�Hey,� Jenai said. �I�m not going to do anything.�
�I�ll keep my eyes on her, Bri,� Jakob said putting his arm around Jenai.
�What possible trouble can I get into?� Jenai questioned.
�Underage drinking,� Brianna said.
�We had to do a lot of convincing and persuading to get you into this place,� Alexis stated. �You do anything to screw this night up I�ll beat your ass.�
�Everyone in this place has your picture and if they catch you with any kind of alcoholic beverage,� Brianna began, �we�re going to get kicked out.�
�Gotcha,� Jenai said. �I don�t drink anyway.�
�That�s good,� Jakob said. �Where are we going anyway?�
�It�s just a couple more blocks,� Alexis stated, as five men in ski masks stepped in front of them. �Who the hell are you?�
�You do as you�re told and no one will get hurt,� the one guy said.
�Why don�t you leave us go and find someone else to harass,� Jakob suggested. �Especially this one; she�s only a child.�
�Then maybe we�ll start with her first,� the same guy said and the other four laughed.
�You�re not going to touch her,� Jakob said.
�Try stopping me,� the guy said taking Jenai�s face in his hand�.
Jenai left out a scream, as she sat up and Nickolas ran into the room. �JJ.� He went over to the bed and she looked at him. �Are you all right?� She just continued looking at him. �JJ, is everything ok?�
�Uh, yeah.� She took a deep breath. �It was just a bad dream.�
�Are ya sure?� She nodded. �You scared me.�
�Sorry.�
�Is everything ok in here?� Kendra asked.
�Yeah; everything�s fine,� Nickolas replied. �She just had a bad dream.�
�Drama queen,� Kendra said walking out.
�I really hate that bitch,� Jenai said.
�Yeah I know,� Nickolas said. �But are you sure everything�s ok?� She nodded again. �Ok.� She grinned. �Do you want to talk about it?�
She shook her head and said, �Not right now.�
�Alright, but if ya do I�m here.�
�I know.� She stuffed her diary under the pillow and got off the bed. The last place she wanted to be at the moment was on a bed with Nickolas. They were already alone in a room together and she didn�t like that either. �So did you get a hold of Kevin yet?�
�Uh, yeah. He�s going to talk to the girls and pay Heath Rimbauer a special visit.� She nodded. �I guess he�s thinking about sending Dani out.�
�Is she all right?�
�Yeah; he just wants her to be safe since they came after you again.�
�Right.�
�Are you sure you�re all right? That dream seems to have you shaken up a bit. Are you sure you don�t want to talk about it?�
�It�s nothing, Nick.�
�Ok.� He got up off the bed and walked to the door.
Nickolas looked at her then went to walk out, but Jenai stopped him, �Nick, wait a second.� He looked at her again.
�What is it?�
She looked at him a moment then said, �I was there when my sister and her friend died.� Nickolas looked at her. �I can�t remember how it happened though.�
�You told me his before, JJ.�
�I did.�
�Yeah; back in L.A. at the hotel.� She just looked at him confused. �You said that Kevin told you they were raped and murdered, but you didn�t remember it.�
�Right.� She sighed. �I don�t remember telling you.�
�You did.� She nodded. �Are you ok?�
�No; far from it actually.�
�Do you want to talk about it?� She shook her head.
�I don�t even want to remember anymore.� He just looked at her. �I just remembered that we were walking someplace and these five guys in ski masks stopped us and�and the one said he was going to start with me first because I was a child.�
�Start what?�
�I don�t know. I don�t remember. I don�t want to remember.� Nickolas walked over to her.
�Is it crucial for you to remember?�
�They say it is.�
�But you have a look that says you don�t believe them.� She didn�t say anything and looked out the window. �It�s ok if you don�t, JJ.�
�They�re my family.�
�I know. They could just be protecting you.�
�Protecting me from what?�
�Finding out the truth too fast. If you�re having a hard time remembering on your own then finding out everything all at once could hurt you. I don�t think they want that to happen to you.� She shook her head.
�Dr. Littrell�s wife said it was dangerous. She�s a psychiatrist ya know. I never went to her as a patient though. She�s actually my cousin through marriage.�
�Oh.�
�I just want everything to be over with, ya know.� He nodded. �I�ve been waiting almost ten years to avenge Brianna and Alexis� deaths, but I can�t remember a thing. Even one little clue would work for me.�
�You�ll get your chance, JJ.�
�I hope so.�
�You will so don�t worry about a thing. You�ll also avenge Callen�s death as well.�
�We will, Nick. She was your friend as well as mine.� He grinned.
