Jared (10 page)

Tessa walked to her car
,
heading straight at
a pissed off Damon and wis
hed she would have taken a wider path around the large vampire
especially
when he blocked her
way
.

“Thank you.” His deep voice rumbled in the dark parking lot.

“Ah, you’re welcome?” Tessa eyed him and
noticed
he looked more upset than pissed as she first thought. “For what?”

“For sticking up for Nicole. I know she appreciated it and didn’t get a chance to tell you.” He rumbled looking uncomfortable with the whole conservation.

“It was nothing.” Tessa
shrugged her shoulder looking
around. “Where is she?”

“I sent her home.” He replied
,
glancing
over his shoulder
as if Nicole may appear.

“Bet she isn’t too happy about that
.
”
Tessa cringed in sympa
thy at his pained
expression.

“You could say that.
I don’t know why she’s angry with me
.
” Damon grunted glancing at his phone.

“Do you text?” Tessa took a few steps to her car and put her bag on the hood.

“What?” He actually followed her.

“What is it with you guys?” Tessa held out her hand for his phone. “
Okay let me put it this way
.
S
ay
a guy came up to Nicole saying things like that skank said to you.”

“I would kill him.” Damon
growled
his eyes glowing black
actually ma
king
her take a step back.

“Exactly. And say she made you leave while that guy was still here. Hum? Bet you’d be pretty ticked off too now wouldn’t you?” Tessa grabbed his phone when he ignored her outstretched hand.

“She would be here with the dead body of the guy because I…..”

“Would
kill
him….yeah I know.” Tessa rolled her eyes. “But do you see what I’m saying?”

He nodded once. “Why do you need my phone?”

“Because I’m going to help you.” Tessa didn’t really have a shy bone in her body and had no problem taking control of situations such as this. “Okay
,
what do you usually text to
Nicole?
”

It was a sight to see a huge vampire warrior shrug in uncomfortable
embarrassment
.

“Never mind. I’ll wing it.” Tessa found a recent text from Nicole and hit reply. Her fingers flew as she texted a message. When she was finished she held it up to Damon for him to read. “Sound good?” When he nodded she hit send.

A few minutes later his phone pinged indicat
ing
a message. Tessa opened it not caring it wasn’t her phone. She had a service to provide. She did
it
at the bar all the time. “It says
…..
I’m sorry to
o
babe. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but you know how I feel about her. Do what you need to do and hurry home.
I'll be waiting nak…..”
Tessa shoved the phone at Damon. “Whoa, think you need to finish that yourself.”

Damon finished reading the text a huge smile spreading across his face. Looking
down
at Tessa he slapped her on the shoulder. “
Damn, you’re good.”

Catching herself on her car she grinned rubbing
her shoulder. She felt like a damn punching bag tonight. “Yeah, well I’ll send ya my bill.” Tessa smiled
,
glad she could help. She had really liked Nicole and
this beastly vampire
was growing on her.

“You’re not bad.” Damon nodded as he opened her car door for her.

“Yeah, well that’s debatable.” Tessa snickered. “Make sure my brother gets home and without one of those hoe’s.”

Damon waited until she pulled
out of the parking lot before texting Nicole back with a satisfied male grin. Jared also stood just out of sight watching the red tail
lights disappear into the night.

Finishing his text Damon stood still. “I can read you brother.” Damon said in Jared’s direction.

“Is that right?” Jared walked in sight.

Damon nodded. “
She is pretty special.”

Jared nodded as Damon passed, his eyes still riveted to the spot where Tessa’s car disappeared. A grin tipped his lips. “She is that.”

“She is also hiding something.” Damon tossed over his shoulder. “Find out what it is.”

“It will be my pleasure.” Jared stood still, yet his body wanted to follow her.

********

Tessa walked in the house
,
throwing her stuff on the kitchen table
on her way upstairs
. She was too tired to eat. The stress and excitement of the day did her in. Making a quick stop at the bathroom
,
she headed into her room, shut the door and undressed
before
falling into bed
. With a sigh she glanced over at the picture she kept of her mom on her night stand.

She remembered the night her mother was killed like it was yesterday. Picking up the picture she brought it close running a finger across her mother’s face that had been captured during happier times, before her husband lost his job and turned to the bottle instead of going out looking for more work. He had not only given up on his life, but theirs as well.

Alm
ost two years ago her mother ha
d been called to pick up her husband who had too much to drink at the local bar, the bar that Tessa worked at now. The bartender at the time had managed to talk her father into giv
ing
up his keys. But when her mother got there he was outside waiting and decided he was fine to drive home. They were to pick his car up the next day. The next day never came for her mother.
Their car had careened off the road hitting a tree killing her mother instantly.
Her father walked away without a scratch.

