Jess
It was while Thorn was putting his jeans back on that I finally found my voice. “So what happens now?” I asked.
He grunted a little but offered no other response.
I reached out and caught his arm, though, scowling a little. “That's not good enough,” I told him. “What happens now? Clearly the Sigma Saints are after me. I think they think they can use me as a pawn to get you to deliver the packages. I don't know what you did today, but—”
“I'm not delivering the packages into the jail,” Thorn interrupted, sounding agitated. “That's what I did today. I went to the prison and told Katia that she needs to find some other way.”
I frowned at him, impressed but not wanting to let it show. Clearly, his decision hadn't led to the best circumstances for me. We would need to go to the authorities or something, to somehow stop her from using her other sycophants from attacking us. And that would be dangerous enough on its own.
Thorn swore quietly under his breath. “I was so happy,” he said, startling me. “I left that prison, and even though I knew that Katia had her plans for me, I thought I was going to be free to...” His eyes slid over towards me, and he looked almost guilty for a moment.
“To what?” I asked, bravely squaring my shoulders. I had a feeling I knew what he had been thinking, and I couldn't deny that it was something that I wanted as well…
“I thought we would be able to start a future together,” Thorn admitted, sounding almost embarrassed. “Not that you'd ever be much of a biker chick, but I … well, I can't deny that there's a certain appeal to cozy kitchens and white-washed homes.” He shook his head. “But that is never going to happen. I know that. Whether I deliver the packages or not, I think you're going to have to go into hiding. I should never have gotten you involved in this.”
“It's okay,” I said quietly, unable to look him in the eyes. I picked at the bedspread, wishing that we could rewind five or ten minutes, that our passion could overtake us again. The thing was, there was no future for me with Thorn, and I had known that from the very start. He wasn't the type of guy to get married to a mousy little insurance specialist. He wasn't really the type to get married to anyone.
If I was feeling a bit of heartbreak at the moment, it was my own fault, for letting myself believe that I could ... that I could what? Change him? If I had ever thought that, I had to have been delirious.
I swallowed hard and looked away from him, turning my gaze out over the dingy motel room. “They said that you have to deliver the packages,” I told him. “Or else more people will die. I will die.” I had to hope that that would mean something to him.
Thorn turned my face towards him, staring down at me for a long moment. It seemed as though he were trying to memorize my features, as though this might be the last time he saw me.
“I can't believe they came after you here,” he finally said. “I never would have expected Katia to...” He shook his head. “We'll need to move hotels, and I'll need to talk to Gabi.”
I nodded my head, unable to do anything more.
The new hotel — the Seven Seas — was marginally better than the last place, at least. Not that that really mattered to me, as I set down my bag in the living room area of our suite. A nicer hotel didn't make up for the fact that in this past week, I had gotten myself mixed up with all sorts of devils and had a gun pointed at me in a hotel lobby. I swallowed hard as I stared around, wondering if Brent had heeded my warning, if he was safe.
I couldn't check on him, though. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that anyone could be tapping my phone lines. The last thing I needed was for them to hear me chatting with my brother, even if he wasn't a target already, I could easily make it so that he was, just through my stupidity.
“Home sweet home,” Thorn muttered under his breath as he set his own luggage down. He looked around the place, grimacing in distaste. “Not my style, but it'll do.”
He pulled out his phone, quickly dialing a number. “I have to call Gabi,” he told me as he moved towards the bedroom. “Can you keep yourself occupied out here for a little while?”
Without waiting for an answer, he retreated into the other room, pulling the door firmly shut behind him.
I sank down on the couch, feeling tears prick at my eyes as I hugged my arms around myself. I felt utterly alone, barely able to imagine that this was my life now.
In another lifetime, I imagined that Thorn and I might have gotten along—that we might even have dated for an extended period of time. Of course, I couldn't see marriage or anything like that for the two of us—he was too brash, and I was too homely. But we might have been happy for a little while, at least.
That wasn't an option, with our current situation. We might have amazing sex, but it was just that — just sex. I swallowed hard, chanting that over and over in my head in an attempt to convince myself of it all. Just sex, just sex, just sex.
When Thorn came out of the bedroom, he fixed me with a look. It was as though he had never seen me before; he was impassive and cold and definitely not the loving man that I was remembering him as. I swallowed hard.
“Gabi will be here in a couple hours,” he alerted me. “She's agreed to deliver the packages herself, in exchange for...” He trailed off, cocking his head to the side. “Well, it's really none of your business, is it?” he asked. “Anyway, you should make yourself scarce. She still thinks you need to be killed before the end of this all.”
Without another word, he retreated again, shutting the door firmly behind him. I couldn't help curling up on the couch, tears streaming down my face.