Always with You (WIth You Trilogy) (34 page)

Wednesday, 27th December 2013

I awoke to Jason’s soft lips pressing warm, gentle kisses to my forehead. I smiled sleepily and rolled closer to him, nuzzling into his neck.

“Morning, little squirrel,” his husky voice chuckled.

“Morning,” I mumbled, snuggling closer.

“You’re very adorable in the mornings,” Jason murmured against my hair. “But that won’t get you out of trouble.”

“Why am I in trouble?” I pouted, drawing back slightly so that he received the full effect of my pout.

He tugged at the hem of my tank top. “If you’re in our bed, you’re naked.”

“I was naked but then I went for a run with Ian and showered and stuff and-” I protested but Jason cut me off with an interruption-kiss.

“Those are the rules, little squirrel,” he whispered against the sensitive skin of my neck.

Smiling as he pulled me closer to him, I trailed my hands down his bare back
, down to the firm mounds of his toned behind. He had a point; there were definitely advantages to bedroom nudity.

“Now, to decide on your punishment,” Jason smirked, his lips tracing the curve of my breast.

A needy whimper escaped my lips as his mouth ghosted over my nipples. I was seriously turned on and regretting the tiny amounts of clothing between us because it would increase the time it would take for him to get his hands on me by what would feel like an eternity.

True to form, my brothers had to ruin the moment. Jason and I both groaned in frustration when Matt called out my name before he knocked and opened the door. In all fairness, he’d progressed from just barging in to at least knocking in advance but it was still irritating.

“Time to get up,” he smirked, probably fully aware that he was interrupting and enjoying it immensely.

“Matt, you can’t just barge in here,” I scowled.

“Why the hell not?” He levelled me with his teacher-glare.

“What if I’d been naked!” I retorted. “I’m not a kid anymore.”

“Jesus, Jelly,” Matt scowled at me, probably preparing to go on a rant but I intercepted.

“What if we’d been having sex?” I challenged

“You wouldn’t be. Not under our roof.” His eyes narrowed into angry slits.

“Why not? Your bedroom backs onto mine, Matt. I have earplugs in my drawer for a reason. There can’t be one rule for me and another for you,” I continued.

I was well aware that Jason was watching me with amusement but I kept my gaze locked on Matt. He had a temper and even though I knew he didn’t want to hurt me, I knew that if I pissed him off enough, he’d lose it. I wasn’t worried, Jason wouldn’t let him within a foot of me but I didn’t want to put strain on the relationship between Matt and me.

“Fuck’s sake,” he muttered under his breath. “Point made.” He sighed deeply and turned his back to me. “Just come down and have breakfast.”

He slammed the door behind him and I turned to Jason in disbelief. He raised an amused eyebrow at me and I bit back a giggle.

“Well that was… interesting,” Jason smirked.

“To say the least,” I nodded my agreement. “I’m glad you didn’t have to tackle him in the nude.”

“Me too,” he grinned. “That crosses a line somewhere.”

I giggled and he scooped me out of bed and placed me the floor, letting me slide down his body. I landed on my tiptoes, my head angled up towards him. Looking into his green-blue eyes, I could see a devious smile burning back at me.

“What is it?” I eyed him
suspiciously.

“I just decided what your punishment will be,” he grinned.

“What?” I asked, forcing back my smile with some difficulty. I was already imagining being bent over his knee.

He grabbed my wrists gently and pulled them away from their favourite place on his stomach.
Pressing a kiss to each palm, he pinned my hands lightly behind my back and smirked as he dipped his head to kiss me.

“No touching
me for the rest of the day.”

“What?” My smile dropped and was replaced b
y an expression of horror.
I can’t not touch him.
“But you love me touching you.”

“I do,” he nodded in agreement. “So think about that next time you break the rules.” He stepped away from me and pulled on a pair of grey jogging bottoms and a black
sleeveless top.

“Jason,” I whined, following him out the door.

“Breakfast, little squirrel,” he smirked, dodging out of my reach and nipping down the stairs to the kitchen.

When I met him down
there, he’d placed himself on the opposite side of the island and winked at me. I pouted at him and settled myself on the stool next to Jake.

“A bit late to be up, Jelly,” Jake smirked at me, giving me a one-armed hug from his perch next to me.

“I was up at six. I’ve already been for a run with Ian. What’s your excuse?” I smirked, swiping his tea so I could take a sip.

