Little Hand Grenade

Now that my work at the jail was finished, I contacted the agent I told the police chief about and gave him all the details. Jenna's confession on tape pretty much convicts her for attempted murder on Alex and Jack, plus other counts I'm sure they'll tack on. I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that her lawyer is reaming her up and down right now. From here, the FBI would take care of the rest. It's not every day they discover a ring of girls trying to murder their ex-boyfriend.

I returned to the hotel first before going to the hospital. Changing my clothes and washing my face was mandatory. I didn't want Alex to see me all dressed up. Especially if he thought I was at the prison to take care of anything other than putting Jenna in jail. For some reason, I was sure he wouldn't be too happy about it. He seemed, to me at least, to have lingering feelings for all of these girls. Whether that irked me or not, I couldn't say. I put on a plain black shirt and the only pair jeans he helped me pick out, and headed to the hospital.

"Man, it's about time you showed your face around here!" Jack exclaimed when he saw me in the doorway. He tapped his jugular vein and lifted his eyebrows suggestively. "I have a girl inside of me. I think I like it."

"It'll remind you of who you should call if you ever need anything, whether it's blood or someone to fix a leak in your roof," I said, unable to stop smiling. He hugged me as tightly as his tubes, bandages and strength would allow. "I'm so glad you're alive." Alex had been sitting in a chair at Jack's bedside, watching my every move since I stepped into the room. We need to talk.

I planned on spending the rest of the day with Jack, but a nurse kicked Alex and I out of the room so she could perform a few checks on him and get his release papers taken care of. This hospital had a lot of traffic, and a gunshot wound was the least of their worries, so he would be released tomorrow morning. Upon hearing the good news, Alex and I went back to the hotel to meet up with Zack and Rian.

Instead of joining them in their discussion of what our afternoon plans should be, I lied on Alex's messed up bed and listened with my eyes closed. I already swept the room, and warned them to either close the curtains or stay away from the window. I still couldn't help but feel that this happened because I hadn't been diligent enough in my duties. Now that the tour was cancelled, the press was all over their PR representatives trying to get interviews scheduled, but nothing would happen until Jack was healed enough to travel. In other words, they were booked for the next month solid. On top of that, another tour with Mayday Parade, Pierce the Veil and You Me At Six was scheduled to begin in four months. That meant quite a few things for me.

I either dozed off for a few minutes or simply zoned out, because the next thing I knew, someone sat down next to me on the mattress and it was dead silent in the room. Process of elimination said it was Alex, since I was still his body guard.

"I'm assuming you got my text and you know what it's about because you're being sulky," he said bluntly, and I cracked open one eyelid to peer at him. I closed it again and sniffed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I want to know why you kissed me back. I thought you hated me."

"Why would I hate you?" I asked, opening my eyes to really look at him for the first time today.

"You were, at best, indifferent toward me. Why did you kiss me back?" he demanded, taking a more firm sitting position on the bed. When I didn't answer, he added, "It's cruel to lead a guy on like that."

"No, it would be cruel to date you and leave you when I finally find Ty," I corrected. I held up the ring on my necklace. "I'm still engaged to Captain Adams, Alex. Take what you can get from me, and don't bitch about it." I wish I could have taken those words back, but like they say, not even the swiftest horse can chase them down. I wish he would have yelled at me, or ignored me, or did anything but what he did next.

"And if you find out he's gone? What then?" he asked, hurt in his eyes.

"I don't know," I lied. I would drop everything and go find you. "Why are you being so reasonable? Can't you be mad or something?"

"It's a good reason, and I do have a history that you are more than aware of," he said, and that dreaded, painfully bright ray of hope shone through whatever small emotional aches and pains I caused and washed them away. It was like looking in a mirror. I didn't want to be the Captain Adams in his life. I didn't want him to turn out like me at all. "I know that this sounds dumb and immature, but it feels like if I let you go or burn any bridges with you, I'll regret it for a really long time."

"You'll forget about me, don't worry about it," I reassured him, and he laughed.

"How many body guards do you think I've had? I'm never going to forget about you, Vanessa, I've had too many first experiences that involve you, so you may as well stick around," he said, smiling his smile with that disbelief and amusement that was usually reserved for me. "The more you evade me the more I'll like you. It's my nature."

"You can't handle me," I said immediately, and sat up so we were equal in height. "I've killed people before."

"You can't shock me anymore," he said, holding up his hands. "How many?"

"Fifty-four."

"Well, you've given out orders and you start battles, that's a pretty small number," he argued, folding his arms.

"Personally, with my own gun, I've killed fifty-four people," I corrected. "And I don't have a drop of guilt about it. Deaths that resulted because of my decisions? A thousand, probably." Other than a lifted eyebrow, he showed no shock. Well, at least he wasn't such a baby anymore. "Are you testing me?" Suspicion tingled throughout my body, and I watched him warily like I would a rattlesnake. I felt like I could shout at him for hours. My emotions were so riled up I could hardly tell the difference between them anymore: anger, fear, irritation, affection, defensiveness, guilt and a gut-wrenching desire to let him win and kiss him again.

The more I thought about kissing, the harder it became to ignore the tiny voice that said, "Fuck it, just do it." His silence and his eyes on my facial expressions made me nervous on top of everything else. The anger fell away, the irritation, the defensive walls and left me with fear, guilt, and nervousness. The affection would always be there, I realized. He was too innocent, too kind and too easy to like.

"Are you finished arguing with me?" he asked quietly, and brushed a stray hair back into place. The closeness of his hand made my face hot. He knew I liked him; his mood radar was incredible. He wanted to hear it.

"How about," I began, taking his hand and moving it back to his lap. "We take it easy."

"Okay," he said, but it was more of a prompt for me to continue than an actual agreement. He fiddled with my fingers and listened.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I want to see how loyal you can be," I explained, watching him for a reaction. "Plus, it'll give you a chance to win me over. If you can't convince me to stay here with you, I'm going to leave and rejoin the Army." There. An ultimatum. Usually this is a very bad route for women to take, but considering Alex's commitment issue, this should help me decide if I mean something to him or if he just wants to get laid. Right now, the odds were in the Army's favor.

"You would actually choose me over the Army?" he asked incredulously, and I laughed.

"Well," I said, smiling at him. "Here's the deal--" I lost my train of thought when he interrupted me with his mouth.

* * *

"Wadley! Phone call!" The guards here were so rude. I tried to flatten my hair and my blue uniform, but nothing could make this awful jail attire look better.

"Who is it?" I asked, and the overweight woman who I always pretended had a moustache shrugged. "Ugh. Of course. You couldn't even ask for a name." I tossed my hair over my shoulder and picked up the germ-infested phone receiver. "Hello?"

"Jenna, what the fuck?!" The blood drained out of my face. "There are FBI agents at my mom's house asking where I am! Kailey would never rat me out, but you were always jealous of me. What did you do?!"

"I lied to the stupid Army chick that Alex is fucking, big deal," I scoffed, and rolled my eyes. "I said you were in London."

"Alex has a new toy?" Carissa asked in her condescending tone. "Army chick? The one who hovers around him and follows him like a puppy? Ha! How cute!" She was such a bitch. The only reason I agreed to this was because I was told I would get away with it.

"He gave her a ring," I said, hoping to get a rise out of her. "She wears it on her necklace with her dog tags to avoid the media." Dead silence. I smiled broadly and it nearly split my face in half when she hung up her end furiously. The sergeant-general-private-whatever-the-fuck-she-was Vanessa O'Connor had no idea what she was getting herself into.