Callie waited until they were on the sidewalk to squeal and do a weird victory dance. But it didn't feel real to Brianna.
"You're not dancing." Callie slammed her hands on her hip and frowned. "Why aren't you dancing?"
"It doesn't feel real."
Callie grabbed a piece of Brianna's skin and twisted.
"Ow!" Brianna jerked back.
"That feels real, right?"
Brianna rubbed the red, splotched skin. "Yes, definitely real."
"Great. We need to celebrate." Callie linked their arms and tugged Brianna to the car.
"Celebrate?"
"Yes, wine, steaks, and cheesecake."
"But what about the person after Grandmother—"
Callie stopped with a snarl. "Look, the sheriff will figure that out but us." She jabbed a finger hard into Brianna's chest and then into her own. "We've been dealing with that contract for years, and by God, we need to celebrate its demise. So, get with the smiles and happy, and we'll worry about your grandmother's stuff tomorrow."
"And Jackson."
"Grrr." Callie dragged her fingers through her hair.
"I just," Brianna took a careful step back in case Callie tried to jab or pinch her again. "I wanted Jackson there."
"And not me?" Hurt painted her friend's face. "I get that Jackson's in the picture now, Bri, but you need to remember Derrick, and I deserve this closure too. Especially, me." Tears shimmered in Callie's eyes as she pointed at Brianna's neck. "I was in the hospital when they sewed you back together. I was the one who stood toe to toe with your dad when they forced you to sign that contract. And I'm the one who has been right there in the trenches with you slogging through the damned thing all these years.
Brianna hugged Callie. "I know that." She stepped back and swiped her eyes. "I do know that. I just… when I pictured the end of this, I saw you, Jackson and me, in Willoughby's office. Then us at my place celebrating. But it's all wrong." Brianna waved her hand around to emphasize her point. "Jackson's not here. We're not going back to my house because of some killer psycho, and apparently, I'm being set up to marry my dead sister's asshole boyfriend." She curled her arms around her churning stomach. "It's just not how I pictured the end at all. It doesn't feel like we won yet."
"Bullshit. We've so won." Callie clicked the key fob to unlock her car. "At least this battle. So, we celebrate the ending of the contract now, and then when Jackson gets home, we celebrate again. Only double since the sheriff should know who the wack-a-doo is that's trying to KO your grandmother."
"Okay." Brianna smiled, though her heart wasn't entirely in it. She missed Jackson even though it had only been a day. "Celebration of Briony finally being laid to rest with the caveat, there will be a secondary celebration when Jackson's back."
"Agreed." Callie rounded the car while Brianna slid into the passenger seat.
They pulled up to the store with a nice wine store next to it.
Callie turned to Brianna. "You get the steaks. A t-bone for Derrick and filet for me. And I'll go get us some nice wine for dinner."
"Potatoes?"
"I have those. But we need salad things and cheesecake."
"I'm on it." Brianna stepped from the car and headed into the store.
"And do fresh cuts, not frozen stuff."
Brianna threw a thumb in the air as she grabbed a handheld basket and headed for the veggie department. She put in the order for the cuts of meat before moving to the dessert section. And so much temptation.
Decadent death by chocolate, black forest, and pineapple upside-down cakes, apple pies, blueberry turnovers, and finally, the cheesecake. Row after row with caramel, chocolate, mixed fruit, and her absolute favorite cherry. She chose the cherry one and set it in her basket before taking a caramel for Callie, and the death by chocolate cake for the boys and Derrick. Set, she picked up the meat from the butcher and went through the self-checkout lane.
She saw Callie loading the wine in the trunk, but suddenly her view was blocked. Looking up, she stumbled back but was stopped by the crowd exiting the store as she tried to retreat.
The sound of her sacks hitting the concrete with a thud broke her from her panicked retreat. "Chr—Christopher?"
"Glad I found you." His hand moved toward her, and she flinched further into the flow of people.