“Give that back,” he griped, removing the mug from my hands.

I smirked and let him take it, biting back a giggle at the way he was sulking. It was a bit of a role reversal for me to be taking food or drink from him but I figured it was only fair.

He grumbled under his breath and made a point of licking all the way around the edge of his mug.

Matt shook his head and looked at us as if we were five years old. “What you want for breakfast?”

“Whatever you fancy,” I smiled.

“Pancakes,” Jake answered.

“Omelette,” Jason smirked.

“Omelette sounds good,” Matt nodded, already opening the fridge.

“Where’s Adam?” Jake asked whilst we watched Matt moving around the kitchen.

“He said he needed to find a new job when he got back and the twins said they needed extra staff over the next week or two so he’s working at the gym,” I explained.

“Lame,” Jake sighed. “He kicks ass at GTA. I wanted to play.”

Jason and Matt exchanged a look and then focussed on Jake.

“What?” He grunted. “You’re both old.”

I giggled at the looks of horror on their faces and slapped Jake on the arm because somebody had to and it’d hurt less if I did it.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Jake sighed. “Just nice having somebody closer to my age around.”

“I’m closer to your age!” I protested.

“You suck at GTA,” he pointed out.

I sulked but it was true and I was secretly pleased that he got on with Adam. After breakfast, Matt felt he had a point to make and wanted to play GTA with Jake and “kick his scrawny arse.” Jason and I sat on the other side of the sofa and watched them play.

They were barely even aware we were in the
room as they focussed on the TV. Making sure their attentions were securely on the screen, I snuggled closer to Jason and pulled my phone from my pocket.

“No touching,” he reminded me with a smirk.

I pouted but did as I was told. This was the worst punishment yet; I hated not being allowed to touch him.

“You’re cruel,” I complained.

“You’re the one that broke the rule,” he grinned, tracing his fingers lightly down my arm.

I scowled but was at least grateful that he was still touching me.

“I need to show you something,” I bit my lip and looked up at him through my lashes.

“Oh?” He prompted, smiling at the mischievous expression on my face.

I nodded and opened the photo album on my phone to show him my sneaky morning snaps. “I hope you don’t mind,” I smiled.

Jason spent a few seconds looking at the first picture and then chuckled, handing me his own phone. I entered the code to unlock it and he opened his own photo album. The first picture was obviously me asleep that very morning.

“Great minds think alike,” he laughed.

“They do,” I chuckled. “Can I keep them then?”

“Maybe, let me just make sure I’m not drooling in any of them,” he grinned, swiping his way through the pictures.

I took the opportunity to check out the pictures he’d taken of me. Many of them were of the adult variety but there were so many that I didn’t even realise he’d taken. Pictures of me sat with a big mug of hot chocolate, or with a whisk and a mixing bowl. There was a picture of me sparing with Craig and one sat next to Jake whilst we solved Sudoku together. He’d captured so many beautiful moments and I looked completely content in all of them. I turned to thank Jason but was knocked off course by the stern expression on his face.

“Jason, what’s wrong?” I whispered quietly, not wanting Matt or Jake to overhear.

“Jamie, where did you get this?” He asked, his jaw locked. He held up my phone and showed me a picture.

It took me a few seconds to recognise the shot. “Oh, that. It’s just that pic Xander sent me in case I saw the guy again,” I grinned. “Were you jealous I had pictures of other men?” I teased him, hoping to coax a smile.

“Something like that,” he frowned, his eyes still focussed on my phone.

I slipped it out of his hands and handed him back his own. I didn’t know what was going through his mind but I wanted to put him at ease. I knew he’d said I wasn’t allowed to touch him but I sensed he needed it so I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight.

“Jason, what’s wrong?” I asked tentatively. “You’re scaring me a bit.” He’d remained still and hadn’t said a word in over five minutes. His body was stiff and ungiving and I genuinely couldn’t figure out what had happened.

He sighed and I felt him relax fractionally. “Nothing, baby.
I’m sorry. Come here, will you?” He pulled me into his lap and held me close. I could feel the unusually fast beating of his heart against my chest.

I ran my fingers through his hair in an attempt to soothe him but it seemed to have little effect.

“You know I love you, right?” He prompted, his eyes scanning my face.

“Of course I do,” I smiled.

“And you know I’d never intentionally do anything to hurt you?”

