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“Rain check. You need to eat.” Ewan lifted me back up on the counter, handed me my plate, and propped next to me. “I talked to Rae before you woke up. Nick’s still stable. Not much change other than him squeezing her hand when prompted.” I nearly dropped my fork mid-bite. “I thought you would like that. So eat up.” I shoved my food down, barely chewing, and for the first time in a week, I didn’t puke.
Amelia wandered down a bit later, dressed and ready to go hang out with Ollie so Lydia could work. I hated the thought of her not being with Ewan, but she would be safe at my parents’ house. We dropped her off and got to the hospital in time for nurse shift change. Rae practically tackled me, talking about him responding to her. I’m not sure she took a breath. Overnight, Nick had started squeezing her hand in response to questions. I teared up, again.
I fell into him when I finally got to go in and saw him awake. The tube was still in his throat, but his eyes were open and filled with recognition when he saw me. His hands were restrained because he tried to rip the breathing tube out when he came to. I talked calmly to him, telling him he was in an accident, but he was going to be okay. My best friend squeezed my hand and would gag from the tube occasionally, but the nurse said it was normal. I sat and talked to him while Rae went to see Liara at our house and take a well-deserved nap. I still felt guilty, still blamed myself, but Nick had fought through. As much as he should have been angry for the hell I brought on them, he never would be, and would never mention it.
“You have that ‘just-got-laid’ look.” Nick cocked an eyebrow at me, making me giggle as I plopped down next to him and handed him half of my meatball sub. It took nearly two weeks for him to be able to talk to us, but once the tubes were out, he was back to being Nick. “Well, BooBoo, am I right?” He talked through the side of his mouth while he chewed. He hadn’t called me BooBoo in ages, but I still called him Lunchbox.
“None of your business, perv.” I hit him in the chest. “Just because you are in a dry spell, doesn’t mean you get to ask me personal shit.” The banter went on, with him trying to make me blush. It worked, of course. The guy could push my buttons. Once our sandwiches were done, I wheeled him out to the curb where Rae waited with her cute little SUV and a couple of nurses came out to help us load him up. Fortunately, their condo was on the lower level of the building. Nick hobbled in on crutches and collapsed on the couch, taking a deep breath. Liara jumped up on the couch next to him and her whole butt wagged in response to him being home. I let myself out, leaving Nick on the couch with Rae and Liara.
The guilt of what happened was still fresh, but I put on a good face until I went to drive home from their house. I cried the whole way. Nick was in good spirits and would never blame me, but the suffocating feeling that I had brought it all on was there, bearing down on me. I pulled in at home. Home. I was still terrified that the other shoe was waiting to fall. Mason was still out there, but the house was safe. Ewan went out of his way to make it the next Fort Knox.
TWENTY-FOUR
Ewan
I turned my phone off, slamming it a little too hard on the counter. I had no idea what to do. The bastard had gotten a hold of my number and was sending everything from death threats to pictures. Mason had been near the house, but not close enough for the cameras to pick him up. He sent me pictures of me kissing her against the car in the driveway, of her and Amelia on the porch swing, and most recently, her helping Nick into her car to go eat lunch. I couldn’t tell her. Jovie was living almost normally again, Nick was improving, and as far she knew, things were quiet. In reality my work phone rang several hundred times a day, but no one was on the line and the texts were even worse. Samuel was tracing it the best he could, but the bastard was smart. Mason was some kind of tech genius or something. If I changed my number, she would know something was wrong, so I simply ignored it, keeping my phone on silent and deleting all the messages as they came in. For weeks on end, it didn’t let up.
Jovie still threatened to leave when anyone brought up Mason, saying it was dangerous to stay with me, but I silenced it quickly. She swore that Amelia or I were next, and she was right. Mason had made it very clear that I was to stay away from her, but I wasn’t going anywhere. Especially after the night I had planned. Jove was mine, and no psycho was taking her from me.
