Page 52 of Fight for You
DOMINGUEZ HILLS
Jamie
My longingfor Jordyn transcended the physical realm. Why was it so easy for me to fall into the trap where I correlated feeding her mind, her heart, and her soul with stolen touches and kisses?
My shirt was off by the time she lifted her legs around me. Not sure how that happened because our lips never left their locked and loaded position. It was like we were trying to speak to each other through the heat of our mouths to solve the ache with contact.
I planted Jordyn onto the office desk, swiping the table calendar, a glass jar, and a telephone handset to the floor. The jar shattered on the cement. The pens clattered like a warning. My hands gripped her thighs like they were the last solid thing anchoring me to earth. Jordyn reached down to pull off her hoodie. I stepped back for much-needed air.
Head bowed, I dragged a hand through my hair, trying to steady my breathing. Steady my heart.
And there it was. A faint splotch. Blood. Perfectly inlaid in aFourth of July rug. Mam came to the office every season and spruced up the place. She never must’ve gotten around to swapping the firework holiday rug with something more festive for Christmas. Heck, for Halloween and Thanksgiving.
You did this to your mam, Jamie.
I shook the truth from my mind. Mam had a knack for finding colors that would conceal a smidge of blood, even after slapping her sons and nephews who left said blood.
My weak spot had just removed her hoodie. Hands stopped at the hem of the shirt she hadn’t pulled up. A look that could turn my heart into glass and shatter it flashed over her face.Shame. She murmured, “Is it … me, Jamie?”
Her insecurities gutted me. “What? No.”
“I stink?”
I roughed a hand over my face. “No. Well, we both do. That industrial soap in the bathrooms before dinner helped a little. After years in close quarters with Marine Raiders, my sense of smell is scorched. One time, I sat in a pigsty with an MK18 carbine mounted with a holographic sight for hours. Didn’t take a breath.”
She chuckled, despite herself, the sound pulling at something tight in my chest. I needed to fully explain why I stopped so she’d never have to be insecure around me. Never have to wonder. Two reasons. One—“We sort of stepped on a crime scene.”
“What?” She rushed off the table.
I crouched down, pointing to the familiar splotch on Mam’s festive rug on the white portion of a USA flag. “Blood.”
“That’s … something recent? Maybe someone had a papercut or a nosebleed.”
Standing, I approached a set of built-in cabinets and opened them. I waved a hand. “Exhibit A. More of the same rug. The matriarch of Clan MacKenzie always buys extra to swap them out when?—”
“Your mam.” She took on the accent. What a hell of a job.
“I don’t talk like that.”
“You do.” Jordyn folded her arms. “You?—”
“Ihold no grudges against them.” I had to get to point two and eliminate her insecurities, but Jordyn put her hand on her hip. And you didn’t cut off a woman when she did that.
“You’re gonna refer to her asMom,Mam,Momma, bruh. I don’t care. Put some respect on her name. She pushed you into this world, sweating, bleeding, and hollering. No matter how horrible this place is, she gave you a chance.”
I stared at Jordyn for a beat. Man, she had that mouth. For the first time, I wondered if she was using it wisely. Wriggling my jaw, I continued, “Mompurchases more than one rug when updating the office each season and tells the family—”My family?Crap, Jordyn had a way of making me feel petty at the moment. “Tells ‘em to swap out the rug if necessary.” I reached down, moved a portion of the rug, and gestured to the trap door, mostly hidden by the desk. “Maybe if I tell you what goes on down there, you’ll be on my side.”
I didn’t believe that how far a man fell away from God dictated much. They all had a chance at forgiveness. The second a searing pain struck a Clan MacKenzie enemy as they lay on that cold slab down there, they’d remember their Maker. But what of my clan? Would they stop playing judge? That answer resounded in my mind.A big fatnae.
Here, I wanted to discuss us, but my family kept coming up. After all those years away, they’d pushed their way into my life. My mind. The only relationship I cared about.
Jordyn took my hand. “Based on the look in your eyes, I get the similarities between their actions and our ordeal. Just a different approach—physical strength instead of sexual subjugation. I know without a doubt that they haven’t crossed that line. Maybe I’m biased. It’s easier for me to hate someone who dominates to capture another’s innocence. To dehumanize them with slaps, andchoking, and …” Her voice broke. “All the other things I’ve gone through.”
Her truth wasn’t easy. But it was honest, and in all honesty, I wanted to expire every man who’d ever touched her.
As if she sensed that I’d always protect her, Jordyn smiled reluctantly. “But the way I see it, Jamie, your parents judge wrongs. Just like you.”
My anger spiked. “Why are you giving them a pass, Jordyn? What’s wrong is wrong! I give people a choice. To do better. To change.”
