Jackson (Mercy Ring Book 1)

River rolled onto her back, groaning as small flecks of sunlight hit her eyelids. She cracked one eye open.

What time was it? Late morning?

God, she needed about a million more hours of sleep and then a good gallon of coffee.

She was just rolling back onto her belly, about to let herself get that extra sleep, when a scent permeated her nose. Jackson’s scent.

Her eyes shot open as memories of the previous night assailed her. Of the fight. Of Jackson coming inside. And what happened after…

River jackhammered into a sitting position.

Holy Jesus, they’d had sex.

Her gaze skirted around the room, her heart clenching. He wasn’t here. In fact, it almost looked like he’d never been here. There were no clothes. No phone or wallet.

She touched the mattress beside her. Cold.

Had he left? No. Maybe he was just in the kitchen or living area.

She was just climbing out of bed when she saw it. The note on the bedside table. Slowly, she reached for it, and her eyes skimmed over his masculine writing.

Good morning, Rae. Just had to pop out and do some stuff with the guys. House is alarmed. Chat later. J xox

Okay, so he hadn’t skipped out on her without a word, but still, it was only…she reached over and grabbed her phone.

Holy crap, it was ten o’clock! How had she slept until ten-freaking-o’clock? She had work to do! Pictures to edit! Pictures that were due to a client by midday.

River rolled out of bed and had the speediest shower of her life before throwing clothes on and moving into the living area.

She went straight to her little work nook, which sat in the corner of the living room. It was where she kept her computer, her camera, and everything else she needed for her job. Basically, it was where her life sat.

She clicked into the folder that held the photos she needed to edit. They were for a little café in Riverbend that she’d traveled to last week. River had done some work for them before and got on really well with the young owner, Betty.

To be honest, she doubted Betty would be upset if she was a bit late getting the shots to her, but that wasn’t the point. She was a professional, and if she’d promised her client she’d have images to her by a certain time, then that’s when she’d get them.

She checked her phone one last time, noticing there were no messages from Jackson, before shoving it away and pushing down any and all thoughts of the man. Of last night. Of his absence this morning.

She got to work.

Over the next two hours, River kept her butt plastered to the seat, well, except for one short break to make a coffee, but only because if she hadn’t, the withdrawal would have killed her.

When the final photo was edited, she shot a quick look at the time. Five minutes until they were due. Her heart gave a little kick as she attached the zipped file to an email and sent it to the client.

Done. Take that, deadline. And she had a whole—she glanced at the time again—two minutes to spare.

She was just leaning back in her seat when her phone rang.

She lifted her cell, still smiling. “Hey, Chele.”

“Did you hit the deadline?”

River almost laughed. “You know my work schedule better than I do, don’t you?”

“Oh, I definitely know your work schedule better than you. Remember Mrs. Tabor?”

River cringed. Michele just had to remind her of that, didn’t she? “That was one time.”

She’d arranged to go to the woman’s restaurant, but on the day of the shoot, she’d been so worried about Ryker, she’d forgotten all about it. She’d rocked up to Michele’s shop, begging for food, only to have her friend remind her about the shoot she was about to miss. Thank God she felt the need to update Michele on every little thing she did with her life, including her work commitments.

“Yeah, well, I feel responsible for you now,” Michele said, the sound of what River assumed were dishes hitting countertops in the background.

She chuckled before rising to her feet and moving across to the kitchen. She dumped the half-finished, now-cold coffee in the sink before returning to her seat. “No need, my friend. I have my life well and truly under control.”

If you call sleeping in until ten and only just hitting deadlines having your life under control.

“I’ll pretend I believe you.” More clattering of dishes. “So, are you going to tell me what happened at the club last night?”

“Oh my gosh, it was crazy, Chele. Those fights…” She shook her head. She couldn’t even explain them. “They were scary. And the guys stepping inside the ring were big and strong and absolutely terrifying.”

The dishes in the background quieted. “You said Jackson was okay though?”

“Yeah, he took a few hits, but not as many as his opponent.” She almost shuddered, remembering the hits he did receive. Even one had been too many.

Michele sighed. “That’s good. I was worried.”

“You and me both.”

“Did you find out anything about Ryker?”

She straightened, the conversation from the bathroom suddenly coming back to her. Crap. She hadn’t told Jackson yet.

“Actually, I did. I went to the bathroom, and I overheard this woman, Angel, talking about him.” She frowned. “She didn’t say much, but she knows what’s going on at the club. She told Ryker, and she blames herself for getting him killed. I really need to speak to her. Maybe she’ll tell me, too.” River shook her head. “I was so close to doing just that. Then a fight broke out and everyone was running.”

