I gently let him go, pull out my gun and stand.
“No, Delaney,” Kyle splutters.
I don’t listen. I run full throttle towards the men. The first one turns and his eyes widen with surprise before he raises his gun. I shoot mine before he even gets the chance, hitting him in the stomach. He goes down with a roar of pain, and then I swivel towards his friend, but I’m too slow. He shoots and the bullet grazes me, hitting my shoulder enough to cause fire-like agony, but not enough to penetrate.
I drop my gun and gasp, the pain unlike anything I’ve ever felt. He takes aim again and I look into his eyes. This is it, he’s going to kill me. I close my eyes, saying a silent prayer, then I hear a loud thump. My eyes pop open and I see Jax on top of the man, his fist driving over and over into the man’s face, blood spurting everywhere. My training kicks in and I run over, ignoring the blistering pain in my shoulder.
“Jax, don’t kill him!” I scream.
Jax slams the man’s head once more and he’s knocked out cold, then he rolls off with a bellow of agony. There’s blood soaking his pant leg and he’s white as a ghost. Police sirens blare through the now-quiet space and I breathe a sigh of relief as I hear the shouting of voices. I drop down beside Jax, and take his head in my lap. He’s drifting in and out of consciousness, and I’m right there with him.
The pain is so intense I can hardly breathe.
“Would you look at that,” I whisper before my world goes black. “You saved me.”
That’s the last thing I remember.
* * *
I’m sitting in a horrible hospital gown beside Jax, who is in the hospital bed beside Kyle. I refused to be anywhere else but by their bedsides, and because my injuries were less, the nurses let me come in here and sit beside them for a few hours. Nak made the orders to let that happen. Jax had to have surgery on his leg, and Kyle was also in surgery for over eight hours, but both of them are stable and in recovery.
Kyle hasn’t woken yet, but Jax is slowly coming to. He’s staring at me, his eyes hazy. I had a piece of the blown-up car lodged in my back, and that’s why it hurt so much during the fight. It wasn’t a big piece, but it left me with a wound that required twenty-five stitches. My shoulder took eight and I had a bad gash on my head that got one. But I came out of it better than both of these men.
Kyle was touch and go, the doctors said it was a matter of minutes that saved his life. The pressure I put on his stomach helped. The police arrived and quickly made arrests. Six of the twelve gang members were there, and they’d planned for Jax to be killed by that bomb, but if not, they were ready and waiting to take him out themselves. One of them spoke after they were arrested and they managed to get the rest, with enough charges, they assured me, to get them locked away for life.
Jax is officially free, and no longer in danger.
That relief is huge.
“Hey there, hero.”
I turn and see Nak standing in the doorway, two coffees in hand. I smile weakly. “Hey there.”
“Can I come in? I brought caffeine.”
I nod. Nak walks in and hands me one, then looks at my gown. “Nice gown.”
“Ha-ha,” I rasp.
He sits beside me on the double sofa and studies me. “Things still the same with these two?”
“Jax is stirring.”
Jax’s eyes are closed again now, but he’s fidgeting, so I know he’s coming out of it.
“It was a dangerous situation you were all in, it’s lucky you got out alive.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Nak reaches over and takes my hand. “You felt something none of us did, and you acted on it. If you hadn’t, Jax and Kyle wouldn’t be here today.”
“I just did my job,” I say, staring at the coffee warming my hands.
“No, you saved two lives.”
“Technically, Jax saved mine.”
Nak grins. “I bet that felt good for him.”
I smile weakly. “Probably.”
“You showed strength out there tonight, Delaney. You made a decision to act on instinct and you saved them. That took courage and skill. Because of that, I’m cutting your suspension to only two weeks, and that’s purely so you can recover.”
“You want me back?” I whisper.
“Of course I do. I read the statement you gave the police. You were a true bodyguard out there tonight.”
I nod.
“You don’t want to come back?” he asks.
“Of course I do,” I say. “But … I just…”
“It scared you, didn’t it?”
My bottom lip trembles and he reaches over, putting his arm around me. “Your job is dangerous, and you got hit hard on your first real case. This is going to take a while to process. But you don’t have to be put in this situation again, Laney. If you want small to medium cases, like some of the members take, especially those that have families, then you are more than welcome to do that.”
“That wouldn’t bother you?”
He shrugs. “It’s your life and you have to do what’s best for you, not me.”
“And Kyle?” I whisper.
“Kyle made a near-fatal mistake tonight. He put Jax in that car without checking it. I have no choice but to let him go.”
My heart pounds. “Please don’t, Nak. Kyle loves his job. He loves it more than anyone on this team.”
“He made a mistake.”
