Free Hitman's Revenge (a Forbidden Bad Boy Romance) by Emilia Beaumont Page B

didn’t see what the big deal was until the actual storm hit land and threatened their house. The wind was howling, and the rain was beating on the windows so hard that she couldn’t sleep. Not to mention she was absolutely terrified. Hazel had gone to her dad’s room, but his bed was empty, again. He was out, she didn’t like to ask where, but she knew it was something bad.
    Walking into Jack’s room, she found him lying on his back, looking up at the ceiling. “J-Jack?”
    He looked over in surprise, pushing up on one elbow with some concern on his face. “Hazel? What are you doing awake?”
    “I can’t sleep,” she replied, biting her lip. “The storm.”
    He nodded and moved over, patting the space next to him on the bed. “Come on, you can hang with me until it goes away.”
    She wasted no time hurrying to the bed, climbing up onto the comforter and lying beside Jack as the house rattled again.
    “Where’s Dad? I’m scared.” She had never been through anything like this before, and she desperately wanted it gone. “A-are we going to die?”
    “Of course not! Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. Your dad left me in charge,” Jack said reassuringly, reaching out to pull her close to him. She snuggled up to his chest, immediately comforted by having Jack so near. He wouldn’t let anything hurt her. “We are going to be just fine. It will blow over, and tomorrow we can go fishing.”
    Hazel smiled at the thought, thinking of the promise that Jack had made to her. He had been so busy lately with her daddy that she had begged him to take her fishing, and finally he agreed. Tomorrow they would go out to the bayou, if they survived the storm. “Jack?”
    “Yeah?”
    “What happened to your parents?” Jack sat up so abruptly that Hazel fell against his pillow, smelling the shampoo that he used. Hazel scrambled up then and laid a hand on his arm. “I-I’m sorry Jack. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”
    He blew out a breath and crossed his arms over his knees, drawing them against his chest. Her heart ached for him; why did she have to be so stupid as to say that?
    “No, Hazel, you didn’t make me mad. You just caught me off-guard, that’s all.”
    “You don’t have to tell me,” she replied, not wanting to upset him any further. He had a sad look on his face that made her sad, as well. She didn’t like when Jack was upset; it made her feel incompetent that she couldn’t help. She felt so tiny in the world.
    Jack turned towards her, his eyes shining in the soft light of the lamp in his bedroom. “It’s okay Hazel. T-they were killed. Murdered… That’s how I ended up here, with you and Nixon.”
    Hazel felt the sudden rush of tears at the sad look in Jack’s eyes, wishing she had never asked. Killed? She would be so upset if something happened to her daddy or to Jack. She knew she’d had a mom, but she’d died when Hazel was so young that she didn’t really remember her. Moving under his arm, she pressed her cheek up against his chest.
    “We can be your family now, Jack. Nobody would ever try to kill Daddy. He would hurt them real bad.”
    Jack laughed then and gave her a hug, making Hazel smile once again. She vowed to herself she wouldn’t ever ask again about Jack’s parents if it made him so miserable. She couldn’t stand the sorrow in his eyes. “I hope so, Hazel. I really hope so.”
    “Can you tell me a story, Jack?” she asked softly, hoping a change of subject would make the Jack she loved—the happy one—reappear. Plus he was such a good storyteller, and she knew they both needed the distraction from the storm that was brewing outside the windows.
    “Let’s see,” Jack started brightening up, scratching his chin. “Do you want princesses and dragons or evil stepmothers?”
    “Princesses and dragons, please,” she giggled. He knew full well what kind of story she liked. He tightened his arm around her and started in his soothing voice; a calm came over Hazel though