Reckless Abandon (Phantom Protector Book 1) (16 page)

He closed his eyes, remembering back to the last
time he’d seen her. She was so frail and still loved him. He remembered the
panic that ran through his body when he tried to convince her that she could
join him in his quest for power. Her sad eyes widened in horror at the thought,
but he’d been determined to convince her. She was everything to him. She was
the only person in the world that held any real power of him. When he’d broken
her arm all those years before, he knew he had to leave her. She deserved more
than he could ever give her. He’d found a way to change that. To make her as
strong as one of his men. He was sure that when he presented her the
opportunity she would jump on board.

He remembered the pain in her eyes as he pushed
the needle into her arm. She squirmed under his embrace.
“No... no,” she cried. “I don’t want this. I will never leave here.”
 

A part of him died that day when she collapsed
in his arms, her eyes closed and her breath coming in short pants. The serum
he’d shoved into her veins was supposed to make her stronger. He hadn’t been
ready to watch her wither in his arms. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. I thought it
would work.” He apologized again as he laid her on the couch and covered her
with a blanket. He backed out of the room as he whispered, “What have I done?”

He leaned against the front door to the house.
He’d killed the only woman he’d ever loved. He covered his ears against the
screams that traveled through the closed door. There was no way he could undo
the damage. There was no way to make it right. He pulled the phone from his
clip and did the only thing that might save her life. He called 911 and left
them to deal with the aftermath of his actions.
 
He knew that day that things would never be the same. He watched from
behind the tinted windows of his SUV as they carted her away in an ambulance.
He’d spent the next month watching from the shadows hoping for a miracle,
hoping that God would grant his one wish and let her survive what he’d done.

He watched as her brother stepped out on the
porch. He covered his face as he cried and dropped down to his knees. The ambulance
driver walked out behind him and gave a reassuring squeeze to the fallen brother’s
shoulder only moments later wheeling Alicia out on the stretcher. Floyd knew
then he’d lost the love of his life. He fell to his own knees and cried that
day, the only day he’d let another human being hold that much power over him.
He decided then he’d never let anyone pierce his heart as his sweet Alicia had
done.

Floyd turned from the window and pulled himself
back from the memories. He punched the wall next to the windowsill. His fist
crushed through the drywall, and the pain reminded him that he was still alive.
His eyes turned red from the anger he felt inside. The anger he had for her
weak body.

He reached down and swiped everything from his
desk. Pens and papers flew through the room in a disheveled mess.

His door opened. “Sir, are you all right?”

Floyd closed his eyes to block out the memory
and blinked until his vision returned to normal. “I’m fine, Nicholas.”

Nicholas nodded and kept his head lowered as he
clutched a manila envelope in his hands.

“Do you have something for me?”

Nicholas scurried across the room and handed him
the envelope. “They brought in someone new to the compound… a child.”

“Really?” Floyd ran his finger under the flap
and pulled out an eight-by-ten color photo of a little girl being escorted into
the compound. The eyes that stared back were hollow and suggested she was frightened.
“What is her power?”

Nicholas took a step back. “I’m not sure she has
one. Our sources haven’t confirmed that she’s anything but a simple child.”

Floyd pulled out his leather chair and sat. He
clasped the picture in his hands over his now clean desk. “Find out who she
belongs too. We might be able to use her to our advantage.” He glanced up at
Nicholas. “Do. Not. Fail. Me.”

He watched as Nicholas backed out of the room.
His men feared him and for good reason. Only the strong survived in his
compound. Only the strong would help him win his fight for power with the
Phantoms; and he would win.

****

Max stood outside of Jamie’s door and debated
knocking. The need to see if she and her sister were all right had almost
consumed his every thought from the moment he’d left them. He’d said that he
was going to be there for Jamie to help her explain, and what had he done? He’d
hightailed it out of there at the first opportunity. Max lifted his fist to
knock before he let it drop back down to his side. He didn’t know anything
about children, but he did know about Jamie, and with that, he took the courage,
lifted his hand, and rapped on the wooden door.

He waited, his heart racing faster the longer he
stood hoping she’d open the door. He hesitated before retreating to his own
room. It was still early, but he’d wanted to catch her before the meeting. He
rapped again.

A very sleepy Jamie, wearing wrinkled clothes,
pulled the door open.

“Morning, beautiful.”

Jamie left Max standing at the door as she
walked into her kitchen. She hit the button on the coffee machine. “What are
you doing here so early?” she asked in a sleepy voice.

“I thought I’d come take you and Sarah to
breakfast at the little café in town. We could pick her up a few things while
we’re there.” He glanced around the living room. “I’m not sure what all she
brought from the orphanage, but it couldn’t have been much.

Jamie poured them each a cup of coffee. She
handed one to him, leaned up on her tiptoes, and placed a kiss on his cheek.
“That was thoughtful of you.” She sipped her coffee. “Let me go take a shower
and wake Sarah up.” She pointed to the couch. “I’m sure you can find something
to amuse yourself while we get ready.”

Max strolled over to the couch and propped his
feet on her coffee table, crossing his big boots. He hit the button on the
remote, and the TV came to life. He glanced over his shoulder and realized she had
disappeared back into her room. He sipped the coffee then looked down at the
black brew. His eyebrow lifted. It wasn’t like Jamie to drink coffee. She normally
stuck to juice or water. He wondered how her night had gone.
 
He might have done the cowardly thing and
ditched her, but he was here now. He was ready to face the Bloom women in a new
light.