I nodded and he sighed again
, pulling me back into him. “I don’t understand, Jason.”

“It’s nothing, baby. I just needed to hear that.”

“Okay,” I said uncertainly.

“I have to nip out and do something. Can I borrow Berty?”
He asked, forcing a smile.

“Um, sure. Jason, is everything alright?” I asked. He looked so sad and concerned.

“Yeah, little squirrel. It will be, I just need to sort something. I’ll meet you at Alex’ house later, okay?”

“Okay,” I nodded cautiously. “I love you.”

“I love you too, little squirrel,” he smiled more genuinely this time. He kissed me softly and disappeared off to wherever he was going.

“What’s up with loverboy?” Jake
asked a good ten minutes later once they’d set their controllers down.

“I dunno,” I frowned. Something was definitely wrong and he hadn’t told me. With our promise to be open and
honest with each other, I had no doubt that he would tell me, he probably just needed some time to work it out in his head.

“You okay?” Matt scrutinised me.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I smiled. I knew that we’d work it out, whatever it was. “I should probably be heading off to go eat all Alex’ chocolate.”

“You want a lift?” Jake offered, his e
yes lighting up at the prospect of speeding around in his new car.

“No thanks,” I laughed. “I think I’ll just walk.”

I wrapped myself up tight in my nice thick coat and my snug, wool-lined boots and set off towards Alex’ house. It wasn’t all that far. I’d made the trip a thousand times before.

I wondered how he and R
ab were getting on. I knew their Christmas had been great despite a few strained moments with his Dad who’d walked out at some point during Christmas dinner. I still found it hard to believe that a father could reject his son like that. It wasn’t like Alex had done anything wrong, and Rab was great.

With my head lost in my thoughts I almost didn’t register that awkward, prickly feeling on the back of my neck. I shook my head and tried to shake it off. I didn’t want to turn into one those paranoid people who were scared to go outside.

“Jamie-Lea!” A man’s voice called out. I didn’t recognise it but whoever it was obviously knew me.

I turned around and scanned the street for the source of the voice. The broad figure of a man was approaching
me from the driver’s side of a black Mercedes. I hesitated.
Who is he?
Something felt off about the situation and Jason’s voice in my head was telling me that my best bet was always to run to safety. As the man came closer, my body decided to do just that. My feet turned to run but then I caught sight of the man’s face and I knew exactly who he was.

“You,” I spat, unable to hide the obvious contempt from my voice.

Wednesday
, 27th December 2013

“S
o you know who I am then,” he smirked, his face turning uglier with the foul expression.

It would have been impossible not to. I’d recognise those green-blue eyes anywhere. I knew instantly that I’d seen them before on Cra
ig’s birthday. The question was: why? Jason hadn’t seen or heard from his father in eight years. What was he doing at the same nightclub as me? I doubted it was a coincidence.

He took a few steps closer to me and I instinctively took a few steps back. Whilst he had obviously donated his eyes to his son, there was barely anything in his face that was familiar.

The years had clearly been unkind. His face was lined and angry, with a slight greying stubble on his chin. His hair must have been brown before he aged but it was limp and greasy and in need of a good trimming. He wore an expensive suit and I could see a lavish watch on his wrist. His well-dressed appearance contrasted with his unkempt hair and unshaven face.

“Get away from me,” I took another step back as he neared. I grabbed for my phone and pulled it out, ready to call for help.

“Got a mouth on you,” Gregory Reed scowled at me. “You obviously haven’t learnt your place.” His polite smile contrasted with the ugly flare in his eyes. Those eyes that were so like Jason’s. Despite the similarity, they were so very different. Jason’s eyes were always filled with love, they never held hate and anger aimed at me. Not like his father’s.

“I think it’s time you and I were
formally introduced, don’t you?” He maintained his filthy smile.

“Leave me alone,” I warned, proud of myself for keeping an even and calm tone.

“I don’t think so, little girl,” he smirked. “You’re coming with me.”

I readied myself to run but Gregory seemed to sense it and removed his hand from his pocket to reveal a small gun.

“I know you’re a fast runner but you can’t outrun a bullet. Although you’re welcome to try. I assure you, my aim is exceptional.”