�I�m going to leave you to your thoughts. If you need me at all or just want to talk let me know.� She nodded and he went to walk out again.
�Nick.� He turned around and looked at her, as she walked over to him. �Thank you.�
�I didn�t do anything.�
�You�re here and I�m not alone.�
�It�s what I get paid for.� She smiled. �But I would�ve come even if I didn�t.�
�You�re an ok guy, Nick.�
�Thanks.� She hesitated a moment, not sure if she wanted to touch him, then decided to hug him anyway. He hugged her in return loving the warmth that came from her body. He started to gently rub her back and she left herself get weak in his arms. They stood like that for awhile and then Jenai made herself look at him. �What is it?�
�Nothing. I was just thinking about how wrong it is for us to be standing here like this.�
�What�s so wrong? We�re just two friends sharing a hug.�
�And you�re protecting me.�
�If you had such a big problem with it you would�ve left me go by now.�
�Maybe so, but you could always leave go first.�
�True, but I kind of like this.�
�Yeah.� Their mouths got closer to each other.
�It�s a really nice feeling; the warmth and softness of a beautiful body against your own. The way they make you forget the real reason you�re having a moment with them in the first place.�
�I know what ya mean.� He smiled and their lips got even closer. �The way they make your body go weak when they touch you and you want to curse them for it, because you don�t want to feel that way.�
�Exactly.�
�It doesn�t make any sense.�
�No it doesn�t, but then you�ll start to not care anymore.�
�Right.�
�I�m fighting the urge to kiss you right now.�
�So don�t fight it.�
�But it�s against the rules.�
�Rules were made to be broken.� His lips touched hers and she pressed her body against his. She reached over and pushed the door shut then put her arm back around Nickolas� neck.
�JJ, wait.� Nickolas stopped the kiss and looked at her.
�What is it?�
�This isn�t right.� She just looked at him. �Especially under the circumstances.�
�What else are we going to do while we�re here?�
�It�s a tempting offer, JJ.� She smiled and went to kiss him again, but he stopped her. �We should keep this professional though.�
�That�s supposed to be��
�We can always start in the morning of course.� He smiled.
�Yeah.� He kissed her and pushed her over to the bed. She pulled him down onto the bed with her just as they heard a crash come from the hall. They both looked and Nickolas got up.
�Stay here.� He took his gun from it�s holster and walked to the door, as Jenai got up. She walked over to him and he looked at her. �I said stay here.�
�You ain�t leaving me alone in here.�
�Then stay behind me.� She nodded and he slowly opened the door. �Get the flashlight.� She walked back over to the bed and picked up the flashlight and quickly walked back to Nickolas. She handed it to him and he shown the light into the hall. He walked out and looked around the hall. He stopped and sighed then looked at Jenai. �It�s just Kendra.�
�What the hell did she break?� Jenai grabbed the flashlight and stuck it on Kendra, as she cleaned up her mess. Jenai bent down and picked up a piece of glass and shook her head. �You stupid bitch.�
�JJ, that wasn�t necessary.�
�This vase is from Ancient Greece and irreplaceable.�
�I�m sorry,� Kendra said. �I bumped into the stand.�
�Yeah right,� Jenai said. �Just get the hell out of here before I do something stupid.�
�Let me clean it up at least,� Kendra volunteered.
�Just go,� Jenai snapped. �You�ve already done enough damage.� Nickolas motioned Kendra away and knelt beside Jenai. �You can go too.�
�Let me help,� Nickolas said and Jenai shook her head.
�I got this for my gram since she was into the whole Ancient Greek civilization, ya know. I was twelve and it took me, like, four years to come up with the money.�
�I don�t think she meant to break it.�
�Don�t defend her to me, Detective, because she did it on purpose.�
Nickolas sighed and said, �Back to �Detective�.�
�Yeah; back to �Detective�, because that�s what you are. You�re here to protect me so don�t forget that.� He grinned and kissed her. She went to kiss him in return, but he pulled away.
�Ok, Miss Richardson, then you don�t forget that�s the last kiss you�re getting from me.� He got up. �I�d savor that kiss if I were you.� He continued grinning and she watched him walk away.
CHAPTER 10
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