Page 76 of Twice as Forbidden

He cups my cheek. “Peach, I’m not sure if you’ve realized this yet, but I’m not a man you want to fuck with. What Burt Hallstead and his son have in store for them is way worse than what the law can do.”

“Jackson—”

“I plan on taking everything from them. And then destroying every ounce of their self-worth. I won’t stop until he has nothing.” Anger and revenge coil around his words like a vow. “It’s going to be fine.”

“And Noah?”

“Right now, I need to get back to the office. I’ll put Noah on an important task that keeps him tied up for the rest of the day. It buys us some time.”

This doesn’t feel right. My mind reels, and nothing makes sense. “I don’t know about this. Maybe I should go to work with you.”

Jackson steps away from me, grabbing his suit coat. “No. I don’t want you anywhere near work right now. Vince could be watching you.”

“And if I’m at home? I’m more of a sitting duck there.”

“At least I know you’ll be safe. No one will get past the gates unless they’re buzzed in, which I will make sure doesn’t happen.”

I don’t like this idea. My stomach is in knots. My intuition screams for me not to agree to this plan, but I nod anyway. His lips brush mine, easing some of my panic.

“Let’s get you home.”

He says it like it’s a place I belong with him. And in my heart, I ache for that to be our reality. But there’s a pit in my stomach that tells me it’s only a dream. “Okay,” I whisper, gathering my things.

The ride home is heavy with silence. Jackson makes a few calls, demanding a man by the name of Craig meet him at his office immediately. When we pull up to the house, he helps me out, then presses his warm hand against my lower back. “I’ll get you settled,” he says softly.

We walk up the steps together, and he opens the door, gesturing for me to go inside. “Sure you can’t just stay with me?” I ask, sounding needy.

He cups my cheek. “Those eyes, Peach… is that worry or your way of having my cock sooner?”

“Georgia?”

Jackson’s hand falls, and he takes a slow step back.

“Jesus, where have you been?” I push past the panic flooding my chest and face Noah.

“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at work,” Jackson asks, his voice tight.

Noah shakes his head, his concern evident. “Yeah, and I couldn’t get a hold of Georgia. I was seriously fucking worried. Where have you been?”

“I—uh…” Fuck… I feel like I’m going to pass out.

“You were right to worry. I should’ve taken you seriously yesterday. I came home to grab a file and found her passed out. I took her to Urgent Care to get her checked out.”

Noah takes a step closer, worry painted across his face. “What did they say?”

My gut tightens with guilt. “Nothing. It’s just a virus. I’ll be fine.”

“That’s good. You need anything?”

“No, I just need to lay down.”

“Yeah. Cool. You up to chill in the media room? We can put on a movie. Order some food if you’re hungry.”

“Noah, you need to go back to—”

“I’m not going back to work. I’m staying here with Georgia.” Noah’s response is firm, and I can tell Jackson wants to push back, but anything even remotely suspicious would only work against us.

“Fine. I need to head back to the office. If you need anything, call me instantly.” Jackson takes one last glimpse my way and vanishes out the front door.

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