In The Still of the Night [The Protectors 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (15 page)

“Man, you’re stupid. Can’t you see she’s pushing you away to keep your ass safe?”

“Yeah, but it’s for the best. I’m leaving anyway once I know she’s safe. It would only be putting off the inevitable.” Riley shifted his pack to his shoulder.

“If you say so.” Logan shook his head again.

Riley tied his pack on the back of his bike then climbed on and took off. He rode around for a few hours, pondering why nothing felt right. Riding usually helped clear his head, but it wasn’t working this time. He cared for Jenna more than he’d ever cared for another person. What was it about her that got to him? He couldn’t put his finger on it. He supposed it was just her being her that had him so twisted up inside.

Finally, he turned around and headed for Logan’s place. Tina met him at the door and let him in.

“Logan is still at Jenna’s watching until Tyler relieves him,” she said. “Do you want something for lunch? I just finished making sandwiches for the guys. I’ll make a few more for you.”

“Thanks, Tina. I don’t want to be any trouble.” He dropped his pack by the back door.

Tina eyed it but didn’t say anything. No doubt she was already making plans to call Jenna to see what was going on. It would be good for Jenna to have Tina to talk to.

Tyler and Morgan sat in the living room, watching TV and eating their lunch. They greeted him as he walked in and collapsed on the opposite end of the couch from Morgan.

“What’s up, man?” Tyler asked.

“We’ve got a plan.” Riley proceeded to fill them in on the visit by the police and their plan to lure Gregg out into the open so they could catch him.

The other two men nodded their head in agreement. They would have to wait for Tyler to relieve Logan to map out a route for the night. None of them knew anything about the city to do it. With Tyler watching Jenna, Morgan and Logan would be free to help with setting Gregg up to fall. Riley worried that her ex might use his absence to attack Jenna. He was torn between staying to watch out for Jenna and pulling off the bait-and-trap plan. Ultimately, he decided the best thing for her in the long run was to get Gregg out of her life once and for all. Riley figured he’s just the man to do it, too, because it wouldn’t bother his conscience one bit.

Chapter Eleven

Jenna heard Riley in the bedroom gathering up his stuff. It hurt so much to know he was leaving. It’s what she wanted. He would be out of danger if he left now. Besides, if he left then he never really cared about her in the first place. It hurt. It hurt a lot.

She jerked at the slam of the front door. It meant that both Logan and Riley were gone. She slipped out of the bathroom and eased through the house to be sure. Nope, no one but her was left in the house. She swallowed down the tears that threatened to escape and poured a cup of coffee. Seeing the empty cups in the sink drew a strangled sob from her, but she refused to break down and cry, maybe later but not now. Now, she needed to be strong. Her ex was out there somewhere. Jenna knew he would be back to finish what he had started.

Determination had her lifting her chin. She wasn’t going to go down without a fight, and she wasn’t going to let Riley’s absence pull her down. The house needed cleaning, and there were clothes to wash. Jenna got busy. As long as she was busy, she wouldn’t think too much. At least, that was the plan.

Several hours later, the phone rang. Jenna picked it up on the third ring after checking the caller ID. It was Tina. She could really use her friend right now.

“Hey. Are you okay over there?” Tina’s voice sounded concerned.

“I’m okay. I told Riley to leave.”

There was silence on the other end. Jenna could hear Tina’s mind whirl from across the phone lines.

“Let’s go out for awhile. I haven’t had lunch yet. I fed the guys, but I was going to see if you wanted to go to The Bistro with me. I need some distance from all this testosterone for awhile.”

“Thanks, Tina. That sounds good to me,” Jenna admitted.

They made plans to meet at The Bistro in thirty minutes. Jenna hung up and hurried to change clothes into something suitable for going out in public. Tina was waiting for her when she arrived only a few minutes late.

“Sorry, I had to take a quick shower and change clothes. I had been cleaning house,” she explained.

“No problem. I just got here myself. I’m having a half of a roast beef sandwich. What about you?” Tina asked.

“I’m thinking about the ham and cheese. I’m not real hungry, but I need to eat. I didn’t have breakfast this morning.”

“I heard you had visitors early this morning. Poor Todd. He wasn’t that bad of a guy except for his temper. I mean, he didn’t deserve to die,” Tina said.

