Unauthorized Affair (Unauthorized #1)(39)

Jen nodded, a lump in her throat. This was bad.

“And you’re not going to do the job.” It was a statement.

“I could do a hundred jobs for him, and you could still be in danger. It’s how his mind works. And besides. Whatever he wants me to do, it’s against the law. I’ve been hiding from him and his jobs for most of my life. His main goal in life is to turn me into a criminal just like him. But I can’t Jen, I won’t.”

“You could testify against him.”

“For what? He hasn’t been arrested in years.”

“You could provide evidence. We could arrest him.”

“I don’t have any evidence, Jen. I saw a few things when I was a kid, but I don’t know names, or what really happened.”

“Does he know where I live?”

“I don’t know. He could. I found you.”

Jen nodded, her mind strangely calm. “What are you going to do?”

“Leave town. Go back to San Fran, or Nevada.” His eyes lit up. “You could go with me. I could protect you. He wouldn’t follow us.”

Jen imagined it. She could leave with him. He was rich. He would take care of her. She would abandon her new job, and the new life she was starting here. She shook her head, her own eyes mirroring the fear and sadness in his.

“Coleton I can’t. We can’t.”

He took her hands, squeezed them. “Are you sure, Jen? Because I can’t think of any other way that you are sure to be safe.”





Chapter 20





Jen drove home slowly. She checked her rear view and saw Coleton was following her, but several car lengths behind. Night had fallen, and in the dark she could no longer tell if the other car was following him. She looked for a message from Ivy, but there wasn't one. A thought shot through Jen’s mind. What if they were all dead in their homes? A mobster’s bullet through one eye? She shook the thought off. No way. Besides, she was the only one in danger here, right? Coleton’s dad had no way of knowing who her team was. Right?

At least she had a plan though. She’d talk to Hunter first and see what he thought about the whole thing. And then she’d talk to Sara. Jen wondered if talking to Sara would mean that Fiore Savoy would disappear. Or maybe Sara could do some secret spying on him and find a way to put him in federal jail. A small voice in the back of her mind spoke up. Is this what you're going to do once you are on patrol? Every time you have a problem with someone you're going to run to Sara? She grimaced, but didn’t see any other way out of this, unless Hunter could find one.

Her house was still dark and quiet. She pulled in the driveway, watched Coleton drive past, and then turned off her car, heart still beating too quickly. She didn’t think it would calm down until she got to talk to Hunter. He would know what to do. She knew he would.

She walked to the house and unlocked her door, pushing it open and swinging it shut behind her. She flicked on all the lights in the entryway, including the porch light, but only one small light in the kitchen came on. Her fingers wanted to flick the lights on and off, on and off, but her brain short-circuited the action. A strange smell hit her nose— sweat. Adrenaline flooded into her bloodstream. Someone was in the house.

She forced herself to flick the light switches, and spoke to herself under her breath. “Darn lights, why aren’t the working?” As she backed up and grasped the doorknob behind her. As she twisted it, she saw movement to her left. She screamed and wrenched the door open, pitching her body backwards, trying to make it onto the porch. A hand shot out and grabbed her upper arm, pinched it mercilessly, and pulled her back in, slamming the door.


Jen fought with everything she had. She kicked, she hit, she head butted the dark form in front of her. The thudding crack of her skull hitting his surprised her, and dazed him. His hand on her arm loosened. She lunged to the side and got away from him. The back door! She ran for it, knowing it would be locked, telling herself to twist the lock open before she tried to wrench open the door. Another dark form slid in front of the door and she skidded to a halt in her living room. She gathered her elbows in and screamed, shredding her own vocal cords with the force of it. Only then did she remember she had a gun. She grabbed for it, but the form in front of her was too fast. She didn’t even get her hand on it. She opened her mouth to scream again but the second man covered her mouth cruelly, bending her backwards and falling on top of her. She bit the hand as hard as she could, feeling her teeth hit bone. Warmth gushed over her chin and splattered on her neck. The man screamed. “Oh you bitch!” and grabbed his injured hand. “Shoot her, just shoot her!” he cried.

Jen twisted backwards, trying to see if the first man had a gun trained on her. She couldn’t see him in the gloom of the entryway. She kicked out with one foot, connecting with the hand of the man she had bit. He fell on the floor and screamed again. She pushed with her feet, sliding backwards on the carpet in a frantic panic, still not seeing the first man. Her door exploded inward and someone else burst through the house. Two someones. Jen whimpered and tried to push to her feet. She couldn't fight anymore. She had to get out of here.

One of the newcomers yelled for her. “Jen!”

Coleton. “I’m here! There’s two of them! They have guns!

“So do we,” a voice she didn’t recognized said. A flashlight stabbed through the dark, blinding Jen.