Southern Romantic-Suspense Boxed Set (Southern Romantic-Suspense Novel Book 0) Page 16

  “I’m sure I don’t need to try it on. I’m sure it’s perfect, just like everything you do,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

  Jordan laughed in relief. “Whew! I thought you were gonna give me a difficult time again.”

  Jaynee narrowed her eyes. “Do I give you a hard time? I’m sorry; I don’t mean to. I just don’t want you to assume you have to spend money on me to make me happy. I was just as content drinking coffee, window shopping, and climbing a mountain with you.”

  “I know, Jaynee, and I’m grateful. I know you didn’t know I had money, but I have plenty, I assure you. I’ve had no one to spend it on these last few years, so allow me to have a little fun, okay?”

  Jordan took the pink bag from her, acting as though he were going to peek, so she attempted to grab it back as he held it out of her reach.

  “You said you wanted to be surprised,” she reprimanded.

  “That I did,” he conceded, relinquishing the bag.

  He slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her safely to his side. She always felt so protected with Jordan as if nothing could ever touch her. It seemed he was always looking for danger, as if someone was going to swoop in at any second and carry her off. It must be the cop mentality, since they were underground, how could it get any safer?

  ***

  This wasn’t good; this couldn’t be happening. Jordan was going to ruin everything by getting married. If something happened to him now, everything would go to his wife.

  Who gets married after only a few days? Admittedly, most of the things Jordan had done had been crazy, but everything had always worked out for him. Jordan got everything; he had the Midas touch. Everything Jordan bought and sold always paid off. He never made a mistake — until now. No way would this marriage succeed, and when it didn’t, when it fell apart, his bride would get everything. That couldn’t happen; it had been too long for everything to fall apart now. There had to be somehow to make this work, some way to benefit from this added inconvenience. Maybe it could, maybe this woman would be worth something too.

  It would take time to formulate a new plan, something executed perfectly so there would be no suspicions. Time, it was a precious commodity, but in the end, everything would have its payoff. It would all be worth it in the end.

  ***

  Jordan suggested eating at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner so they could watch the Fall of Atlantis.

  Jaynee watched the show in awe, feeling a little melancholy that siblings would fight over money, since she didn’t have any brothers or sisters.

  The story told of King Atlas deciding which of his children would rule Atlantis. The siblings’ greed ended up poisoning the kingdom — and eventually, one another. The gods determined to destroy Atlantis with fire and flood as a gigantic winged beast watched from its perch while moving statues of fire and ice appeared.

  Jordan never ceased to amaze her. She found herself enthralled with stories of his military service, family, and his construction company, but she noticed he never mentioned police work.

  After dinner, they strolled by an aquarium containing sharks, rays, and other sea life vying for food fed to them by a diver. Jaynee stood mesmerized. Such uncomplicated gestures on Jordan’s part, simple things like this made her feel special. He must spend all his time thinking about what he’ll show her next.

  Her life had been so boring before him. As she reflected back on her day-to-day life, it was a wonder she hadn’t died from boredom. With Jordan, everything seemed to be an adventure. When the feeding frenzy ended, Jordan took her hand and led her toward the exit.

  Overall, it was a spectacular day, and she was exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to retreat to their hotel, relax around the pool, and then retire early to their room, but Jordan had wanted to go dancing.

  Jordan pressed his lips to Jaynee’s hair. She smelled incredible, the familiar vanilla scent that was uniquely Jaynee. He’d always appreciated perfume, but her simple, fresh smell was warm and seductive.

  He’d told her dancing, but now all he wanted was to relax with her in his arms. Soon, he’d be back to the pressures of everyday life.

  “Jaynee ...” he whispered her name, appreciating the way it sounded on his lips, knowing he was the only man ever to call her by her middle name. He liked that.

  “Mmm?” she asked, barely a murmur from her sensuous lips.

  He didn’t want to disappoint her, but he really had no desire to leave the room all night. He wanted to lie in bed with her snuggled against him, even if they did nothing. Simply holding her would be fulfilling. She sounded drained anyway.

