French Quarter (22 page)

“Get the hell out of here,” Todd suddenly spat at Jack from his place on the floor. “She’s mine and we don’t need an outsider interfering in our business.”

Jack looked from Todd to Liz and said in a surprisingly calm tone, “Darlin’, why don’t you give me just a few minutes alone with Todd here.”

Liz had no idea what Jack intended to do to Todd, but she hardly cared. This had been the scare of her life and she was more than ready to exit the room and leave the decisions in Jack’s hands.

* * * * *

Once she was gone, Jack looked down on the little creep and thought about what to do. He wanted to beat the shit out of him, wanted to pound him to an unrecognizable pulp. Given the adrenaline pumping through his veins, he thought he could do it with ease.

But he had to play this smart. Todd was the sort of “upstanding” guy who could sic the police on him, all the while seeming totally aboveboard with his suit and tie life of high finance. And even though a lot of the New Orleans police knew Jack—by reputation if not personally—some of them didn’t like him. They didn’t like a guy who could solve the cases they couldn’t, who could make them look bad at their profession.

He wanted to teach Todd a hard lesson, but he also didn’t want to go to jail for assault—not the least of which reason was that if he was in jail, who would keep Todd away from Liz?

Even so, as he stood there watching Todd slowly rise to his feet, he just couldn’t help himself—he pulled back his fist and slammed it squarely into Todd’s jaw. The blow knocked him back to the floor and again Jack thought of all the things he’d like to do to a guy who attacks women—
his
woman especially. When Todd once again stumbled to his feet, muttering, “You better back off, buddy, or you’ll be sorry,” Jack said, “No, Todd, you’re the sorry one,” and belted him in the gut.

Todd doubled over and Jack felt damn good as his fist began to ache from the contact with Todd’s jaw. It was satisfying to inflict pain on the asshole.

But he had to stop before he got carried away. So he simply dropped to one knee, hovering over Todd, and lifted him by his shirt collar. “Listen to me, you shithead. You’re gonna stop botherin’ Liz right now. In fact, you’re gonna do more than that. You’re gonna stay as far away from her as you physically can. ‘Cause if I find out you’ve so much as looked at her, let alone talked to her or touched her, I promise you’re gonna hurt a lot worse than you do right now. Got it?”

The man on the floor looked as if he might break into tears, but then he seemed to regain a bit of his usual pompous air. “Are you threatening me?”

Releasing Todd’s collar, Jack shrugged. “No, not me. You must have misunderstood. And if you bother tellin’ anyone about this, I guarantee that’s how it’ll come out. I’m pretty convincin’ when I need to be.” Jack leaned a little closer to Todd, tried to look a little more dangerous. “Now, do you get the message here? Do you understand that you’re gonna leave her alone?”

Todd still looked defiant, and Jack mentally dared him to disagree—it would be all the incentive he needed to rip the man to shreds, jail or no jail. But Todd finally said, “Yeah, sure, I got the message.”

 “Good. ‘Cause you know those balls Liz just kicked? Give me a reason and I’ll tear ‘em off and feed ‘em to you with a spoon.”

With that, he yanked Todd to his feet, handily bending one of the dickhead’s arms behind his back so he couldn’t break free of the hold. Without wasting anymore words on the little shit, Jack escorted him from the room. Liz stood by the stairs, eyes wide.

“This asshole won’t be botherin’ you anymore.
Right
?” He jerked hard on Todd’s arm.

“Yeah. Right.”

Accompanying Todd down the stairs, his arm still locked behind his back, Jack opened the big front door and gave the creep a shove. Todd stumbled down the front steps, landing on the walk. “Get the fuck outta here,” Jack said, “and don’t even think about comin’ back.” He slammed the door and locked it, looking up to see his sweet Liz padding down the steps on bare feet, the satiny robe hugging her curves.

He met her at the bottom and swept her into his arms in a huge, protective bear hug.

“Thank God you showed up when you did,” she whispered against his chest.