“No, he didn’t.”

“Okay, now tell me about Riley. What’s going on between you two?”

Jenna was so glad she had Tina to talk to. She’d known he might leave eventually, but still, she’d fallen in love. Now what was she going to do about it? Nothing. There was nothing she could do.

“I can’t let him get hurt because of me. He has this stupid idea that he can lure Gregg out by acting as bait. I don’t want him doing that. He’ll get hurt or worse, Gregg might kill him. He’s crazy.” Jenna swallowed hard to hold back the tears.

Her friend looked thoughtful for a few seconds then sighed. Jenna wondered what she was thinking. Did she know that Jenna had fallen in love with Riley? Would she tell Logan? Logan would talk to Riley, she was sure. She didn’t want anyone to know.

“Let’s go shopping and forget everything for a little while,” Tina finally said.

Jenna could have hugged her friend for not pushing it. They paid their bill and left to browse the shops around The Bistro. She didn’t buy anything, but Tina did, so it wasn’t a wasted trip for her friend. They parted company at The Bistro as it began to get late.

“Be careful going home,” Tina said. “Lock all the doors and double check the windows, too.”

“I will.” She hugged Tina and climbed into her SUV.

The sun had just about disappeared from the sky when she drove up into her driveway. Dusk was a living thing as she darted into the house. She frantically locked all the locks then checked each window and the front door to be sure everything was secure. Riley would have done all that for her had he been there. She gritted her teeth and reminded herself that someone was out there watching her. Probably Tyler tonight, she figured. It wouldn’t be Riley. He was gone.

The knowledge finally drew tears from her. Jenna collapsed on the bed and cried until there was nothing left inside of her. It hurt so much to know he would never be back. She finally dragged her beaten body to the bathroom and got ready for bed. When she crawled into the empty bed, she curled up on his side to be near his scent. It enveloped her and gave her some measure of peace. She fell asleep thinking about Riley and how much she wished things could have been different. Still, without Gregg coming after her, she would never have had the time with him they’d shared.

* * * *

Riley woke up from the nap he’d forced himself to take so he would be at the top of his game. The first thought in his head was of Jenna and how much he hated hearing the defeat in her voice. She hadn’t said the words, but he was sure she loved him. He also knew that a part of him loved her, but was it enough to stick around? What was there to say that several months down the road he wouldn’t want to leave again? It was no way to treat her. If she had to worry all the time that he would up and leave one day, she wouldn’t be happy. No, it was for the best that things ended like this.

The guys were waiting on him in the living room when he jogged downstairs, fresh from the shower. They went over the plans again, making sure everyone knew their part. Riley realized he was too preoccupied with thoughts of Jenna when Morgan called him on not paying attention.

“Get your head in the game, Riley, or you’re going to end up dead,” Morgan groused.

“I’m fine. We need to get on the road.”

The other two men looked at him and shook their heads. All three of them stood up to leave. Tina grabbed Riley’s arm.

“I hope you realize you’re breaking Jenna’s heart. She loves you.”

“I’m not the sticking around sort, Tina. It’s better that it ends like this rather then later when she is depending on me. I’m not dependable.” Riley leaned down and kissed Tina on the top of her head.

“I think you’re wrong, Riley. I think you’re very dependable,” Tina admonished.

He shook his head and walked out the door. He checked his watch, nearly ten. He needed to be out there and available to Jenna’s ex so they could stop him. He nodded at the others and climbed on his bike to head for the first stop on their route.

They made the circle twice without any sign of Gregg. Frustration began to grate on Riley’s nerves. Gregg had had plenty of opportunities to attack him without anyone being the wiser. It didn’t make sense. Riley rubbed his hand over his face put his helmet back on. Then it hit him. The bastard was going after Jenna tonight. He had probably used Todd to throw them off the trail.
Fuck!

He turned his bike around and sped toward Jenna’s place. He knew the others would follow without having to call them. He didn’t want to waste the time.
God, let me be on time.

Why hadn’t Tyler called them if the ex had shown up? He had to be down. Gregg probably took him out. Damn, he didn’t want to think about what he could be doing to Jenna right then.

