“Fuck you,” I say, though I’m taken aback. Doc doesn’t go for anything less than screamingly enthusiastic, but it’s not like him to admit the truth when he could scare January with a lie. And it’s equally not like him to be responsible about sleep, especially when it seems January mightwantus in her bed. Still, I’m not going to play the asshole while Doc acts like a hero.
“He’s right, JJ. You should get some sleep. We’ll stay up and look after you.”
January rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet. Her face, scrubbed of makeup is petal soft and impossibly pretty. “Do you think Mr. Parker is trying to find me?”
The answer is somewhere along the continuum of ‘yes’ and ‘absolutely’ but she doesn’t need to know that.
“Don’t worry about it, baby. Just get into bed and rest.”
Doc and I sit at the scratched motel table and watch as January walks to the bed, and folds back the covers. My cock thickens as she peels off her towel and I force my gaze away, pulling out my phone to text Eli that we found a motel. His response comes at once.
Good. Parker’s in Vegas. Adriano’s fine. I’ll updatesoon.
I go to show Doc the screen and see he and January are locked in a wordless conversation. Doc’s expression is murderous, and January—sitting up in the motel bed—is crying again.
“What’s happening?” I ask.
“Doc hates me,” January says in a soft voice. “He’s going to hurt me.”
“That’s not true, baby. Is it, Doc?”
He doesn’t answer.
“I’m sorry for running away,” she whispers, a sparkling tear dripping onto her cheek. “But I needed to see my Zia. I couldn’t just sit in Velvet House and rot.”
Doc glares at her and even I can tell twisted shit is running through his head.
“It’s okay, JJ,” I say roughly. “You don’t have to explain yourself to us. At least not tonight.”
She turns her tearful gaze to me. “But Adriano… what happened? I heard gunshots.”
“He’s fine. He’s got a couple fractured ribs but the shot to the head only grazed his skull and the one in his side missed everything important. He’s had worse.”
January’s face softens. “Okay. That’s good.”
I frown at the thought of the two of them together, Adriano and January. They left for the hospital like Bonnie and an even uglier Clyde. Adriano did what I couldn’t and took her to her Zia. Has that changed her mind about him? Is he the one she prefers?
“Adriano didn’t sleep with me,” January says, misreading my expression.
“I know.”
“Heard you offered though, Tits,” Doc snarls. “Heard you fucking begged.”
“I did not,” January whispers but pink spots rise on her cheeks. And just like that, I’m thinking of sex again. January’s full mouth against mine, her hard nipples pressing against my chest as I slide inside her…
“Lie down and close your fucking eyes,” Doc snarls. “I’m sick of looking at you.”
“Don’t talk to her like that,” I say. “January honey, go to sleep.”
She doesn’t move. “Do you think Mr. Parker killed any of his men because he’s angry at me?”
Yes, definitely. “Don’t think about it,” I say. “Baby, do you want something to help you sleep or—”
“No! I don’t want to stay awake, but every time I shut my eyes it’s all I can think about.” Her eyes fill with tears again. “He killed my Zia.”
The quiet resignation in her voice cuts me like a knife. “I’m so sorry, JJ.”
The motel fills with silence as the three of us sit there and think about Parker and the people he’s killed. I remember my dad, slumped over his tractor steering wheel, never able to get up, to call me ‘kiddo,’ to cook chilli or watch another baseball game.
