AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s a little weird, but if you care about her then why would I have a problem? I trust you.” He shrugs.
“That’s it?” I ask surprised, expecting he’d give me a harder time about it.
“Yeah.”
If that is the extent of his ability to express his feelings then I won’t push him. I’m also not mad that I avoided being punched in the face or something more barbaric.
“I do really care about her,” I clarify, making sure we are on the same page. “I won’t hurt her, I promise.” He looks at me for a moment, scrutinizing what I just said. He can intimidate a lot of people with that look, but not me. I know him too well.
“Okay.” He nods, leaving it at that. Internally, I roll my eyes. Real deep, buddy. All this time I was worried about what he would think and he barely blinked.
“I have to go, I need to coordinate with my team in Texas before it gets too late,” I say to the room, though my words are directed to Thea.
“She’ll be safe here, man,” Nathan says sarcastically, slapping me on the shoulder a little harder than necessary. There’s the brotherly shove I was waiting for.
It doesn’t bother me though because it means that he loves her. He’s as invested in keeping her safe as I am, but it doesn’t mean he won’t rag on me a little now that he knows I care about her too.
“Bye, Jess.” Callie gives me a brief side hug, but my eyes stay on Thea as she approaches me. All I can focus on is the adoration that looks back at me. Maybe mixed with a little fear since I’m leaving to get back on the job.
“Be safe.” She plants her palms on my chest before stretching up to kiss me. That simple gesture, getting a kiss goodbye, makes me want to pick her up and spin her around in circles. She’s come so far and I’m so fucking proud of her.
“Always.” I wink.
Nathan snorts from the kitchen and I throw him an evil eye. In the past I haven’t always been the most level-headed, some might’ve referred to me as a risk-taker, but not now. Now that I have Thea, I actually have someone to come home to.
I gaze at her, soaking in her sweet smile for another couple of seconds before I leave, secretly dying for another kiss.
“Ugh. Gross. You’re already in love aren’t you?” Nathan protests from the kitchen, making Thea roll her eyes, but she blushes. She tries to hide it, but I register the pinkening of her skin as if it were my own. I love it too much.
“You have no room to talk,” Callie corrects him, staring at him pointedly. “Leave them alone.”
From what they’ve told me, he told her he loved her only a couple of days after they met. Thea and I are behind by at least a few weeks per their standards. I have no plan to let the time keep passing. When I get Thea back home tomorrow, I’ll tell her how I feel.
“Bye, guys. See you in the morning.” I direct that last sentence directly to Thea. I intend on being back here bright and early to retrieve her because by then Kyle should be behind bars and Curtis will be back on my radar.
Chapter Forty-One
Thea
“Thea… Thea… Wake up.” I groan awake. My brain knows it’s too early to be woken on the weekend. It takes me a moment to clear away the fog and realize that it’s my brother trying to wake me.
“What? What do you want?” I grumble grumpily.
“I need you to check your phone,” he demands, instantly rousing my brain. Even in a half-sleepy state, I know that’s not a normal thing to ask someone. Sirens are wailing in my mind.
“Why?” I really look at him, sitting on the floor at the edge of the air mattress I’ve laid claim to in the spare room of his cabin. His face is serious, more so than normal, and I feel a chill skate over my skin. Something is wrong.
“I need to know if you’ve heard from Jesse. Anything, a missed call, a text.” He nods towards my phone, urging me to hurry. I do, but there’s nothing. Not a single notification from Jesse.
“What’s going on, Nathan? You’re scaring me,” I barely manage to get those last words out above a whisper. He hangs his head in his hands, rubbing his forehead before looking at me.
“Jesse’s MIA, missing in action. His command said he missed two check-ins and his phone was disconnected. They called me to make sure I haven’t heard from him since I’m his emergency contact.”
I feel the blood draining from my face… Jesse’s missing?
“What do we do? We need to find him?” I jump off the bed, ungracefully since a quarter of the air has leaked.
“We can’t Thea. You especially. We don’t know how dangerous all of this is. I’m not clued in on the mission. Even then, I wouldn’t let you go running around looking for him.” He blocks me from leaving the room, making me shove against his chest.
