a knife straight through the heart but no panic attack came because I could hear Jonah laughing at a screaming Denny who was insisting it was not his bubble bath.
Still laughing Jonah came back in and poured half the bottle of pink bubble bath in. A sweet candy smell hit the air and white fluffy bubbles surrounded my body.
Kneeling beside the tub Jonah dipped his hand into the water “Why didn’t you tell me about the car?”
Son of a bitch, he set me up, and damn him, it was going to work. Between the sweet bubble bath and amazingly hot water I was so relaxed I would tell him anything.
So I did. “It wasn’t till Friday afternoon when the car followed me from the shelter to the apartment that I knew something was wrong.” I said closing my eyes.
“You should have called right when you noticed someone following you.” Jonah said his voice raising slightly like he was trying to control it.
“I didn’t want to upset you at work. I was going to tell you when you came over but…”
“But you took off to your brother’s grave without me ever knowing your brother was dead.”
Wincing I dipped lower in the tub. “I don’t talk about Alex.”
“I know but someone is following you Olivia and I don’t think they just happened to show up at your brother’s grave. They knew you were going to be there.”
“Who’s they?” I asked jumping up and splashing water all over Jonah.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He said wiping his face off with a towel. Putting the towel down he put his hand back in the water but this time found my thigh and started to massage. “Your brother was in the drug scene, its possible he pissed some people off. Do you know anything about his drug use?”
The hot water or his hand moving up and down my thigh couldn’t stop the pain that coursed through my body. There was a reason I didn’t talk about Alex’s death and that was because it hurt too much. But Jonah had given me the perfect setting to finally let it out. “I know he was using drugs but I didn’t know it was bad until it was too late. He was a good guy, he wanted to be a lawyer like our dad, so he never did anything bad and he was always taking care of me, shielding me from our parents. It wasn’t until his second year of university that he started to act differently. Then the next year he dropped out and things got a little worse. He turned into this mean awful person. Then he was dead.”
I didn’t even realize I was crying until Jonah jumped into the tub − sweats still on− his fingers wiping them away, “Baby, I could sit her all day and tell you how sorry I am but that’s not going to change a damn thing, but I am going to say sorry because I am so sorry and if I could take it all back I would.”
I felt like he was apologizing for more than just my brother but the moment was too bitter sweet to question. Instead I wrapped myself around his body letting him hold me while I cried.
“What would someone want with Alex four years after his death?” I asked as the water started to turn cold and my eyes refuse to cry anymore.
“I don’t know, but I can find out.” Jonah whispered against the top of my head.
Panic welled up inside me. No he couldn’t look into Alex’s death if he did he would find out about Nicky. I could handle him knowing about Alex but knowing what Nicky did. What I did. “Please, leave it alone Jonah.”
“I know you don’t want to dig into his death but if it could help us find out whoever is following you then we need to do it.”
Pulling myself out of Jonah’s arms I pushed myself to the other side of the tub, “Not once have I asked about the secrets you’re keeping. This is my secret Jonah, so please just leave it alone.”
Something must have told him I was about to lose it because his hands came up in a surrender motion as he slowly moved towards me. “Ok I’ll leave it alone but if I’m going to leave it alone you have to do something for me.”
“Maybe?”
“I don’t want you anywhere by yourself for the next couple of days ok?”
“Ok.” I said nodding and letting him take me back into his arms.
I had a feeling Jonah wasn’t going to let it go but I had to keep him from finding out. If Jonah found out he would hate me and then he would do the same thing Nicky did.
Chapter 12
Tired, I was so freaking tired. Leaning my forehead against the steering wheel I let my eyelids close for just a minute. It was the second week of December and the ninth straight day of not letting Olivia out of my sight. Thank the Lord it was her last final and she would be off for the next month, maybe then I could get a little more sleep. Mason had
temporarily moved back in so he could watch over Olivia at night while I worked at the club. I would come home, get a couple hours of sleep then have to take Olivia to classes or the shelter, wait till she was done and take her back home where Denny would take over for a while so I could do my other work. I would come home to a home-cooked meal that thank goodness Olivia made and not Denny, then once Mason was home Denny and I would leave for the club.
Between Vinnie, Mason, Denny and I none of us had found the black car or the people who chased after her, they and the car hadn’t been seen since that night.
So why was I still sticking to her like glue and not letting her go anywhere by herself, even though it was driving her crazy how little sleep I was getting? Well, because of our deal, I was waiting for her to break and tell me why she almost lost it when I brought up looking into Alex’s death. Honestly, I’m not sure what she was worried about; it couldn’t be worse than what I was hiding. So what was my sweet Olivia keeping from me?
Sighing, I got out of the car and walked to Olivia’s class.
Leaning against the wall outside the classroom I wait for what was fast becoming one of my favorite times, as much as I hated leaving Olivia for anything, the smile I got when we saw each other again was a smile that could knock me on my ass. A big smile would spread across her face as soon as she saw me, making her eyes spark to life like a blue flame and her cheeks to go a rosy pink. And the best part, it was all just for me.
The door opened people started rushing out and I got my favorite smile and a running jump hug.
Wrapping her legs around my waist she kissed me like no one was watching.
“What was that for?” I whispered while her lips showered my face in sweet little kisses.
“Truth?” she asked giving me a mischievous smile.
“Always.” I said a little nervous.
“I want a Christmas tree and I want to decorate your house.”
“Ok.”
“Ok?” she asked eyeing me like I hadn’t just said ok.
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