"Don't touch me," she said, wishing her voice sounded stronger, but there was something manic in his eyes that terrified her.
"Stop it, Briony—"
"I'm not Briony, and you fucking well know it." Anger poured into Brianna, and she took a step toward Christopher.
He smiled and tried to grab her again, but she easily dodged him.
"Leave me alone, or I'll have you arrested for breaking your restraining order," she growled, bending to pick up her sacks.
"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but you've turned into a raving bitch." Christopher jabbed a black box at her just as she released an ear-splitting shriek at seeing it was a taser.
The people trapped behind her fled back into the store yelling for security, but it was Callie who saved Brianna from being tased as she slammed her over-sized handbag over his head.
"Get away, you freak!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
It was loud. Callie had perfected that yell during football games when saving seats for them or yelling at the coach during various plays. It set Brianna's teeth on edge but drew a lot of attention. Christopher's gaze bounced from Brianna to the others watching the unfolding drama. Then he was racing away.
The sound of a car door followed by screeching tires and the smell of burning rubber let her know Christopher had left.
Callie grinned broadly as she faced Brianna. "Did you see that? I made Christopher run."
A laugh passed Brianna's lips. "You did, and I saw. You can be my substitute hero until Jackson gets back."
"I'll take it. Now, let's go celebrate."
Chapter Sixteen
Every fate hated her right now, and Brianna had no clue what she had done to piss them off.
Christopher tracked her down three more times after Monday, and each time he would have kidnapped her if someone hadn't interfered. The last time was the scariest as he tried to run Brianna off the road, but with Frank as her driving instructor growing up, she knew how to handle a car. And Christopher had driven off his face a mask of rage as he flew by Brianna on the narrow-laned backroad.
Because of all the abduction attempts, Brianna had become a veritable prisoner at Callie's house. Only leaving when it was necessary and never going home. But they could both feel the desperation Christopher was pumping out, and so Brianna fled to Chicago early. The Fourth was next weekend, and Jackson never rescinded the invite. Not that Brianna had looked at her cell after the second abduction attempt. Callie thought Christopher was tracking Brianna through her cell, and Brianna had immediately raced home and left it there.
It creeped her out thinking of him tracking her down like a tagged animal.
Brianna turned when the GPS told her to as she took in the neighborhood Jackson grew up in. Clean, neat lawns with a few bikes littering the pristine green. Upper-middle-class homes with BMWs, Hondas, and a few Fords parked in the drives. All nestled just outside of Chicago.
She pulled to a stop at a ranch-style house painted light green with white trim and took a breath. Laying her head on the steering wheel, she prayed she would be welcome even though she hadn't talked or returned any of Jackson's texts.
She should have done it before dumping her phone, but she had panicked and wanted the thing as far away from her as possible.
Maybe she wouldn't be so scared if the sheriff had been able to at least find Christopher once. But with his resources, Christopher couldn't be found.
And Brianna couldn't give the sheriff any kind of motive. She couldn't answer any of the questions the man bombarded her with either.
Why was he so adamant about getting her? Marrying her?
Christopher had always been fixated on Briony,
so, as Callie pointed out to the sheriff, Christopher turned that focused crazy on Brianna. As if they were interchangeable.
It was the best explanation any of them could come up with, and the one Sheriff Brigston was going with at the moment.
They all assumed Christopher was the one who cut the brake lines, but again why he would target Brianna's grandmother was a mystery. Except she had helped Brianna end the contract sooner. But it was all guesswork until they found the asshole.
To keep her grandmother safe, Brianna hired security and implied the group was courtesy of the Sheriff's Department. Of course, Evelynn argued, until she heard about the brake lines, then she gave in with a muttered curse.
With her grandmother still recovering, Brianna refused to put more worry on her by telling her about Christopher. The hospital had all the information, and he was banned from entering the premises. Between hospital security and the team surrounding her grandmother and Jacob, who was in the room next door, they were safe.
Now, it was Brianna who needed to get to safety. Looking at the innocuous white door, she wondered if this would be the safest place. Maybe for her body, but what about her heart?