“He did, but he nearly lost his life because of it. Don’t fire him. Start him from the beginning again, put him on small cases until he proves himself, but please, for me, don’t fire him.”
Nak studies my face. “Why would you want that for him, when he’s done nothing but give you heartache?”
“Because, regardless of everything, when I watched him fighting for his life tonight, I realized he’s no different from me. He loves his job, he’s passionate about it, and that’s clouded a lot for him. He’s not a bad person, and you know that.”
“No, he’s not.”
“Please consider it.”
He nods, standing. “I will, for you. Now, I have more reports to submit. Get some rest, Laney.”
I smile up at him. “Thank you, Nak.”
“For what?”
“For believing in me.”
He smiles. “Anytime, sweetheart.”
Then he leaves. I sip my coffee and look over to Jax, whose eyes are fluttering open again. I stand and walk over, looking down into his face. I love this man, heart and soul, and no matter what happens, that won’t change. Nearly losing him showed me that. He’s the best mistake I ever made. When his eyes fully open and fixate on mine, I smile. “Well, hey there, handsome.”
“Hey yourself,” he croaks. “Kitten.”
EPILOGUE
ONE MONTH LATER
“Oh, Delaney, he’s here!” Aunt Bett cries, rushing around like a chicken with her head cut off.
“Aunt Bett, chill!” I say, walking out into the living area.
She skids to a stop and stares at me, then proceeds to burst out crying. I smile and walk over, wrapping her in my arms. “Stop crying or you’ll make me cry.”
“You look so beautiful,” she blubbers.
I squeeze her tighter and then let go. “I have to go.”
She nods, sniffling. “Don’t pay for a thing, and make sure he opens the car door for you.”
I shake my head with a fond grin and walk to the door, opening it. Jax is standing on the other side, looking like pure masculine beauty, looking at me. He’s wearing a pair of black jeans, fitted but not too tight, and a dark grey button-up shirt that’s got the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. His hair is flopping messily over his forehead and his eyes match his shirt. He looks gorgeous.
“Hey, kitten,” he says, his voice husky.
He swoops down and captures me, kissing me softly. “You look gorgeous.”
“You don’t look too bad yourself, handsome.”
“Are you ready?”
I nod and step out, shutting the door, still hearing Aunt Bett’s sniffling. Jax leads me down to his car, the car he’s driving, the car I’m not escorting him to. Yes, that’s right, Jax and I are going on our first date without escorts, or people chasing him, or jealous friends. A date. A real date. I’m so excited, my stomach is a flurry of butterflies.
The last month has been a blur. Kyle got out of the hospital and Nak didn’t fire him, which I’m completely grateful for. He did get put back down to basic cases until he can prove himself, but he’s okay with that. We made peace, in a sense. It was an awkward conversation, but we cleared the air between us and he even thanked me for saving his life.
Tori and Red went home, and Red was nice enough to be kind to me when he left, saying he wished Jax and me well. Tori refused to see Jax, and when I asked if that upset him, he said no. He’s certain she’ll move on and when she does, then they might have the chance to rebuild some of their friendship. That upsets me, because I feel partially responsible, but Jax assured me that Tori would have done this, with or without me in the picture.
I believe that.
I started work again two weeks ago, and chose to only do normal cases that didn’t need high security. My life is a far happier place because of that. Jax went back to life as normal and the gang members went to trial and got life in prison for a number of charges, including murder, assault, sexual assault, drug charges and weapons charges.
We haven’t had one problem since then.
Jax takes me to a fair. I have no idea why he picked a fair for our first date, but the excitement bubbles out of me when we get out of the car and I see the big rides, the candy stores and the games. I squeal and turn to Jax. “A fair?”
“I figured you were the kind of girl that got off on fast things, and I told you after our last failed attempt at going out together that I’d make our first real date amazing.”
I snort. “You certainly seem to be making that happen, though I think you’re wrong about the fast things. I’ve been known to play with slow things.”
He flashes me a wolfish grin. “Careful, kitten.”
I grin and stretch my hand out. “Take me on a ride, Mr. Shields.”
He slaps my ass and then takes my hand, and we enter the fair. Typically, I rush to the fastest, craziest ride first. We ride and laugh until we’re ready to puke, and then we load up on the worst-nutritional-value food in the world and walk out of the fair and over to a beautiful big park, where fireworks are being shot off.
Jax sits down and pulls me into his body, my back pressed to his chest. We stare up at the sparks of color flying through the sky, and I feel so at ease for the first time in my life. Jax has his arm around my waist, and every now and then he puts a piece of whatever food he picks out of our little stash, into my mouth.
“So, how do I rate on the first date scale?” he asks.
