Page 50 of Trapped
Knowing it was a bad idea to call attention to my presence, but wanting to warn the guys, I texted Jamie, Jack, and AJ.
They must’ve held a mini-meeting because it took forever for me to get a response. A response in the form of Jack walking to my truck two minutes after the suspicious sedan drove off.
Jack put his hand on the roof and casually glanced around. “Where is it?”
I nodded my head in the direction the car had been. “It’s gone.”
“Any reason to suspect it’s a foe, not a friend?”
“My gut.” He smiled but didn’t say anything. “The same car was here when Finn was. The dark tinted windows made it stand out.”
He nodded. “You get the license plate?”
Holding back my wiseass remark about knowing how to do my job, I said, “Yes.”
“Any chance you’re going back to the office to run it?”
“No. I sent it to Doug.” I hated knowing I might not hear back until morning, but I couldn’t justify pulling him away from his family.
“You know you don’t need to stay, right?”
“I know.” How could I explain my need to Jack when I couldn’t explain it to myself?
Liar. You know why; you just won’t let yourself accept it because you know you can’t act on it.
He looked around again. “If you insist on staying, you might as well join us.”
“That’s not a good idea. Ashley doesn’t know I’m here.”
He raised an eyebrow, the same expression I’d seen on Jamie’s face.
“She knows.”
Of course, they’d told her. “Right. It doesn’t change the fact that she doesn’t want me here.”
“But you’re not leaving?”
“No, I’ll cover the front. Go, have fun.”
He shook his head, clearly confused by my actions. Or maybe not. Given his fierce protectiveness of Meg, he’d understand my desire to protect Ashley.
Just because she didn’t trust me didn’t negate my feelings. Keeping Ashley safe, even if she wouldn’t acknowledge the threat, was the least I could do.
“Suit yourself. You know where we are if you change your mind.”
Jack wasn’t gone more than a few minutes before Ashley walked out the front door and marched over to my truck.
“What the fuck, Casper. You just going to sit here staring at the house like a fucking creeper?” The sexy flush on her cheeks had me thinking with the wrong head.
“I’m not staring.”Lame response, Blaze.
She rolled her eyes so hard her lashes created a breeze.
“Look, I don’t want you here, but Jack said you won’t leave.”
Once again, I appreciated their loyalty to Ashley but hated that it was at the expense of their loyalty to me.
Who am I kidding? They have no loyalty to me. I’m an employee. And a pain-in-the-ass one at that.
