I had it bad.
We didn’t pull up to my place until nearly ten that night, having waited until the latest reasonable hour to drive back into town.
“Thank you for an amazing weekend,” I murmured when we’d pulled to the curb. It felt strange after everything we’d shared the past three days to say goodnight as though we’d just been on a regular date.
“It was amazing, wasn’t it?” He smiled, cupping my face, leaning over for a kiss.
All of a sudden, I felt unbearably awkward. What did I say? Nothing felt right.Call me?
Too casual.
I think I’m in love with you?Way, way too much too soon.
Instead I elected to nod, kiss him again, and hop out of the SUV with my bag and Kodi in tow.
The loft felt empty and foreign when I stepped inside, flipping every light on that I could think of after disarming the alarm.
When my buzzer rang, I moved to it, confused. “Hello?”
“Hey,” his deep voice returned, sending my heart back into its now accustomed state of pound.
I buzzed him in, listening to his heavy footsteps hitting the stairs.
“Did you forget something?” I asked when he came into view.
“Yeah,” he replied, moving toward me with determination. He moved in close, pushing us back into my loft and kicking the door shut with his shoe.
“You.”
Chapter 7
MASON
Rock music blared throughout the Broncos gym as I heaved the weight-laden bar up over my chest, the burn a welcome balm to the unsettled energy I’d felt since I’d watched Ellie walk into her office building just an hour before, after I’d dropped her off.
Having her away from me, knowing her name was in the press, especially after what I now knew about her past, made it hard to concentrate. I’d thought I was living before, that feeling alive was being tackled full-out on the field. But I’d been way fucking wrong. She lit up my world in a way I never knew was possible. I’d known her such a short time, but there it was. I wasn’t denying it, and I sure as hell was going to fight to protect it.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I sat up, my chest heaving as I brought it to my ear. “Gun,” I greeted my childhood friend Gunner, who was more like a brother and a long-standing member of the Knights MC. “Need a run on someone.”
“Mornin’ to you too, asshole.” He returned without ire.
“It’s important,” I gritted out. Gunner liked to fuck with people. It was typically good-natured, but I didn’t have time for it. Not today.
“It’d have to be,” he replied easily, and I knew what he was referring to. In all the years we’d known each other, I’d never asked him for a favor. “I need a name and anything else you got.”
“My girl, her ex is bad news, as in psychotically bad. Name’s Brian Turner. She’s got a restraining order, and supposedly he hasn’t crossed Colorado lines since, but I need more assurance.”
“A psychotic ex? How long have you known this girl? Em said you were seeing someone, but you sure you want to go down this road?” he pressed.
It was only with the knowledge that I knew he came from a place of concern that had me barely holding back from losing my shit. “Don’t fucking try me, Gun. She’s it. End of. Now, you gonna help me or not?”
“Oh, so it’s like that?” I could hear his grin through the phone. “Does the rest of the Jackson clan know about this?”
“They know about her, but they don’t know she’s it,” I replied, though they could probably guess. I’d never talked about a woman, much less taken her away for a weekend. I was overdue to call home, but my priority was making sure Ellie was safe.
“I’ll look into it,” he promised. “Text me his name, hers too, and anything else you can think of.”
“Thanks, Gun.” I sighed with relief. After everything that had happened to Ellie, I needed to do something. I’d felt so fucking helpless holding her as she recounted the nightmare that bastard had put her through.
