Within seconds, I was looking out the window to the underground passageway for any idling cars or anything out of the ordinary. I didn’t see anything that seemed concerning so I squeezed out of the small opening and took off toward St. Charles Ave where I had a taxi waiting for me.
I was going against everything I should for the mere protection of Goldie but I couldn’t stay away, I had to be near her and I had to see if she was okay with my own eyes.
Chapter Thirty Three
“Walk Off the Earth”
Lo
Warm arms circled around my body as my head pounded to extreme levels. I’ve been in and out of it but the click of my door and not so smooth footsteps up to my bed woke me up. I stiffened from a man’s touch and tried to scoot away in the dazed-like fog I was trying to see through.
“Don’t,” I mumbled. “I only want Jett.”
“Little one, it’s me.” His warm southern voice caressed the side of my face.
“No, you can’t be here,” I said while trying to squirm away but his grip was too tight on me.
“I can do whatever the hell I want and if that means coming here to make sure you’re okay, then I will.”
I turned in his arms and came face to face with the most beautiful man ever. His hair was pulled in all different directions, like he’s been stressing over something, his face had a delightful five o’clock shadow caressing his jaw and his eyes carried a lot of worry in them.
My fingers reached out and ran the line along his jaw. His eyes closed from my touch and the grip of his hand on my waist grew tighter.
“You’re here,” I whispered, almost as if I couldn’t believe it.
“Of course I am. I couldn’t stay away.”
“What happened?” I asked while holding my head. “All I can remember is dry humping Francy’s legs, wearing some kind of hat and drinking way too much.”
His hands grabbed mine and kissed the back of them. “That seems about right when it comes to you and drinking.” A small smile spread across his face but was quickly gone when he searched my eyes. His body leaned over me and clicked on the light that was on my nightstand. Light spread through the small room and lit up the disturbed look on Jett’s face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
His hand reached out and caressed my right eye which made me wince with a shot of pain coursing through my face.
“Ahh, fuck,” I exclaimed while pulling away.
“Don’t move,” he said softly as he climbed above me and straddled my body. His head hovered right above mine as he examined my eye. Pain was flowing through his features as he took his time looking over my apparent injury.
“Let me guess, this isn’t from a random person?”
He shook his head no and lowered his lips so they were only a whisper above my eye. He kissed me lightly and gripped the side of my head with his hands as his lips tried to heal my eye.
When he pulled back, I saw the fear that washed over him, the fear of me being hurt, the fear of losing me. My heart wept for him, for the sadness that this stupid and idiotic situation has brought over us.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered before pulling back and sitting at the edge of my bed with his head in his hands. “This is all my fucking fault and I just don’t know what to do.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as I tucked myself next to him, both of our legs dangling off the bed.
“What the fuck am I supposed to do? No matter what, you’re going to get hurt.”
Fear started to trickle down my spine as I felt his body start to retreat, his mood darkened and I could see that he was visibly uncomfortable with what he was about to say so I stopped him.
“I swear to God if you try to break this off with me because you want to ‘save’ me, I will cut your dick off so fast you will think there was a drive by machete man that just attacked you,” I threatened using air quotes.
His face quirked with an eyebrow raised as he looked at me. I was dead fucking serious and he got that when he eyed me up and down. A small smile ticked at the corner of his mouth as he shook his head.
“It’s crazy how much I know that’s true, that you would really chop my dick right off.”
I gripped his arm and rested my head on his. “Don’t forget it. Do not give up on me because of a little set back.”
His hand ran through his hair as he said, “It’s not a little set back. You were hurt on purpose, Kace was shot—”
“What?!” My heart rate picked up as the words, “Kace was shot” ran through my head.
I got up and started looking around for my clothes but was hit by the pounding of my head. I fell to the ground and sat there, with my head in my hands and the threat of tears welling in my eyes.
Jett’s strong arms came up from behind me and picked me up. He brought me to the bed and sat down, with me in his lap.
“What the fuck is going on?” I said into my hands, trying to hold back the tears. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine, he just got grazed. He’s stitched up and back at the club sleeping it off.”
“Sleeping it off? As if he is getting over a hangover? He got fucking shot! Shot, Jett!”
“I’m well aware of what happened,” Jett gritted out.
Sensing his anger, I calmed my racing heart and said, “I just don’t understand what’s going on. What the fuck is Lot 17 and why is it such a big deal? Who is this dickhead who wants to control your life? And why was Kace shot at?”
Taking a deep breath, Jett said, “You and Kace are the closest things to me and the prick who is doing all this knows that. I’m trying to make it seem like that’s not the case but I’m apparently not doing a good enough job. I can’t go into detail about everything because I truly don’t want to get you involved…”
“Well, too fucking late for that,” I yelled while holding my head and getting off Jett. “Just tell me already what this is all about.”
He grabbed my hand but I pulled away. His shoulders sank in defeat, an act I never thought to see come from Jett. He was such a stoic man that to see him slouch, to show some vulnerability was such a foreign thing to me.
“You trust me, right?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then please, Goldie, please let me take care of this. It is killing me inside that I can’t take care of you, that…that I’m not man enough to give you what you need.”
Our previous conversation about his ex came to the forefront of my mind and I gritted down on my teeth as I thought about the bitch who made Jett so insecure. I wanted to know what was going on because being kept in the dark wasn’t working for me anymore but I also wanted to give Jett the opportunity to be the person he wanted to be, the person to protect me so I swallowed my pride and grabbed his hands.
“I want you to know that I have never in my life felt so protected, so cherished and so lusted after in my entire life. You make me feel things I didn’t even think were possible so please don’t for one moment think that you aren’t taking care of me, or that you’re not man enough for me, because you are.” I kissed him on the cheek and said, “It’s just hard right now. I want to help and I get that you don’t want to involve me but just understand that this is frustrating for me too, okay?”
Nodding his head, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and said, “I understand, little one.” He kissed right above my bad eye and shook his head. “God, I can’t…” His words caught in his throat and his lips nuzzled into my hair as he continued to speak, “I’m losing myself in you. When Kace said something happened to you, I thought the ground fell out from under me. You’re more than just another Jett Girl to me, Goldie. You’re a bright spot in the dull life that I’ve been living, you make me feel like I’m not alone anymore and your laugh, your smile, they’re so goddamn infectious that I find myself losing every last wall I’ve built while I’m around you. You’re a challenge, you’re a little spitfire with a mouth that could bring a sailor to his knees and the best thing about all of this is that for some godforsaken reason, you chose me. You chose to stick through all the bullshit I’ve thrown at you and you’ve forgiven me for my insecurities and immature ways of handling things.” He gripped my head with both hands as tears fell from my eyes. “I’m falling for you, Goldie, so fucking hard and fast that I can’t even catch my breath, find my footing and all want to do is spend my days with you in my arms but I have to deal with this bullshit first. I have some things I need to think about but please know that no matter what, my heart rests in those beautiful hands of yours. You’re the keeper, little one.”