Jamie-5 (7 page)

“He’s Spencer Patrick O’Malley James Grant. We’re going to call him Paddy for short.”

“Holy crap, Spence, that poor kid. He’ll have to be tough in order to carry a name like that around. And Paddy? Sheesh, you might as well hang a ‘kick me’ sign on him right now.” Byron laughed. Cait smacked him on the shoulder and kissed him. Jamie was about to say something just as mean when his phone rang.

“Mister Dane friend? You come here now. I can’t get door open. You come now.”

“I’m sorry, who is this? What’s happened to Dane?” Jamie looked at the caller ID and since it was blocked, he still did not know who she was.

“Pi Chang. Missy Dane my bacon. You come now. She sleep hard. I can’t wake her. Come now.”

Jamie looked at his brothers. “I’m coming. Call an ambulance. I’ll be right there. Give me her address and I’m on my way.”

Jamie was moving to the elevator as Pi gave him the address and when the doors opened, three of his brothers were with him, Damon, Byron, and Devin. His mother was running down the hall as well.

“I don’t know what’s happened. I don’t think you need to go with me. Pi said she—”

“Shut up and push the damned button. We’re going. Byron, you drive. Damon, you make sure you have your bag of tricks. Devin, you take care of the police when we get there. That poor girl. She said it was going to be difficult reading those things. I just hope she’s all right.” His mother could work for any corporate office and have it whipped into shape by end of work day.

Jamie smiled.

It took them four minutes to get there. Dane lived just across the street from the hospital.

The ambulance showed up just as they were getting out of the car. Jamie ran into the townhouse and down the stairs to where he could hear someone screaming. Pi, or who he assumed was her, was pounding on the door and crying.

“I can’t make her wake. She said four hours, no more. I only wait ten minute too many. I not kill her, did I? She my bacon. I need my bacon.”

Jamie moved the hysterical woman out of the way and before he could slam himself, Byron stopped him.

“You’ll break your shoulder. The three of us do this together on three. Three…two…one.” The door did not stand a chance under their combined weight. It splintered and broke through and the three men when tumbling in. Jamie scrambled over to see to Dane.

She was lying in her chair, which was close to the desk. Her face was pale and her lips where blue. She was breathing, but it was faint and shallow. Tears had dried on her cheeks and there was a little blood on her lip. Damon had to ask him twice to move. His mother was talking to Pi and calming her down.

“This woman says she needs a cold shower. Mrs. Chang said to put Dane into a cold shower.

There’s a bathroom just over there.”

“She scream, but you hold her till she wake. She mean when she wake, you no let her hurt you. She my bacon and I need her to be good.”

Jamie turned to his brother. “Damon? Should we?”

“I don’t know, Jamie. I don’t know what’s happened. But if this woman says it’ll work, then she knows more than we know at this point. I’ll take her in.”

“No. I have her. Turn on the water. I’m going to strip down to my boxers. Be ready in case this doesn’t work, okay?”

Jamie ended up in his jeans, taking everything out of them and picking Dane up. Her body was limp as she carried her into the bathroom and when he stepped into the stall, he nearly screamed himself from the cold temperature of the spray. As soon as the water hit Dane, she came screaming awake and fighting.

~CHAPTER 7~

Every time Dane looked at him, she was glaring a little harder. At least the shivers had stopped, Jamie noticed. And her lips were pinking up. He was sure the color in her cheeks was due more to the anger she was directing at him than the embarrassment or cold. He winked at her every time he caught her looking his way.

Pi and his mother were upstairs in the kitchen. Damon was talking with the medics and Devin was dealing with the police. Byron was talking quietly with Dane. Jamie had been ordered by Dane to stay away from her. He was going to give her five more minutes then he was going to haul her body up against his and kiss the daylights out of her then spank her ass. He glanced back at the broken door and shuddered again.

“Mr. Grant? The landlord says he’s not paying for the damages and he wants to press charges against you and your brothers for breaking it down. I need to know what you want to do about it.” This cop had just walked into the basement.

“See that man over there? He’s my attorney. Talk to him.” Jamie started over to Dane and stopped when she stood up.

