Tangled Like Us (Like Us 4)

Page 80

And Akara. Him and me. He has the most reason to be upset.

I’m concerned about Jane. More than anything. Because if I’m not on her detail, then it’s wide open for the taking. “Will you put Banks with Jane, sir?” I ask.

“You’d love that,” Price snaps. “No, it won’t be your twin.”

Donnelly is up for transfer.

Donnelly, then. I’m praying.

“Her new bodyguard is going to be Tony Ramella.”

I solidify.

The man I wouldn’t trust with a fucking goldfish—and I’m supposed to let him protect her? I would die for Jane. All of SFO would die for Jane. And I can’t say that Tony would.

And that’s the level of dedication she needs if I can’t protect her.

“He’s the best man for the job,” Price continues. “He has the highest skillset and experience from security services in LA. It’ll benefit Jane.”

No. I breathe coarse breath, trying to control my temper. “Respectfully, sir,” I say, pausing so I don’t growl out a fuck no. “He got his own client beat up.”

“No,” Price refutes. “Xander Hale asked to be in the fight. He was abiding by his client’s wishes. He followed protocol.”

My eyes tighten. “Xander is a minor.”

“Tony spent years protecting one of the most internationally recognized boy bands, teenagers close to Xander’s age. He’s experienced and understands the nuances of this job.”

We’re talking about the same guy who slept with my high school girlfriend.

I try again. “Jane doesn’t trust Tony, sir. In my professional opinion, they’re not suited for each other.”

Sinclair cocks his head. “You sure you aren’t just jealous, Moretti? This sounds like personal crap-in-a-bag to me.”

“Sir, you can talk to Jane,” I say sternly. “She’ll tell you.”

Price retorts, “We can’t have your personal feelings towards a bodyguard affecting Jane’s view of him. Tony is one of the best guards. The end. If she’s feeling uneasy because of your grievances, you can help her learn to trust him.”

I hear, help her learn to fuck him.

Goddammit.

But I can’t lose what they’ve just given me. My job. It’s the best way I can protect her. Even if I’m not on her detail.

“You don’t have a voice in this, Moretti,” Sinclair snaps. “Stand down.”

I’m not a lead. Seniority. Hierarchy. Everything that I cherish and honor and respect.

Akara pockets his phone and speaks to Price and Sinclair. “As formality, we should take a vote.”

Akara should vote with them. To gain favor.

I watch and listen as the Tri-Force do a quick vote for both transfers. Me to Xander. Tony to Jane.

Both votes are 2-1.

Akara opposed. He’s die-hard SFO, and by still vouching for me, he just made it known to the Alpha and Epsilon leads.

I rub my tensed jaw. “Are we done?” I ask. I just want to see her. Hug her. Tell her myself. Take the good and put away the bad for now.

And Jane—she’s everything good to me.

“One more question,” Price says. “And this stays here. We won’t tell anyone. But we need to know so that we can see the warning signs when we hire new guys.”

I stiffen, having no clue what’s coming.

Price says, “Was it for the fame or the sex?”

“Neither,” I say, not even hesitating. “It was just her.”

It was always just her.

JANE COBALT

I’m frozen, hands cupped over my parted lips. Tears filling my eyes, the kind stirred from a skipping heart and stolen breath.

I stand on the foot of the staircase. Staring at the closed adjoining door that Thatcher left through. I could hear everything when their voices grew louder.

He was willing to quit for me. So we could be together.

He’s sacrificed so much of what he loves. All for me. And I’ve never had someone make so many endless declarations. I feel them swelling up inside me.

He’s still a bodyguard. I didn’t take that from him. He kept something, and that breathes sunlight into my lungs.

The door blows open.

Thatcher instantly lays his eyes on me, and we take sharp breaths. “Jane,” he says huskily, soaking in my overcome expression. “You heard?”

I drop my hands off my mouth. My heart racing, nearly floating out of me. “I heard,” I confirm.

He comes straight for me.

And I can’t shut up.

“I heard…all of what you said, and I… I think you’re… I find you…” I watch his unwavering stride—not faltering, not hesitating—his strong eyes already clutching me before his hands do.

Swiftly, Thatcher lifts me against his chest, a gasp breaking apart my lips. My legs instinctively wrap around his waist while he holds me. While I clasp his hard, scruffy jaw between two palms. Staring deep into his yearning and affection.

His mouth brushes mine, longing in the air between our lips, and we kiss with unraveling passion.

He carries me up the narrow stairs, and when we get to my room, he kicks the door closed. Our lips haven’t parted. Each kiss like a blazing promise—this will happen again tomorrow. And the day after that. And after that.

No one is telling us this has to end.

We only break apart when my back hits the bedpost. Lips swollen and red, breathing heavy, and heartbeat sputtering a mile a minute.

Cats dart past his heels, and my animal-print drapes blow in a gentle breeze. Window cracked, blinds open and light shining through.

I speak, words tumbling out of my mouth at rapid pace. “I’m feeling so many things at once… and it’s so overwhelming.” Our eyes graze each other, and I just think aloud, “Will you stay with me here in my room?”

“Right now?” He brushes a piece of hair off my lips.

Heat flushes my cheeks. “I meant longer. You won’t be able to live in security’s townhouse if you’re not my bodyguard. But you can stay in mine, here with me—you can say no. I just thought it’d be easier and with the suspect not caught, the one who broke-in…” I trail off because he’s already nodding. He’s been nodding for a while.

Maybe since I first explained.

“I want to live with you,” he says strongly against my lips.

I dizzy. “And you want to be my boyfriend,” I say out loud, my lips lifting into an overwhelmed smile. “My real boyfriend.”

“You want to have a boyfriend.” He says what is true. I’m no longer closed off from the idea of a relationship. My heart is open for him to hold.

And to protect.

Breathless, I whisper, “Only if that boyfriend is you.”

His hand encases my cheek. “I love you, Jane.”

My lungs swell with deeper emotions.

He cradles my gaze. “You don’t have to say it back. I know it may take time for you because of your feelings about love—”

“I’m falling so terribly in love with you,” I say, my heart speaking for me. It feels good and right and perfect. “I think I’ve been falling for you for some time now.”

He inhales, his forehead pressing to mine. I thread my fingers through his soft hair.

We kiss again. This one sensual and tender, and as our lips pull back in a breath, we turn our heads, sensing something outside the window.

Snow flutters softly down. I watch the wind carry the white flakes in whirling arcs.

“It’s early,” I say to him. “One of the earliest snowfalls, if I remember correctly.”

“First snow of November,” Thatcher breathes, but his eyes have already returned to me. Hands still holding me. Protecting me.

He may not be my bodyguard anymore, but he doesn’t have to be for me to feel unequivocally safe in his arms.

And the road ahead may be filled with more potholes and storms, but I’m not driving down a one-way street. We’re together.

What

ever we have to face, that’s all that matters to me.

We’re together in love.

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Thank you for reading Tangled Like Us ! We hope you enjoyed Thatcher & Jane’s love story! Ready for more from the broody bodyguard and the cat-loving American princess? Jane & Thatcher’s romance continues in SINFUL LIKE US (Book 5 in the Like Us Series)…

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