Page 129 of Unbound

I sat at the bar. A gorgeous redheaded guy with a bit of a Michael Fassbender vibe approached.

“How are you doin’ this fine evening?” he asked me, sidling up close.

“I’m good. I’m meeting someone,” I said.

He looked me over and shook his head. “Shame. That doesn’t work out, I’ll be here a bit.”

I flushed red a little bit. I was flattered. It felt good to have someone appreciate me appearance-wise.

But after a few more guys tried to pick me up, and one of them kind of creepily, I decided that maybe Jake couldn’t make it. Or, saw me and was disappointed. So, I was going to leave.

But someone, a guy who’d tried to pick me up in the bar, tried to grab me in the parking lot and force me into a car. It was a replay of the nightmare that got me raped and I was seeing my life flash before my eyes, when someone yanked the guy off me and beat the snot out of him and called the cops.

Zack Jacobs saved me.

And then, while he held the guy until the cops got there, Zack admitted he was Jake. I was furious, thinking my brothers were having me tailed, spying on me, but Zack explained he was still getting some intelligence from when he was investigating my brothers and part of that intel included our internet search history. Seriously?

Get a good security program for your computer. You never know who is paying attention!

He had intended to stop the practice but caught the pattern on my usage and said he was concerned. I think he was nosy. And being a perv. I was looking up some explicit terms and it was embarrassing to think about someone knowing about that.

He tried to convince me that he actually was interested in me. I gave him the finger and took off.

He followed me and tried to ask me out by Luc’s door. That didn’t go real well.

“Tessa, please believe me,” Zack pleaded. “C’mon. Let me take you out to dinner.”

“Fuck you.”

“Can I text you for a bit? Keep talking, then? Maybe you’ll change your mind.”

I stood there and malfunctioned. He saw his opening.

He grabbed his phone and was doing something. I was standing against the door of my sister Luc’s house. She was babysitting my boys.

My phone made a noise. I lifted it from my pocket.

The screen was filled with silly emojis.

I rolled my eyes. He was really good looking. Tall, clean cut, but rugged. Sexy. Built.

“I’ll text you. Grovel for a week or two. Maybe then you’ll let me take you out.”

“Why’d you leave me sitting there, Zack?”

He made a face. “I was waffling. Thinkin’ about all you’d been through, all…”

“My baggage?”

“No. Not your baggage. Your feelings. I didn’t want to toy with you, Tessa, serious. I just – it’s been a long time since I felt anything like this and…”

“What the fuck?” That was Tommy, coming out of Luc’s, carrying Carina in her car seat. He was staring at Zack and electric bolts were shooting out of his eyes. They were going to melt Zack into a puddle of goo.

Shit.

Zack made an excuse and left. Tommy looked at me for an explanation, but I waved at him. “Don’t even ask.”

Some weeks later, Zack finally convinced me to let him take me out and it was a pretty phenomenal date. When we were at my door, him kissing me goodnight and making me go weak inthe knees, my brother emerged from the darkness and put a gun to Zack’s head.

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