CHAPTER 33
JORDAN
IF I’D BEEN A LESSER MAN, I’VE BEEN BITING MY NAILS IN ANXIETY.
Seeing as I wasn’t. I merely stood against my car until the van pulled up, the only sign of my restlessness was the tapping of
my foot
The doors opened and the team piled out, except Sebastian, who shot me a grin and a thumbs up from behind the wheel. I sucked in a breath when I saw two of them holding Mia up, leaving Melanie to limp to me.
My eyes roved over Mia’s body. I didn’t see any life–threatening injuries but I had to make sure.
“Are you okay!” She smiled at me wearily with a bit of sheepishiness mixed in “I’m fine
My head just hurts a bit. It was her who took most of the attack.” She gestured toward Melanie and I noted the new respect shining in her eyes.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help,” Mia said to her and she waved it away.
“It’s fine. It wasn’t your primary purpose anyway.”
Melanie stood straight in front of me, but I noticed she was holding herself up very very carefully.
“What about you? Any injuries?” I asked. She slowly moved her head from side to side.
“Nope,” she said, popping the p..
“Nothing to declare, good sir.”
My eyes narrowed at her unusually bright and chirpy tone which was incongruous with the situation she had just been in. “You’ve just been in a fight with four people, and it’s not like in the movies where they would attack one after the other. Where are you injured?”
Instead of replying, she thrust the bag containing the jewels at me.
“Here’s your booty. Hehe, funny word, booty. Anyways, they took pretty hard hits and I think some may have shattered. If they have, break me off a piece of that booty“.
She said and burst into uncontrollable giggles. I cast a blank look at the others
“It’s a song” Sebastian offered then, after some shuffling, proceeded to blast out music from the speakers, probably the very
she’d been singing. My eye twitched as Melanie started bopping to the rhythm still giggling.
“She’s been like this since we got in the van, Wanted us to stop so she could get burgers and a chocolate milkshake and we reminded her she didn’t carry any money. What’s up with that? Anyway, she sulked for a minute then started flirting with Dimitri so she could get a milkshake Your team leader‘ is a nutcase“. Katnissa reported with more than a little glee.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, “And it didn’t occur to any one of you that she could have a fucking concussion?” I said with icy calm.
“Oh.” For the first time. Katnissa looked mildly concerned.
“the seemed fine before” was her response.
Of course she did Just then Melanie stopped bopping and swayed a bit.
Jordan?”
“Yes, Melanur” Lamswered.
“How do you feel about damsels in distress?” she asked, her words starting to slur. I stepped away from the car and towards her as I replied, “Hate them”
She chuckled “Yeah, me too and then she fell. I caught her before she hit the ground, my heart stopping for a second even though I’d expected the crash. I caught the trickle of blood towards the back of her head and cursed.
She blinked slowly upeat me and griuued like a lunatic
“Hello there.
“I” I replied even as I heard Katnissa ronghi.
CHAPTER 31
“Drama
queen
Hooked at the rest, “Get back to
to the hotel w
hotel. We’ll meet you there. Call the medicals on your way.”
Without waiting to see if they’d complied. I straightened Melanie..
“Can you walk, you stubborn little bird?” She nodded and giggled.
When she took her first wobbly steps. I lost all patience and just swept her off her feet. Literally.
“Whool Told you I could fly” she grinned and spread her arms, almost poking me in the eye.
“Don’t fly too far, little bird.” I murmured as the driver held the car door open and I ducked in with her in my arms, the last thing I heard from the outside being Sebastian singing ik we off a piece of that Kit Kat” or something in an off–key Tone. I was surrounded by crazy prople.
While the driver did his thing, I examined Melanie’s body to know the extent of her injuries apart from the head wound. She hummed a tune as I gently guided her out of the suit jacket and raised her cleavage–revealing blouse
Thissed at the mass of dark bruises that ran along the side of her torso and disappeared beneath the waistband of her pants. I started to raise the material away from her body to check when my hand was slapped away.
“Hey! No pecking
I merely looked at her. “You forget, Melanie, that I have already seen your body twice.”
“It was dark the first time!” she protested.
Icocked a brow “And the second?”
Receiving no reply apart from the color that bloomed in her cheeks, I smoothed my hand down her pant leg. I decided to refrain from checking: the car had no space for the kind of maneuvering that would require.
She tracked the motion of my hand with her eyes before they came back to rest on my face.
“That reminds me. I got you something.”
I paused the motion and gave her a look as she dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out something shiny. She gave it a small toss in my direction and I caught it, opening my palm to reveal a single 2 franc coin.
Before I could ask any questions she explained. “You’re always doing something stupid with your hands, whether running it down your outfit, or down someone’s leg.” She looked pointedly at my hand on her leg.
“And I noticed you don’t have a fidget toy. Whether you just couldn’t be bothered or your ego wouldn’t let you get one, I don’t know. But there you go.” She finished and closed her eyes.
I was speechless for a few seconds, not only because she’d noticed something no one else had- not even Lauren or Blaine- but also because she’d been spot–on about the ego thing. All the toys I’d seen looked way too bright and stupid to be seen with a man of my caliber. But a coin..
I tore my attention away from it long enough to notice she’d started to drift off, and I gently slapped her cheeks to keep her
awake
“No sleeping” I ordered. She pouted up at me and I resisted the urge to kiss it.
“But I’m so sleepy” she whined. “You’ll sleep after you see a doctor.” This made her pout even more.
“Hate doctors”
“Don’t we all
murmured
She blinked at me in curiosity “You hate doctors too? Why?”
I weighed the pros and com of replying. I needed to keep her awake, and she was injured because of me so I might as well. “When I was six I dislocated my shoulder. The doctor who set it gave me a lollipop and said I’d get a candy factory if I was a brave boy. So I was, but I never got one. Pissed me oll” I summarized.
She burst out laughing “Why would you ever think you, a six–year–old, would actually get a candy factory!”
Her amusement made me smile, “Yeah well adults shouldn’t make promises they can’t keep
She shifted closer and rested her head on my chest, making my heart tlamp.
CHAPTER 33
“I kinda want a lollipop now.” She said.
1 held her against me in this brief, unguarded moment.
“You’ll get all the lollipops you want, my brave little bird.”
