What she must’ve thought when they busted into that room, waking her up and finding four people there to take her. No clothes on. And I was nowhere in sight.
I should’ve never left her there alone without telling her a thing. And now the burden of that is on my shoulders.
I don’t know how I would’ve ever lived with myself if he’d have gotten to her. It would’ve destroyed me for sure.
Thinking about what might have happened isn’t a thing I usually do. But to know she would’ve been beaten and although she was preparing herself to give her body to Rod, she didn’t want to do it.
And it would’ve been all my fault for leaving her alone in the first place.
From now on I’m keeping her right by my side. Until I figure out how to get Rod permanently out of the picture.
And hopefully without taking his life. I’m not a murderer. But if he had managed to get to her and hurt her I think I could have easily killed him. Brother or not. I don’t think I’d have been able to stop myself.
Thankfully, it didn’t happen like that and I can fall asleep in this near fortress of a mansion and know I have her safe in my arms. Safe and sound and sleeping like a baby.
And now I can fall asleep too and tomorrow I’ll start to look for someone to help us, both mentally and physically to rid us of Rod and his threat to us.
Chapter 27
JENNA
Two months have passed since the ordeal Rod put me through and thankfully we’ve heard nothing about him. I talked Reed into calling his mother, a thing he fought me on. She told him that Rod had left with his gang a week ago and she had no idea where he was again.
With his whereabouts unknown, Reed hired a bodyguard for me so I can lead a somewhat normal life and don’t have to cling to him all the time. Also, our therapist said it was very unhealthy for me to become so dependent on Reed. And it was she who came up with the bodyguard idea.
I like Sam, my bodyguard. He’s quiet and unobtrusive. And very huge!
I believe those are good qualities in someone you want to keep you safe.
He’s sitting in the hallway like he does every day I do student teaching at a small private school in Bel-Air. I’m working under a teacher who’s been doing this for fifteen years, Lila Peterson.
The kindergarteners are out to lunch, leaving us alone for a bit. We clean up the messes while we wait for them to come back and mess it all up again.
“So I saw your wedding announcement in the paper, Jenna. You sure do stay tight-lipped, young lady,” she says as she picks up all the Barbie dolls which are strewn all over the classroom.
I roll the large, toy, dump truck back to its place with the other trucks and say, “I have my reasons for being so quiet about my personal life, Lila. I assure you. I wasn’t happy that it made it to the paper. That was Reed’s mother’s doing.”
“Reed Manning is a well-known real estate billionaire. So why are you still planning on being a teacher? I mean you don’t have to.” She kicks a small soccer ball back to the ball bin.
“I want to, though. I want my own thing. Have my own interests. I’m not looking to become a spoiled housewife.” A wad of pink chewed up gum I spot underneath a desk and shake my head. “How do the little imps manage to get gum past us?”
Lila hands me the butter knife she keeps in the desk drawer for just such an occasion. “Here, use this to get it off. And what I would give to be a spoiled housewife. My husband works at one of the oil refineries and has since we married seventeen years ago. Our three kids are all in their teens now and wreaking havoc most likely as we speak. They all remind me of my rowdy brother, Spike.”
The thought of our kids having any of Rod’s ways makes me shake. “That can happen? Kids can come out like your sibling?”
“God knows my husband, and I never acted the way they do. My brother was always doing what the hell he wanted to no matter the consequences. And all three of mine do the same damn thing. I just hope none of them go as far as he has and joins a motorcycle gang.”
My heart stops. “What?”
“My brother, Spike. He joined this motorcycle gang based out of Ohio. He found them at some biker rally in Sturgis, Wyoming about three years ago.” She takes the knife I hand back to her and places it back in the drawer.
“Really?” I try not to look like I’m freaking out and truth be told I don’t know why my insides are quivering. “What’s the name of the gang?”
“The Brothers of the Scarlet Dragon,” she says and I stumble backward.
“You sure?” I ask as I hold my hand over my heart.
She looks at me with an odd expression. “Yes. Why do you look like that? You just went about five shades of pale, Jenna.”
I shake my head. “Nothing. No reason.” I sit down on one of the tiny chairs and my knees go up to my chin. “You don’t happen to know where that gang is right now, do you?”
Her eyes move over me as she says, “I talked to him last week. They were about to go on a road trip.”
“Did he say which direction they were heading?” I ask and look at her to find her looking quite confused.
She shakes her head. “I didn’t ask. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Maybe I’m coming down with something. I should probably call it a day. Do you mind?” I get up and realize I’m shaking and run my hands up and down my arms.
“No, you should go. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says as I grab my purse out of the closet and leave without saying another word.
Because if I open my mouth again I think I might cry. I look at Sam as I walk out and he gets up and follows me. He drives me everywhere I go to alone now.
He opens the car door so I can get in. “Where to, Miss Foster?”
“Home, please,” I manage to get out without falling apart.
My hand shakes as I pull my cell phone out of my purse and call Reed.
“What’s up my angel?” he asks as he answers.
“Can you come home?”
