Jackson (The Love Family Series Book 8) (7 page)

“All of you Loves move fast.” She chuckled. “Well, all except Declan. It must be another family trait.”

“I promise you’ll be happy waking up in my arms.”

“I’m sure I will.” She rose. Confusion clouded her eyes. “Thirsty?”

“Sure.”

****

  Holy Mother of God. Scarlett stood staring blankly into the fridge as she finished her sandwich. She needed a minute to process his suggestion. She was going to be moving in with Jackson. Her heart raced at the thought as the butterflies swarmed in her belly. She must be dreaming. That was the only explanation. She’d hit her head, and she was still in the hospital in a dream that she didn’t want to wake up from. That was the only explanation. The Jackson she knew would never be that forward or quick to commit. She shook her head. He’d come to his senses. Did she want him to?

Scarlett pinched her arm. No, definitely not a dream. She grabbed two sodas from the fridge before she returned. 

He had sat up and was straddling the chair when she’d returned. He was no longer in the relaxed state she’d left him in. “What’s wrong? You regretting your offer now? Because, you know, I figured you might. The heat-of-the-moment thing. I don’t blame you.”

He glanced up at her and grinned. Taking the drinks from her hand, he sat them on the table and took her fingers again. “I meant the offer. Live in the moment, Scarlett. Let’s see where this goes.” He raised both brows as if waiting for an answer.

“If you haven’t changed your mind, then what’s wrong?”

He pointed toward the shoreline. “We’ve got company coming.”

Chapter 8

Scarlett’s gaze shot to the shoreline. Finally, the one Love she knew best. Her heart expanded in her chest as a smile broadened on her lips. Scarlett squealed and jogged in Alexis and Cole’s direction.  “Alexis.”  

“I’m so glad you’re here. I wish it were under better circumstances.” Alexis grabbed Scarlett in a hug. No matter how far away Scarlett moved or the length of time between seeing each other, one thing remained. They would always be best friends. If Alexis didn’t kill her for sleeping with Jackson.

“Welcome home,” Cole said in passing as he kept walking in Jackson’s direction. 

Alexis threaded her arm through Scarlett’s. “This must be serious if Reed wanted us all to go dark.”

If she only knew. Scarlett’s mess had multiplied since meeting Salvatore. The lives of the entire Love family were at stake.

“Oh, honey, you have no clue.” Scarlett shook her head and worried her lip between her teeth as they continued to walk. “Don’t kill me, but I slept with Jackson, and it was amazing and phenomenal and everything I knew it would be.” She blurted it all out and then sighed, waiting for the repercussions.

Alexis stopped dead in her tracks and spun around. A smile split her lips from ear to ear. “Oh my God.”

“I know, right?” Scarlett smiled.

“Wow, I’m shocked.”

“I know my timing sucks…but I couldn’t hold it for another second.” Scarlett chuckled and pulled Alexis back to walking.

“Scarlett, I love my brother, but are you sure this isn’t some…adrenaline-rush thing? I mean don’t get me wrong. I couldn’t be happier that you’re together, but I can’t shake the feeling that you guys tried to date in high school, and I remember how hurt you were.”

“What are you saying, Alexis?” Scarlett’s brows dipped. “Are you worried we’re not a good match or something?”

Alexis pulled her to another stop and placed her palms on Scarlett’s arms. “I don’t want either of you to get hurt. I’m just concerned.”

“He asked me to stay with him when I move back.” It was still hard to believe, but the gesture had to count for something right? Scarlett shrugged. “Until the renovation on my parents' place is done, but still…you know I’ve always liked him, Alexis. We could work, right?”

Alexis tilted her head. “He asked
you
to stay with
him
?”

Scarlett nodded, and Alexis’s gaze flew to the cabin and met her brother’s gaze. “If you’re sure, I’m happy for you.”

“Good.” Scarlett threw her arm around Alexis’s shoulders. “Cause we’ve got one hell of a problem, and Jackson and I being together should be the least of everyone’s concerns.”

Scarlett’s stomach had flipped when Alexis voiced her concerns. Alexis had   been there years ago, when Scarlett was crushed, but she wasn’t the same naive girl. She was finally getting what she wanted. She wanted a life. She wanted a guy, someone she could love and trust. Jackson had potential to be both those things and more.

Jackson met her gaze as they approached. She didn’t need to tell him what she’d said to Alexis. The fact that his sister was quiet would have told him everything he needed to know.