“Probably a five.”
He pinches my side. “Why a five?”
“You didn’t buy me flowers. All girls need flowers, handsome.”
“How do you know I didn’t buy you flowers?”
I grin, even though he can’t see it. “Well, did you?”
“No, but I will.”
“Ah, ah, that’ll ruin the surprise.”
He grunts. “Women.”
“You should familiarize yourself with the art of dating.”
He traces a finger up my arm, making me shiver. “Why? I’m an amazing lover, I look good, and I have money.”
“Ugh, Jaxson, that’s such a rich manwhore thing to say.”
He chuckles. “You wouldn’t have me any other way.”
“Hey, you came this way. I didn’t get a choice.”
“And if you could have gotten a choice, would you change anything?”
I sigh and smile. “God, no.”
“My point, exactly,” he says, nipping my earlobe.
“What about you, would you change anything?”
He sucks my lobe into his mouth and I shiver. His arms tighten around me.
“Yeah, I’d have you protecting anyone else but me.”
“Still got ego issues?”
He snorts. “I can tell you it won’t be happening again.”
“Is that so?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
“Look, macho man, you had the chance to have the last save, that should be enough.”
“You’re right, I did get the last save,” he says cockily.
“And you feel pretty good about that, don’t you?”
He laughs softly. “I’ll never let you forget it.”
“I didn’t figure you would.”
He’s silent for a minute, then he squeezes me softly. “I’d go to the ends of the earth if it meant you were safe, Delaney. Don’t you ever doubt that. You might be tough, and bad ass, but I’m always going to protect you.”
“Dammit, Shields,” I say, my voice thick. “You’re going to make me cry.”
“Would that be such a bad thing?”
I snuggle into him. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”
He chuckles, then he goes silent again.
“You’re an incredible woman, Delaney, and I should tell you that more often.”
I turn, pulling out of his arms so I can see his face. I study him and say softly, “I think I already know that’s how you feel.”
His eyes scan my face. “There’s something else I should have told you by now, too.”
My heart starts pounding and I swallow, studying his face.
“I love you,” he says, his voice thick. “I’ve never said that to a single person in my life and I thought I never would, but I mean it with you, Delaney. I love you.”
“You know, handsome, I think I might just love you too.”
He grins and brings his lips down onto mine, kissing me long and deep. We’re right into that kiss when someone yells, “Look out!”
Jax pulls back and we turn to see a big round rock tumbling down the hill towards us. There’s a bunch of teenagers at the top of the hill, yelling out and waving their hands. There’s another pile of rocks that seem to have been propped up to make some sort of rock wall and they’ve clearly dislodged it, acting like, well, teenagers.
Jax moves quickly, flipping both of us just as the rock tumbles past. We roll a few times, and I cry out, laughing at the same time. We come to a stop at the bottom of the hill, Jax on top of me, both of us laughing loudly. The teenagers at the top call out their apologies, and Jax waves a hand at them, still laughing.
“What other first date have you had where you can say you’ve had to dodge rolling rocks while making out?” I giggle.
“Nothing is ever normal with you.” Jax grins down at me. “And would you look at that, kitten, I think I just saved you again.”
I snort. “Don’t let it go to your head, it’s the last time.”
He cups my face in his hands. “You better get used to it, baby, because I’m going to spend the rest of my life saving you.”
“Never.” I grin.
He leans down and kisses me and the fireworks go off above us, and right here and now, we create a perfect moment. I don’t tell Jax that I’m more than happy for him to save me for the rest of my life, because even the strongest of us need to have someone watching our backs. My someone is Jax, and he doesn’t know it yet, but his someone … is me.
It always has been and it always will be.
Don’t miss the Alpha’s Heart Series
BellaJewelBooks.com
Have you read them all?
Available from St. Martin’s Press!
Don’t miss all three installments of Bella Jewel’s sexy Alpha’s Heart series!
HARD TO FIGHT
HARD TO BREAK
HARD TO FORGET
From St. Martin’s Press
Visit http://bellajewelbooks.com for more romance!
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Bella Jewel is a fun-loving Australian who lives with her husband a
nd two playful daughters. She’s been writing since she was fifteen, and has written a broad range of stories, with wild characters ranging from bikers to pirates. When she’s not writing, she’s kicking about on dirt bikes or riding horses. Bella has many more books planned for the future.
Visit her at bellajewelbooks.com, or sign up for email updates here.
Thank you for buying this
St. Martin’s Press ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on the author, click here.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Epilogue
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
HARD TO FORGET. Copyright © 2015 by Bella Jewel.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Okay Creations
Cover photograph © rangizzz/Shutterstock