  “Are you still up for dancing tonight, or are you too exhausted?” he asked tentatively.

  She lifted her head, and her eyes caught his, those beautiful cat-like eyes. “Jordan, I’ll be content with whatever you want.”

  She clearly didn’t want to disappoint him. Did that mean she didn’t want to go, or she did want to? That’s what happened when he didn’t just make decisions, something he’d learned his entire life. Make a decision ... see it through. He was a man of action, and it had served him well. He wasn’t going to change. He’d always followed his gut feelings in business — and life. He’d certainly done that where Jaynee was concerned.

  “Then we’ll stay in this evening,” he said. “We can go dancing tomorrow. I’d rather just hold you the entire evening — in private.” There. That was his M.O. Make a decision, stick to it. She’d get used to it ... he hoped.

  Jaynee smiled her sweet smile. He loved to see her smile; she didn’t do it often enough. “That sounds wonderful. I was contemplating the same thing. Maybe a little time around the pool to get heated up, and then we can go back to the room?”

  He kissed the top of her head again. “That’s my girl. We’re thinking more and more alike every minute.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Yesterday ...

  Patricia Monroe peered into the hospital room, hating the grief she saw on her son’s face. He hadn’t eaten or left Jaynee’s bedside, and it showed in the deep dark circles under his eyes.

  She ran her fingers through her son’s hair as she’d done when he was a child. “Jordan, honey, you need to eat something and try to get some rest. It’s been almost two days. You can’t continue without food or sleep.” Her voice echoed in the cold room. She hated the hospital. If it wasn’t an emergency, her kids would have to hog tie her and drag her here.

  Exhausted physically and mentally, her son leaned into her hand. “I know, Mom, I just can’t leave. What if she wakes up and I’m not here for her? What then?” he fretted, his head falling into his hands. “She’ll think I don’t care ... that I don’t love her...” Obviously not wanting to say more, he shook his head.

  She’d asked him, but he refused to talk about it. The only thing she knew was that Jaynee was here because she’d been shot ... presumably self-inflicted. For the life of her, she couldn’t imagine why Jaynee would have shot herself.

  She despised seeing her son like this. He’d always been strong. He’d taken care of the family after his daddy had died, providing for them all, even gave her daughters’ husbands jobs. He was her baby, a man she knew, but always her baby. She loved Jaynee too, like a daughter, but now she felt resentment and betrayal at what Jaynee was doing to her son.

  “I spoke with the doctor, Jordan. They won’t bring Jaynee outta the coma for a while, not ’til the swelling is under control. Just take a break for a few minutes, for me, please. Just long enough to get something to eat and clear your head. It’ll be good for you. That way you can be here when she wakes up.”

  If she wakes up, Pat thought, but she wouldn’t dare utter the words to Jordan. He was madly in love with Jaynee. Even though things seemed rough lately, his feelings would never alter. She’d noticed the difference at Thanksgiving. Jaynee had appeared normal, but Jordan had been withdrawn and angry. He’d sat on the sofa most of the day brooding, and then he’d been rude when he was ready to leave. Sh
e’d never seen him act like that, especially around Jaynee. But she knew his feelings would never change; he’d love Jaynee until the day he died.

  It was the same when she’d met Jordan’s daddy and his grandfather before him had met his wife. The Monroe men seemed destined for love at first sight or as Pat’s mother-in-law had alleged, the thunderbolt. Pat had never believed in the old Italian folklore. But it had happened three times, so there must be something to that darned curse.

  Now look where it had landed Jordan. He was thirty-two, with a wife dying in the hospital, and no children, which meant no grandchildren for her. She had her grandbabies from Melissa, and she loved them, but they needed another Monroe. And she couldn’t wait to hold her boy’s babies, knowing they’d be just as loveable as Jordan had been. Never gave her a lick of trouble. ’Course, he and his daddy were something else. She knew it was because they were so similar, but neither of them wanted to hear nothing ’bout that.

