In The Still of the Night [The Protectors 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (8 page)

“We would like to speak with Ms. Randal,” the taller one said.

“She isn’t feeling well enough for anymore questions,” Riley said.

“We just have a couple of questions. We really need to talk with her so we can catch her ex-husband.”

Jenna figured the best way to put a stop to Riley’s over protectiveness was to get the questioning out of the way. She stood up and hobbled unsteadily toward the entrance hall.

“What did you need to know?” she asked from behind the men.

Riley grabbed hold of her arm to keep her from falling over. “I told you not to get up.”

“They need answers to catch Gregg. I want him caught. Let me help.”

Riley gritted his teeth, working his jaw until she thought she heard teeth crack. “Fine, but do it in the living room. You’re putting your feet back up.”

Jenna let him guide her back to the couch and help her back to a somewhat comfortable position. Then he leaned against the arm with one hand on her shoulder.

“Now what can I tell you?” Jenna asked.

“We need you to go back to your house. We want to lure your ex-husband out so we can catch him.”

Chapter Seven

“Not no, but hell no!” Riley yelled, standing up straight now.

There was no way he would ever trust the police to keep her safe. They would fuck up a sure thing on a date. He realized he was squeezing Jenna’s shoulder and relaxed his grip.

“We’ll have plenty of men surrounding the house and inside of it. We have it planned out already,” the shorter of the two said.

“Jenna, don’t do it. We can take care of you here.” Logan took a step closer to the couch, still holding Tina’s hand.

“I want this over with. If it would help make that happen faster, then I want to do it.” Jenna looked over at Tina.

“You’re not doing it, Jenna. I’m not letting you.” Riley walked around to stare into her eyes.

He could see her resolve though and knew she’d do it anyway. Hell, how could he keep her safe if she was going to trust the damn police? He knew they wouldn’t have the man power to keep her safe.

“Jenna, listen to Riley and Logan. They can keep you safe. They took care of me,” Tina pleaded.

“Tina, I have to do this. He’s never going to stop coming after me unless he’s in prison for good.”

“And what happens to you when they don’t make it to you in time? He planned to kill you, Jenna. You know he did.” Riley clenched his hands by his sides. He wanted to hit one of the cops for asking her to do it in the first place.

“I’ll be fine, Riley. Please understand. I want this over with. I don’t want anything to happen to any of you because of me. He’ll hurt you. Logan, how would you feel if he hurt Tina because of me?” She looked over at the two policemen. “I’ll move back tomorrow. I really need one more day to rest if I’m going to be able to do this.”

“We’ll have everyone in place. What time do you want to do it?”

“After lunch.”

Riley walked off into the other room, a string of creative expletives in his wake.

He paced in the kitchen, listening to them go over their plans with her. It sounded simple, but he knew better than anyone that things could go FUBAR, fucked up beyond all repair, in a second. How many times had he and Logan gotten stuck in situations that were supposed to be a simple in-and-out operation?

He watched through the doorway as Logan led the policemen out of the room. He could hear the front door open then a few seconds later close.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Tina’s voice shook.

“I just know I can’t live with the possibility that one of you might get hurt. I could never forgive myself if something bad happened. It’s my problem. I’ll handle it.” Jenna sighed.

Hell, she was hurting again. He could tell by the way her voice shook. She needed a pain pill. He grabbed some water from the fridge and shook out one of the little pain pills into his palm. She didn’t look up at first when he walked back in. Instead, she looked down at her hands. He sighed and held out his hand with the pain pill. She finally reached out and picked it up then took the water from him to swallow the pill

“It’s no different than what you guys were planning on doing,” she finally said.

“Hell yeah it is. You were going to be over there in Tina’s house, so you would have been safe. This way, you’re right in the line of fire.” Riley walked away from her then returned, angry steps eating up the distance. “If one hair on your head gets hurt, I’m going to take it out on them. Do you hear me?”

“No you’re not. You’re going to get on your bike when your friends get here, and you’re all going to leave. Go wherever the hell you go. You are. Not. Responsible. For. Me!” she bit out.

“So just like that. I’m supposed to not care what happens to you?” Riley asked, shaking his head.

“I’m no one to you, Riley. I know you care, but I’m just a friend of Logan’s fiancée. That’s all. I’m not someone for you to risk getting hurt over. At least I’m not willing to take that risk.”

“You don’t trust us to take care of you,” Riley said.

“That’s not true. I do trust you. I just don’t trust that nothing will happen to one of you. I can’t live with myself knowing one of you got hurt because of me and my bad choices.”

“You feel guilty for marrying him?”

“Yeah. I knew better when I did it. I thought I could change him. A fat lot of good that did. He wasn’t about to change. I was just too stupid to know better.” Jenna swallowed then drew in a deep breath through her nose.

She was hurting in her heart as well as her body, Riley realized. Did she still love the bastard? Despite everything he had done to her, did she still have feelings for him? That thought more than any other turned his stomach.

“Don’t you get it? I can’t trust my own judgment anymore. I keep choosing bastards. How do I know I’m making the right decision on anything when I can’t even see someone who might hurt me standing right in front of me?”

“And you’re going to let the police use you as bait. I’d say that was a pretty stupid choice right there,” Riley threw out. He wished it back the moment he said it.

“Yeah, well. It’s my choice to make, isn’t it?” She pushed herself up from the couch and stood up. “I’m going to go lie down for awhile.”