Michele gasped. “A fight broke out?”

“Yeah, but I was okay. I had three big soldiers hovering around me. I was more protected there than at the grocery store.”

“So you got home okay?”

“I did.” She nibbled her lip, debating over how much to tell her best friend over the phone. “And Jackson came in.”

There was a beat of silence. “Really?”

“Mm-hmm. I cleaned his cuts.”

“And then he left?”

“And then we had sex.”

The second the words were out of her mouth, Michele screamed. River scrunched her eyes closed, a smile a mile wide tugging at her lips.

“You’re not messing with me, are you? Because if you are—”

“Nope. No messing. We kissed, then Jackson lifted me off the couch like he was Tarzan and I was Jane, took me to the bedroom, and we had the most amazing, blow-your-brains-out sex.”

River chuckled at Michele’s excited screams, not surprised at all that her news had sent her usually mild-mannered friend into hysterics. Michele had lived River’s roller coaster of emotions all those years ago. The young love. The heartbreak. The years of trying to get over the guy.

“But it’s not all good news,” River interrupted.

Michele silenced. “Why? What happened?”

“Nothing. He just…he wasn’t here when I woke up.”

Another pause, this one heavy. She could almost picture her friend frowning. “What do you mean he wasn’t there when you woke up? Where was he?”

Wasn’t that the golden question? “I’m not sure. He left a note—”

“What did the note say?”

“Something about popping out—”

“No,” Michele interrupted mid-sentence. “I know you memorized the thing. I want exact words.”

Jeez, her friend knew her way too well. “Fine. The note said, ‘Good morning, Rae. Just had to pop out and do some stuff with the guys. House is alarmed. Chat later. J xox.’”

“No mention of last night?”

Yeah, she’d noticed that too. “No.” Even just a little “last night was nice” would have set her nerves at ease.

“Maybe he’s just waiting to see you in person to tell you how amazing it was. Don’t go trying to talk yourself into last night being a bad idea. He’s changed. I can see it, and I know you can too.”

She ran her finger along the keys of her computer, little flickers of uncertainty rising up in her chest. “What happens after I figure out all this Ryker stuff, though?” Because they would figure it out eventually. “He hates this place. Will he just leave town again?”

Michele’s voice softened. “I don’t know, honey. I think that’s something you need to ask him.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t ask him if he was going to stay in town with her forever and always after they’d had sex one time. That was the definition of stage-five clinger, right?

“Maybe. All right, I should go, Chele. I’m gonna visit Mom and Dad. I’ll talk to you later.” Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening and closing. Then the rush of wind through the line. River frowned. “Are you out?”

“Yeah, I’ve been baking at home all morning. Just stepping out for some fresh air and to clear my head.”

A flicker of worry touched River’s chest. “Is everything okay? Is your uncle okay? Wait, you haven’t seen—”

“No. I haven’t seen Tim. And Uncle Ottie’s fine.”

River frowned. It kind of sounded like Michele was leaving something out. Which was crazy. The woman never hid anything from her.

“Do you want me to come over? I can bring hot coffee and candy. Or we could just skip straight to the wine?” Was there such a thing as too early?

Michele chuckled, but there wasn’t a lot of humor in it. “You’re an amazing friend, River. Thank you. But no, that’s okay. I’m just going to walk Pokey and chill out today.”

River smiled. Pokey was her Great Dane. The dog was almost bigger than her. “You sure?” she asked.

“Yes. I’ll call you later.”

River sighed as she hung up.

Her friend had been through so much in her life. Losing her parents at a young age would have been heartbreaking. Then this past year, with her uncle being diagnosed as high risk for a heart attack, dating that jerk Tim, and now all this stuff with Ryker… He wasn’t her brother, but with Michele being so close to River, it was inevitable that she’d grown close to Ryker, too.

Turning in her seat, River aimed her camera at the small peace lily that sat in a pot beside the television. Her house was full of plants. She figured if she had to be inside, she might as well bring the outdoors in with her.

She took a few photos and had just zoomed in when she stilled, frowning.

Was that a light in the plant?

Slowly, she placed the camera down, moving closer. She’d barely crossed half the room when she stopped, lips slipping open, and her skin chilling.

Quickly, she moved three steps back again, hips colliding with the desk. Turning, she snapped up her phone before walking—running—outside to call Jackson.