“Well, I guess since you haven’t struck my ass with lightning, then you’re okay with my dating your best friend?” Jackson asked.

He knew she’d spilled the beans. 

“Sure.” She gave him a small smile, but Scarlett could read the hesitation on her best friend’s face. “I love you both and just want you to be happy. I—”

“Excuse us.” Jackson held up his hand, took his sister by the arm, and pulled her a few yards from where Cole and Scarlett were standing. Scarlett glanced at Cole, who shrugged his shoulders, and they both turned to watch the siblings. Alexis listen to her brother, and neither one of them raised their voice. Both of them occasionally glanced over at Scarlett. Minutes later, Jackson had Alexis grinning from ear to ear as she threw her arms around his stomach and hugged him. Whatever he’d said had done the trick. They both walked back.

“If you’re done scolding your
adult
brother, can we get back to the urgency of the blackout and whose ass I need to kick?” Cole asked.

“She’ll always scold me. It’s in her blood.” Jackson chuckled. “As for whose ass needs kicking, well, it’s a bit more complicated.”

Jackson tossed his arm around his sister’s shoulder and squeezed. “Listen, sis, I need you to stay calm. Find your happy Zen place and do whatever you need to do to keep your Mother Nature woo-woo in check. What I’m going to tell you is going to piss you off, and you’re going to be out for blood.”

“To be on the safe side, you’d better wait until after you fix me a glass of wine. I’ve already been shocked once today. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

****

Jackson had his elbows resting on his knees and was staring at Alexis. He’d spent the last hour rehashing everything he knew and what they’d found out. She hadn’t said a word. Every time he’d gotten to a point where he expected her to explode, she took a sip of her wine as if to bite back her anger. Her face was red, and her hands were clenched. She was on the verge of exploding so was trying to contain her anger. Cole’s hand on her leg was possibly helping her keep her emotions in check. It was better she found out here, where he could watch her, than with the others where he might not notice a subtle shift. The residents on the Island could thank him later.

Alexis held up her hand and then dropped it again, downing the rest of the red wine before she set the empty wine glass on the table. She rose to her feet and paced to the door and back again. “Are you telling me that these sick bastards are trying to clone people like us and are killing these poor souls in the process?”

Alexis was a spitfire, a mixture of nature lover and human activist.

“Yeah.” He kept his answers short and sweet, knowing she had to work through this in Alexis fashion.

She paced again and returned. “And you’re saying Uncle Martin had been there at some point and escaped?”

He nodded. Alexis’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of red, reserved for the times she called out the lightning.

She paced again and returned. “And Aunt Mary too?”

“We haven’t been through the files to confirm it, but yes, I think so.”

Alexis nodded, moved to the window, and stared outside. She had her arms wrapped around her waist. Her silence left Jackson on the edge of his seat and ready for anything.

Jackson glanced at Cole and widened his eyes before gesturing with his head toward the window.

Cole rose and stood behind Alexis, wrapping his arms around her waist. Alexis gave him a sideways glance. With her brows pinched, she laid her hands over his and turned back to the window.

“And we’re sure this is Marsh Corp.’s doing? The same company Avery, Landon, and Reed work for?”

“I’m sure.”

“I’m so sorry, Alexis. I thought I was writing a story on Salvatore. I had no idea what they were setting me up for.”

“It’s not your fault.” Alexis nodded, and the minutes ticked by as the stood there. Jackson entwined his fingers with Scarlett’s, reminding him of exactly what he could lose if everything went south. They’d just found each other again after all of these years. There was no way in hell he was letting her go.

Alexis turned to face them. “And how is the FBI involved?”

“The director’s sister is head of the research lab. There’s no telling what she told her brother about Rosie and what she took. The agents gunning for us now suspect that Rosie gave Scarlett the information, and they know she’s with me.” Jackson rose to his feet. “Alexis, if they come to the Island…”

“I know. Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out. First, we’ll tell the others then make a plan of action to secure our safety and stop things before someone else gets hurt.” Alexis let out a long sigh. “You shouldn’t keep the files and the hard drive all in one place. If someone breaks in and tries to take it all, or God forbid, burns down the house…”

Scarlett disappeared into the bedroom, walked back out with the files and handed them to Alexis. “We haven’t looked through all of them.”

“We’ll analyze these.” Cole took the files from Alexis.

“What if I manipulate the weather to where those people have to evacuate the lab?”

