Page 47 of Fighting For You
That turned my blood to lava in my veins, pumping slow, steady, but magma hot.
“Kurt.”
I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of using his old unit name. None of us would. He’d become a PNG—persona non grata—and wouldn’t be able to attend unit functions or reunions ever again. He’d thought he’d stay eligible, but as more truths came out after he left, he was out fully.
Jess must’ve missed all this, too, somehow.
“How fun to have the gang back together again,” he said, and hooked an arm over Jess’s shoulder. “I sure missed you, Jessie.”
She hitched forward, almost like she’d dry-heaved. “Please remove your arm.”
He made a face but did so.
Good to see he can listen now, at least.
“I guess you’re both still bitter, huh? Silly me for imagining we’d all let water run under the bridge. ButI’mnot the one who couldn’t handle losing a prize now, was I?” He raised one eyebrow at me like this would move me to respond.
It didn’t.
I wasn’t scared of Jess finding out he knew I’d been in love with her. He’d told her something along those lines when he’d claimed I didn’t want them together. She mustnot’ve believed him based on her response to my confession, but he’d tried to place any blame fully on my shoulders. Technically, he wasn’t wrong about my feelings, but it wasn’t simply because I was a petty jerk who didn’t want anyone to “have” her if I couldn’t.
“Just do what you came to do and leave when the job’s done. We’ll play nice and won’t even let on what a jerk you are.”
Her words were completely calm, but her posture still had that stick-still quality to it.
“Aw, Jessie. Of course I’ll do what I came to do. I’m withBlackthorne.” He said it like it was something to be proud of and not where anyone with questionable ethics landed post-military. They were mercenaries at best.
“Don’t say her name.” It came out like a growl, completely unplanned, and I saw Jess stiffen next to me.
Kurt chuckled like my threat was empty. He had no idea how much I’d love an excuse to introduce his face to the pavement.
Jess didn’t use words, but the ice in her voice and her total lack of acknowledging my statement effectively shut down any more comments I might’ve made.
“Good for you, Kurt. Glad you found your way.”
Her eyes flicked to mine and her jaw flexed as she clenched it, then she turned on her heel and beelined for the table where her friends stood watching.
I tipped my head toward the women, whose eyes were all on me and Kurt. Dove grinned, Elise dipped her head, Nikki and Catherine offered soft smiles, and Jo and Winnie had already turned their attention to Jess as she arrived at the table.
“Pretty pathetic, man. I would’ve thought you’d have hit that by now.”
He glanced after Jess with a leer I wouldn’t have imagined possible for a man who’d supposedly loved and planned to marry the woman, but at this point, I didn’t put anything past him.
I didn’t bark at him or slap him across the face like I might’ve loved to do. Instead, I just gave him a dead-eyed look I knew he’d hate. He’d never been able to keep his mouth shut and he’d always hated how I could.
“Still pining after her. You probably followed her here, sniffing at her feet, huh? If she hasn’t fallen for it yet, she’s not going to. I’ve been out of the picture for more than five years—if she was going to move on with you, she would’ve done it.”
A hundred thoughts raced through my mind—insults, visions of clocking him right in his stupid smile, fantasies of grabbing him by the collar and pinning him to the wall like a high school bully… instead, I just grunted and moved away.
He made some kind of dismissive noise which I ignored. In a few seconds, I’d reached Jess’s table. Was she okay? Had he said anything awful before I got there? Could I do anything to make it better for her?
“Hey, do you?—”
She whipped around. “I do not.”
I blinked. I hadn’t finished the sentence. She had no idea what I was going to say. So… I’d try again.
“I was going to say do you?—”