  Jordan stood up beside her, his head lowered, his eyes rimmed with red. She draped her arms around him in understanding.

  He massaged his temples. “I love her so much, Mom. I don’t know what I’ll do if anything happens to her.”

  She stroked his back lovingly. “I know, baby. I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes, knowing she was preparing to lie. “It’ll be alright, Jordan. We just need to keep praying.”

  Taking Jordan’s hand, she escorted him out of the room to the elevator. “Let’s get you something to eat and fresh air, then you can come right back. It’s too late in the day; they won’t do anything now. Maybe they’ll bring her out of the coma tomorrow morning?” she offered, stepping into the elevator, her hand latched around his arm.

  ***

  Brian had been waiting around the corner, listening to their conversation. He’d waited almost two days to see Caycee.

  Mostly he waited in the primary waiting area so he wouldn’t be accused of loitering, and more importantly, not be seen by Caycee’s husband, Jordan Monroe. Brian seethed over the man’s name and the thought that he’d been with Caycee all these years that he’d been in jail.

  Jordan had made eye contact with him yesterday, and Brian had been sure he connected him to Caycee. But he’d been so distraught when they rushed her back into surgery that he’d waited in the ICU area alongside her husband.

  When he saw Jordan’s mother enter the hospital today, he knew it was his chance, so he’d followed on the next elevator. He’d figured she would pull Jordan away from Caycee ... or Jaynee as she was calling herself. What a load of crap. These hicks couldn’t even pronounce her middle name correctly.

  As soon as the elevator doors closed and Jordan was out of sight, Brian moved to Caycee’s bedside. He probably had fifteen minutes at best, then Jordan would return, standing where he should be ... would be soon. He wanted to kill him, but knew he couldn’t, not now while Caycee needed him.

  “Can you hear me, baby? I’m here. Everything is going to be okay. We can continue where we left off. I’ve changed, baby. I’m here, as I told you I’d be.” He stroked her hand. She was just as beautiful as she’d always been. Why did he have to destroy everything? “I’ll protect you, Caycee. No one will ever hurt you again.”

  “Sir, what are you doing? I don’t recognize you as immediate family.” The nurse’s voice broke through Brian’s thoughts. She glared at him, brows furrowed, ready to strike. He needed to put on his charisma.

  “I’m ... not family,” he said, glancing at her badge. “Michelle,” he crooned, looking up at her from under his eyelashes, the look that had worked on every woman he’d ever encountered. He hadn’t practiced in a while, so he hoped it would still work. After all, he was almost six years older than the boy he was before going to prison. He would have gotten out a year ago if it weren’t for the fighting. “I’m an old friend. I’ve driven on my Harley for almost two days to get here as soon as I heard. Didn’t even bother checking with anyone when I arrived, just showed up and found her all alone.”

  “Oh,” she said, swallowing hard.

  Like a charm, he thought. “I’d rather if you didn’t mention my being here. Her husband doesn’t like me, but me and Cay — Jaynee — have remained friends for years, and I couldn’t stand not seeing her. You understand, don’t you?”

  “Of course ... it’s just that procedure —”

  He cut her off. “Oh, I understand ... I’ll just be a few minutes. I’m exhausted from riding forty-eight hours straight anyway.”

  He stood fluidly, approaching her. She was pretty, a little too lanky, though, not his normal type. But appealing enough and it had been a long time.

  “I don’t suppose there’s an empty room where I could lie down a little bit?” he asked, his eyes boring into hers. He knew how to get what he wanted. He was good looking and knew how to manipulate women. He’d spent the last six years doing nothing but working out, so not only was he tall and handsome, he was buff, and the ladies liked that.

  “I’m not sure,” she said, her voice low and quiet, bemused.

  He winked. “No one will know ... you manage the floor, right?” he asked, keeping his voice low and seductive the way he knew women appreciated.

  “Well, I guess,” she said, her eyes darting around the room, unable to maintain eye contact.

  He still had it. “Show me,” he said, raising his voice a fraction higher, but still deep and domineering.