She came in from work, tired and dirty, quickly stripping to get in the shower. While she was in there, I left the dress and shoes by the bed with a note to meet me downstairs. I got dressed in Amelia’s room, texting Reese and deleting the texts from an anonymous number. Every time I blocked one, another started, then he moved to an untraceable number. If I ever ran across the bastard, I would kill him myself. I adjusted my tie and brushed down any stray hairs. I had kept my tight curls short, but Jovie liked to run her hands through my hair so I had been keeping it longer. Whatever made her happy. She kept hers long for me, so I could return the favor.
I had to hold my breath when my woman came down in the dress I bought her. The skirt stopped at her knees and was full. The top had lace detail along her chest, and the straps hung off her shoulders. The midnight-blue made her skin look even creamier and caused the freckles on her shoulders to pop. I nearly threw her over my shoulder and dragged her ass back to bed like a caveman, but I kept my composure. At the bottom of the stairs, she held her hands out, spinning around for me to see the full effect. I nodded my approval, eating the space between us in two long strides and grabbing her up.
“You look amazing.” I kissed the top of her head. “Ready to go?” Jovie pulled my face down for a kiss, and I gave in gladly. Her tongue stroked mine, making me hard, and making it even more difficult to leave the house.
She grabbed my tie. “What’s the occasion?” The look in her eyes made me need to take a step back. “Did I miss something?”
“No, we haven’t been out alone since our first date. Amelia is with Tia, and I thought it would be nice. Just us.” We went out with Amelia all the time, but rarely got out alone. Jovie nodded, looping her arm with mine. I opened her car door, bracing for her to tell me off, but she only smiled. I drove with her hand in mine between us to her first surprise for the evening. We pulled up in the parking lot across from the Historical Bijou Theatre and I let her out, leading her across the street to the theatre and through the door. It was a beautiful place. The blood-red covering the floors and seats accented the cream and cold walls and ceiling. Our seats were a couple of rows back and in the aisle. Other people trickled in, and I checked the balcony, making sure everything was in place.
“What is going on?” Jovie crossed her legs, adjusting to face me.
“A surprise.” How she didn’t know what I had brought her to was beyond me. It was on the radio and on Facebook for weeks before the event. I was actually shocked as hell that she hadn’t already planned on going. The seats filled up, the lights dimmed, and the crowd hushed.
A woman in a cream dress clicked onto the stage and introduced herself. “And without further ado, Andy Cline.” Jovie’s mouth fell open and she squeezed my hand. She clapped, bouncing on the edge of her seat. Andy walked out on stage waving and the crowd exploded again. He talked for a while, discussing his newest book and Jovie watched with more attention than anyone in the room. Andy’s book came out three years before and was quickly snatched up to be a feature film. The sci-fi thriller was one of her favorites. I met Andy in college when the author spoke at a lecture and we ended up at the same bar later. Jove talked about him like the guy created the moon, not just wrote about it. Andy and I really didn’t keep in touch, but when I found out he was coming to our town to speak, I reached out. He remembered me and sent me a set of tickets. I asked him for a huge favor and he agreed without hesitation.
Then he asked for questions. I stood, scooted past her, and strode up to the stage. I tried to look confident, but I was a mess. Or as Andy would say, “A fucking wreck.” I stopped at the microphone facing him; Andy gave me a nod to begin and I did.
“While I’m thrilled to be here, I don’t have a question for you, Andy.” He smirked. I took the mic, turned back and dropped down in front of a wide-eyed Jovie. My hands were shaking as I pulled the velvet box from my pocket and she covered her mouth. We hadn’t talked about getting married, ever. The subject hadn’t come up at all in the months we had spent together, so I was being daring as hell asking her in public. “Jovie Reed.” I flipped the box open, but she didn’t even look. Instead, she was shooting daggers at me and moving her gaze to Andy every few seconds. Her face was stained bright red and her hand covered her mouth. At least I had gotten the surprise factor. Through my pulse pounding I could hear my photographer taking pictures.
“Get on with it, motherfucker! We’re at my show, and I have books to sign later,” Andy shouted at me, the audience laughed, and I cleared my throat.
“Will you marry me?” Her eyes snapped to mine, someone let out a whistle, and Jovie choked out a breath. It was silent for a beat, but it felt like an eternity. The realization that I had made a huge mistake snaked into my thoughts, but then she nodded, dropping her hand from her mouth. I slid the ring on, stood, and jerked her up into me. Andy whooped from the stage, motioning us to come up to the front. He jumped down and the people I had positioned in the audience took pictures for us. I was beaming like a damn fool, holding onto her waist for dear life. Poor Jovie could barely smile for her shock.
