Page 49 of Fight for You
“Yep. She couldn’t stop crying, and I couldn’t turn around. Hug her. Or any of the sort. I broke her. Now Big Brody will break me.” He lifted a shoulder. “He’ll try.”
This man had cut off parents who wished to be part of his life. How did I pick a side when my loyalty belonged to the man who saved me? Should I console him now, and we discuss how ridiculous he sounded later?
I could only console him in one way. A way he’d already rejected.
He doesn’t want me.Sure, the kisses we shared were to die for. But there was a line I’d jump over; he wouldn’t.
My hands scrubbed through my hair. What a stupid thought? An invasive thought. A lie. It contradicted every action Jamie had taken to get me out of sexual bondage.Let’s face it.I still equate love with sex.
Before I could speak, Jamie’s cell phone rang. Contrary to my expectations of him ignoring it, he rose to his feet and answered. “Mack.”
A sigh ranthrough me as I exited the city bus. Bone tired. We were in south Los Angeles. Dominguez Hills. Still hadn’t made it to Long Beach. I wilted against the bench at the bus stop.
“No. We gotta keep moving.”
“Nobody’s chasing us. We don’t have to hide inside a nasty fast-food place while waiting for the next bus to come.” I’d thrown away my clothes after taking a birdbath in a graffiti sink. Now, I was down to three sweatsuits. “It’s late. If the bus doesn’t see us or have a drop-off, it might not stop.”
“Jordyn, it’s just a short walk.” Jamie stood behind a stroller that we’d bought at a swap meet. Rebel lay hidden beneath a baby blanket, snoring softly.
“This isn’t Long Beach. Who’s gonna help us if not your parents?”
“We’ll help ourselves,” he grumbled. I sensed his frustration that I’d given his family a pass. If he could go back in time, see the conviction on his face when saying Clan MacKenzie would save us.
Well, he just needed to believe me. Heck, I believed him. I knewwe’dget saved. They loved him. They wouldn’t have left me …
Then why didn’t I remember my innocence? Most girls remembered when they gave away their virginity—or when someone stripped it away from them. Why had I experienced my first period in captivity? Why hadn’t I graduated from high school?
Okay, so maybe his behavior resulted from the following: his familywouldsave him. And another girl. Another little white girl.Ugh. That sounded so racist. Still, it made sense. Six-year-old Jamie might’ve told them about me, my color, and they didn’t care?
Jamie shouldered his backpack. “Get up. Now. Please.”
Alright. At least my backpack fit beneath the stroller seat, so Islunk after him down the street. In no time, we stopped in front of a fenced-off area. The entire block appeared occupied by some sort of distribution center. “Are we stealing a truck?”
“Something like that.”
“Okay?” I lengthened the word, questioningly.
Jamie strode toward a sign and flicked his wrist. Stiff and annoyed. Yep. He was big mad. I read the sign.MacKenzie Freight.
He chuckled softly.
“What’s so funny?”
“When my niece Mia—Leith’s daughter—was three, my family had to speak in code words. Say we’re moving organic food after she overheard a conversation about Fruit Loops.”
“Your family has a contract with cereal? Sweet. Let’s eat. I’m more of an Aunt Jamima girl. Although, I liked to stare at the pancake box and imagine Jamima was my auntie. It burned me up inside when they changed the name, though.”
“No food contracts. Someone was speaking in code, saidFruit Loops. Big mistake. I’m surprised how much you like breakfast but hated that fast-food place we went to. Anyway, they move merchandise. The kind that kills.”
I nodded, following him to a keypad. “So back to little Mia. She overheard this talk of Fruit Loops and went Post-al. Get it.”
“I get it. Post cereal. If I’m weird, you’re cheesy.” He keyed in a code.
“Excuse me.” I folded my arms. “I didn’t call you cheesy for theMission Impossiblereference earlier today. Now get back to the story, soldier.”
“Okay, captain.” Jamie stepped ahead of me, the corners of his mouth tugged up like I amused him. He didn’t actually believe I outranked him—not in this world—but it was cute that he played along.
Cute. Dangerous. Torture.
