Secured Wishes (8 page)

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“How the fuck was I supposed to call you? Is there an I-don’t-exist yellow pages that I don’t know about?” she sounded truly angry for the first time since he entered the room. “You said you would see me again, and I waited, but you didn’t show. Then yesterday I tell Genie about the baby and suddenly you reappear. What am I supposed to think? What am I supposed to believe?”

“You are supposed to believe that I didn’t know!” he yelled, losing his temper. Bob shot to his feet looking like he intended to forcibly throw him out of the building, but Jacob was the wrong man to mess with at that moment. He breathed deeply through his nose, trying to temper his anger, since he was truly beginning to fear for Bob’s life. Once he was calm enough to speak evenly, he said. “I have been working my ass off to get back to you as quickly as I could.”

When she remained stubbornly silent, he added quietly. “
Ti Amero` Per
Sempre
,” a look of shock passed over her face, and he pressed on. “That’s what it said; I saw it. Did you mean it?”

She pressed her lips together, giving him a short nod, and he nearly roared with triumph. “Pack a bag and be ready to go in two hours,” he switched his attention to Bob, and he felt his face harden with anger once more. “And
you
will not fucking be here then. Do we understand each other?” Jacob left silently the way he came, not giving either one of them time to argue.

***

“Jesus,” Bob said under his breath as the door closed behind Jacob. “When you said Jacob was the father, I didn’t know you meant Genie’s Jacob. That man right there,” he said pointing in the direction of the door “will fucking kill me later, when he gets me alone.”

Gracie snorted at his words. “I thought you were a prize fighter,” she told him, raising her eyebrows in question.

Bob met her eyes and held her gaze. “Gracie, I’m a fighter in the ring, but Jacob is a trained assassin. My fighting skills won’t mean shit when he slits my throat in my sleep.”

The sketchpad fell from her numb fingers at Bob’s words, and she scrambled to pick up it up again. “What?”

Bob closed his eyes then brushed his hand over them. “Okay, apparently I just need to shut up now.”

It made sense, and she shouldn’t have been all that surprised, but she was, and she also knew there was more to the story than she was being told because Genie worked for the F.B.I. at one point, and she just couldn’t imagine Jacob being a criminal. She wasn’t equipped to deal with this right now, so instead she asked. “Did he look to you like he was going to be sick when you said the word baby?”

Bob smiled unapologetically. “He really did.”

“Serves him right. I shouldn’t be the only one feeling sick around here.”

***

Jacob bent at the waist as soon as he was out of sight and sucked in a huge breath of air. He was so scared she would be angry, but this was something he could not have foreseen. There was no way he would watch her end up with someone else, even if it was her alone, but knowing she was pregnant with his child—it wasn’t going to happen. He knew Bob was a good man, and he knew first-hand that there were men out there that would love her the way she deserved, whether she was pregnant with another man’s child or not, but he also had no doubts he would kill them if they tried. He needed to make her see how much he loved her. His original plan was to forcibly carry her out of there if necessary, but the baby changed things. He wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt her or their baby—he needed her to go willingly. God help them all if when he came back in two hours she wasn’t ready to go or Bob was still there. Deciding to deal with Genie as well, he pulled out his cell phone and dialled her number. When she answered, he skipped the niceties. “Would you have really never spoken her name in my presence again knowing she was pregnant with my child?”

“If you told me that she was just another one of your women, then, yes, absolutely I would have kept my mouth shut, because let’s face it, Jacob, we both know she deserves more than being tied for life to someone who doesn’t really love her.”

“I love her,” he retorted angrily.

“I know you do,” she told him gently. “That’s why you deserved to hear the news from her, not your sister.”

“I heard the news from a half-naked Bob. Thank you very much.”

A roar of laughter sounded through the phone. “She’s going to be an awesome wife,” she told him in between peals of laughter.

Jacob couldn’t help but smile at her words despite his anger. “She really is, isn’t she?”