We sat back down, and Andy started talking again. Jovie kept looking from the ring on her finger to me. She looked completely dumbfounded. “Everyone knows.” I whispered to her. Her mouth fell open. “It’s engraved too. Do you like it?” Jovie reluctantly slid the ring off to study the engraving and her shoulders slumped. The canary diamond in the center was circled by rubies and a sapphire adorned each side. The inside of the band said, “Tale as old as time.” She nodded, crying again, and leaned into me.
The show went on another hour or so and we stood in line to get her an autographed copy of his book and Andy took more pictures with us, congratulating us and making Jovie cry all over again. I took her hand, leading her to the car in the misty rain. Once we got to the car, she stopped me and looked up at me through her lashes. I slammed my mouth to hers, and her hands slid up my chest to my neck. I fisted her hair gently, easing her head back, and kissing her harder. I needed her to feel what I felt, to understand how much I loved her, so I put it into a kiss. I was hers, Jovie owned me, all of me, and nothing was going to stop her from being mine.
TWENTY-FIVE
Jovie
I leaned my head against the glass, watching the rain as Ewan drove us home. His phone was buzzing in the cup holder, but he ignored it. It had been doing it for a week, and while I had my suspicions, I didn’t ask. He didn’t want me to worry, but I was. Nightmares plagued me, popping up at least three nights a week, and they always ended with everyone being dead and me being raped. I kept it a secret, so I couldn’t be angry with him for keeping the texts from me. When he caught me staring at his phone, Ewan kissed the back of my hand. I looked down at the huge ring on my finger. I hadn’t even had a wedding the first time, much less an engagement ring. I was dragged down to the courthouse in a daze of shock and shame where my mother watched us get married. She made a point to tell everyone we came across that we were getting married because I was pregnant. When Davis was supposed to say “I do” he grumbled an “I guess”, and I threw up the rest of the day. It took me years to forgive my mother for everything and to forgive myself. A few days after we were married, Davis tossed me a ring with a casual, “Here ya go.” It was a plain gold band, hideous and cheap looking. I glanced down at the ring on my hand; it was neither hideous nor cheap. The man had literally bought me an engagement ring based on my favorite bookish movie and had proposed with the help of my favorite sci-fi author. Andy had to be in on it; there was no way an award-winning author just let random people take over his talk like Ewan had. I tried to picture me in a wedding dress, but it was hard to do. Now Ewan in a tux was easy, the tux on the floor was even easier. I had to think of colors and guest lists, and we had to set a date. I was getting married.
We pulled in the driveway right after eleven. “So everyone knows?” Man, my family is a bunch of secret-keeping liars. He nodded, leaning across the car to kiss me before we climbed out.
“I asked your dad weeks ago. Mike promptly told me to talk to your mother. I talked to her and Reese and Lydia and then Nick. It was a lengthy process.” Ewan pushed his key in the lock, letting us in, and quickly punched in the code to keep the alarm from going off. Before I could make it to the stairs, he snatched my hand, tugged me backward, and shoved me into the wall. Ewan pressed against me, gripping my waist as I tugged on his tie, loosening it. Ours tongues tangled, his hand slid into my hair and he pressed his erection into my hip. Then I snapped out of my Ewan-induced fog and shoved him off. Something was wrong. The alarm didn’t chirp when the door opened, and the dogs were too quiet.
“What?” Ewan looked over my face and a chill ran up my spine. I felt the blood leave my face and move to my quickening heart rate. “Jovie?” He said my name then his back stiffened. I slid my hand into his pocket and pressed the button on the side of his phone, slid my finger on the screen and held down the screen. Hopefully, I engaged the auto-dial for someone. My pulse was ringing in my ears, and I could barely breathe through the dryness in my throat. You could have heard a mosquito buzz from a mile away in the quiet. Ewan caught my eyes, keeping himself in front of me, and dropped his hand from my hair to reach for his pocket.
