Taking the Leap (River Rain 3)

One side of Jamie’s mouth lifted.

“No, I told him you were what you are. Loyal as hell. The best friend my son could have. Gentle with women. And your own man. He admires those things. So that’s why you got friendly Ned.”

Rix smirked. “Gentle with women?”

Jamie returned the smirk. “He didn’t need to know that you give Chloe shit every chance you can.”

Rix was relieved to have a real reason to laugh.

“Though, you’d throw yourself in front of a bullet for her or Dru, and I might have mentioned that,” Jamie continued.

Rix grinned at him.

Jamie also returned that but then he got serious again.

“I remember Alexandra as a quiet kid. Bright. Very active. But shy. I’ve seen her more than once, Rix, but I didn’t want to say it that way because I knew she wouldn’t remember me, and I didn’t want to make things awkward. She was always in another world, or maybe trying very hard to pretend she wasn’t in the one she was in.”

“That hasn’t changed.”

“You two okay?”

Rix didn’t fuck around.

“We’re falling in love.”

Jamie’s head ticked to the side, but he let show he was happy for Rix.

“She doesn’t like crowds,” Rix told him. “Her family has treated her like shit. You’re not wrong in your take. She’s learned to retreat into a shell where she feels safe, so right now, she’s exposed. And she doesn’t like it so I really don’t like it.”

Jamie dipped his chin again. “So, in the end, you’re here to protect your woman, and I’m telling you how to shore your resources. Because Helena is not a warm person and Blake is a goddamn mess.”

“Tell me about her. Blake.”

“I don’t know much about her either, except being aware of some of her shenanigans. That said, my daughter is a lovely, good, kind-hearted young woman who captures spiders and carefully lets them free outside. And she hates Blake Sharp.”

Incoming…outgoing.

Rix looked to where the women disappeared.

“You need a car while you’re here,” Jamie went on and Rix turned back to him. “A driver. A shelter from the storm. An escape plan. Dru or I’ll make it happen for you.”

“Thanks, Jamie,” Rix muttered.

“You’ve been holding that beer for ten minutes and not drinking it. You want something else?”

Rix shook his head and took a sip.

It was a good ale, still cold.

Jamie clapped him on the arm and left his hand there. “You two’ll get through. Sunday will be here before you know it. And tomorrow, you’ll be with us, so she’ll be safe.”

It was deeper when he repeated, “Thanks, Jamie.”

A flash exploded.

Rix growled.

Jamie dropped his hand and smiled.

“You’ll get used to it,” he remarked.

“Maybe, but I still won’t like it,” Rix replied.

“Sadly, no,” Jamie agreed.

Another flash popped.

Yeah.

They’d make it through.

But maybe by the skin of their teeth.

She’d been gone too long.

The only thing okay about that was that Dru hadn’t returned either.

And clocking the mean girls (all five of them, including the bridesmaids, Blake and Helena), Alex and Dru weren’t in their clutches.

Still, Rix didn’t like it.

He texted, she didn’t reply.

Jamie noticed, Dru wasn’t returning his texts either, he was also getting concerned, so they made a plan to separate and search.

Rix had gone inside, was walking down a hall, heard a woman’s voice behind a door, it was muffled, didn’t sound like Alex or Dru, but since it could be part of the crush of the party, he knocked and opened it anyway.

To see Chad plowing a brunette that was not Blake.

They both looked to him.

He shut the door and stepped away from it.

He wanted to be far from there, but his phone sounded with a text.

Then it sounded with three more.

He stopped and looked down at it.

Four texts had come in from Alex.

He was in New York on a fucking roof and apparently, his reception sucked.

We’re down at the lobby bar. Come meet us. We’ll order some food.

Coming to the bar?

Dru can’t get hold of Jamie, is everything okay?

His text went through then, Baby, where are you?

And her latest, We’re downstairs at the bar! Aren’t you getting my texts?

The door he was standing several feet from flew open.

The woman went scurrying.

Chad was frantically tucking in his shirt.

“Hey, bro—”

Rix lifted his hand up an inch from the guy’s face.

“Don’t.”

Chad shut up.

Rix dropped his hand.

“I’m not your bro.”

Chad swallowed and nodded.

Rix strolled away to find Jamie and get to the bar.

He did this texting, We’re coming down.

And thinking, Well…fuck.

Chapter 21

The Pickle

Alex

“Now I’m in a pickle,” I groused, sitting on the side of our bed in one of Dad’s guest bedrooms, bent fully forward, tugging at the thin strap on my sandal.

Rix had told me about Chad.

I was not surprised about Chad.

Because he was Chad.

But I was annoyed.

“There’s a good chance she’s not going to believe me if I tell her,” I continued complaining. “There’s also a good chance she won’t care. And I honestly think those are the only two options.”