He smiled lightly to himself. “Oh, I don’t know—looked to me like you did a pretty good job of takin’ care of him all by yourself.”

“Wh-what are you even doing here?” She looked up into his eyes. “I wasn’t expecting you for another hour or so, and I was so sure I was alone and on my own with him.”

He shrugged, still holding her. “I just had a feelin’ maybe I should come early.” Part wanting to see her so bad it hurt, but also part P.I.’s instinct—like before, something had indeed nagged at him, urging him to check on her and make sure she was okay. He said a silent prayer of thanks to have been blessed with such gut feelings.

Gazing down at her, he lifted one hand to push the hair from her face. “It’s time you move in with me,
chere
. I can’t stand knowin’ this guy is right next door to you.”

He thought she looked tempted, almost heard the “yes” leaving her lips, but instead she gently pulled free of his embrace and walked into the living room to sit down on the couch, her back to him. “We’ll see, Jack. We’ll see.”

He sighed, glad she couldn’t take in his face at the moment. He could read the writing on the wall clearly enough—she still had no interest in turning this into a serious relationship. Which he’d known already, but somehow, in these last few minutes, he’d hoped against hope that maybe things would have changed.

Whenever she left him, it was going to wound him in a way he might never really recover from. It wasn’t a choice, or a circumstance that might change—he knew as surely as he knew alligators lived in the bayou that it’s just how things were.

“How about I order that pizza?” he said, now just wanting to comfort her in whatever little ways he might be capable of. He walked around the couch to face her. Her expression looked a little more peaceful than a moment ago, which made the fist squeezing his heart loosen a little.

“That would be nice.” She pointed toward the kitchen. “Phone book’s in the drawer by the fridge. Anything but anchovies and onions.” She got to her feet. “I’m going to go get dressed now. I just…kind of want to have clothes on right now—you know?”

He nodded, and for the first time, he thought he understood how close she’d come to being raped by her ex-fiancé. The knowledge sent a cold chill slithering down his spine. “Sure, darlin’, I understand. Go get dressed.”

As Jack thumbed through the phone book looking for a pizza place, he made a decision. Just threatening Todd wasn’t good enough. As he’d contemplated a few days back, he was going to have to do something about the jerk, take some measures to keep Liz safe—without her knowledge, of course.

What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

* * * * *

The world seemed almost normal and sane as they lounged on the couch, an open pizza box on the coffee table, an old movie on the TV. Liz nibbled at the crust of the slice she’d just eaten, feeling full. She wore the tee and shorts she’d intended; Jack, too, was casual in blue jeans and a t-shirt.

Seeing she was done, Jack took the plate from her hand and lowered it to the table, then gently pulled her into his arms. He didn’t say anything for a long time, just held her, and it felt so good, perfect, like nothing could ever hurt her as long as she was with him.

“You doin’ okay? You’ve been quiet since…”

Yes, she had been quiet for awhile. For so many reasons. Certainly the scene with Todd had been terrifying, but there was something else on her mind, too—her love for Jack. It was tearing her apart, yet she’d still kept herself from agreeing to move in with him. She couldn’t accept that much kindness from a man who’d unwittingly been drawn deeper into her problems than she’d ever intended—nor could she let herself risk falling any harder for him than she already had. The pain when it was over would be excruciating, already, but to live with him would be to love him even more, and it wasn’t something she was willing to put herself through. Being with Jack had made her realize she’d never known real love before, and now that she did—damn it, it was scary.

“I was…really frightened earlier,” she admitted softly.

“You wouldn’t have to be afraid if you just came to stay with me.”

So sweet, this man, so protective. In the beginning, she’d thought him gruff and unemotional—now she knew better, knew his emotions came through in actions or touches more than mere words, and she knew he was too good of a man to let a woman live in danger if he could help it. She didn’t reply.

“Either way, here or there, I won’t let him bother you again,
chere
.” He pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

Hours later, they awoke in each other’s arms on the couch. The TV was still on, the clock on the mantel said it was close to midnight.