CHAPTER SEVEN

The bag was packed but hidden from sight, because she didn’t intend to go without a fight. Jacob was
hers
. There was no way she would be allowing him to walk away from her and their baby now, after seeing him again. She thought she could, but when she turned in that chair and locked eyes with him, she realized she was weaker than she could have ever known. It had taken every ounce of her strength to keep from throwing herself into his arms, but she knew the truth—if she did that, she would be spending the rest of her life flinging herself against a solid wall of half-truths. She wanted answers. She needed them, and she would not budge until she got them. Her eyes lingered on the clock as she counted down the minutes, trying desperately not to panic. What if he didn’t show? What if this was just another ‘see you later’?

Then he was there. Once again he leaned against the doorframe, except he had changed clothes. He was now dressed completely in black. The same as he had the first time she had seen him. Trying to keep herself seated, she gripped the arms of her chair until her knuckles turned white. She loved him so much. He could never know how she cried when she finally accepted he would never return, but here he was now, watching her with those same beautiful eyes, and it felt as if her heart was breaking all over again. A single tear fell from the corner of her eye, and she swiped it away, refusing to allow any more to fall.

“Why are you so ashamed of your tears?”

She thought about lying, but in the end she decided to go with the truth. “Nobody likes a crier. Nobody adopts the crier,” she regretted her honesty the moment the words left her lips. She didn’t want this to be about her. She needed it to be about him. He surprised her by not pressing the issue. “Where is your bag?”

“Once again you told me nothing. Where are we going? Do I need to pack warm clothes or cool clothes? Are we getting on a plane? If so, I have to put all my liquids in those tiny little bottles. I’m pregnant: how many prenatal vitamins do I need to bring? How am I supposed to ever know what to do if you never tell me anything?”

Instead of being annoyed by her barrage of questions, he flashed a sexy grin. “We’re staying in town. We’ll stay as long as you’re willing. I was born Jacob Lewis Larue, and if you want to hear the rest, you’ll go get your stuff together so we can leave.”

***

She pulled a red duffle bag out from behind her chair. It was stuffed to the brim, and Jacob was forced to hide a smile since he figured that wouldn’t win him any points. He was overjoyed she was already packed to leave. After she locked the front door, Jacob led her to the passenger side of his black Jeep, opening the door for her and helping her climb inside. They made the fifteen-minute drive in silence, and when he pulled into the underground parking lot, he could tell by the look on her face she was curious about where they were going. He parked next to a line of vehicles almost identical to the one he was driving. He slung her bag over his shoulder and linked his fingers with hers, leading her towards the elevator. When they stepped inside, he inserted a key then pressed the button that would take them to the top floor. Once there, the doors slid open, revealing a long hallway with only one door on each side. He unlocked the door on the left and stepped aside so Gracie could enter ahead of him. He had never brought anyone into his private space before, and he watched her face anxiously, wondering what she thought of his home.

“This is where you live?”

Jacob nodded. “Caleb lives across the hall. No one ever comes up here but him or me.”

Gracie didn’t wait for his permission before trailing from room to room, looking things over. He shifted from one foot to the other, and she wondered for a moment if he was nervous about her seeing his home—and what a home it was. She never noticed this building before even though she had probably driven past it a hundred times. The outside was nondescript and forgettable, but the inside was an entirely different matter. It was opulent to say the least, but it was also very homey looking, as if it was decorated more for comfort than style, even though each piece of furniture was top-brand stuff. The black leather couch looked stylish against the cherry hardwood floors. A large flat-screen television hung on the wall, and the kitchen appliances were all stainless steel. She walked down the hall, passing a bathroom that looked unused; probably for guests she decided. As she passed each room, she stuck her head inside. The first bedroom she found had been converted into an office, and it seemed like every computer component known to man was stuffed inside. The next bedroom also appeared to be unused, and then she came to a closed door. She looked over her shoulder to see Jacob following silently at her heels, and when she hesitated, he reached past her and pushed the door open. This was his bedroom—she knew as soon as she saw it. It was him in every way, and she loved it. A huge window covered one wall, showing a spectacular view of the city below. There was a scent lingering in the air that smelled like shampoo and cologne. It reminded her of a hotel with its granite countertops, double-headed shower and a Jacuzzi type tub. She trailed back out of the bathroom and stared at his bed. It was unmade, and she was forced to hide a smile because the rest of the place was immaculate, but his bedroom was a little unkempt and made the place seem even more like a home. Shrugging out of her jacket, she walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, bouncing once for good measure. Finally she met his eyes. “I love it.” She scooted back further onto the bed, drawing her feet up underneath her, and then patted the covers next to her. Jacob set her bag on the floor, throwing his own jacket down on top of it before easing down next to her, as if unsure of his welcome. She turned to face him and got straight to the point. “I want to hear the rest of the story now.”

