A Warrior Wedding (The Protectors #7)(19)

“It’s not just me this is happening to.” Jill sighed. “Sloan asked for permission for us to be changed to full blood, but it’s been denied.”

“Fuck them.” Trevor hissed, his face paling as he truly realized how serious the situation was. “There’s no way Slade is going to stand for that. Though I’ve only met him once, I saw how much he cares for you.”

“He can’t, Trevor.” Standing, Jill glanced at the lake. “He could lose everything he worked for, plus be put in jail. I’m not going to let that happen.”

“So you’ll just die?” Trevor grabbed her arm. “There has to be another way.”

Jill nodded before looking straight at him. “Do not say anything to Dad,” Jill ordered. “I don’t want him to worry.”

Trevor remained silent, not agreeing or disagreeing.

“I mean it, Trevor,” Jill warned. “Swear it.”

“Okay.” Trevor raised his hands in defeat.

“And Mom neither, not that she would care.” Jill said and those words hit her harder than usual. She would love to talk to her mom like a daughter should be able to. “But she would tell Dad and until things are grim, I don’t want him to worry. His health is too important.”

“She would care,” Trevor replied. “And do you think that’s fair to keep this from them?”

Jill thought about that for a moment. “Yeah, it’s fair.” Deep down inside she prayed it was a nightmare she would wake up from.

They stood and looked around in silence, a silence that drove Jill crazy. Grabbing the vine, she gave it a good yank. With a firm grip, she took five steps back and grinned. “Dare me?” She kicked off her shoes.

“No.” Trevor finally laughed.

“Bet me?” she continued, her laughter ringing through the woods.

“No way.” Trevor crossed his arms, standing strong. “I like my money too much.”

“Good choice.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him as she took off running. Her feet left the path and the trusted old vine from their childhood took her far out to the middle of the lake. Her face lifted to the sky and with eyes wide open, she let go and felt free for the first time in a long time, just like she had when she was a young girl. Within seconds, the cool water washed over her and her feet hit the bottom. She kept herself submerged enjoying the quiet solitude. Then with a hard push, she shot back to the surface. Looking around, she laughed at Trevor who kicked off his shoes grabbing the vine.

“Do a flip!” she shouted with a dare in her voice.

“It’s been years since I’ve even done this,” Trevor called back while he backed up the path with the vine. “Let me do it once with just letting go of the damn thing first.”

“Chicken,” Jill mocked him from the water.

“Smart chicken,” he yelled back as he took off running. As his feet left the path and swung out over the water above Jill, he screamed before letting go. “Shiiiiit!”

Jill laughed so hard she could hardly keep herself above water. When he broke the surface, her laughter continued while trying to talk. “Oh, my God, you should have seen your face and you screamed like a girl.”

“It’s seems a hell of a lot higher than it used to be when we were young and careless.” He defended his girly scream with a splash to her face.

She splashed him back and grinned. “Flip?”

He nodded, his grin mirroring hers. “Flip!”

“Whoever screams like a girl buys dinner.” Jill laughed, then swallowed a ton of water when he dunked her as he passed.

Jill shouted a threat, swimming hard to catch him, but weakness swallowed her energy forcing her to slow down. Nothing was going to stop her from having this moment with her brother, even if it killed her.

******

Jax pulled into the compound on his bike followed by Blaze and Hunter. His mood was dangerous after his visit with Caroline and by the look of the parking lot, it wasn’t going to get much better. Adam paced around throwing his arms all over the place while Slade had his phone to his ear with a grim expression on his face. Instantly, Jax knew this was about Jill.

Stopping in front of Adam, he killed his engine. “She steal your car again?”

“Fuck yeah!” Adam growled, then nodded toward Slade. “I swear if it wasn’t for that big son of a bitch, I’d kick her ass.”

Jax couldn’t help but smirk at that. He knew Adam would never hurt Jill, and Jill would be a tough opponent to take down, even for Adam. “I’m sure she’ll be back.”

Adam stopped pacing and stared at Jax. “I want my damn car back, now.” His pacing started again. “She sucks at driving. I don’t want her behind the wheel any longer than she has been already.”

“She not answering?” Jax asked Slade, who had joined them.

“No.” Fury and concern swirled in Slade’s eyes.

“I can find her. I already have her scent.” Hunter sat calmly on his bike next to Jax. Reaching into the compartment on his bike, he tossed Blaze a pair of sweats. “Bring these for me.”

“Sweet!” Adam said, anxious to get going.

Hunter grabbed the handlebars. “Give me a second to change into my Superman outfit.”

Jax actually rolled his eyes. “Where in the f*ck did you find that guy?”