Nothing changed after that except Tessa took the place
of
her mother having to work two jobs to keep up on the bills and pay for her father
’
s drinking habit. She also became his punching bag as he turned violent after losing his wife. Tessa had wished it ha
d
been her father instead of her mother that had been killed that night. But when the police came to her door it was with news that her mother had been killed and her father was
being evaluated at the local hospital. She had been told that her mother was driving and lost control of the car. It wasn’t until later during one of her father’s drunken rages that he threw in her face that he had been driving the car that night and if she ever said anything she would get a beating that she would never forget.

Tessa wiped a tear that slid slowly down her cheek. Before her father lost his job things had been so different. He had still been somewhat distant, but never mean or violent toward any of them. She hated him. It was sad, but true. She hated him with a passion that burned so deep in her chest it hurt.
The
day he walked out to never return had been a blessing in her life as well as Adam’s. Even with the complications of almost losing Adam to a foster home, their life had taken a turn for the better.

Kissing the tip of her finger she
touched the
image of her mother before placing
the picture
back on her nightstand. Wiping her eyes she turned off her light. She didn’t have time to cry. Her brother needed her more now than ever and she had to figure out what to do for him. Deep down she hoped that the warriors were serious in helping them, but if not she would do what needed to be done and the answer may be laying underneath her between her mattress and springs.

Tessa woke after a fitful hour or two of sleep. Sitting straight up in bed she rubbed her face suddenly anxious to talk to Adam to find out more about
what had happened last night after she left. Grabbing her stuff to shower she
ran out the door right smack into a massive bare chest. Tessa screamed.
“Oh my God!
You scared the crap out of me.” She stubbed her toe on his foot. “Ouch, dammit.” She hopped up and down holding her toe.

Jared stared down at her a large smile playing across his lips. “Sorry about that. I thought everybody was asleep.”

“What are you doing here?” She wanted to add shirtless, but didn’t. She made her eyes stay on his. She already got an eyeful of hard chest
, ripped abs
and man oh man
,
did she like what she saw. Her fingers itched to reach up just to see if it was a
s
hard as it looked.
What the hell was that all about?

“
The only way the
C
ouncil will let these boys go is with one of the warriors
to babysit
.
” Jared’s eyes ke
pt
traveling up and down her body.

Tessa wanted to pull her Cleveland football jersey down to her knees, but didn’t dare. It came to
mid-thigh
, but the way he was looking at her she felt naked. “
Oh, so are they all here?
”

“
Yeah
” Jared waited to see if she was going to throw a fit about him staying here.
“They all wanted to come back here. They didn’t want to stay anywhere else.”

“
Oh
.”
Her
eyes
,
still wide
,
stayed on his. She didn’t even think she had blinked.

“You okay?” Jared noticed the darkness under her eyes.

“
Ah, y
eah, I’m good.” Tessa finally looked away. Could she sound more like an idiot?

Jared grasped her chin in his hand bringing her
gaze
back to his.
“Do
not
lie to me.” His voice was silky smooth in his demand.

As if his voice was truth serum
,
Tessa wanted to confide everything to him, wanted to fall to her knees and beg for him to take care of her
and her brother
. That last though
t
snapped her head back and out of his grasp. Where in the hell had that thought come from. She didn’t need a man to take care of her. Ugh….she was definitely losing it. She was a strong, independent woman….standing in a hallway half naked talking to the hottest guy she had ever laid eyes on….maybe he could just take care of some of her needs…..

“Tessa.”

His voice brought her out of her fantasy, a fantasy of him taking care of a specific need and he was standing right in front of her….holy hell. What was wrong with
her?
“Let me grab a shower then I’ll make some breakfast and coffee
.” Tessa replied her voice shak
y and hurried.

“Take your time.” His reply had a sexy tremor to it making her nipples harden.

Clasping her towel and clothes to her chest in a death grip she moved past him
,
her eyes on the bathroom door hoping to God he wasn’t watching her. Cellulite sucked the life out of trying to appear sexy in front of a man
, not that she was trying to appear sexy, but still
. Tessa
quickly shut
herself into the bathroom. Leaning against the door blowing her hair out of her eyes
,
she glanced at herself in the mirror
and
frowned. “That’s a heartache you don’t need girl.” She told herself before she got a real good look at
her appearance
. Her hair was smashed to the side of her head on one side while the other side was frizzed and kinked out in all different directions. Oh yeah
,
she looked as far from sexy as anyone could get. Rolling her eyes she dropped her clothes on the floor
.
S
he looked down at her shirt, her nipples still pointing straight
out. “You’re in deep shit.” Her reflection told her
.

Tessa headed d
ownstairs
,
the aroma of bacon making her stomach grumble. The sight of Jared standing over her stove
barefoot
flipping the
grease
popping
bacon
sent a zing of yearning through her
and that was so not a good thing.

“Hey sis.” Adam smiled while making a pot of coffee
,
looking happier than she’
d
seen him since this whole ordeal
began
.