Jason (Kings of Guardian #4) (22 page)

“See, I knew it.”

“God, you’re a moron. Go pull your team’s initial reports so I can review them and send them to legal.”

Jacob jumped up and saluted. “Aye, aye, my Capitan!”

“Major.”

“Yeah, a major pain in my ass.”

“Still your boss.”

“Until you fire me.”

“Again!” Jared called from the galley in the back of the plane.

Jason watched Jacob head back to his chair and tablet and shook his head. All of his brothers were powerful, dangerous and just a little fucked up. He was blessed.

The all-day soak continued to form cascading rivulets that branched into random patterns on their descent down the window glass. The soft patter of raindrops against the windowpanes usually soothed her nerves, but today was different. Faith mindlessly chewed what remained of her thumbnail. She’d managed to chew all her nails down to the quick. Jason didn’t sleep last night, at least not with her. She knew because his side of the bed wasn’t disturbed, and he was still gone when she woke. Other than a quick call early this morning, she hadn’t heard from him. The problem he was working had consumed not only him, but from what Tori told her, Jacob and Jared, too. Tori had called a couple times during the day to chat, but she hadn’t heard from Jacob either. She didn’t seem worried, so Faith tried to copy the woman’s calm acceptance… unsuccessfully. She was worried.

Faith glanced at the clock again. It was late. She’d already fed Reece, did the bath time dance, read him a story and put him to bed. There was nothing on the million channels of television that held her interest, and the music that had played softly in the background did little to ease her nerves, so she turned it off. The creaks, pops and pings of the beautifully restored home seemed magnified by the silence.

Tippy rolled onto his side and stretched. Faith buried her hand in the dog’s long coat. His groan and deep sigh brought a small smile to her heart. Her eyes traveled over the expensive furniture on which her dog slept. She and Reece had been picked up from their previous existence and placed into a world she’d never imagined for either of them. When Theo had pulled her out of Detroit, she never dreamed that one day she’d be engaged to a man who loved her as much as she loved him.

Tippy popped to his feet and skittered to the hall. He gave a warm bark when the door opened. She heard Jason’s graveled timber as he spoke to the dog. God, he was even good to Reece’s puppy.

“Where’s your momma?” Faith heard Jason’s question.

“I’m in the den,” she called. She could hear his boots against the hardwood floor. He filled the door and her heart fluttered. He was wearing a black military uniform. Her smile froze. A huge bluish-black bruise covered his jawline and a partial shirtsleeve—the lower half had been cut off—exposed a white bandage on his upper arm.

He strode into the room and plucked her off the couch, settling her on his lap. Before she overcame her shock and formed words, he put a finger over her lips, stilling the questions about to burst forth.

“Before you ask, I’m fine.”

“What happened? You work behind a desk. That’s what you said. You said you rarely go out in the field, like almost never. This isn’t almost never!”

He chuckled and planted a kiss on her lips, but she broke away.

“Seriously, what happened to you?”

“I’m fine. There was a situation I had to handle. This wasn’t necessarily a Guardian issue, it was personal.”

“Personal? What happened to your arm? There’s blood on that bandage.”

“Yeah, bullet holes bleed.”

Faith launched off his lap as she shouted, “Bullet holes! Holes? Plural? Who shot you? Oh, my God!” She ran her hands through her hair and pulled, trying to… well, hell, she had no idea what she was trying to do—other than not go insane.

Jason closed his eyes, and his head dropped back onto the couch. “Babe, really, if you could not shout right now, that would be great. I’m working on no sleep. I’m hurting, and I’ve got a headache that won’t quit.”

Faith dropped to her knees between his legs. She ran her hands up his thighs and tried to control the tidal wave of fear drowning her. “Please Jason, tell me what happened.”

“Horace Clement tried to blackmail me for $5,000,000.”

“Oh, my God! Hit? What could he possibly use to blackmail you? Wait… why would he blackmail you? Was he the one who shot you? What happened to your face?” Her hand trembled so much she couldn’t trust herself to touch the massive bruise that spread over his jaw and encompassed some of his cheek and throat.

