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, and highlighted with golden 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 Noah 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 his boss to arrange a seat on the same flight. If he hadn’t been in such a hurry, he would’ve stopped to snarl at McCall’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 letdown 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 dumb-ass comment. Offering to go to Louisiana with her had been stupid 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 the now-dead 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.” 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 id
ea. 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 working ops, 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 only lived with the woman for five years, 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 seat 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 to control the blush she could feel spreading over her entire body. She had worked so hard to overcome her tendency to glow like a beacon when she said stupid or inappropriate things. With Dylan, all of that training and discipline vanished. And this had to be one of the stupidest comments she’d ever made. 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. 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.
one
Three months later
London, England
“Do you take this man to be your husband?”
A pregnant silence filled the ancient church, as if it, along with the one hundred plus guests, waited breathlessly for the bride’s response. No one doubted what the answer would be, but still, there was excited anticipation as McKenna Sloan said, “I do” and became Lucas Kane’s wife at last.
At those words, Jamie let out a long, silent sigh of delight. Standing to the right of her sister, holding a spray of roses along with the bride’s bouquet of orchids, she could barely contain the joy that swelled within her. Seeing McKenna marry the man she adored was a dream come true. No one deserved happiness more. And Lucas was equally in love. His handsome face held an expression of tender reverence as he repeated the same vows McKenna had just recited.
While the minister continued his instructions, Jamie’s gaze shifted to the guests. It was a small group by most standards, especially for a man of Lucas’s wealth and stature, but McKenna and Lucas had wanted in attendance only those who meant something to them. For Lucas, that included a handful of friends, and for McKenna that meant as many operatives of Last Chance Rescue as could get there.
Noah McCall had the honor of walking McKenna down the aisle. Jamie knew only a few of the other operatives. She recognized the stunning face of Skylar James, a woman who’d been on the covers of numerous fashion magazines and was the wife of LCR operative Gabe Maddox.
Shifting her gaze slightly, she saw a beautiful auburn-haired woman and a man with long golden-blond hair and a scar on the left side of his face. McKenna had introduced them to her last night as Shea and Ethan Bishop. To their right sat Cole and Keeley Mathison and their adorable twin daughters, Hannah and Hailey.
In front of that group were LCR operatives Eden and Jordan Montgomery, whom she’d met this morning at breakfast. Sitting beside Eden was a little boy of about five, their newly adopted son, Paulo. On the other side of Jordan were Noah; his wife, Samara; and their son, Micah.
Sitting one row back, she recognized the blond head of Aidan Thorne. Though things had been blurry the night of her rescue, she vaguely remembered seeing him there. In a pew behind Aidan was a dark-haired, exotic-looking woman named Angela, LCR’s receptionist. According to Noah, she was the one person Last Chance Rescue could not live without.
Her attention moved back to the people standing at the front of the church with the bride and groom. Jared Livingston, Lucas’s best man, looked almost frightfully grim. Jamie had seen him several times at Lucas’s home, and each time, he’d seemed to grow more forbidding. McKenna had mentioned that his marriage had ended; she hadn’t needed to say more. The end of a marriage was like a death in many ways.
The man standing beside Jared was Conrad, Lucas’s butler. No one had questioned why the wealthy Lucas Kane had asked his butler to stand up with him on the most important day of his life. Anyone who knew Lucas knew that Conrad was much more to him than an employee. Having stayed with Lucas and McKenna since her rescue, Jamie could attest to that. The man was both amazingly efficient and wonderfully kind.
Drawing a breath, but having no other choice, she let her eyes travel at last to the one man she’d been studiously avoiding not only talking to but even acknowledging: the new bane of her life, Dylan Savage.
How could one man be so gorgeously handsome, so wonderfully heroic, so seemingly kind, but so incredibly obnoxious, rude, and, well, just generally an asshole?
When he’d shown up at the airport to travel with her to the States, she’d started to reconsider her opinion. Had thought maybe she had imagined his animosity. And though they’d shared some conversation at the beginning, it had ended quickly, with Dylan dozing for the rest of the flight. About an hour before they’d landed, he’d woken, but he had been noticeably cooler. Eve
ry question she’d asked had been met with a grunt or a one-word answer. Jamie had finally given up and sat beside him alternating between hurt and anger.
When they’d arrived in Atlanta, he had silently walked with her to her connecting gate. Thankfully, she’d had only a few minutes to spare before her flight had begun loading. Standing beside him while he kept his gaze on everyone else but her had been just another frustration. When she’d suggested, somewhat sarcastically, that she could manage to get on the plane by herself, if he wanted to be on his way, he’d turned and given her a heated look that’d almost melted her insides. Then he had looked away again and continued to ignore her until her flight was called. The second she was able to board, she’d almost run from him with a barely audible “Have a good visit with your family.”
Before she could take more than a couple of steps, he had caught her arm to pull her around to face him. Jamie had lost her breath. The intensity of those emerald-green eyes seared her. She’d waited, breathlessly, for him to say something—sure that whatever it was would be monumental and meaningful. But what had he said? Nothing magical, nothing monumental. Beautiful mouth straight-lined and unsmiling, his hold on her arm tight, he’d growled, “Stay out of trouble,” and then turned and disappeared into the crowd.
She had spent the entire flight from Atlanta to Baton Rouge coming up with one-line zingers she should have hurled back at him.
Last night, at the rehearsal dinner, was the first time she’d seen him since she’d returned to Europe. Not that he’d said anything to her. She’d gotten a hard, searching look and a nod of acknowledgment. Nothing more.
As if he knew that her eyes were on him, Dylan moved his dark head slightly and looked directly at her. Eyes, glittering like shiny jewels in his starkly handsome face, stared coolly at her. Then, as she continued to look at him, he arched one brow arrogantly. Refusing to back down at the unspoken challenge, Jamie decided to arch her own brow. Unfortunately, she had never mastered the art of a one-brow arch; she figured she looked more surprised than defiant. And, as usual, she could feel her blush deepen, which she was sure made her face glow fire red. Still, she was proud of herself for keeping her eyes glued to his.
Sweet Revenge Page 2