I didn’t like the fact that he knew I ran, it implied too many things.
I rapidly worked through my options. Ian and Karl had only recently started going over these sorts of scenarios with me when they taught me krav maga. It wasn’t something I ever thought I’d be facing again. Disarming my brothers with a plastic gun wasn’t the same as doing it on a real person with hate in their eyes and bullets in the chamber. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t take the risk. If being kidnapped had taught me anything, it was that I wanted to live.

I still had my phone in my hand and I’d been discretely trying to call 999 but Gregory had seen.

“I’ll take that,” he smirked, gesturing to my phone.

I reluctantly handed it over, taking great care not to make any contact with his
skin.

“Now, if you’ll come with me,” he grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me back towards the Mercedes.

My eyes scanned the street rapidly as I considered my options. I was quickly realising that I didn’t have any. Not with the gun still pointing at me. I didn’t fancy my chances in the car but I didn’t seem to have any choice.

“There’s a good girl,” he cooed as if I was his lap dog. “Hands out in front of you.”

I made sure my eyes let him know how despicable I thought he was whilst I put my arms out in front of me.

“Obedient. Maybe Jason has you trained after all.
”

I promptly spat in his face, which was the very least he deserved. He didn’t like that one bit. His cool and collected façade fel
l as he wiped the spit off his cheek.

For a split second, I saw the depths of the monster within and it was completely terrifying. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Jason and Ben growing up with that every day.

Having collected himself, he handed me a pair of metal handcuffs and waited for me to put them on. I gritted my teeth and hesitated, earning myself a sharp nudge in the ribs with the nasty looking gun.

Once again, I had no choice so I handcuffed my own wrists together
. Gregory ushered me into the car and hopped into the driver’s seat.

He
smirked at me, the gun pointing in my direction whilst he started the car one-handed.

“Where are you taking me?” I growled. My mind was already running through my possibilities. I could open the door when he slowed down enough, or I could hit him in the
face and hope the gun didn’t go off. I could grab the steering wheel and make the car swerve off the road. I didn’t like any of the options. It didn’t seem too hopeful with the gun in the way.

“Don’t
speak unless spoken to,” he growled, whacking the side of my face with the back of his weapon-wielding hand.

I spat blood from my mouth and shifted in my seat so I could see him better. “Does it make you feel like a big man?
Hurting the people around you?” I scorned with all the disdain I felt for him.

“And there it is,” he smirked. “The confirmation that my sorry excuse for a son has been running his mouth.”

I closed my mouth at that. I didn’t have an answer. It was true that Jason had told me all about him but I didn’t see what relevance that bore. Maybe the sick bastard was taking me to hurt Jason even more for disrespecting him. It seemed like the sort of thing someone so twisted would do.

I kept track of the roads whilst Gregory drove. We were still in Derby and I knew roughly where we were.
We weren’t far from the industrial area behind the twins’ gym. That knowledge gave me comfort and I began trying to form a plan. If I could get out of the car in this area, I could get myself to the gym and I knew I’d be safe.

“Your thoughts are written all over your face, you know that?” Gregory snickered. “You’re not getting out of this car unless I let you out. Go ahead, try the door.”

Of all the times my lack of poker face hindered me, this was by far the worst. There was no point trying the door. I was pretty sure he wasn’t bluffing. I knew that if I tried, the child lock would have been on.

He must have seen the hope in my eyes fade because he chuckled to himself, pulling the car off the road
and into the parking lot of a shut down pub with the windows boarded up.

He le
d me out of the car and into the pub by dragging me by my hair. I stumbled across the crumbling tarmac and my scalp hurt like hell but I refused to let him know. He seemed like the sort of freak who would get off on knowing he was hurting me.

“Get off of me,” I gritted once we made it into what must have been the serving area of the pub at some point in time.

“Keep your mouth shut, little girl.”

My response was to kick him in the shin. Hard. All that did was earn me another backhand to the face and another mouthful of blood.

“The only reason you don’t have a bullet through your leg right now is that I don’t want you bleeding out before Jason gets here. I wouldn’t want him to miss that.”

That shut me up. Not because of the threat of the bullet. I didn’t want Jason here. Nothing good could come from that. Gregory obviously wanted to hurt Jason in some way and I couldn’t let that happen.

He sat on one of the dusty, threadbare stools by the bar and stared at me. It made my skin crawl. I wished he’d sat close enough for me to kick him again. I’d go for the groin this time. It’d probably be worth a gunshot wound.

“You’re pretty,” he said after a while. His slimy smirk made me want to vomit.