“That won’t work,” Jackson answered. “There’s no way to segregate the mentally insane from those with abilities. We need to start with the guys running the show and work our way down.” Jackson rested his fists on his waist.

“Great. We’ll hit them where it hurts and watch them squirm.” Alexis nodded as if she’d come to some conclusion she wasn’t sharing. Only his sister would think about hitting below the belt, and Jackson loved her for it. Pride expanded in Jackson’s chest. Alexis was handling the news better than he could have hoped, and now, if something happened to Scarlett or him, the mission to stop these assholes would go on.

Alexis took Cole’s hand and pulled him toward the door. “Come on, babe, we’ve got some research ahead of us.”

****

The unofficial Love family reunion was in full swing. Reed had found one of Luke’s properties still under renovation. The ink was still wet on the paperwork for the purchase of Skylar and Luke’s new building. Reed had pulled it off, and every single Love on the Island was in attendance and listening as Jackson explained their dilemma.

Jackson stood at the front of the room, in front of his family and cousins.

When he got to the part about Martin’s escape, all eyes turned in Uncle Martin and Aunt Mary’s direction. The room full of Loves fell silent, which indicated a miracle all by itself.  

Martin rose from his seat and walked to the front of the room. His face was weathered and aged. Everyone was watching him but Scarlett. She was watching Mary; she was the real story. The love in her eyes for her husband and family was undeniable.

“Back in the day, when I was in my twenties, my family and I had fake IDs we used for travel. My father and his father before him always knew there would be a day when the public might catch wind of our abilities.”

Martin cleared his throat and met Mary’s gaze. A loving smile filled his face. “I was on my way home from graduating college, and I was in an airport terminal on a layover. While I was there, a woman ran up beside me and searched frantically out of the window. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me her daughter’s plane had lost power.”

“How did she know that?”

“Her husband worked in the tower and had called her.”

“So…I stopped the airplane from crashing by using my ability that lets me manipulate energy. In doing so, landing the plane drained me almost to the point of passing out and I had outed myself. At the time, I didn’t figure it was a big deal. I was young and cocky, and knew I could get myself out of whatever jams I got into.”

Everyone in the room hung on his every word.

“Right before everything went black, I felt a prick in my neck and I was down for the count.” His eyes glazed over as if remembering the scene. “Later I found out they’d used a tranquilizer. I’ve always been able to control someone’s mind, and even though I chose not to use it, it helped. The day I woke up from the sedation, a beautiful woman was being escorted past the window of the room where they were holding me.” Martin winked at Mary. “Not just any woman, but the mystery woman from my dreams, the same woman I knew I was bound to make my wife.” Martin glanced in Flynn’s direction. “Like you, I have premonitions. At that point I wasn’t leaving without her so I let them start doing their tests and subjecting me to their trials the same way they’d been running tests on Mary. That earned me some time in the common area where Mary spent most of her days. My goal was to earn her trust and convince her to leave with me. And I did, and we escaped. I brought her to the Island, and we’ve been living under our real name, Love, ever since.

Mary cleared her throat. “Tell them the rest, dear. Tell them what you took and why they’ve left us alone for so long.”

“Right before my escape, they subjected me to a test that Mary wasn’t sure I’d survive. They’d concocted a drug that I guess was supposed to kill me, only it had the opposite effect. It boosted my abilities and I felt invincible. During our escape, I took two vials of the experimental blue liquid they had been shoving into our veins. I’ve kept it all these years and planned to use it to threaten exposing them if they didn’t stop searching for us and didn’t leave us alone.”

Reed rose from his chair. “Why did you leave all of those innocent people there to be tested at the hands of that monster?” Reed shook his head. “All these years, and you could have done something. You could have said something to help them.”

Martin lowered his gaze, and Mary rose from her seat. “He did it to protect us, to protect all of you. Don’t you dare judge him for loving and wanting to protect his family more than strangers.”

Reed lowered to his chair, and Mary walked to the front of the room and placed her hand on Martin’s back. “Your father”—she glanced at Jackson—“your uncle did the only thing he knew to do. We were only twenty years old, and we were scared. There was a reason why Marsh Corp. wanted to keep the name of the company secretive. Had we known who Landon and Avery were working for, we would have stopped it a long time ago.” She looked at Landon. “You stayed away and wouldn’t tell us the name of the company. We didn’t know until it was too late and you’d already been there over a year.”