Another thing she had learned since she’d started spending so much time with him: Jami was a neat freak. Whenever he was at her apartment, he followed behind her picking up after her. The clothes she tossed on the bathroom floor? Magically made it into the laundry basket that Liv bought for her whenever he was around. Her apartment had never been so sparkly or dust free since the day she moved in.
They weren’t entirely different, though. If there was one quality that Alyson respected above all others, it was Jami’s sense of time. Alyson had always wanted to be the punctual type, but she just couldn’t seem to master the art. So, she was thrilled to learn that Jami was never late for anything. If he said he was going to be somewhere, he was.
Jami was also loyal. He was always talking about Don, his coach, which told her a lot about how important a figure he played in his life. Considering that he lived with the man and the type of father he had growing up, she would even venture to say that Jami loved the man. Don seemed like the type of person who gave a lot of himself to others. If he could take a young boy off the streets and turn him into the man standing before her, then it spoke volumes about who he was under that gruff exterior.
It made Alyson happy to know that Jami had someone in his life that could truly be there for him. If there was anyone who needed love and guidance more, it was Jami. Despite his hard attitude and appearance, she still caught bits and pieces of the boy inside him.
During the times that they had talked candidly about the past, he revealed parts of himself that she suspected he didn’t even realize he had, like emotions. Jami showed anger all the time, but he wore all other emotions close to the vest. It was plain to her that Jami didn’t like showing any signs of weakness. Resentment was one of them, and it came out any time she brought up anything about his family life, as though he’d considered his childhood dead and buried.
Most upsetting to her, though, was that every time his emotions crept up on him or grew too strong, Jami would invariably come up with an excuse to leave the room or change the subject. But true to form, any time she got a little choked up, he was ready and willing to hold her up, telling her that despite it all, the troubled boy she had known had grown up to be one hell of a good man. He wasn’t ruined by the past, and that gave her hope.
After Jami finished the cooking, Alyson helped him plate it up and carried their dishes into the living room so they could curl up on the couch together and enjoy a nice, intimate meal while taking in a television show. It was one of the few nights when they had the house to themselves. Don was usually lurking around somewhere, but tonight he was out with a few of his buddies from his boxing days, playing poker and having a few drinks.
Sparky, Don’s tiny terrier, shifted in the chair he’d claimed before her arrival, and began snoring loudly.
It was weird how she and Jami had fallen into a bit of a pattern that suspiciously resembled an old married couple. In another world, Don would have far less wrinkles and by the way Jami watched after him so closely, he’d definitely play the role of their son.
“Show is starting,” Alyson called out as she began cutting her chicken breast. It was juicy and smelled of lemon and other herbs that made her mouth water. The chilling opening music started as flashes of rotting corpses gathered on screen. “You’re missing it!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming. Hold your horses, woman.” Jami walked in just as a couple of random characters got swarmed by zombies. Alyson was momentarily stunned stupid when she looked up to see his tall, solid body saunter into the room. With each step he took toward her, his long legs gobbled up the carpet, and the way he smiled at her…everything about him made her heart gallop.
Alyson shook off her dazedness before he caught her staring like a dope and stuffed her mouth full of carrots. Her mouth exploded with flavor and suddenly she understood his reasoning behind the odd choice of ingredients. Brown sugar made the carrots into a tasty sweet treat of ooey gooey goodness that made her insides melt with pleasure.
But nothing could distract her from the two hundred plus pounds of solid steel muscle that flopped down beside her.
Glancing over at her, a goofy grin spread across Jami’s face. “What’s that look for?”
Shaking her head, Alyson looked away. "You've just been smiling a lot lately.” More than she ever remembered him smiling before. “It's nice." Feeling him watching her, her own smile crept into place. Seeing Jami smile made her feel light and happy. To think she could be the cause of it made the moment all the better.
“So, when will our boy be home?” she asked, hoping to redirect her thoughts.
“Probably late tonight. He told me not to wait up.” Jami laughed as he took a bite of his dinner. “That’s usually code for he’s trying to get laid.”
Alyson made a face. “Really, he can still do that?”
“What do you mean, can he still do that? He’s a man. Of course he can still have sex,” Jami scoffed.
“Well, how am I supposed to know that?” Alyson asked. “Most men his age are usually concerned they’re going to break a hip.”
“Just how old do you think Don is?”
Alyson looked into his wide eyes. “I don’t know. Seventy-two?”
Jami’s eyes widened further and he started to laugh. “Holy shit,” he said while shaking his head. “Whatever you do, don’t let him hear you say that.”
“What, I’m wrong?”
“So wrong,” Jami said emphatically, chewing his chicken zealously.
Alyson laid her fork down and leaned forward to pick her cup up from the table. “Then how old is he?”
Jami mirrored her. After he gulped down half of his water, he told her, “Don turned fifty-one four months ago.”