“You stay away from me, Mr. Grant. The nerve bringing all these people in my home when it was—”

He had meant to talk to her. Had even meant to see if she was all right, or hurt in anyway first. But kissing her seemed much better the moment she opened her mouth. And holding her close was all he could think about. And when Dane wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed closer to him, he knew that he’d made the right decision. Hearing his brother chuckle did not even stop him from cupping her ass and bringing her tighter against him.

He tasted her mouth like a starved man. Her flavor and scent pulled at his senses, making him lightheaded and needy. When Dane’s tongue slid into his mouth and tangled with his, he groaned and shifted her so that now she was between his legs, her soft folds hard against his erection. Everything in the room faded away as they explored each other. Byron tugging at his arm brought him back, reluctantly.

“Jamie, Mom’s coming down. I’m reasonably sure you don’t want to be lip-locked like you are when she gets here. She’ll rip your ear off like she did that time she caught you necking in the back seat with Helen Smart.”

Jamie pulled away, but did not let Dane go. He was still holding her when his mom entered the office basement with Pi right on her heels. He looked over at the two women and winked.

“Let me go, you ass. You jerk me around like I’m some sort of lost puppy. I have to go to the bathroom. By myself, thank you.” He watched her walk away then sat next to his brother.

Devin joined them a minute later.

“They’re going to make her move out. He said he doesn’t need this sort of thing going on around here. Dumbass. I told him that she was in trouble and he said to have her take her trouble elsewhere,” Devin said, disgusted.

“I’ll talk to her. She seems like a reasonable girl. Maybe we can find her a place to stay for a few days until things settle, maybe with Taylor and me. I don’t like her staying here if this could happen again.” Jamie just looked at Byron. For a reason he could not explain, he wanted to hit him.

“I’ll take care of her. And if you don’t mind, I want you to stay away from her.

She’s…she’s…” She’s what? Jamie thought.

“Ah. Well, why didn’t you say so? By all means. I like her too. Does Mom know yet?” Jamie decided to ignore him and watched as Dane came toward them.

“Mr. Grant?”

All three of them turned to her and said, “What?”

Her low growl made all three of them laugh, but then they quickly turned it into a cough. He wondered why they did that. His brothers did it a lot, and him only recently. He wondered if it had anything to do with the women in their lives.

“The attorney. Sheesh, how many more of you are there? Devin Grant, please. May I have a word with you in private?”

The two of them walked to the other side of the room and then Devin motioned to his mother to join them a minute later. When Margaret started crying, Jamie walked over with Byron. Something was wrong.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Parker. I can tell you where…go away. I didn’t want to talk to you. This is between your mom and me.” Dane looked at him, scared now. No, more like she was terrified.

He knew it had something to do with what had happened today.

“No. What’s going on? I want to know why you were so comatose that you couldn’t hear someone pounding on the door. Why you had to be shocked to come around. I want to know what happened to make you so afraid to say anything to me.”

“You don’t get to…I found him all right? One of the little boys your mom asked me about.

His mother killed him then buried him under a big tree not far from the trailer where he lived. I saw it, her throwing him against the counter, her picking up the shovel and hitting him over and over until his head was mashed in. Then she wrapped him in a black trash bag and took him outside and buried him with the same shovel she killed him with. I felt it, the pain, the sorrow. I felt each strike of the heavy shovel. I felt each time the shovel vibrated against his tiny…I’m going to be sick.” She darted away and when Jamie went to follow, Devin held him back.

“Not yet. She needs to deal with this. And I need to tell you something. Dane told us today some of what she does when she does this. How much it takes out of her. You don’t believe her, she told me. I don’t know if I do either. But if that little boy is where she said, she’s made a believer out of me. She needs support, not someone who is only in this for sex. You understand what I’m saying to you?”

“You’re telling me that if I can’t be there for her now, to back the fuck out. Yeah, I get it.

But I didn’t ask for, nor do I need your advice. I’m going to see if she’s all right.” Jamie went to the bathroom door and waited for her. He saw his brother talking to the police. Jamie knew that one of them was a good friend of Devin’s. The police and the medics left a few minutes later. Pi took his mother upstairs again and Byron was on the phone. When the door lock clicked, he stood up and watched her come out of the room.