With Christopher able to find her at will, Brianna not only ditched her cell but decided to buy anything she needed after she landed. Callie had sworn to keep an eye on Evelynn and agreed that Brianna would be safer out of Alabama.
Now, here she sat outside of Ray's house, hoping Jackson wasn't pissed off that she hadn't called or texted him.
Brianna turned the car off, snatched the keys from the ignition, and hurried to the front porch, all while blanking her mind. If she thought, she knew she would turn around and run. Punching the button for the doorbell, she gripped the strap of her purse and forced herself to stand on the porch.
Fear and nerves churned in her stomach, making her queasy as the knots grew bigger the longer it took for someone to let her in, or open the door and send her away.
The door opened, and Jackson's puzzled expression filled the opening. "Brianna?"
Then she was in his arms. She didn't know if she leaped into them or if he dragged her to him as he was clutching her just as tightly as she hung on to him.
His woodsy scent comforted her, the steady beat of his heart told her this wasn't a dream, and the muscles straining under her fingertips spoke of protection. Safe. For the first time since he had left, Brianna felt safe.
"Jesus, Brianna, you're shaking."
If possible, he gathered her closer as he pulled her from the sweltering heat of the porch to the cool interior of his home. He never stopped crooning to her as he held her. His words finally broke through the fear she had carried for so long, and she trembled.
It took everything she had to pull away when her heart begged her to burrow into him until she was so deep under his skin he would never let her go again. She gasped in pain at the separation and had to grab his wrists to keep him from pulling her back. "Wait. Why aren't you calling me Bri or hon?" Unable to meet his gaze in case he saw her heart laid bare, she watched her thumb as it traced the two freckles on the inside of his wrist.
His hands lifted and cupped her cheeks, forcing her to meet his gaze filled with love. It shone so bright, she didn't know how she had ever missed it before.
"Because I never want you to doubt that it's you I love, Brianna. I never want you to think for a second that by shortening your name, I might have almost used Briony." He pressed a chaste kiss but a heartfelt kiss on her lips. "I never want to cause you pain again." His gray eyes were meltingly soft like a misty morning fog as they merged with hers. "You own everything I am, heart, body, and soul. And I am so very sorry for ever giving you a moment's doubt about that."
A hard jostle sent him crashing into her.
"Dammit, Son, didn't I teach you any better," a gruff voice said from behind Jackson. "When you woo your lady and finally apologize, I specifically told you to do it in a romantic setting. And this is not it."
Brianna jumped and then found her first smile in days as she realized Jackson had told her he loved her in the foyer of his father's house.
"Dad, aren't you supposed to be lying down?" Jackson frowned at the man behind him.
Ray stepped to the right and held out his hand. "I'm Ray, the man, I'm sad to say, who raised this boy better than to give a romantic apology in the middle of the entrance of my house."
Ray looked nothing like Jackson. Not that Brianna expected him to, but based on how big of an impact he made on Jackson's life, she expected him to be taller and broader. He was only a few inches taller than she was and looked as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. Not that she could toss any stones that way since her appetite had been non-existent while dodging Christopher and worrying about her grandmother. She took his hand and shook before following him into the den, where she stopped again.
"Are you moving?" Brianna's gaze bounced around the simply decorated room with half-filled packing boxes littering every available space.
"Yes, it's time I retired. 'sides the doctors say I need to slow down." Ray slid into a big leather recliner with a sigh. "And now I can, since Tristan, Rafe, and Jackson are taking over managing the pub."
Panic beat at Brianna as she swung around to face Jackson. "You're not coming home?"
"I am. Ray's coming with me. He and Brigston are old friends, and now they can go fishing more than a few times a year."
"But … how are you managing a pub and living several states away?"
"I'm leaving that to Rafe and Tristan to figure out. They do business management. I'll be a silent partner." He laced their fingers together. "No way am I moving back to Chicago now that I've got you, and we're free of that blasted contract … " His eyes became shadowed, and his hand tightened around hers as if worried, she would disappear into the role of Briony right in front of him. "You are free now, right?"