“Of course, I can. Are you on the way there already? Schools not out yet.”
“I left just a minute ago. I don’t feel well. I’ll talk to you about it at home.”
“I’m on my way now. Have Sam stay there until I get there.”
“I will.” I end the call and try to stop shaking but can’t.
I don’t know how long I can live this way. Part of me wants to confront Rod and tell him to leave me alone and let me live my life. But another part knows that won’t work, anyway.
The fact that I’m with his brother is the thing that’s pushing him so far over the edge and I know that. If I had moved on with anyone else, I doubt he’d go as far as he has.
Traffic isn’t bad at all in the middle of the day so I find we’ve made it back to the mansion and Reed is pulling in right behind us. Sam comes around and opens the door for me. “I’ll make a quick check around the grounds since Mr. Manning is here.”
I give him a nod and he goes to talk to Reed for a minute then takes off on his walk around like he always does to make sure there have been no breaches.
I lean into Reed as he comes to me and wraps his arm around me. “Okay, what has you all upset? I can see it written all over your gorgeous face, Jenna.”
“The teacher I’m working under has a brother in the same gang Rod’s in.” I watch his face go red.
“Damn it! You’ll have to find another place to work.”
He takes me inside and we sit on the sofa just inside the door. He pulls me onto his lap and I bury my face in his wide chest. “I hate this, Reed. I hate that he has this much control over my life. It’s not fair.”
“I do too, Jenna. But we have to play it safe all the time where he’s concerned. If he ever got to you…” He stops talking and sighs.
His lips press against the top of my head. “I know.”
My heart pounds as his hands run over my arms. “I know the therapist told me to stop blaming myself but how can I when I know if I would’ve just mov
ed sooner then you wouldn’t be in this state.”
“No reason to do that to yourself. We can’t go back in time. Remember that little thing she told us to say to ourselves every time we go to that place in our head where we think about the past and what would’ve happened if we’d done things differently.” I pull my head off his chest and look at him.
His blue eyes are stormy looking as he runs his hand through my hair. “I know. I’ll stop.”
“The fact is that I should’ve left when he asked me to sign that damn paper. I knew that’s what I should’ve done. But when that little slut showed up, I went and made the wrong decision. I brought this all on myself. And someday I will have to figure out how to end it. Once and for all, end this shit with Rod.” I get off his lap and take his hand. “I haven’t eaten a thing today. Want to take me to lunch?”
He nods and takes me out to his car. Sam comes walking out of the shrubs next to the front entrance. “It’s all clear, Sir.”
“Sam, you can take the rest of the day off. I’ll have Jenna with me.” Reed opens the passenger door and I get in then he closes it behind me.
The two talk for a minute then Reed gets in the driver’s side. “He’s going to talk to that teacher you work under and tell her you won’t be going back. He’s also going to get her brother’s phone number and try to track his phone with some software he has. That way we’ll have an idea where the gang is most of the time.”
The thought of having to track people just to feel safe bothers me. “That’s kind of invasive to do to someone who knows nothing about that. Don’t you think?”
“Jenna, I don’t care about how invasive it is. I need to keep you safe and I will do whatever it takes to do that. If Rod gets you it will kill me.” He reaches out and takes my hand as he pulls out of the iron gates that have slid open for him.
“This is really no way to live,” I say. “For either of us. You shouldn’t have to live this way, Reed. If we weren’t together you’d be able to live normally. None of this crap would be happening in your life. You could live it without a bodyguard on your payroll. No invasion of anyone’s privacy would be necessary.”
“Don’t even talk like that. I lived a life without you in it. It wasn’t as good as life is with you by my side, Jenna. I don’t regret making you part of my life. Not for one second have I regretted it.” He squeezes my hand. “Do you?”
How do I tell him that I do have regrets but only because of how I’m affecting his life?
Instead I shake my head. “Of course, I don’t have any regrets about you, Reed. I love you and my life has been so much better with you in it. A thousand times better. But you have to admit this is difficult.”
“Nothing worth it is ever easy. I can take all that comes with having you in my life, Jenna. Whatever it takes, I will do it. I will deal with the fallout. I would walk through fire for you.” He looks at me with a very serious expression.
“But you shouldn’t have to,” I say and it makes him frown.
“But I would,” he says as he pulls my hand up to kiss it.
And only one thought goes through my head when he does.
How did I get so damn lucky?
“Do you think if I found a way to call Rod and get him to meet with me that I could set him straight?” I ask and immediately know the answer I’m going to get.
Reed’s head shakes fast. “No! There is not a way in the world that’s safe for you. Please never go behind my back and do that. Please! I know if you were talking about a sane person it would be the smart thing to do. But Rod is a little off the beaten path where sanity is concerned.”
“But this is no way to exist, Reed. I’m always looking over my shoulder even with you or Sam around to protect me. I need to figure out how to deal with this threat myself.”
A red light has him stopping, and he looks at me. “Jenna, you are not alone. You and I are together in everything. You don’t have to deal with things alone or on your own. I’m here for you. Let me be. Let me help you.”