Thirty minutes went by as he heard them talking
in the room. He tried not to eavesdrop, but the walls were so thin he couldn’t
help himself. Jamie was trying to explain what they were going to do today. She
told Sarah how they were going into town and would be returning later for a
meeting. Jamie slipped out of the bedroom door and pulled it closed behind her.
Her hair was styled and brushed. Her makeup brightened her face and gone were
the wrinkled clothes. She stood in front of him in blue jeans and a white
button-down collared shirt that was tucked in. She wore a brown belt that
matched her brown boots. She looked like a totally different woman than had
greeted him at the door thirty minutes before.

Max stood and took three strides to reach her.
He drew her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers. He’d been dying to kiss
her since last night. Sleeping in his bed without her created feelings…a
longing, he thought he no longer missed since losing his wife. Every waking
thought had been for the little healer. Even during his workout in the middle
of the night, he’d been thinking of her. He hadn’t felt so overwhelmed or
worried in years. The feelings were foreign to him, but somehow they felt so
right.

He tilted his head, deepening the kiss as his
tongue explored the crevices of her soft mouth. She moaned and leaned into his
arms. Her hands travelled up his chest and wound around his neck and into his
hair. He could have stayed like that forever. He could cherish the feel of her
lips until he died.

Sarah cleared her throat.

Jamie immediately broke the kiss. A blush stole
her cheeks. They both turned to find Sarah standing behind them. Her rumpled
clothes gave away that she’d slept in her clothes too. Her arms crossed, and her
eyebrows lowered. Her eyes darkened and held what looked like a red tint.

“Back away from my sister before I have to hurt
you.”

Jamie’s blush brightened a deeper pink. Max
tried to hide the smile that threatened. The little girl was a spitfire just
like Jamie. There was no mistaking they were sisters, although when Sarah got
mad, she looked like she could use a good exorcist. Jamie stepped away from Max
and went to stand by her sister. She put her arm around Sarah’s shoulders.

“Relax, Sarah, this is Max, you saw him at the
orphanage and he’s the one who helped me find you and find out what happened to
our mom.”

Sarah glanced up at her sister, unfolded her
arms, and let them drop to her sides. She stepped forward and held out her
hand. Max took her petite hand in his and shook it. “Thank you for helping us.”

Sarah had done a one-eighty right before his
eyes. She’d gone from possessed to a little angel, and that worried him.

Jamie leaned down on one knee. “I told you we
were going to breakfast.” She glanced over her shoulder before returning her
gaze to her sisters. “Max is taking us into town to eat and so that we can buy
you some new things.”

Jamie stood and picked up Max’s coffee cup from
the coffee table. She dumped the contents in the sink and rinsed the cup. “We
need to stop by Sarah’s room so she can change, and then we can go.”

Max motioned toward the door. “After you.”

Sarah still eyed him critically, assessing him
from the tips of his boots to the very hair on his head. She smiled and turned,
vanishing out the door and down the hall. Jamie walked in step to his strides.

“She’s going to be a spitfire.”

Jamie shrugged. “Can you blame her? She’s a
little girl, and she’s worried already she might lose me.”

Chapter
16

The trip into town was uneventful. They ate
breakfast and Jamie bought Sarah some new clothes and stuff to call her own.
Jamie remembered what it was like growing up in the orphanage. It was rare to
have anything to consider yours. She saw pride in Sarah’s eyes as she clutched
a teddy bear that Max bought her. She was probably too old for the teddy bear,
but Jamie understood the emotions Sarah was probably experiencing, some of the
same she’d experienced when she’d bought her first things.

Sarah pulled out one of the magnetic cards that
would allow her entrance into the compound. She jumped up to no avail, trying
to swipe the card. She jumped again, still not getting the card through the
slot. “I’ll be glad when I’m taller.”

Jamie swiped her own card and pushed the door
open. “Don’t worry, squirt, in a few more years you’ll be able to reach it.”

Sarah paused inside the entrance. “Am I still
going to be here in a few more years?”

Jamie held out her hand to her sister. “You’ll
be where I am.”

Sarah entwined her fingers with Jamie’s and fell
in step toward the conference room. Jamie wasn’t late for the meeting but
wouldn’t have time to take Sarah back to her room. The general stood in the
doorway. He nodded to Jamie as they approached. He squatted down in front of
Sarah and rubbed her arm.

“Sarah, I need to talk to your sister, and I
think…” He glanced up at Jonah. “Jonah is ready to give you another lesson.”

Sarah didn’t move. She squeezed Jamie’s hand
tighter as if it were her new lifeline.

Jamie squatted to the same level. “It’s okay,
Sarah. We’re just having a meeting. You’ll be right over there.” She pointed to
Jonah. “So you’ll be able to see me when we come out.”

Sarah released Jamie’s hand and stepped back.
“Remember your promise,” she said as she turned and headed for Jonah.

Jamie rose to her full height and walked past
the general into the room where everyone was waiting. Max pulled her chair out
for her before he took a seat next to her. He leaned in. “Well played, Jamie.
She’s learning to trust you.”

Jamie’s heart grew. For the first time in her
life, she had a sister. Someone who was her flesh and blood meant more to her
than her own life. She would not let Sarah down. Jamie grabbed Max’s hand under
the table and squeezed. She leaned into him and whispered, “Thanks for all of
your help. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

The general cleared his throat. “First order of
business. Jamie, how is Sarah settling in? Do you want to give us an update?”

Jamie pulled her hand from Max’s. She placed both
of her own on the table. “I’ve told her about our mom and that her death was
probably a result of something our father did. I even explained that we’ve been
trying to catch him for a long time.” She took a deep breath. “I haven’t
mentioned that we’re all “special,’” she said, using air quotes.