Page 60 of Defiant
“What are you talking about?” I cut in, feeling the need to stab someone. Or multiple people. Maybe everyone.
“Jaz just called me, asked if I could teach her self-defense. What the fuck did you do?”
I breathed out, smiling in spite of what this afternoon had brought. So, Jaz had called Jacob, wanting self-defense. He seemed to be a muscular guy, and I didn’t doubt that he could indeed teach her a few things. Hell, I could, too—but she didn’t come to me. She went to him.
Jealousy aside, it was probably a good idea for her to learn to defend herself.
I really hated to think what would’ve happened to her if that fucker Archer hadn’t interrupted Ryan and his friends from going at her like thugs.
It took me a moment to say, “I didn’t do anything, actually.”
Jacob wasn’t having any of it. “Bullshit.”
“Not bullshit,” I hissed. “She was almost raped this afternoon, by a group of guys in the school. Not me, obviously. I’d never hurt her.” Well, not unless she wanted me to, and then, if it was consensual, what did it matter?
“She…she what? She didn’t tell me that.” He sounded confused, flabbergasted and bewildered. Then, suddenly so very irate. “Why the fuck wouldn’t she tell me?”
“Maybe she didn’t want you to know. It’s not exactly something you’d wear as a badge of honor on your chest.” My mind raced. “You teach her whatever you can. Me and her lover boy are working on dealing with the scum.”
Jacob was quiet for a few moments. “Do I want to know what you mean by that?”
I smirked to myself. “No, you probably don’t.” I said nothing else as I hung up the phone, knowing he’d only be fuming at the truth, anyways. Didn’t want to sit here and listen to that.
Within a moment, I had my bike on and was out of the parking lot, heading in the opposite direction of the motel. I’d probably hang around Midpark until I met with Vaughn, anyways. No, there was only one place I could go, one person I wanted to see.
And I found that person storming along the sidewalk about halfway between the school and her fancy new house.
I pulled my bike onto the sidewalk in front of her, stopping her from further walking. Jaz did not look happy to see me; she gave me a frown with those full, luscious lips, her eyes narrowed. The cool wind whipped between us, the sky above a cloudy grey. It wasn’t supposed to rain today, so I wasn’t too worried about being caught outside.
“Get out of my way,” Jaz muttered, clutching the strap to her backpack as if she was debating on swinging it at me and knocking me off my bike with it.
“No.”
“I don’t want to talk right now.” She tried to go around me, but I only inched my bike along. Jaz quickly stopped, letting out a groan. “Why won’t you just leave me alone, Dante?” A bitter smile spread on her face, an expression I hated seeing on her. “Why won’t anyone here leave me alone? I’m really not that special—”
I shook my head, stopping her. I knew I couldn’t linger here; if a cop drove by, he’d definitely give me a ticket. “That’s where you’re wrong,” I told her, meaning it. “You are special, even if you don’t see it.” And I didn’t mean it just because of whose blood ran through her veins; I meant it because it was true.
Jaz was special. She was so special it hurt, and that’s why I would do everything in my power to make sure she realized it. To make her happy. To make those who would dare to hurt her pay with everything they had. If that meant working with Vaughn, if that meant making nice with him and watching them together…
Well, the jury was out on that one, but I supposed I’d try. That said something, didn’t it?
She stared at me, a frown on her face, her warm, amber eyes looking tired, even though it was only the early afternoon. She did not wear the face of a typical high schooler; she wore the face of a woman who’d seen a lot of shit and barely scraped by. Midpark had come to bite her in the ass, but even before she’d moved here, her life was never easy.
Trust me, I would know; I watched her for years because Skull told me to.
Why wouldn’t he let me bring her back, where she belonged? I understood that she couldn’t be taken from her mother, but now she was eighteen. She could leave. She could leave with me and never look back.
But that was the problem, I guess. Jaz would never leave willingly, not right now. Not with all this unfinished business, not while she was still a senior in high school. Maybe, once she graduated, I’d finally be able to take her out of here and bring her where she’d belonged from the start.
I gestured to my bike. “Get on. Let me drive you home.”
She gave me a look like I was crazy, but it didn’t take too long for her expression to soften. Jaz heaved a silent sigh as she nodded once, and after she got on, after those small arms wrapped around my abdomen, I looked both ways on the street before driving my bike off the sidewalk.
Having her arms wrapped around me, feeling her lean her cheek against my back…I liked it a lot. She wasn’t the first girl to get a ride on my bike, but she was the only one I wanted. I’d known it for a while.
Hopefully, someday soon, it wouldn’t just be my bike she’d ride.
Chapter Sixteen – Jaz