The light changes and I gesture to it with a nod of my head. “The light changed.”
He looks back at the road. “Promise me you will never try to contact him.”
“I promise you that if I feel it’s very important to then I will talk to you about if first.”
He nods. “Good. That’s settled then. No contacting him at this point, anyway.”
I nod in agreement but inside I still think I have to do this on my own. The same way I made the decision to sign the damn paper on my own, I can make Rod understand what we had is over.
But Reed will never allow that!
Chapter 28
REED
My eyes open and all I see is the darkness of our bedroom. Then a light shines from my cell phone on the nightstand beside me. The vibration of the phone must’ve woken me up.
I pick up the phone and see my father is calling me and I also see that it’s three in the morning.
This cannot be good.
Phone calls at this hour and from one’s family are always of the utmost importance. No one calls just to say hi at three in the morning.
Jenna stirs beside me. “Who’s that, Reed?”
“My father,” I say then answer his call. “Hey, Dad, what’s up?” I try to sound casual like I’m not internally about to freak out.
I prepare myself to hear bad news about my brother as he’s the only wildcard in our family.
“Reed, I’m with your mother in the hospital. She fell earlier this evening, and she seemed confused. So I took her into Prescott to the emergency room.” He stops talking and then he clears his throat. “She’s got a brain tumor, Son.”
My world stops and spins backward. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. They did a Cat Scan a little while ago and found one about the size of a golf ball. They’re going to do surgery tomorrow morning. Rod’s here. I called him when I brought her in around five earlier this evening. Your mother wants to see you before she goes into surgery just in case she doesn’t make it.” Then he just busts out crying and I nearly do the same thing myself.
“Dad, everything will be fine. I’ll get on a plane within the hour and be there as soon as I can. You have to have faith. And we will do everything she needs to make it through this. Don’t worry.” I take Jenna’s hand to steady myself.
“See you then, Son.”
I hang up and look at Jenna. “My mother has a tumor and they’re going to take it out in the morning. I need to go to her.”
She nods at me. “You want me to come?”
“Rod’s already there. I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
She looks down. “I understand.”
My mind is numb with the news and the fact I need Jenna with me is weighing on me. But my family doesn’t need any more drama.
“I’m going to take a shower. Do you think you could pack me enough clothes for a few days?” I get out of bed and my legs are shaking so I fall back on it.
“Reed! Are you okay?” Jenna sits up and looks at me.
I shake my head. “No, I’m not. My mother might die, Jenna. I’m not okay at all.”
She gets off the bed and walks in front of me and runs her arms around me. “She’ll be fine. You’ll see.” She hugs me tight.
She holds me as I grip her body. I need her. I need her to be with me.
But I can’t do that to her. Force her to see Rod again, after all he’s done to her.
She lets me out of her hug. “I’ll start the shower for you. Then I’ll pack while you take one.”
I watch her walk away from me and the ache begins. I won’t be able to go through this without her.
But somehow I have to find the strength to, anyway.
She comes back and takes me by the hand and leads me to the shower. “Here you go. It’s all warmed up. I’ll go pack now.”
I step into the shower and barely feel the water on my skin as my body is numb as well as my mind. There’s just no way this is happening.
My mother is healthy.
She can’t have a brain tumor!
I close my eyes and lean my forehead against the tiled wall. Scenes from my childhood flash through my brain. There’s one of my brother and me on a small boat with our parents. We’re all smiling as he holds up a tiny fish he caught.
Another of us with them on the first Christmas I can remember. Another as we all laughed and watched Dad lighting up fireworks. So many happy times.
They kind of drown out the bad. Funny that when faced with a death you can recall so much happiness that the bad fades so far back you can barely recall it at all.
The bathroom door opens and Jenna comes back in. “Oh, Reed, you haven’t moved since I left you.” She steps into the shower with me and pours shampoo into her palm.
Her hands move through my hair, massaging in the soap and she hums a little as she washes my hair. Then she leans my head back and rinses it out.
She pours some body wash on the poufy pink thing she uses for herself and moves it all over my body. Still she hums and it makes me feel a little peaceful.
I catch her wrists up as she moves her hands up my arms. She looks at me and stops humming. “I need you, Jenna. I know it’s selfish of me to ask this of you. But I need you. I need you with me through this.”
“Then I will be there for you, Reed.” Her words come out soft and without hesitation.
Her selflessness is amazing to me. And I know I shouldn’t take her into such a dangerous and terrible situation. But I feel like I can’t do it without her.
“I love you, Jenna.” I move my arms around her wet body and pull her to me.
My lips touch hers and for a moment everything else goes away. She’s my personal safe zone where nothing can hurt me.
Her hands slip over my back and my cock stirs. I’m aware of how inappropriate it is to think about sex when your mother is facing death but I need Jenna so bad right now it makes no real sense.
Pulling her body up, I slide my cock into her wet depths and her moan vibrates my mouth. I press her back against the tiled wall and thrust into her as she wraps her legs around me.
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