“Doesn’t matter.” Her big green eyes tightened with pain as she adjusted position.
His earlier flash of anger returned, and he didn’t even bother to restrain his frustration. “What do you mean it doesn’t matter? Pepper, you’ve been MIA for the last two months, and you finally show up looking like someone’s taken a two-by-four to you. Bullshit on it not mattering. I want to know exactly what happened. And don’t think that Parker is gonna—”
“Don’t.” The word shot out like a bullet. “You can’t tell him. Or my mom and dad.”
She pulled back, and his hand fell away. From the way she was moving, the bruises on her face weren’t the only ones she carried.
His blood was boiling.
She’d been like an irritating little sister, tagging along uninvited behind him and Parker, at least when they were in high school. Later, when he and Parker had signed up for the army and their ventures home had become far less frequent, her presence in his life had changed. She was no longer annoying, no longer constantly trying to get into their things.
Her wild forays into his life had brought a different sensation to his gut. Something that made him uncomfortable, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
But in spite of the discomfort, no way in hell was she going to get away with not telling him the details. He’d take care of her whether she wanted him to or not.
He sat back on his heels and stared at her. She stared back, a storm of defiance rising in her expression.
“How do you think you’re going to keep this from them?” Jack demanded. He gestured toward her bruises. “Parker’s gonna take one look at you and be ready to go on a manhunt.”
“I’m not going home. Not until this is gone.” She fluttered her hand in front of her face. “And I can put on makeup.”
She was waking up, becoming more alert with every passing moment. Jack admired how swiftly she’d gone from sound asleep to ready to do mental battle with him. And that was in spite of the fact that he’d recently crushed her under him on the couch.
The thought disturbed him. Made him feel guilty, which he shoved aside to concentrate on the current issue. “No amount of makeup is going to hide anything right, and you can’t sleep here in the DreamMakers office without getting caught.”
“I’m going to find a hotel tomorrow. It was too late tonight, and I was worried that if I tried to check in…”
She broke eye contact with him, and for a second Jack wondered if this was even more serious than it looked at first. “Pepper. I want to know, and I want to know now. Is there some bastard out there who needs killing? Or did you already do it?”
She jerked in surprise, turning back to face him. “Oh, no. It was nothing like that.” She made a face, adjusting position as she ran a cautious hand over her ribs. “I can honestly say that it was ninety percent an accident.”
That still meant ten percent someone else was to blame for her being hurt, and Jack’s protective instincts kicked into overdrive. He knew better than to follow that line of thought with her, though. Pushing the issue at this moment wouldn’t get him anywhere.
She’d been smart enough to realize if she had attempted to check into a hotel someone would’ve asked some tough questions. Now it was Jack doing the asking, and he wasn’t going to allow her to say no.
But first he’d need to get her to a place where he had the upper hand. He stood, towering over her, thinking it through. The only solution he could think of that didn’t involve Parker or her parents was pretty simple.
“Get your stuff. You’re coming home with me.”
Her jaw dropped slightly in disbelief. “Excuse me?”
He tugged the blanket from her hands and tossed it back onto the couch. “You heard me. Grab your things and let’s go. Unless you want to be here when the office opens in the morning. That would be a great way to stop Parker from finding out you’re back in town and that someone’s been using you as a punching bag.”
She shot to her feet, a frown building in her expression, but the instant she got vertical she swayed violently. Once again Jack reached out to steady her, catching hold of her arms. She cringed as he made contact, and he let go quickly, swearing as he jerked the sleeve of her T-shirt over her shoulder.
A massive blue bruise covered her arm from elbow to shoulder. “Jesus, Pepper.”
“If you don’t mind, I don’t need to be manhandled.”
“No, but it looks like you need a keeper. Get your things and don’t argue.”
She shrugged out of his grasp, stomping past him and down the hallway to where her bag sat. He followed hard on her heels, clenching his teeth to stop from saying anything more.
As she slipped on her sneakers, Jack glanced around to make sure all signs of her presence were gone. At some point, he’d tell his best friend what he’d done, but this wasn’t the moment.