Page 46 of Fighting For You
“Maybe I am, Beast.” Defeat dropped over my head like water from a leaking faucet. “I don’t get it.”
Any trace of smugness vanished on his stern face. “What don’t you get?”
I exhaled, suddenly completely exhausted. “All of it. And I feel like you could explain it to me but based on whatever dynamic you’ve walked in with today, I don’t think I have much chance.”
He stared back at me, that obnoxiously big brain of his ticking away almost audibly. “Name a time and place and you can ask me whatever you want.”
My brows rose in surprise, and I scrambled through my schedule until I found the only empty window I could think of. “After the opening gala. I’m off at ten. We could meet in the bar at the resort.”
He nodded, gave me one last lingering look, then walked out.
I was watching him go when he turned. “Just make sure you’re ready to be honest, too.”
The challenge in his voice, the edge sayingI bet youwon’t dare tell the truth, had me readying my internal forces. I wasn’t going to cow to this man who I thought was my enemy but was maybe never actually that. I wasn’t going to let him win the honesty competition.
He could ask me anything he wanted.I, for one, had nothing to hide.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Jude
Each of us at Saint had a few specialty designations that came from our time on active duty, or in Eddie James-Williamson’s case, service. One of mine was all things tech, so much of my time would be spent watching camera feeds and surveilling the film fest on a larger scale, though I had a few shifts of event security to help mix things up. Staring at a screen for hours could get really mind-numbing.
It was a bit more fun when the likes of world-famous Jack McKean and hilarious and beloved Jenna Halter were in their black tie attire wandering a red carpet, except you could never just watch the celebrities. Proper surveillance meant keeping an eye on the entire scene and anticipating the unseen.
Some celebrities had hired us for extra event security, but some had brought in their own. For one of the festival’sbig sponsoring studios debuting two movies—one feature film and one documentary—they had hired a private security firm not unlike Saint, though much bigger.
And with a far more… gray reputation.
As the lead on event security and official partners with the local sheriff’s department and city, Bruce, Wilder, and Tristan were meeting with the Blackthorne Security reps this afternoon and they’d be inviting these guys and their whole team to join us for a drink at Craic.
The shakeup to our usual Friday night custom was supposed to pave the way for a positive working dynamic for the next week of the festival. The celebrities wouldn’t arrive until Sunday night at the earliest, and even though some paparazzi were trickling in early, most of them would wait until the money makers showed up.
This change to the schedule was why I walked in a few minutes later than right on time instead of going to hang with Stone. I usually left this space to Jess if she was in town because it wasn’t worth the hassle of showing up only for her to storm off.
But tonight, I didn’t think she’d leave. We hadn’t gotten to our heart to heart yet, but she wasn’t running or backing down now. And she knew things had changed, even if she couldn’t figure out how. I’d taken care of her and admitted to past feelings… but I had to assume she didn’t quite remember everything she’d said to me when she was delirious with fever.
“What a way to go.”The things admitted to—not just attraction butwantingme. It didn’t change everything, but it did mean I didn’t resist Kenny’s suggestion that I attempt to “get the girl” now. While I wasn’t confident, I was strangely… hopeful.
For what? I couldn’t pin it down completely, only that Iwasn’t dreading seeing her because of the inevitability she’d leave with a snarl the instant she saw me. She wouldn’t tonight—I’d put money on it.
The bar was even more crowded than usual for a Friday night with the extra Blackthorne personnel standing around. Bruce, Wilder, Adam, and Kenny appeared to be playing host at a handful of tables, setting down pitchers of local beer and water and doing their smiley, friendly thing.
It wasn’t until I saw Pop that I realized something was wrong.
As a highly trained operator, Jessica Korbel didn’t cower, but one look and I could tell her whole being was broadcasting that something was very off. The rigidity in her posture, the blank mask on her face, and the way she’d glued her hands to her sides. I’d seen her upset enough to know her default would normally be wrapping her arms around herself but for whatever reason, it looked like she’d forbidden herself from doing so.
Then my gaze shifted to the person smirking at her and the blood drained from my face in the same instant I started moving. Every instinct told me to hitch her over my shoulder and haul her away from here.
Kurt didn’t look all that different except for slightly longer hair and a longer goatee than he’d had when he left the unit. His body language and his “panty charmer” smile, as he’d disgustingly called it, were all too familiar.
I arrived just in time to hear him say, “Damn, Jessie. You look good.” He must’ve seen me coming because he turned, and his grin widened. “And there’s the hulking beast now.”
Baser instincts said “Just deck him!” but I’d tamed those—at least for the most part—decades ago. Instead, I dippedmy chin to acknowledge him, uninterested in giving him any fuel.
He’d burned everything between us long before he’d left Jess and blamed me for it. He’d lied repeatedly, and by the time I reported him, any good memories with him had turned to ash.
Now? I hardly felt anything for him. Not rage or anger or pity. But him next to Jess?
