Free Reckless Retribution (West Warriors Book 1) by Gemma Pennington Page B

thoughts out loud to him, but I didn’t. I made my good kid excuses and went to my room to shower.
    Standing under the hot streams of water, I let my stresses melt away and watched them disappear down the drain, never to return again. If only! Soaping up my body with my favorite vanilla body wash, I couldn’t help but think back to Jamie during our session tonight. How his hands had practically been all over my body, pressing and touching me, and the way he hovered over me was something else entirely. He had the most gorgeous brown eyes when he wasn’t glaring or being indifferent, and that grin of his, which was as rare as an eclipse, had certainly won me over tonight. I think it was safe to say I had a tiny crush on him. At least he’d thawed a bit toward me now, or at least I hoped he had. Maybe Cam was right; he just needed to get to know me a little bit.
    Finished in the shower, I quickly dried and changed into my gray slacks and black ratty T-shirt, leaving my hair to dry naturally before heading into the kitchen to make dinner for myself. Dad and Rod were having takeout and were currently discussing the latest new signings to some big football team. Pouring the pasta into a pan, I lit the burner, poured hot water in, and gave it a quick stir to stop the pasta from sticking to the bottom. A heavy-handed knock came from the door, and I turned my head, intrigued to see who it was. It wasn’t the takeout guy because they’d just ordered.
    Dad walked to answer it. “Who the hell are you? Why d’ya want my daughter?”
    My head jerked at Dad’s tone of voice; he sounded irate, and it didn’t take much to get him like that. I wondered who the hell it was too.
    “Don’t narrow your eyes at me, you little punk.”
    My blood ran cold, as I had thought who it could be. Cam. He jokingly said he knew where I lived. I silently prayed it wasn’t him, but no one else I knew would come here except for Taylor, and she always told me first. I quickly ran to the door and was shocked to see Jamie there, squaring up to Dad. I didn’t trust Jamie or the look that was on his face, and I didn’t trust Dad either. What on earth was he doing here, and how did he know where I lived?
    I took a step out of the door, and Jamie glanced at me as I did so. Dad’s eyes stayed fixed on Jamie. “Go in Dad, please,” I begged. But he didn’t move.
    Like me, he too looked ratty in his old gray slacks and dirty red polo shirt. I tried to gently coax him back in the door, but he was having none of it. “Rod!” I shouted toward the house as loud as I could.
    A few seconds later, he came to the door with a beer can in his hand, and I wanted to die. We looked like utter trailer trash. Jamie’s head was turning from me to Rod then Dad and back again. God knows what he was thinking, and I was pretty sure I didn’t want to know.
    After much persuasion, Dad went back inside with Rod, and when they were inside, I turned to Jamie. “What are you doing here?” I folded my arms across my chest protectively.
    “You left your cell. Figured you would need it.” He smiled briefly.
    I looked down to see my cellphone in his hand and remembered setting it down on the desk with my purse before I left. He handed it to me and smiled again like nothing had just happened.
    “How do you know where I live?”
    “Cam told me.”
    I wondered why Cam didn’t just drop it off himself. Then again, I was glad he hadn’t.
    “You shouldn’t come here, Jamie.” I shook my head. This wouldn’t be a big deal to a normal person with normal parents, but my life wasn’t exactly normal with my psychotic father. It was a huge mistake, him coming here, and I would be in for it once I got back inside.
    Jamie just laughed it off. “I figured that from the reception I just got from your old man.” He chuckled, looking back to my front door where Dad had been. He wasn’t the least bit bothered by him, and it infuriated me.
    “It’s not funny, Jamie,” I snapped at