Jason leaned forward, wrapped his arm around her waist, and drew her back onto his lap. “Hey—hey, calm down.” His hands wiped the tears she’d no idea she’d shed. He pulled her against his chest and she burrowed into him.

“You’re trembling. Just relax. Breathe with me. In… and now out… In… that’s right, now out. Everything’s going to be alright.”

Faith buried her face into his neck and clung to him with all her strength. She had known something was wrong. She just knew it! God, what would she do if Hit had killed him?

“He got lucky and got one shot off.”

“Huh?”

“You asked what you would have done if Hit had killed me.”

“I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

“Mmmm… the phone call last night was our people telling us that I’d received a call at the company that acts as a… well for simplicity sake let’s call them a storefront. Anyway, Mr. Clement left me a message. He wanted $5,000,000 or he’d file a custody claim for Reece. He had pictures of you, from before.”

Bile rose in her throat. After everything she’d done to be a good mom for Reece; the therapy, getting her GED, working hard to support him—Hit could ruin it all.

“I wasn’t going to let that happen. We worked through the night. It was insanely easy to build enough evidence against him to get a federal warrant. We flew to Detroit this morning.”

“We?”

“Jacob, Jared, myself and three teams.”

“Teams like Lima Team?”

“As a matter of fact, they were one of the teams that responded, yes.” Faith processed that information. She liked the men on Lima Team. They were loyal to Jason, and she’d seen the way they protected him both on the plane and when they were exposed at the airport.

“The initial breach was surprisingly easy. We cleared the first floor without any problem. The second floor was… interesting.”

“That’s where the patched members bring the hangers-on and their old ladies to party. It’s where those who live at the club have their rooms and where the bar and pool tables are. Some of those women would do anything to be the old lady of a full patch MC member.” Faith shuddered at the memories of how those women had treated her. The women didn’t like the competition—as if Faith ever wanted the scum to touch her.

“Well, the women there were doing anything… and then some.”

Faith snorted. “You mean they were having an orgy.”

Jason stroked her hair. “It took a while to get them separated and processed. Final count was fifteen women and twenty-three men. Every one of them high. We found weed, H, coke, Oxy… you name it.”

“The enforcers? They usually didn’t party with the masses.”

“Oh, no, the enforcers put up a pretty good fight, but they were on the third floor.”

“Protecting Hit.”

“Yes.”

“How did he shoot you?” Faith lightly touched the gauze wrapped tight around his bicep.

“When clearing a building that size you go room by room. Clement had about a dozen men with him and at least that many more that tried to join the fight. Things got dicey and the bastard got a shot off.”

Her eyes fell on his hand that lay over her thigh. The dark-red, bruised knuckles, the cuts, and the swollen fingers were familiar to her. She’d seen what a man’s hands looked like after a fight.

“Did you kill him?” Her finger brushed the knuckles of his hand, her whisper barely loud enough to hear.

“No, he’s alive.” Jason stroked her arm just to ground himself. He knew she was trying to grasp what he’d told her.

“Did you want to kill him?”

He tipped her chin so she was forced to look at his bruised face. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you and Reece safe, but I have never wanted to kill anyone. That bastard threatened to try to take Reece from us. I did what I needed to do to protect my family.”

“How would he take Reece? And how did he know? About us, I mean.”

“He knew you were involved with me from your father. Your old man must have been watching you. From what we can piece together, he used the information to get in good with Hit. He didn’t have much, just my name, which led them to the storefront information.”

Jason kissed her forehead. Comforting her was bringing him down. He needed the connection.

“Why was my father watching me?”

“I don’t know. He was shot during the raid and hasn’t regained consciousness. I’ll clear it with the Detroit Police Department and get you in to see him.”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“I didn’t know if you would want closure. He’s your father.” Jason knew he’d never forgive the son of a bitch, but Faith, well, he’d support her no matter what she decided.

