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After that minor bit of awkwardness, the atmosphere stayed relaxed for the rest of my parent’s visit. It wasn’t until they were getting ready to leave that my dad finally spoke up.
“So when were you going to tell us someone broke into your apartment?”
I froze but James spoke up for me.
“She said she calls you every Sunday, she was planning on calling you after the hike but then she got hurt.”
My dad is the calmest person in the world, he had to be to deal with my mom, but he looked annoyed at James for answering for me. I nodded quickly, ignoring the sharp pain that came whenever I moved too fast.
“He’s right. I was always planning on calling. I thought if I called earlier, Mom would freak out and think I was dying or something.”
That made my dad smirk and my mom scowled at him. “I would not have freaked out!” My dad raised an eyebrow at her and her face turned red as she seethed. “I am her mother, I have the right to worry!”
“Yes, dear.” He prodded her towards the door, ignoring her shouting. He glanced between me and James for a second before pausing at the door, his focus on me. “He told me there was some damage. Once the police clear you to go home, call me and I’ll come help you fix it.”
I beamed at him. “Thanks, Dad. You’re the best.”
My mom was still arguing with him as they left, shouting about how she has a mother’s instinct and he should start listening to her more. I shook my head. They were the epitome of opposites attract and they made me feel better about me and James.
He smirked. “Your family is interesting. Pretty sure your dad purposely waited until they were leaving before asking you about your apartment so your mom wouldn’t get upset at you again.”
I laughed. “Yeah, he’s subtly manipulative. He has to be with her. If he directly went against her on something, she’d just buckle down. He has to be sneaky.”
James tipped his head. “Maybe I should be taking notes.”
I gaped at him. “I’m not that bad!”
He laughed, a full deep laugh that made my heart soar. He looked so stressed and upset last night it hurt to watch. Now, he was relaxed and happy and it made me feel so much better. He was still snickering when he moved around to the end of the bed, grabbing a bag off the floor.
“Jo has this thing about buying people new clothes whenever they end up in the hospital. Liam’s sister started it and it’s become a tradition, I guess. She’s not allowed to go out shopping right now but she made Jaime go and she video called him so she could pick things out herself.”
I sifted through the bag, smirking at the items she picked. Apparently, she wasn’t content with something simple because it was all nerd gear. I wasn’t complaining, some of this has been on my wishlist for months. I hesitated before getting dressed though.
“James, how long is this going to last? I know it’s not safe to go back to my apartment right now but…”
He sat on the edge of my bed, his expression dark. “I know. I promise, we’re working on it. After you’re escape, they scattered again. It’s why I thought they were dealt with before. The minute something goes wrong, they disappear in all different directions. I thought they were handled. But we’ve got the whole team working on it now. We’ll deal with them as soon as we can find them.”
I leaned forward, cupping his cheek. “Good. Because if I have to spend a ton more time in your boring ass room I might go insane.”
It broke through his dark mood and he laughed. He helped me get dressed in the clothes Jo bought me, his face falling as he took in all the bruising but I kept making jokes and complaining about his room until he smiled at me again.
Sean discharged me but he surprised me when he followed us to the elevator. He smirked at me. “I’ve been called home. Apparently, my brother actually cares about me. He doesn’t want me here without security and since that breaks HIPAA, he decided to demand I come home instead and be around in case anyone gets hurt.”
We were met by security on the first floor. It was a sea of men in suits surrounding us as we made our way to the SUVs parked out front. James plucked me from the wheelchair they had been moving me in, keeping me close against his chest. My stomach dipped, worried we would be attacked right outside the hospital but nothing happened. I sat squished between Sean and James who were silent and vigilant the entire way back.
ChapterThirty
I thoughtLiam’s place was secure before. Now that there was an active threat, it was much busier. They wouldn’t even let us go past the gate without checking the vehicle for explosives, which was slightly terrifying. His house was starting to look like a military compound or something. At my confused look, Sean grinned.
“If there’s a threat to Jo, Liam doesn’t spare a single man from duty. Pretty sure if she asked him to destroy the city, it would be burning in less than an hour.”
My eyes bugged out. I’ve seen them together, they’re super cute, but I never would’ve expected that kind of dedication. I think I’d feel uncomfortable if someone loved me that intensely. I jerked my attention to James but he was watching out the window.
I never really thought about how he might feel about me. It was still too early to use the L word, wasn’t it? I know I care about him and I’d be devastated if he got hurt or I lost him, but that wasn’t love, right?
I was a little worried about it, honestly. We’ve already broken up once before and we’ve got a lot to work on. Like his addiction to working. Even now, he was scanning the yard, watching the commotion, even though he wasn’t needed out there. Liam was handling it. I could see him closer to a large storage building off to the side, looking over paperwork and talking to people around him. He didn’t even look stressed.
Once we stopped in front of the house, James focused back on me. He was gentle helping me from the too big SUV. Sean followed behind me to make sure I didn’t get hurt sliding out. Together they led me upstairs to James’s room. I could walk fine, other than being sore I wasn’t broken, but they seemed not to care. Sean left after I agreed to lay down for a bit but James hovered. I found myself on edge, waiting for him to disappear like usual, and it made me a little cranky.