“I’m drained, Mr. Grant. I don’t think I can deal with anything else today. I’ll be fine. Why don’t you all go home? Pi will be with me.”

“I can’t. I need to hold you. Dane, talk to me, please? I want to help. I want to understand what happened here today. Why were you so out of it?”

He didn’t think she was going to answer, but when she did, he was surprised. “If you don’t mind staying after…later, I’ll tell you. Right now, I can’t. Not right now. Okay?”

“Yes. For now anyway. Dane, will you let me hold you, please?”

“Let me change first. I’m cold and wet. I think Pi is fixing something to eat. Go up to the kitchen and I’ll be down shortly.” He pulled her to him for a quick kiss and then let her go. He didn’t know which of them was more surprised, her because he let her go, or him because he could. He made his way to the kitchen with his family.

“It not big kitchen, but it work. You like food, I cook. Sit! I make dinner. I make real Chinese food, you eat,” Pi was saying as he walked in and sat at the table.

When Margaret asked if she could help, all three boys yelled “no” all at once. “I’m not that bad of a cook. I just choose not to. I know how to peel an onion, you know.”

“I have herbs you crush. You no get in my way. Missy Dane friend, you go and take care of Missy Dane. She need you. I see you look at her.”

Jamie blushed bright red and left the kitchen to find Dane when his brothers started in on him. He found her coming down the stairs and met her there. She looked lost.

“What does your family think of me now? I’m betting they think I’m some sort of fool and an idiot. I don’t blame them. But I can’t help what happens when I…is Pi cooking? She does that when she’s nervous.” He noticed she would not look at him.

“I don’t think they think anything of you. And yes, Pi is cooking for us. I think you’re right.

She needs this after what happened. Are you all right, Dane?” She nodded, but still wouldn’t look at him. “Dane?”

“Mr. Grant, I don’t know how Pi got in touch with you, but I assure you that I will make it so she never bothers you again like this. She shouldn’t have called anyone.

Especially…especially not you. She won’t do it again.”

“You called me James when I kissed you, when I nearly made love to you. I’d like for you to call me that again. And for you to look at me, please. I’m glad she called me.” He took a step up the stairs toward her and watched as she took one back. “I don’t want to think what might have happened if she hadn’t.”

“That was a mistake too. I should never have…we shouldn’t have kissed or the rest. Your family doesn’t believe in me. You don’t even believe in me. I think it’s better if we keep this on a professional level.” Two more steps up to her three back. “Will you stop that?”

“No. I don’t think so. I want to take you to your bedroom and make love to you. Several times, as a matter of fact. I want to be buried deep inside of you when I come, feeling you come around me and over me. Whether or not my family believes in you or not is a moot point.” He took another step. “Do you want me to, Dane?”

“You don’t know what happens when I…I can’t help that I can do this. I…Mr. Grant, I’m…”

“Dane, you call me Mr. Grant again and I’ll paddle your butt. I’m Jamie, or James. I want to hear you say it.”

They were at the top of the stairs now and he could see three closed doors behind her. One had to lead to the bathroom he’d heard running when he was in the kitchen, the other two, bedrooms. He wanted to find hers soon and stretch her out on it with him over her.

“You…you need to leave. I have to work tomorrow and I—” He touched her shoulders with just the tips of his fingers. He watched as her eyes darkened and her pulse picked up.

“Which room is yours?” Jamie ran his hands down her arms and to her hands where he laced her fingers with his. He pulled both their hands behind her, pressed her hard against him, and licked along the seam of her lips.

“This isn’t…please, you don’t want to do this. I’m not going to…oh, James, please.” When she tilted her head and exposed her neck for him, he ran his tongue along the long column and nipped at her beating pulse.

Releasing her hands, he cupped her ass again and picked her up. Her legs wrapped around his hips as her arms encircled his neck. Jamie covered her mouth with his and ate at her as he moved forward toward the wall across from the stairs. Riding her up and down his cock, he pressed harder into her when her back touched the wall. Using it as leverage, he pulled her shirt from her jeans and ran his hands under to touch her bare skin.