“The day he gave me to Hit, he gave up the right to be my father. I don’t ever want to see him again. I’m not going to lie to you. I’m so upset I could chew nails and spit tacks, but I’m not going to see him. I’m not going to think about what pictures of me that asshole might have had, and I refuse to let them take away the happiness I’ve found.”

“I’m so glad. I was worried about how you’d react.” Jason couldn’t stifle a yawn.

“But I am upset at you! You could have died. He shot at you.”

“Nah, he just pissed me off.”

“But it was dangerous!”

“For him, yeah. For me? The asshole got lucky. Twice. Once when he got a shot off at me, and the second time when Jared and Jacob hauled me off the bastard. I was pissed when they did it, but in hindsight, if I’d killed him, I’d be stuck in Detroit doing the paperwork, and I wanted to come home, so… there’s that.”

Her huff of air resembled a wet laugh. “Well, thank you for coming home. I prefer you here. I’m not sure I’m okay with you getting shot at.”

“Doesn’t happen often.” Jason closed his eyes when her hand cupped his cheek.

“So you say. Come on, Superman. You’re exhausted. Shower, sex and sleep in that order.” Faith stood and extended her hand.

Well hell, that sounded like a plan. He let her pull him off the couch and down the hall. Her luscious curves would have drawn him like a magnet anyway, but he’d let her lead—for a moment. After all, he liked plans, especially ones where he ended up naked with her. Naked and wet was even better.

He stopped Faith to peek in at Reece, allowing Tippy to take his place at the foot of Reece’s bed. Jason pulled Faith back against his chest and kissed the top of her head.

“If I’m dreaming, please don’t wake me up.”

“You’re not dreaming.” He closed the door and took her hand to lead her into their bedroom. He didn’t stop or release her until he’d turned on the hot water for the shower.

“Do I take the bandages off?” Faith’s focus traveled from his bicep to his eyes. The love that shone brilliantly from those huge chocolate orbs made the stress and effort of the last twenty-four hours disappear. He was where he needed to be, with her—as sappy as that sounded.

“No. Get in the shower, I’ll wrap this up and come join you.” He lifted the camisole top she wore and swore under his breath. Fuck, he’d never get used to seeing the beauty of his woman. Her pale, soft skin glowed in the diffused lighting of the bathroom. He couldn’t stop his hands from cupping her breasts. His thumbs circled her nipples and the buds hardened and peaked. A shiver ran over her. Her eyes closed and her mouth parted, inviting his kiss. He ghosted over her, barely touching her plump lower lip.

Her almost silent gasp at his fingers’ increased pressure over her breasts had his cock weeping. Fuck, he loved the way she reacted to his touches, his kisses. He sipped at her lips while his hands examined and claimed her, inch by glorious inch. The touch of his hands alternated between barely-there caresses to possessive demonstrations of his desire. Her pajama bottoms pooled at her feet, but the wisp of lace that remained lasted ten seconds longer than it should have. Damn good thing he could afford to buy her new lingerie.

Faith’s fingers flew through the buttons of his fatigues. She pushed the uniform top off his shoulders and it dropped to the floor. He didn’t care. His web belt seemed to frustrate her. He couldn’t help laughing when she stomped her foot, even though she didn’t pull back from their kiss.

“Something bothering you?” His words came between kisses.

“Yes, get rid of these pants!”

“I have to take off my boots and wrap my arm. Keep the shower warm for me.” He chuckled at her pout and spun her, pushing her through the waterfall that separated the shower from the bathroom. He slapped her full ass and laughed at her small shriek.

The boots and pants lasted no more than a minute, and the waterproof wrap could have been wound neater, but not when he was dying from blue balls. He stalked toward the shower and stopped dead in his tracks. Faith had taken a hand towel and folded it to use to pad the stone floor. Currently kneeling in the center of the shower, she smiled wickedly and crooked a finger toward him.

His feet moved of their own accord, because higher functioning had ceased, simply stopped. All the blood from his brain now filled his raging hard-on. What his woman could do and would do with her mouth made him a very, very lucky man. A woman who loved to give head? Fuck, he’d won the lottery in all fifty states, at the same time, without buying a ticket.