Riley moved to help her, but she pulled her arm away from him. He let her go. He watched her until she disappeared down the hall. He’d fucked that up royally.

“What are we going to do? You know they’ll let her get hurt if she does this.” Logan leaned over and placed both hands on the back of the couch.

“I don’t have a fucking clue what to do. She isn’t going to trust us.”

“I don’t think it is a matter of her not trusting us, Riley. She doesn’t want to see one of us hurt. She’s right. There’s a good chance one of us could get hurt. The man is crazy.”

“He’s not any crazier than the bastard that was after Tina. We managed just fine on that one.” Riley blew out a breath in exasperation.

“I say we act as backup to the police. We pick our own spots to wait and see what happens. That way if they screw it up and let the bastard get away, we can grab him,” Logan suggested.

“Oh, I plan on being there all right. I’m not letting her go through with it without me being there.”

“Have you told her?” Logan asked.

“Told her what?” Riley stared at his friend.

“That you love her.”

“Fuck that. I don’t love her. I care about her. Don’t go putting emotions in something that isn’t there. Just because you’re all happy and mushy doesn’t mean everyone is.”

“I think you’re protesting too much,” Logan said with a smile.

“I’m going to knock that smile off your face if you don’t shut up.” Riley turned and walked toward the sliding glass door. He needed some air.

The muggy air outside did little to cool off his boiling temper. Breathing in took effort with the moist heat. He stalked over to one of the chairs and straddled it to sit down. He’d been here at Logan’s for nearly a month now. He hadn’t stayed in one place that long since his army days. Usually he was so antsy to move he couldn’t stand a place longer than a week at the most. So what was the difference here?

Jenna.

Man, I am all screwed up inside.
He did care about her. Too much. Was it enough to want to settle down for good? Hell, he didn’t know. He wasn’t willing to take a chance right now. Not unless he knew for sure. It would only hurt both of them. He sat with his arms on his elbows and dropped his head.

Who was he kidding? Even if he was ready to settle down, it couldn’t be with Jenna. He’s tastes ran to a Dom’s lifestyle. He didn’t want a slave. He did want someone who would submit to him though, and Jenna had been through too much abuse to ever be comfortable in that type of lifestyle.

No, he needed to break it off with her quick and thorough. Just as soon as she was safe, he’d ride out. Maybe he would team up with Morgan or Tyler for awhile. Tyler seemed to like his place in Tennessee, might be a good change of pace for him. Or, he could always go up to Stillwater, Oklahoma. Maybe.

He looked up at the deep green of the trees. It wouldn’t be long till they began to turn brown. Winter would be there before he knew it, which meant somewhere warmer, Florida maybe.

The more he thought about leaving, the more he hated the idea. Just the thought of leaving Jenna behind sat wrong with him. Somewhere along the way, she’d gotten under his skin. He didn’t know when it had happened, but he wanted her, wanted her to belong to him. He wanted her to want him and only him. Where did that leave him?

* * * *

Jenna swallowed around the knot that had formed in her throat the minute she realized Riley was gone. He would be there to watch out for her when she went home. Somehow she thought with him there she could handle it. Now that he wasn’t, she felt lost and unsure of her decision.

“Did he say anything when he left?” she asked.

“No. Just that he was going to catch up with Morgan and Tyler before they got here.” Tina hugged her lightly. “I’m sure he’ll be back.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway. I just thought he would want to say good-bye. I don’t think he’ll be coming back, Tina.” Jenna squeezed her friend’s hand as they waited for the police to call and give her the sign to return home.

They were setting up in the house and around the neighborhood. Tina and Logan were going to take her home and drop her off. Tina balked at the idea. She thought they should at least stick around a little while to get her ready, but she figured they wouldn’t leave if they got inside, so she vetoed it.

Instead, they would pull into her driveway, and Logan would carry her suitcase into the house for her. She and Tina would hug and say good-bye outside. That way if Gregg had followed them there, he would see that she was staying alone. In theory, it should work. Jenna hoped it would work. She wanted her life back. She wanted to be able to come and go without worrying someone was going to get her all the time. She’d made up her mind. No more men. If she got horny enough, she had a vibrator that didn’t beat her up.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Tina had only asked that same question a hundred times now.

“I’m sure. It’s better to get it over with.”

“I’m going to be a nervous wreck until he’s caught,” Tina complained.

“You and me both. I’m going to do something about it.”

The sudden ringing of the phone jarred both women. Jenna groaned when her ribs protested the sudden move. Logan answered and then hung up.

“They’re ready whenever you are.” He looked at Jenna. “For one last time. Please don’t do this.”

“I’ve got to, Logan. It’s the only way to catch him and no one else to get hurt.” Jenna stood up and waited on them to follow her.

Logan carried her bag out to the truck then came back for them. He wasn’t letting them take any chances that Gregg might be out there waiting on her. He helped her into the backseat and then checked on Tina in the front. When he walked around to the driver’s side, Jenna almost changed her mind. Instead, she set her jaw and readied herself to handle whatever happened. Maybe nothing would. Then what? The police would eventually give up. They couldn’t watch her house forever. Gregg might wait until there was no one around.

She fussed at herself for over thinking again. She would cross that bridge if and when she had to. Right now, she had to get through the next twenty-four hours. She could do it.

They arrived at her house much too soon. Logan walked around and helped her out of the truck then pulled out her suitcase and escorted her up to the house. She unlocked the door and let Logan set her suitcase in the hall.

“Are you sure?” he asked.