  Michelle walked out of the room, leading him down the corridor. Several rooms at the end were dark, as though no one occupied them. She strolled into the last one and Brian followed.

  ***

  Jaynee could hear voices again. Although muffled and distant, she thought she could discern most of them.

  She recognized Jordan’s; his was the clearest. And then she’d heard his mother’s voice. Her mother-in-law had pleaded with Jordan about something. She wasn’t sure what, but she sounded upset.

  Then it was quiet. Just the incessant beeping noise, coupled with the darkness.

  She heard another voice, familiar, but not quite decipherable. He called her baby; Jordan never called her baby. She hated it. Why was he calling her baby? Only it wasn’t Jordan’s voice, and yet, it sounded familiar, though distant.

  Jaynee struggled with her memory, realizing she recognized the voice. Baby ... Oh, God, he called her baby. It wasn’t possible. What happened? Where was Jordan? Was he okay? Brian! He found her. What would he do to Jordan? Why couldn’t she remove this blanket? It was smothering her, holding her back from Jordan. He needed her.

  ***

  Jordan and Pat sat in the cafeteria eating wordlessly. A few minutes passed before his mother couldn’t tolerate it anymore. She wasn’t comfortable with silence.

  “Do you think she did it purposely, Jordan?” his mother asked in her normal blunt manner. Subtlety was never his mother’s strong point either.

  He grimaced at her candid words, not wanting to have this discussion. Not now, not ever. “No, I don’t. Why would she?” His breath hitched in his throat at the remote possibility.

  His mother picked at her sandwich without making eye contact with him. “Well, I noticed conversation has been strained —”

  “But kill herself,” he interrupted her, suddenly angry. “You knew her almost as long as I did for Pete’s sake!” He glowered at his mother. “Do you think she was capable of committing suicide?”

  Why was he having this discussion? He should be with Jaynee. He didn’t need fresh air or food. He needed Jaynee. Tomorrow they’d bring her up, and she’d explain to everyone, to him, that she hadn’t tried to commit suicide. She wouldn’t. She wasn’t selfish, and she wouldn’t hurt him.

  A tiny voice reminded him her father had killed himself, and her mother had attempted suicide on several occasions. He shook his head. No ... not Jaynee. She wouldn’t do this to him. He had to believe.

  Nauseated, Jordan pushed away his food. “If she’d been trying to kill herself, she would have done it correctly. She’s a cop’s
wife. She’d know how to kill herself.”

  All of the sudden, the words made sense. She hadn’t tried to commit suicide. Even the police had said it had been an accidental shooting. That based on the entry point, the gun had been at a distance of about where her hip was. She hadn’t tried to shoot herself. She was afraid. But, of what? Or whom?

  Jordan jumped up, shoving the chair against the table. It went underneath the lip and fell backward. He looked at it numbly then stormed off, ignoring his mother as she called after him. He had to hurry.

  Jaynee was frightened. Why? As long as he’d known her, she’d never been afraid. Even when those hoodlums had attacked, the ones passing along information from her ex-loser, she hadn’t been scared. She’d been afraid for him, though. It’d been over five years, and even though he’d gotten her a gun for protection — because they lived so far out in the country — he’d never seen her fearful of anything. The only thing she’d ever fretted about was his safety as a cop, his construction work, and back then that her ex would send his goons after him.

  That was it! Jordan sprinted toward the opened elevator doors, anxious to return to Jaynee. He ignored the person running for the elevator as he hit the button to close the doors. There was no time. It had been over five years since his incarceration. Was Brian here? Had he been threatening his life, or worse, Jaynee’s?

  Jordan would kill him. He’d destroy him, tear him apart limb from limb. No one would ever unearth him. One of the things a cop was proficient at, they knew how to perpetrate a crime, any crime, even murder if necessary. Brian would never terrorize Jaynee again.

  He paced the elevator in frantic movements. It was ridiculously slow; he should have taken the stairs.

  ***

  The man Jaynee was with Friday stood beside her bed. It was just a matter of time before she left Jordan, but this was better.