"About that," Brianna pushed the box taking up the middle of the couch to the end and cleared a space for her and Jackson to sit together. "I'm free, but there have been some things … " she trailed off, unsure how or where to start. "I mean free of the contract, but umm…"
He kissed her temple and drew her against his chest as he leaned back into the couch. "Just spit it out, and we'll go from there."
She snuggled deeper into him and started with the day he left.
* * * *
Brianna's gaze bounced around Jackson's bedroom. Boxes took up one corner of the room and more were stacked in the bottom of the walk-in closet to the left. Nothing remained on the dresser or bookcase. Her fingers trailed over it with curiosity. What had been there? Pictures? Or books? "What do you read?"
"What?" He stepped into the room and shut the door. "Oh, nothing back then. The case was mostly for my trophies. Now? True crime and mysteries." He raked a hand through his hair and rubbed his the back of his neck. "My dad was right, I should have taken you up here to apologize first and not done it in the foyer like some untried high school kid." Jackson paced from one side of his bedroom to the other like a caged beast. "Instead, I didn't even form a full apology—"
"Jackson," Brianna said, stepping in front of him, halting his jerky, uncoordinated movements. "I forgive you."
"How can you? I can't even—"
"Because I understand. Even when you did it, I understood." She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close. "Not saying it didn't hurt, but I got over it. You were exhausted from working at the department as well as going out with me whenever you weren't working, and on top of that, keeping Christopher at bay for every single event only added to your stress. Plus, the whole remembering to not use my name … " she trailed off and pressed a kiss over his heart his t-shirt worn and soft against her lips. "So I get it. I know who this belongs to."
"It belongs to you." He tipped her chin back and kissed her.
It was pure. Soft and seductive in its plea for her to open to him. To let him in which she did. How could she not? She loved him as much as he loved her. He was already e
mbedded in her very soul. Dug so deep into her skin, she would never get him out.
He handled her gently as if she were the most precious thing in his world. Her clothes melted beneath his touch. There one second on the floor the next. Then she was lifted and placed in the center of his bed, and he stepped away.
The lamp on the nightstand was on with a flick of his wrist and the overhead off seconds later. Impatient, he all but ripped the clothes from his body.
Her breath caught in the back of her throat. It wasn't the first time she had seen him naked, but each time felt new and sent the blood pounding through her veins. Strong thighs, hard abs, powerful chest, and arms covered in a pelt of black hair that did little to hide the scars from his dangerous life as a cop.
His gaze devoured her from head to toe as his fingers raked through the hair on his chest and down to his erection. Her skin heated and tingled every place his gaze landed. Seeing her reaction to him, his lips curved in a sensual smile. He took his time stalking up her body, stopping to touch, taste, and nuzzle different patches of skin. The arch of her foot was pressed to his hair-roughened jaw, causing her to jerk her and a giggle to escape her lips.
"Ticklish." His grin broadened and turned devilish.
She narrowed her gaze on him. "Don't even."
"No plan to today." He pressed a kiss to her foot and moved over her ankle and up her calf.
Nips followed by open-mouthed kisses turned her insides to liquid, and she sank back into the bed. Her body slowly coming to life under his ministrations. He didn't miss an inch of skin as he crept over her as if a lapping wave of water, and she was his willing victim drowning in every sensation he drew from her.
By the time his body blanketed her, she was shivering at the rub of his skin against hers as he captured her lips. Two thick fingers plunged into her sending her catapulting over the edge with a gasp.
"Again," he whispered into her mouth, stealing her breath as he joined them in the most primal way.
The ebb and flow of him dragged her into another storm as she became lost in the maelstrom of pleasure. It poured from him to her in an endless circuit. It began on the surface of her skin and radiated into her very being as he took her body and made it his.
The Twin Contract (The Contract Series Book 1) Page 29