Chapter 17
Any hope Bishop had of getting answers from Jenny had to wait. The next few hours were a blur of activity as the Sentries worked to escort Elias and Fleur out of the infirmary on their tour around the Estate. Now, Bishop was stewing.
To keep his mind off Jenny, he’d volunteered for what had been dubbed “Dignitary Duty”. He didn’t know what it meant at the time, but if he’d known that it meant standing at attention outside the glass windows of the Crow’s Nest while Monroe, Elias, Fleur, Jenny, and that prick Lawder Cassell all had dinner, he’d have never signed up.
Jenny was seated between Monroe and that accented, fat-lipped prick. Right now, Bishop didn’t know which of the two men he hated more.
Monroe kept glancing up and giving him blatant smiles that told Bishop just how much the Dominant was enjoying his discomfort. Law on the other hand never took his eyes off Jenny. Even when their food came, Law kept his neck craned and his big mouth working as he stayed in Jenny’s face while she pushed food around her plate and pretended to eat. To her credit, she kept casting Bishop furtive glances, but even those didn’t keep his temper from flaring when Law kept brushing up against Jenny. The contact wasn’t skin-to-skin, so it didn’t hurt Jenny, but she jumped each time Law got too close like she was afraid his hands would find their way to her bare arms.
And who left their arms exposed when they were afflicted anyway?
For the eight-hundredth time since their dinner started, Bishop considered stripping out of his tactical shirt and taking it in to Jenny who’d left her lab coat back in the infirmary.
“Jesus, man. You’re gonna drill a hole through the glass if you keep staring at Jenny like that.”
Ash’s words had him realizing he was staring a little too intently through the window. Hell, his hands were even fisted, and his upper body was leaning forward like he could will Monroe and Law away from Jenny.
“You got the hots for the doc, bro? When’d that happen?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t know how to. Any revelation into him and Jenny’s affliction would result in questions. Questions about the how’s and the why’s. These were questions he’d have to answer by revealing Jenny’s deception. He couldn’t do that to her.
“Just don’t like that Law guy,” he offered lamely.
Ash snorted, “Or Monroe it would seem.” He chuckled. “Good thing Elias is mated, or I’m sure he’d be getting the stink eye too.”
It took all of Bishop’s willpower to tear his eyes away from where Law was leaning too close to Jenny.
Thirty minutes later, Elias, Fleur, and Monroe shuffled slowly out of the Crow’s Nest, stalling in the doorway to discuss accommodations for the night. Seems Elias and Fleur would be staying in a suite. Bishop’s eyes tracked back to the restaurant when Jenny and Law didn’t exit.
The two were still settled at the table, Law had his legs crossed, and he was relaxed back in his chair as he sipped what looked like a cup of tea and watched Jenny as she spoke. They looked…comfortable. It’s wasn’t any kind of relaxed ease he and Jenny had ever shared. No, when the two of them were together it was like gasoline and a match. Boom!
“Bishop? You coming?”
Monroe’s words tore Bishop’s attention from the window. Elias and Fleur were gone, so were Ash and the other two Sentries who’d been standing guard outside the Crow’s Nest. Bishop looked back in the restaurant, reluctant to leave Jenny with that…guy!
Monroe sidled up to Bishop, stopping beside him and pushing his hands into the pockets of his slacks as he rocked back on his heels. “They go way back.” He angled his head as he studied Jenny and Law. “He’s the one, you know.”
Just the way he said it was grating. Yeah, he got that Law had saved Jenny, but it didn’t stop the jealous rage that wrapped around his chest threatening to suffocate him.
“When Jenny was just a girl,” Monroe continued. “When she was trapped in hell, Law was the one who rescued her. As a child, she idolized him. Now that she’s a woman…” He let his words die off as he shrugged.
Bishop turned and gave Monroe his full attention. He’d never discussed with Monroe why he’d taken Jenny, and surprisingly it hadn’t come up. He took a stab in the dark when he said, “You know what she is to me. You know, or you’d have never contacted me when I took her. You’d have simply sent your best to retrieve her, so stop with the games.”
Monroe grinned. “I know what she’s supposed to be to you. You didn’t want her.”
“Ain’t what happened. I never once said that.”
Slipping a hand out of his pocket, Monroe lifted a knuckle and rapped it quietly off the window. “You don’t have to say it. Jen told me. Besides.” He thumped his knuckle off the glass again. “That tells me all I need to know.”
Bishop looked through the glass, and his pulse tripped at the heart-stopping smile Jenny flashed Law.
“Law has loved her from the moment he rescued her. It was a different kind of love then, but she’s been a woman for a long time now. A woman he’s just now getting to know. She’s a woman he’s already invested in.”
A growl wrenched its way up Bishop’s throat. “Why would you do that?” he snarled. “Why would you invite me here and then use me as pawn?”
Monroe tucked his hands back into his pockets and the intensity in his eyes when he spoke told of a man who was doing more than merely playing games. “You all do this to me,” he answered. “The Grandfathers give you a gift, and you all try to push it away. You, her. I get it. Believe me, I get it.” He looked at Jenny. “An Angel is our only true weakness. She can be used against us; she’s the only weapon this world has against Walkers. But, being afraid of her getting hurt or taken doesn’t negate the fact that she is yours. You all waste so much time,” he breathed tiredly. “You think keeping her at arm’s length will make it hurt less or more if something happens to her?”
Bishop’s brows speared down, “What in the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” Monroe snarled. “We’re being hunted. Every fucking day, we’re being hunted. The Megalya could capture her again tomorrow. They still want her back, you know. After all this time, all these years. They are still looking for her! She could be swallowed back into hell without ever having known any true happiness. And, she deserves to be happy. After what she suffered, after what they did to her.” His words died off. “It’s important to me that she finds her mate, Bishop.” He swallowed hard. “I have a vested interest in that woman’s happiness, so if I’ve gotta push you out of your comfort zone to prove to you that you can’t live without her, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“And why is that?” Bishop squared up to Monroe. “Why is Jenny’s happiness so damn important to you, Monroe? What is your history with my Angel?”
Monroe rolled his eyes and sighed, “Grandfathers, please don’t ever let me be this fucking dumb.”
Bishop’s expression hardened.
“My sister,” Monroe growled. “She may not be born of my family’s blood, but she is part of our hearts. Your Angel, Bishop, is my sister. Adopted and raised by my parents after Law rescued her. She’s my family.” He leaned in and went nose to nose with Bishop as he warned, “And don’t you ever fucking forget it.”
Monroe stormed off leaving Bishop in a daze and without the opportunity to explain that Jenny was the one who’d hid from him. Bishop wouldn’t have run from the affliction. He’d never have run from Jen. The argument fizzled though as one realization consumed him.
His sister! It was both a relief and a sinking weight. Jenny and Monroe shared no intimate relationship, but still. Why of all the woman in the whole damn world, does my Angel have to be Monroe StoneCrow’s sister? Fffffuck!