He looked around the room and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, but he didn’t back down from her. “I was born, Jacob Lewis Larue, on December 26
th
thirty-four years ago. My father was murdered a week after I was conceived, and my mom didn’t even know she was pregnant with me until about a month after he died. My dad’s best friend, Avery Cook, stepped in to help my mom out during her pregnancy, and they fell in love. Shortly after I was born, Avery married my mom and adopted me.”

“I guess that means that Genie is only your half -sister then?”

He nodded then pulled her feet into his lap and began removing her shoes. “And Caleb is my half -brother,” he said after a moment.

“What?” she asked totally lost. With her shoes off, he started rubbing her feet; he kept his gaze locked on the motion as he answered. “I work for an organization by the name of Safe Haven that offers new lives for people in exchange for information leading to known terrorist groups, mafia cells, and drug lords—basically any individual or group that brings harm to the American people. Safe Haven was started by my uncle, Dan Simmons. He’s not really my uncle, but we were raised to believe that family required no blood ties, anyhow, Dan used to work for the U.S. government, as part of an anti-terrorism group—he was one of the world’s leading computer hackers. He did basically the same thing we do now, but he wasn’t reaching a large enough group of people, so he struck out on his own; but I’m getting ahead of myself. My dad, Jake Lewis, was recruited to do some undercover work for the government, and they faked his death. My mom and Avery spent a year thinking he was dead until Dan was able to remake a life for him as Jackson Cook, Avery’s long lost brother from Texas, and he became my uncle. He later married and Caleb was born.”

It was a lot of information for Gracie to take in, but she needed to know the whole of it. “And what do you do for Safe Haven?”

He didn’t shift around uncomfortably or fidget in any way; instead, he met her gaze. “I work as part of a group of assassins that goes in to terminate any cells found on U.S. soil.”

So it was true. She wanted to be horrified. She truly did, but all she felt was a huge rush of relief at him being completely honest with her. “Is there anything else?” She asked, just to be sure she wasn’t going to get any more bombs dropped on her in the future.

“I’m in love with you, and I have been since the very first night we spent together in that room. When I looked into the mirror and caught your gaze, I was a goner. I dream about you every night and….” That was all she let him get out before she snagged his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers. It was as if the past three months never happened, and they were back to that first week they spent together. She lifted her head and moved to straddle his hips. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she touched her forehead to his. “I love you, Jacob, and I have missed you,” she paused, swallowing past the tightness in her throat. “every day.”

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. “I won’t ever leave you again. I swear it. I can work from here. It’s not necessary for me to work in the field. I’ll do whatever it takes to be with you. Just say that you forgive me for being gone so long and I will try as hard as I can to not screw this up.”

She tilted her head, pretending to think it over, intentionally dragging out his suspense. Finally she said. “Can we live here? I don’t really like my new apartment.”

He made a noise in the back of his throat, as if he were choking down his laughter. “We can live anywhere you want to baby.”

“Will you wake up resenting me one day when you realize you gave up a life of adventure to be home with me?” she asked him seriously. She’d rather he go now than hate her later on down the road.