Page 48 of Nobody But You

Please don’t chase him. Please don’t chase him. Shit!

Jourdan took off in the direction that he’d gone, dropping bodies as she went. For an older man, Miller was fast. I quickly took off behind them, moving at the same speed. My heart beat out of my chest the entire time she ran before me. She was exposed and still had not seen the men standing guard on the rooftops. They were aiming right at her. She ran so fast that they couldn’t get a good shot off. They hadn’t seen me yet, but she was too far ahead, and my knee wasn’t built for this rigor.

I was pushing myself and it to the limit. With each stride, I felt the pain radiate from my knee and throughout my entire leg. Then it seized, and I was forced to stop. I tried and failed to pick up my knee to continue my pursuit, but it didn't happen.

Fuck! Not right now. Not right now.

I quickly focused on pushing all the pain I was feeling to the back of my mind. Once I had control of it, I aimed my gun, hoping that the bullet would travel the distance it needed to hit the men. I fired two quick shots, watching the men fall from sight. Then I took off; my steps faltered at first. There was a noticeable difference in my stride because I was in so much pain; however, it was enough to give me a second wind.

As Miller reached the end of the street from the alley we’d run, he turned and let off several shots in Jourdan’s direction. A car barreled down the street, screeching to a stop, then Miller jumped in. Jourdan had drawn the twin to her Smith & Wesson and stood in the middle of the street, shooting at the car that had just sped away. I was pushing my body to the limit, grimacing with each step, until I tackled Jourdan, throwing her to the ground and rolling her body underneath mine just as a bullet grazed my shoulder. I winced and raised my gun, shooting the last man standing on the roof.

“Got damnit, Jourdan. Don’t ever in your life do that shit again! If something were to happen to you, I would fucking…” I paused as I looked her over, making sure that she hadn’t been hit or that I’d hurt her when we both fell to the ground.

“Let’s just get the fuck out of here,” I said, annoyed and still trying to gather my breath. I stood and took her hand to pull her up, stumbling when my knee tried to support my body's weight. She looked down at my knee and then reached for my shoulder, but I turned before she could see the damage. If it weren’t for the black I wore, she would see the blood that had saturated my hoodie. Webegan a quick-paced walk back to the car, with me favoring my left knee. We’d eliminated all the men we could see, but I wanted to be gone before Miller sent more. We finally reached the car, and Jourdan got in, slamming the door closed. I laughed. Why in the fuck was she acting so pissed off? Before I pulled off, I reached into my cargo pocket and took out four Ibuprofen, popping them into my mouth.

When P told me that Miller wanted to wait two weeks to meet, I immediately thought it was a setup. Which was precisely what it had been. He was luring me here to take me out. Except he didn’t know who he was looking for. The only significant marker was a face mask; around New York, they were a dime a dozen. I also couldn’t show my face because he’d been watching me over whatever shit he had going on with my mother.

I messed up tonight because he’d seen me, Rock as One. What really fucked me up was the fact that he’d also seen Jourdan and that she’d almost been shot. The only silver lining was that I don’t think he knew who she was in the underworld or that she was the daughter of Brian Washington. At least, I hoped. What he knew for sure was that she was with me, and that was a problem.

“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” I yelled, slapping my hand against the steering wheel as I drove. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

“Why haven’t you been telling me everything, Rock?”

“Telling you everything?” I questioned and scoffed.

“That’s what I asked!”

“Because I made a mistake,” I said.

“Oh, so bringing me along was a fucking mistake. This is what I do!” She yelled.

“No, the mistake was believing that you would use the skill set that I know you possess to do the job correctly!” I yelled back.

“The mistake was that I trusted you not to let your damn emotions cloud your judgment.” My chest was rising and falling as I took in deep breaths to control my anger. I didn’t get the shit. She claimed to want to avenge her father’s death, but she was acting like she wanted to join him.

“You almost got shot, Jourdan! Please explain to me why didn’t you see those motherfuckers on the roof? Huh? You’re my damn wife now, Jourdan. It’s my job to protect you.”

“I don’t need you to protect me,” she yelled.

“Did I ask you what you needed? I don’t expect you to ask; you’ll never have to. And that goes for anything.” I said as I glanced over to the passenger seat to see her with a pissed look on her face. I waited for her to answer, but she had none because she knew I was right.

“See, your problem is that you think it’s you against the fucking world. I’m not standing behind you, Jourdan; I’m standing beside you because it’s ‘us’ against the world. A few months ago, I was content with the way things were. But then you came along and flipped my world upside down in a good way. I fucking need you, Jourdan. I can’t have something happen to you. I just can’t. So, Baby, if you want to burn it all down today, I’ll pour the gasoline while you throw the match. We have to be smart about the shit, Baby. You have to fucking trust me.”

The rest of the ride back to our hotel was spent in silence. I thought again about how I had believed Brice had been a little officious when talking about Jourdan’s behavior regarding her father. I’d seen how she reacted once she thought she would get answers. I didn’t like it. She was now my world, and I loved her, regardless of whether she felt the same about me. I had to end this before she got herself killed. Which meant I was about to be on one.

CHAPTER 24

Jourdan

Ihad fucked up. Stephon was pissed. He was right. I knew better and had been trained to be the best, but I hadn’t acted like it. I was usually keen and picked up on things that felt out of place, but I hadn't seen the men on the roofs. I hadn’t been on my game since I’d convinced myself that my father had been purposely moved off the board. It was an inference that I wouldn’t change. However, I needed to be who I was trained to be, rather than this irrational version of myself. I also needed to lean into the trust I had for him wholly. I was one of the most sought-after hit women in the world, and I was acting like the young, inexperienced Jourdan who’d gone into that hotel room after Trip Callahan.

Damn! Do better, Jourdan!

I stared out the window until we returned to the hotel parking lot. It wasn’t a five-star hotel; it probably wasn’t even a three. It was small and had no more than sixty rooms. However, it was clean and conveniently located near where we needed to be. I’m sure Stephonhad chosen this one because I was with him, but I’d stayed in worse, so it didn’t bother me. It came with the job most of the time. Once we parked, Stephon rounded the car to let me out.

Well, Jourdan, this is a good sign. Right?

As I undid my seatbelt, I noticed that Stephon still had his head on a swivel. He reached down to grab my hand, allowing me the space to exit. When he closed the door, he never let go of my hand. Stephon was pulling me along quickly and as close to his body as he could get me. The concierge was at the desk like every other time we’d entered the hotel at this hour. It was quiet, but I could hear her chewing gum loudly. Her phone held all her attention until Stephon walked by. She looked up, making it a point to speak to him.

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