Free Agent S5: Jaydan by Joni Hahn Page A

Cyrus’ eyes. Her diamonds. No one would touch her mother’s bracelets. They may be worth a lot of money, but to her, the memories were priceless.
    Shutting her eyes, she settled into the bed covers and prepared to connect.
    Anything to stop thinking about Jaydan.
    ***
     
    The next morning, Hope walked into the kitchen without saying a word. Jaydan stood at the stove, eating a banana while pancakes cooked on the griddle. He scratched his bare chest, his eyes following her as she opened the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of orange juice.
    “Want some pancakes?”
    Shutting the refrigerator door, she walked past him. “No.”
    He gripped the spatula in a tight fist, cracking the handle. God above, if he had to suffer with her silent treatment the rest of this trip, he’d lose his mind.
    “I have a name for your redheaded hottie.” Jaydan spat the last word, the thought of Hope finding any man attractive nauseating him.
    Stopping short in the doorway, she turned to look at him. Her hair was pulled back again, her face with minimal makeup. She wore faded jeans and a plain black t-shirt, her tiny feet bare.
    Such a thing of beauty didn’t deserve what he’d done to her, didn’t deserve to spend time in paradise with a lowlife like him. He’d get Keegan Meeks away from Hawaii if it killed him, so Hope could get home and away from him for good.
    “Well?” She held out her hands, palm up.
    After all of the bullshit he’d just fed himself, the only thing he could think about was pulling her down to the floor and sinking inside of her.
    His body stirred inside his half-zipped jeans.
    “Dylan McCall.” Flipping over two pancakes, he looked up at her. “A deserter of the Marine Corp. He went missing from Afghanistan a few months ago.”
    “Let me grab my tablet.” Rushing from the room, she reappeared seconds later as he placed the pancakes on his plate beside the stove.
    Sitting on a stool at the center island, she placed the tablet on the granite surface and brought up the tracker. “I wonder what brought him here? What was important enough to make him break the law and desert his military career?”
    Lathering his pancakes with butter and syrup, Jaydan set the plate on the counter beside her. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with worry. Swallowing hard, she scooted over in the seat, away from him.
    Hell.
    The tracker beeped on the counter in front of her. “He has siblings in Kansas, a parent or grandparent in Tennessee. It looks like he’s a few miles from here, on the beach side that faces the island.”
    Jaydan came to stand beside her, one hand on the back of her chair, the other on the counter beside hers. She smelled like early morning rain, fresh and clean from a shower. He couldn’t help but inhale her hair under his nose.
    “Do you mind?” She glared up at him.
    He shook his head on a huff of laughter. “Not a bit.”
    Rather than the smile he’d been looking for, Hope glanced down at the counter, her voice low. “Stop it, Jaydan. I’m not going to act like nothing happened. I may be sorry it did, but the fact remains that it happened . Things will never be the same again.”
    Self-loathing held him in place, choking him, while an overwhelming sense of loss spurred it on. “I’ve spent my entire life getting it wrong, Hope. Why would you think I’d start getting it right now?”
    Grabbing his plate, he slammed it down on the opposite side of the island, cracking his plate and the granite beneath. He settled onto a stool and sliced into the pancakes with his fork.
    “Mitchell wants me to go in today.”
    Her gaze shot to him, her face a mask of stoicism. “How?”
    “I’m going to talk to our buddy McCall to see what he knows. If all else fails, I’ll tear my way in.” He nodded down at his plate. “I’m gearing up now.”
    Stepping down from the stool, she said, “I’ll be ready to go when you are.”
    “You’re not going.”
    Turning around to face him, she stood hands