“And you’re a sick bastard,” I retorted. After all, I was raised not to tell lies. “Do you beat on women and children because you’re afraid to take on a man your size?”

“Louisa, Jason’s mother, was a pretty woman,” he ignored me. “That was my first mistake. Women who know they’re pretty think it give
s them the right to do whatever they want. They need to be taught their place.”

I scowled at him, loading my glare with all the venom I could
muster.

“
Obviously, Jason hasn’t learnt anything from me. That stupid little shit always was slow on the uptake. His brother may not have had any balls but at least he knew his place.”

“Shut up,” I screeched. “Jason and Ben are better men then you’ll ever be.”

“Those two?” He laughed bitterly. “Pathetic little shits both of them. I knew that whore was sleeping around on me. No son of mine would ever turn out like that.”

This guy was insane. That was the only explanation. I would have been over the moon to be able to tell Jason that Gregory wasn’t his real father but those eyes told me otherwise.

“Speaking of which, it’s about time me and my supposed son had a chat.” He gestured with his gun for me to sit down by the table, a good two meters away from him.

I took my sweet time but I did as he wanted because I still wasn’t too kee
n on the idea of bullet holes. I figured Ian had used up all the Carter family luck when he survived being shot.

I watched as Gregory took my phone from his pocket and dialled Jason. He put it on speakerphone on the table
in front of me, taking his gun-free hand and seizing the chain linking my hands together.

“Jamie?” Jason’s voice answered. “What’s up, baby?”

Gregory shook his head at me, forbidding me to speak and I bit my tongue, biding my time.

“Hello, Jason.”

There were a few seconds silence before Jason spoke. “What the fuck are you doing with Jamie’s phone?” I could hear how tense he was in his voice.

“Is that any way to talk to your Dad?” Gregory smirked. “I thought I taught you better than that.”

“You were never my Dad. The only thing you ever taught me was that you’re a twisted fucker.”

“Jason, Jason, Jason,” Gregory chuckled evilly. “Language like that is disrespectful, you need to be taught a lesson. Since you’re not here, I guess this pretty little thing will have to take your place.”

“Don’t bluff, old man,” Jason snapped. “She’s not with you.”

“Say hello, pretty girl,” Gregory lowered his head to mine and pushed the gun right up against the side of my neck. His breath smelt of cigarettes and something sour.

I kept quiet, I didn’t want Jason to know I was there. If he came here, I knew without a shadow of a doubt his Dad would hurt him. I still hadn’t figured out exactly what he was up to but I knew it couldn’t be anything good.

“Speak, or I’ll make sure your face doesn’t stay pretty for long,” Gregory warned.

I held my tongue. He could threaten all he wanted. I’d give anything to keep Jason safe.

“Speak, you stupid bitch,” he used the gun to smash the side of my face. I was pretty sure something cracked. The flash of plain momentarily blinded me and my ears rung with a high-pitched w
hining. Despite my best efforts, I cried out from the shock and the pain.

“Jamie?” Jason’s voice softened and became desperate. “Is that you?”

I cursed inwardly. He’d heard me. I needed to say something to warn him.

“It’s me,” I answered dejectedly. “I’m so sorry, Jason.” My voice almost broke as I apologised but I forced it back. I wasn’t going to show Gregory any weakness or fear.

“If you hurt her I will fucking-” Jason began.

“Bit too late for that, son,” Gregory sneered. “You’ve failed to inform her of her place
. Somebody had to put her there.”

“You son of a-” Jason’s angry voice sounded down the phone.

“How about this,” Gregory cut him off with a deceptively calm voice. “You come here within the next thirty minutes, and I’ll make sure that your girlfriend remains recognisable by the time you arrive.”

Jason started shouting obscenities down the phone and Gregory turned to me. “It’s in your best interest to make sure he gets here. Convince him,” he demanded, moving the gun to the joint of my shoulder.

“Jason,” I interrupted his rant with a slightly trembling voice.

He quietened and I knew I had his full attention.

“Don’t come here,” I begged him.

Gregory swore and hit the side of my face with his free hand, knocking me sideways onto the dusty bench.

“Thirty minutes, Jason. You call the police, she dies. You take longer than thirty minutes, she dies. And I’ll take my sweet time killing her.”

He rattled off the address and hung up the phone before launching it against the wall where it smashed into pieces.