Savor the Danger
Page 84

Without realizing it, she sat forward again. Surely he didn’t mean finishing school. “You’re kidding, right?”
“She wanted to go!” Color climbed up his neck. “Or at least, I thought she did.”
Fascinated, Alani took in the signs of his discomfort. Why would all of this bother him so much, and if it did bother him, then why had he done it? “Exclusive schools like that cost a fortune.”
He snorted. “Don’t I know it.”
But then, if it was so expensive… It occurred to her that she really knew little about Jackson’s finances. “You can afford it?”
“It’s absurd what I make working with Dare and Trace. I thought I had a good job in construction, but this?” He shook his head. “I have a house, land, decent transportation. What else am I going to spend it on?”
Alani couldn’t take it in. Absently, buying herself a little time to think, she reached back again to stroke the cat. “So, you rescued this young lady, and then…what? You felt obligated to help her get her life together? I can understand that.” Sort of. But financing college stretched the definition of generous, especially a costly, exclusive college, no matter how lucrative his work with her brother.
But beyond the monetary consideration, such generosity suggested a more involved association with Arizona.
“She’s a good kid,” Jackson said, but he looked wary.
“Mmm-hmm.” Something didn’t add up. “So you’re paying for her to have a specialized education, with the end goal being…?”
“You don’t have to make it sound so messed up.”
“Did I?” Eyebrows lifting at his abrupt tone, she pondered his mood. Just how much did Arizona mean to him, and in what way? “Is she pretty?”
“Very.” He paused, shook his head. “No, that doesn’t cover it. Arizona is more than pretty. She’s drop-dead gorgeous. An exotic bombshell. Beautiful face and built like a…” He shifted, took a breath and amended, “She’s built nice.”
Back stiffening, Alani stared at him. Even though she felt for Arizona, she couldn’t help being peeved by his description. “Do tell.”
“Now don’t sound like that. She’s a kid.”
“You said she’s twenty.”
Cautious, he stole a quick look at her. “Right.”
Her stare didn’t change. “I’m twenty-four.”
“I know how old you are, darlin’.” He flexed his fingers as if trying to ease tension. “It might only be four years, but believe me, there’s plenty of difference in Arizona at twenty, and you at twenty-four.”
Something kept him on edge. “Really?”
“A world of difference.”
If he wasn’t concerned with discussing Arizona’s physical appeal, then why did he still look so…suspicious? “What kind of differences?”
“You’re sophisticated. And mature.” Something dark, something wolfish, filled his gaze. “And you make me insane with lust.”
And Arizona…didn’t? Biting her lip, Alani thought about it, knew she shouldn’t press, but she couldn’t hold back. “So you and Arizona never…?”
“No!” He steered down the long drive to Dare’s property. “God, no. Nothing like that.”
Did he have to make the idea sound so far-fetched? “If she’s that attractive—”
“You have to understand, honey. When I first met Arizona, she was so injured, in so many ways, that no way in hell could I think things like that. She didn’t want to trust me, but she didn’t have—doesn’t have—anyone else.”
Hearing him say it broke Alani’s heart. From what Jackson had told her, Arizona had been held captive a lot longer than she had. And after Dare rescued her, she’d been cocooned in love, surrounded by understanding. Dare and Trace had seen to that.
But Arizona had no one. “That’s indescribably sad.”
Jolted, he glanced at her and nodded. “Yeah.”
Did he expect her to react badly? To make broad assumptions despite what he’d just told her?
Or was he just that uncertain about doing such a wonderful thing for someone in need?
At her continued contemplation, Jackson chewed the side of his mouth. “The same people who kidnapped Arizona also killed her folks. But even before that, she’d had a shit life.”
Guilt had Alani sinking a little in her seat. She’d spent very little time with traffickers, and still she had nightmares.
How must it be for Arizona? “I’m glad she has you then.” And maybe, if things worked out, she’d get to meet Arizona, too. She would love the opportunity to talk with her.
Jackson didn’t seem to hear her. “She was so damned terrified and aggressive and suspicious, even after I told her the bastards were gone. She didn’t want to share her name, or any part of her past.”
Leave it to Jackson to show so much patience, to win her over. “I’m glad you were able to talk her around.”
He snorted. “Not likely. We decided she needed a new name anyway. You know, for a new life. And since I found her in Arizona…” He shrugged.
Dear God. Her thoughts swam. “You named her?”
“Got her false IDs, the whole shebang. To the world, she’s officially Arizona Storm.”
Because he’d found her in a storm? That would border on laughable if not for the tragic circumstances. “She lives by an alias?”