Alyson nearly spit out her drink. “You’re kidding me.” She gaped at him, waiting for him to tell her he was pulling her leg. Don was bordering between a fatherly and grandfatherly figure with his salt and pepper hair, white, scratchy looking beard, and lined face. He had that hard look in his eye that some people got when they had seen and experienced too much, and, well, he was cranky.
Jami shook his head. “Nope, but to be honest, he got most of his age when Milly passed away.”
Alyson grew quiet, unsure of what to say to that. Jami’s hand covered her leg, but he didn’t offer anything more. They ate in silence as they watched their show. Zombies seemed to be growing in popularity, and while Alyson would admit that they scared the tar out of her and gave her nightmares, she was enjoying the trend. Besides, Jami was there to protect her from the worst of it and she didn’t mind cuddling up to him, even if there was nothing frightening happening.
She still hadn’t given him an answer to his question. She didn’t know if she wanted to be a bed warmer, not when she was still entertaining dreams of him being her prince charming. The more time they spent together, the more her feelings for him grew. She was treading through dangerous territory, because Jami had told her flat out that he wasn’t looking to get serious, but try telling her heart that. It had been invested in him for years. There was no going back now. But she could certainly spare herself some heartache by not giving away the last thread of self-respect she possessed. Jami would never purposefully make her feel cheap or used, but when the day came for him to leave town again, she would be left behind with only her memories to warm her. She wasn’t sure how she would handle something like that.
“Have you found out who you’re going to fight yet?” Alyson asked, no longer paying attention to the show.
“Not yet, but I know who I’ll be taking the title from,” Jami answered, somewhat distractedly.
Looking over at him, Alyson studied the side of his face. “And…”
Jami glanced at her, then back at the television. A crooked smile crept across his face. “And he’s the baddest emeffer in the federation.”
Alyson’s stomach clenched despite the pleased look he wore. She didn’t know much about MMA, but logic told her that despite all of his training and his gl
owing record, being new to the advanced weight class should mean he had to work his way up to the top, which meant that he would have some experience by then, but it didn’t change the facts. He could get hurt. The thought made her feel like throwing up.
“Jami,” she said, alarmed, “that can’t be safe.”
He looked at her now, his expression more open than she had ever seen it. He had no worries, no concerns about any of it. In fact, she could see that he was looking forward to it. “I know what you’re thinking, but nothing in life is ever really safe, Ally. You could get hit by a car while walking down the sidewalk because the driver had a heart attack and you just happened to be the lucky asshole standing in their path.” Taking her hand, he slipped his fingers between hers and gripped them tight. “The only thing you can do is try your best to predict the variables and prevent them from happening.”
Looking into his eyes, Alyson could see that pressing him further with her worries would only fall on deaf ears. Jami was determined to do this, leaving her with only one option: supporting him. She hated having to bottle up her emotions, but on this, she forced herself to close the subject. Standing, she grabbed their empty plates and headed for the kitchen. Jami followed and stood beside her at the sink, filling one side of the split basin with warm, soapy water.
“Why do you live with Don?” Alyson asked curiously as she swirled the sponge over one of the plates. “Don’t fighters make enough money to at least have their own apartment?”
“Don’t educated women employed by the government make enough money to buy their own house?” he returned, smirking down at her.
Alyson smiled ruefully, accepting the jab, because the reality of it was, she could afford to buy her own house if she stopped giving away her money to help the women under her care. But it was a moot point because she had no intention of ever stopping. To her thinking, those who had more should give to those with less.
“Yes,” Jami said to answer her question. “I could have bought a place years ago, but when everything happened, I knew Don needed someone here with him to help keep it together.” Alyson passed him the dishes as she washed them and he ran them absently under the tap as he reflected on the past.
“I told him there was no point in me wasting money on an apartment or house that I was never going to be in, so he offered to let me stay here whenever we were in town.”
Alyson smiled warmly at him as she fell a little harder. “You made him think you needed him.”
Setting aside the last clean dish, Jami dried his hands on a towel and handed it to her as he turned to face her. “I had to. Don is too proud to ever admit that he might need help. I just made it easier for him.”
Tossing the towel on the counter, Alyson stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Jami’s waist. Grinning up at him, she said, “You are such a good man, Jamison Weston.”
Jami’s answering smile gave her tingles as he held her tight against him. “Let’s keep that little secret between you and me, hmm? I don’t need the guys thinking “The Judge” has grown soft.”
Feeling the growing hardness pressing into her stomach, Alyson rubbed herself against him. “There isn’t a thing about you that is soft.”
A low growl rumbled in Jami’s chest as he took her head in his hands and bent to rest his forehead against hers. He squeezed his eyes shut as though pained. “Did you come up with an answer yet?”
As much as she wanted to say yes, Alyson just couldn’t. If she had sex with him now, she would be giving herself to him completely and eventually, Jami would tear her heart from her chest. Alyson closed her eyes tight in regret and shook her head.
Jami’s chest swelled as he inhaled deeply and let it back out slowly. “Okay,” he breathed. “Then I’ll just have to settle for kissing you.”