“Guess Lynda isn’t home yet,” she thought aloud.

“I’m stayin’ the night,” he told her.

“You don’t have to do that, Jack. I’m sure she’ll be home soon.”

“I don’t care. I’m not lettin’ you out of my sight tonight. It’s non-negotiable.”

* * * * *

She dreamed of Jack that night, slightly non-sensical but pleasant dreams of making love to him on the lawn of a castle, of dancing with him in a large, ornate ballroom, of sweet kisses beneath a maple tree turned October gold. Echoes of old, romantic fantasies from her girlhood made new. So apparently
that
part of her still existed, too.

Waking up in his arms the next morning was like leaving a good dream for an even better one. She’d awakened with him on several successive mornings, of course, but somehow having him in
her
bed was different, even more comforting. Perhaps the truth was, despite her bravado, she was feeling less and less confident about living right next door to Todd, so she’d have to change that situation very soon. In the meantime, though, just feeling Jack’s warm body next to her in her own bed was like a little slice of heaven.

They hadn’t made love last night—she supposed they both knew she needed a little time to recover from her encounter with Todd. Still, she’d felt the need to bring it up—it was such a change of pace for them. “No sex tonight?” she’d asked with a half-playful smile when Jack suggested they go up to bed, to sleep.

“
Rest
tonight,” he’d replied, his hand at the small of her back as she climbed the stairs ahead of him.

She’d peeked over her shoulder. “You’re missing a beautiful bra and panty set under these clothes.”

He’d grinned, although he’d looked tired. “Time for that another night,
chere
.”

His simple reply had, oddly, put a new bit of hope in Liz’s heart when she’d not expected it. Those uncomplicated words had planted a seed, something she’d never really even considered before—that maybe this would go on, not be a short-lived thing. Maybe her affair with Jack, in spite of—or maybe even because of—all its hedonism, meant something to him. Who knew, maybe falling asleep with that idea in her head had been part of why waking up next to him this morning had felt so new, so special.

Throughout the day at work, though, Liz decided that she wanted to get back to normal with Jack tonight. Normal meaning “normal for them.” Meaning new sexual adventures. Last night she’d felt so vulnerable, and feeling that way with Jack was still dangerous. When she thought of having something serious with Jack, all she could see was the way all her past relationships had turned out—leaving her heartbroken. Strangely, her relationship with Todd was the only instance where she’d come out emotionally strong and unscathed. Maybe that was why she’d been able to trust in him and say yes when he’d proposed. Maybe deep down she’d known she didn’t feel the deep emotions for him that she’d felt for other men, known he didn’t have the power to hurt her. Jack, however, was a different story. And the truth was, maybe she was in too deep with him already, but she just kept telling herself that so long as she knew this was temporary, so long as she kept her head about her, that she could handle it when it was over. So getting away from emotions and back to hot sex seemed like a very good idea.

Besides, she wanted to get last night’s terrorizing meeting with her ex-fiancé out of her mind, and she knew from experience that sex with Jack definitely had the power to rid her of all other thoughts.

She called him from work at his office to tell him she wanted to hit the Quarter tonight. “Let’s do something fun, exciting,” she said.

She heard him chuckle on the other end of the line. “Still lookin’ for adventure, huh,
chere
?”

She was glad he couldn’t see what she suspected was a sheepish smile. “I suppose you could say that. It just seems like…there’s still more out there to do, more I haven’t experienced.”

She felt his sexy grin without even being able to see it. “Well, darlin’, whatever you want to experience, I’m real happy to experience it with you.”

Just hearing his voice curl around the words made her hot. And going to work every day in her professional suit, knowing what she’d been doing at night, made her feel like she harbored a delicious secret, that she lived a shocking double life. “Jack?” she whispered into the phone, feeling oh-so-daring even as co-workers buzzed about the office around her.

“
Oui, chere
?”