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| Travis Yardley-Rudiger deliberately stayed away from Jamie Grimm, desperate not to pull her into the petty little war of wills between himself and her grandfather, Oliver Grimm. Unfortunately the reemergence of Baldur and Loki and their claiming of Jamie’s sister Jordan put her squarely in Grimm’s sights. Her torture at Grimm’s hands ended with Travis determined to claim and protect the woman he’s loved for years, but how will she take the news that Travis is actually Tyr? Jamie isn’t certain what’s going on, but one thing is certain: Travis’s stand-offish attitude has done an abrupt one-eighty. He’s even gone so far as to move with her into her sister’s condo while she convalesces. And when he reveals who, and what, he is, Jamie is left to wonder what the Norse God of Justice could possibly want with a crazy redhead with severe family issues? As far as he’s concerned, it will be Travis’s pleasure to show her… |
“Hey, pumpkin.” Jamie smiled as much as her bruised, broken face would allow. “Hey, Uncle Val.” It still sounded like she was talking through a napkin, but the doctors had assured her the last of the swelling would be completely gone soon. Uncle Val walked past Travis to give her a gentle hug. “You ready to blow this popsicle stand?” She closed her eyes as his warmth seeped into her cold bones. She was always cold these days, except when Travis and Uncle Val were near. They were the only ones who made her feel safe. “Sure am.” “Good girl.” He brushed his hand through her curls, pecking her softly on the forehead. “Jordan and Jeff will help you get dressed. I’ll get the rest of these yahoos out of here. Want me to put them to work?” He grinned down at her, still gently stroking her hair the same way he had when she’d been a child. She leaned into his touch. “Nah. Just let me get dressed so we can leave.” She smiled up at him. “The food here sucks donkey balls.” She heard an amused snort and figured it was her brand-new brother-in-law, Logan. “Don’t worry, Pita, I’ll cook as soon as we get back to our place.” “Thanks, Logan.” Jordan had told her some of what happened, but not all. And for some reason she’d only been able to tell her in bits and pieces, when everyone else was out of the room. So Jamie knew a little of what Logan had done to buy them time to save her. What she couldn’t figure out was why he wasn’t in the hospital bed next to hers if everything Jordan had told her was true. Being beaten with dad’s favorite walking stick should have left him in almost the same shape Jamie was in, but there wasn’t a mark on him. And since Jordan had never lied to her, something screwy was going on. Jordan had been trying to prepare her for whatever it was, she knew that. It had to be big, something Jordan had no idea how Jamie would react to. Hence big sis dancing around it instead of telling her outright like Jamie could tell she’d wanted to. And it probably involved every single person in this room. “Wow. You look like hammered dog shit today.” She glared up at Jeff who grinned down her. “It’s an improvement.” “I did have the shit hammered out of me. What’s your excuse?” Her brother leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.” Everyone in the room groaned and Jeff winked, completely unrepentant. “Okay, people. You heard the lady. Everybody out.” Uncle Val began shooing everyone from the room, pulling a lingering Travis out by the arm. “C’mon, boss, out you go.” And that was taking some getting used to. Grandfath... Grimm’s security chief now working for Guardian Investigations. She wondered how Grammy felt about that. In fact, she wondered how Grammy felt about anything at all. She hadn’t seen fit to visit Jamie in the hospital. She wondered if Grammy was under some sort of guard, too, because if Grimm could do this to Jamie, he could certainly do this to Grammy. The only reason she could think of for Grimm to have done what he had was some sort of tumor, or Alzheimer’s, or something that would alter his personality beyond all recognition. Because the man she’d grown up loving and respecting would never have done to her what he’d done if he’d still been in complete control of his senses. He’d tortured her with an almost playful ferocity, smiling as the lit cigarette burned into her hip. Her screams had been muffled by a gag that buckled at the back of her head. He’d only removed it when she’d been tied to the cross, unable to speak thanks to the broken cheek and the swelling in her face. The agony on her broken wrist had only been matched by the one in her leg. She didn’t think she’d ever forget what had happened to her, no matter how often she spoke to her therapist. And Doctor Burton had told her it would probably be years, if ever, before the nightmares went away. She tried to hide her shudder as the memories threatened to swamp her once more. Now that Uncle Val and Travis were gone, the cold was settling in once more. Jeff knew her too well. “It’s okay, little fox. No one’s going to hurt you. You’re safe.” He rocked her, tucking her head under his chin. Just the sound of her twin’s pet name for her helped pull her back from the dark chasm her nightmares lived in. She opened her eyes to find Jordan standing over her, a fierce expression on her face. “No one, and I mean no one, is going to get through us to you. Not ever again.” Jamie could swear she saw something… odd, in Jordan’s eyes when she said that. Almost like flames flickering. Man. I have to have another nice, long talk with my therapist. She was starting to see some really funky things these days. For instance, just before Uncle Val dragged him out, she could have sworn Travis had been glowing. |
Genre: Paranormal Romance ISBN: ?? Length: Category |
Coming Soon from Samhain Publishing |