Alyson’s body responded to his words with a shiver of anticipation, and she tipped her head back, ready to feel his mouth on hers. Before he could kiss her, she felt her phone vibrate.
“Your ass is buzzing,” Jami whispered, drawing back.
“Hold that thought.” Alyson grimaced as she dug it out and answered. Whoever was it was, was going to feel her wrath.
The instant Alyson answered, her irritation fled. The blood drained from her face as she listened to the frantic voice on the other end. Jami watched her with concern, continuing to hold her in his arms, offering her what little support he could in such a helpless situation.
“What’s going on?” he asked gently the moment she disconnected the call.
Alyson felt sick as she looked into his worry-filled brown eyes and felt her chest constrict. “That was Victoria. The shelter is on fire.”
THIRTEEN
Jami stood in the middle of the living room, the tight look on his face letting her know he was not pleased with her decision.
Alyson chose to ignore him.
When she heard that the safe house was going up in flames, he offered to drive her over. She was sick with worry and fear. Not simply because the women were losing the roof over their heads or all of their belongings, but because a loss like that would likely leave them feeling worse off than ever before. It could be the deciding factor in whether they continued to fight for their freedom, or returned to their abuser.
She didn’t intend for that to happen to Victoria and Miles.
When they arrived, Jami and Alyson had to park a block away. The flames were so bright that they could see them the moment they stepped from the car, and the smoke was so heavy that it choked the night air. Fire crews filled the street, and from what Alyson could tell, they were no longer trying to battle the blaze, but contain it.
It was a total loss.
The house director informed her that they would be taking the families to a nearby motel for the night, but they would have to figure something else out come morning. She glimpsed the devastation in their eyes and felt it echo in her heart.
Alyson knew firsthand what it was like to be completely lost, completely without hope. She and her mother had tried to leave once, but only once.
The safe house they had been sent to was much smaller and poorer than the one she stood before now, but she and her mother didn’t have any choices left. They took the small, shared room without complaint and managed to stick it out for almost a week before her father worked his way back in.
Somehow, he’d found out where they were. It started with him walking by, and then one day, he stopped to talk with some of the kids. Eventually, he got her mother to come out and speak to him. Alyson never trusted him, but her mother was weak and gullible, and she fell for his hollow apologies and words of love, and before she knew it, and against her will, Alyson was forced to return home.
The calm lasted almost two weeks. It was just enough time for her to begin to hope that things had changed…and then he started drinking again. The abuse was worse than ever. That was the first time he broke her mother’s nose, and the first time he threatened their lives. They never tried to leave again.
“I can’t believe it,” Victoria cried as she walked up to her with Miles tucked up close to her side. “Everything is gone. What are we going to do now?”
Alyson took in their disheveled appearance, the strain of worry on their faces, the pajamas that were now the only clothing they owned, and knew that she couldn’t resign them to the same fate she once lived. “You’re going to come home with me.”
The words stunned them all. Alyson bit her lip, questioning herself even as she pressed on. “Go let Ms. Hardy know that you won’t be going to the motel with them tonight. Tell her you have a friend here that you’ll be staying with instead, and then we’ll leave.”
Victoria’s wide brown eyes stared at her, stunned. “That’s really generous of you, but we can’t accept your offer.”
Miles’ face screwed up. “Why not?” he whined. “I don’t want to stay in a cockroach motel.”
Victoria squeezed his arm. “Honey, she’s already done too much for us.”
Despite her word
s, Alyson detected the hesitation in her voice. She didn’t want to go to the motel any more than her son did. Giving them an encouraging smile, she told them, “Why don’t you let me decide how much is too much?”
As she glanced back at the women and children huddled together on the sidewalk, Victoria thought it over. “Are you sure?” she asked, turning back to her. “I don’t want to be a burden.”
Alyson waved her off. “You could never be a burden. Besides, I offered, remember? Now come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Victoria’s voice clogged with emotion, and she grabbed Alyson by the shoulders to hug her.
Alyson patted her back and allowed the good feeling that came with doing something good for someone else absorb into her.
As they walked back to Jami’s truck, he frowned down at her, but withheld commentary. Alyson didn’t have to ask to know what he was thinking. He didn’t think this was a good idea. He was worried about the repercussions, and he was right to be.
Now, as Alyson told her two new guests goodnight and closed the bedroom door behind her, she knew she couldn’t avoid him any longer. “It’s just for a little while, until they can get on their feet,” she defended herself as she stepped into the room. “It’s no big deal.”
Jami’s eyes narrowed on her. “If it’s no big deal, then why are you defending yourself to me?”
Rolling her eyes, Alyson crossed to the couch and fluffed the pillows. “Because you keep looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like that!” she hissed, directing her hand at his stern glower. He stood there, his stance wide with his arms crossed over his chest, and his head lowered just a fraction, creating a formidable figure dressed in black. And all of that was directed at her. “You’re mad at me, I can tell.” She plopped down on the couch, suddenly very tired.