Twenty minutes later, Riley skidded into Jenna’s drive and was off the bike and at the kitchen door in an instant. He tired the door, but it was locked of course. He huffed out a breath then ran around the back of the house. The bedroom windows were on the back. The others had pulled into the drive by the sound of it. The bastard was going to know they were on their way. That thought spurred him into action.

He found her bedroom window open, but he couldn’t see anything inside. Darkness hung like a shroud around the room. With the window open and no sounds coming through it, Riley crawled through, landing on the floor only to roll silently to his feet. The room was a total mess of broken glass and disheveled furniture. She had put up a fight. She wasn’t anywhere in the bedroom. He struggled to keep his breathing steady and listened. He could hear voices in the living area.

Riley crawled out into the hall and hit behind the wall as he listened to what was going on in the living room.

“Bitch, you belong to me, and you’ve been screwing anything that moves. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of lover boy next. You’re going to learn you belong to me before I kill you. I’ll make sure you know who is boss this time.”

“You’re not going to hurt Riley. He’s gone. We had a fight, and he left. He won’t be back.” Jenna’s voice carried to him without a problem. She had remained strong despite being in the presence of Gregg.

“Oh, he’s had a taste of you. He’ll be back.” Gregg laughed maniacally.

“You don’t understand. He doesn’t love me, much less care about me. I was just an easy lay. He isn’t a sticking around kind of guy. He lives on the road.”

“It doesn’t matter. I have you now. That’s all that should matter to you anyway. You need to think about what I’m going to do to you.”

Riley couldn’t stand it. He peeked around the corner, and his heart sank. Gregg had her by the hair on the floor in front of the couch. Her mouth and nose were bleeding. She wasn’t whimpering, but she was crying. The bruises on her face had to hurt. It fueled his anger. Grim determination had him looking for a way to get Gregg away from her.

A noise behind him had him rolling to defend himself if he had to. Morgan lay on the floor on his belly with his hands up. They looked at each other and nodded. They would get Jenna out of this.

“Get on your feet, whore, and take that shirt off. I want to see some titty.”

“Fuck you!”

Riley saw her throw her hands up to ward off the blow. Gregg jerked her hair, pulling her closer to him. He reached for her breast and grabbed in a bruising grip. Jenna’s whimper had Riley seeing red. He and Morgan took advantage of Gregg’s preoccupation with Jenna’s breast and launched their attack.

Riley had his hands around Gregg’s throat, pulling him off of Jenna. Morgan helped Jenna to her feet and told her to call the police while he concentrated on choking the life out of the bastard who’d dared to lay a hand on Jenna. He’d attacked her not once but twice in the last few weeks. Riley was beyond restraint now.

Gregg jerked something from his pants, and Riley registered the knife in barely enough time to jump back. It still caught him on the chest, but he didn’t feel it. Instead, he went hand to hand with Gregg, trying to keep the knife away from him. From the corner of his eye, he tracked Morgan’s progress in an attempt to sneak around behind the other man. Gregg must have noticed what the other man was up to. He managed to pull away from Riley and ran back through the bedroom and out the window.

Morgan lunged after him as he went through the window but missed him. Riley followed through the window and into the neighbor’s yard. He gained on him and managed to snag the back of his shirt, bringing him down in the process. They rolled around with Riley trying to take the knife away from the other man. He heard Morgan nearby but didn’t risk a glance to see where he was. The distant wail of sirens registered dimly in the back of his mind, but Riley knew he had to get rid of the bastard there, or he would just get out and hurt Jenna when he wasn’t around to protect her.

Gregg managed to get in a good jab with his fist in Riley’s solar plexus, causing him to lose his edge. The other man rolled to his feet and started forward again. Riley tackled him from behind. When the other man didn’t attempt to get back up, Riley rolled him over to see that he’d fallen on the knife. He gurgled, trying to talk. Riley got to his knees and stared at the man. He could twist the knife just a little more and take out his heart, but he hesitated. He had it in him, but was it the best thing?

What if he wanted a life with Jenna? If he killed the man, he would get away with it, he had no doubt. Morgan would never say a word and would agree that it was necessary to keep Jenna safe. But he would know and Jenna would know he’d killed a man in cold blood. He shook his head. He couldn’t do it. Riley stood up and backed away. When the police got there, he put his hands up and backed further away. Morgan followed suit on the other side of him.