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“Oh, it’s gorgeous!” I wasn’t a stranger to beautiful gifts, especially jewelry, but the way Jack turned something like this into a wonderful surprise was serendipitous.
Aaron left, and Jack was grinning from ear to ear.
“What did you say to him?” I asked. I was more curious than ever.
“I just told him the truth,” Jack said.
“You told him about my bad joke?” I was taken aback by how Jack had taken me unawares.
“No, no.” Jack laughed. “That’s nothing.”
“Then whatdidyou tell him?”
“Ok, well, I know him,” Jack said. “He’s former military too.”
“You know him?”Does this guy know everybody?
“Yeah, but not too well. I almost called him by the wrong name at first,” Jack said. “He was one of the cooks, and he would always make sure we got the best meals when I got out of basic.”
“But what did you tell him?”
Jack smiled. “I just told him the truth. I told him that I was with a real princess, and I asked him if he would be willing to help me make her happy.”
I could feel the joy coursing through me. Men had spoiled me before, but never in such a way for no reason other than to make me happy. In fact, half the time, when I got jewelry, it was because the man was trying to make up for some stupid thing he’d done.
This was different.Jackwas different.
I threw my arms around Jack and gave him a kiss. He embraced me, his powerful arms making me feel safe, his rock hard chest against mine, and I felt the warmth that came with being loved. It was like nothing else I had experienced in my life. I was falling for this man, and I couldn’t believe how quickly he had pulled at my heartstrings.
Is this real love?
12
JACK
Our days were too good to be true. Everywhere we went, I wanted to go out of my way to make her my top priority. Seeing Aaron was a stroke of luck and it felt like everything was too good to be true. In hindsight, it really was. We had been living comfortably on what I had earned on the smuggling job in Frankfurt, and I would occasionally take on odd jobs to pad my pockets and keep Emma comfortable. Aaron helped immensely with that; running into him had guaranteed we could live out here for as long as we wanted.
That was, until things started to change. It had been a few weeks, and I had noticed a slight difference in Emma. Something wasn’t right with her, and she had been acting strange. She had become distant. I’d done everything right, by the book, had made all the great moves of a textbook romance, and yet…it was almost as if she was hiding something from me. She still loved on me, but she had begun to act as if she had a big secret. She thought I didn’t know, and I didn’t want her to think I was suspicious of anything. To be fair, I didn’t think she was seeing anyone else, but I did feel like she was holding back something. We all have our secrets, and I didn’t blame her for not telling me everything. Still, there was something I couldn’t put my finger on that was different about her.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to assuage my suspicions. One day, when I returned home, Emma was gone and someone else was waiting for me. It was as I’d feared—I’d waited too long.
“So,” said the strange woman who had tended to me when I had been hurt. “How do you plan to explain all of this to Braden Reed?”
“Where’s Emma?” I had no time for this mess, and I was going to get Emma back whether the Reeds liked it or not.
The woman laughed. “She’s safe. Don’t you worry about her.”
I had planned on leaving Emma in Thailand while I returned to the States to make nice with the Reeds, but now the problems I had run from had come to me. I couldn’t risk anything happening to Emma.
“She’s safe?” I asked.
The woman nodded. “Nothing will happen to her. She’s leverage against the Kings. While you’ve been eloping with your hot young redhead, we’ve been at war with them, and, as it turns out, you’re a pretty valuable piece of the puzzle.”
“And who are you?”
“Karen Whitaker. The Reeds retained me as an independent consultant,” she said. “Reed wanted a second opinion on you, as to why you took this beautiful, young woman. He wants to know if he can trust you. For him to do that, you have to convince me.”
“And are you convinced?” I didn’t know what to make of this woman, but if she laid a hand on Emma…I was going to end her,andBraden Reed.
