The Rebel Returns. Michelle Douglas
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JAX KNOCKED ON the apartment door.
When there was no sound, he thought of trying the doorknob. But considering he might have mixed up Cleo’s unit number, he wasn’t going to risk it.
He rapped his knuckles again. Louder this time.
An adjacent door swung open and a young woman with straight brown hair, no makeup and stains on her blue shirt stuck her head out. She eyed him up suspiciously.
Maybe she’d know Cleo’s whereabouts. He stepped toward her when she held up a cell phone. “Don’t come any closer or I’ll call the police.”
“Hey, I don’t want any trouble. I’m just here to see Cleo. This is her apartment, isn’t it?”
“Don’t play innocent with me. Cleo told me you’d be showing up and causing trouble. She’s not interested in you. Time to move on, buddy.”
Cleo told her neighbor about him? And what exactly had she been saying? It sure sounded bad.
Turning away from her kiss had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. And if given another chance, he didn’t know if he was strong enough to resist her.
Just then the door to Cleo’s apartment opened. “Jax, how’d you get here?”
For the first time since he found her missing, he breathed easy. His initial instinct was to pull her into his arms, but one glimpse of the wounded look in her eyes had him frozen in place. It was for the best, even if it didn’t feel like it at the moment.
Giving in to his desires was what kept getting them into trouble. First they kissed and she took off only to run into ape man. And then there was last night’s kiss, where she got upset and left without a word. This time he wasn’t giving her another reason to walk away.
“Do you want me to get the police?” The young woman looked far too eager to place the call.
Jax rolled his eyes. “Please tell her that I’m not here to hurt you.”
Cleo smiled as though she was enjoying this. He didn’t find it the least bit amusing. He hadn’t thought about anything besides her safety on the ride here. A tension headache spanned his forehead. He didn’t know what he’d have done if she hadn’t been here.
“It’s okay, Robyn.” Cleo smiled at her neighbor. “Jax is an old friend of mine. He’s been looking after me since my accident.”
The woman’s whole demeanor changed and a smile pulled at her lips. “No wonder you didn’t come home last night. I wouldn’t have, either.”
Cleo sighed. “Robyn, it’s not what you’re thinking.”
“Then you must be blind, girl. Otherwise how could you pass him up?” Robyn flashed Jax a bright smile before backing into her apartment and closing the door.
Color flooded Cleo’s cheeks, giving them a rosy glow. “I’m sorry about her. Robyn means well but is a bit misguided at times.”
He nodded, understanding why Cleo wasn’t eager to hook up with him the way her neighbor thought she should be. And that reason was named Charlie. Jax’s jaw tightened. He at least wanted to get a look at this guy.
Cleo adjusted her crutches. “How did you get here?”
“I didn’t have much choice. I took a taxi.”
“Oh. Sorry. I was only borrowing the SUV. I would have brought it back.”
From the looks of her in a rumpled T-shirt and mussed-up hair, he’d just awoken her from a nap. “I take it you weren’t in any hurry to come back.” He pressed his hands to his waist and frowned at Cleo. “Mind telling me what’s so urgent that you had to go and run off without saying anything to me?”
“Charlie needed me. And...and you were sleeping. I didn’t want to bother you since I figured you’d try to stop me.”
“You’re right. I would have.” Jax’s body tensed. “This Charlie, is he that important to you?”
She nodded. Just then there was a meow and Jax looked down to find a tabby cat rubbing against Cleo’s ankles before stepping outside.
“Charlie, come back.”
That was Charlie? Her cat? The knot in his gut eased. Then in spite of himself, he laughed. He’d been jealous over a cat.
“Don’t just stand there laughing,” she said. “Grab him.”
Charlie appeared to be enjoying himself, exploring the great outdoors. When Jax set off in pursuit, the cat picked up speed.
“Here kitty, kitty.”
“His name is Charlie.”
Of course it was. He felt like such an idiot for getting bent out of shape over a cat. Not that he had any right to be jealous of anyone. On second thought, it would have been better if Charlie had turned out to be her boyfriend. He could put her safety in another man’s hands and walk away. At least he wanted to believe he could have turned his back and forgotten her.
The cat stopped to investigate a potted plant and Jax made his move, wrapping his hands around the cat’s rib cage.
“Be careful,” Cleo called out. “Support his back feet.”
Jax adjusted his hold and the cat seemed to relax. That was good because he didn’t know one thing about felines. His family didn’t have cats or dogs. Not even goldfish. His father thought that they were a waste of money. That was what he’d loved about the Sinclair’s ranch. They had lots of animals, from cats to steers. He’d always dreamed of living on a spread like theirs. So when the senior Sinclair took him under his wing and showed him how to work on a ranch, he was thrilled. He’d done something he enjoyed while making some pocket money.
“What are you smiling about?” Cleo eyed him. “Did Charlie find your ticklish spot?”
“Not hardly.” He wasn’t ticklish.
Cleo sighed. “Well, bring him inside and be gentle. He just had surgery.”
Jax stared down at the furball. It didn’t look as if anything was wrong with him. But Jax would take Cleo’s word for it and as carefully as possible placed the cat on the couch.
“Enough about the cat. What I want to know is why you took off. Don’t you realize that the thug who hurt you is still out there?”
“I was careful.”
“I talked to the police on my way here.” He waited to see if the reminder of their situation would gain her attention.
She didn’t raise her head to look at him. Instead she fussed over the cat. “What did they say? Has he been arrested?”
“No. And he was spotted in this area last night, but he eluded the police in the darkness.”
She glanced up. The light in her eyes dimmed. “Oh. I didn’t think—”
“Exactly. Now let’s get you out of here.”
He strode over and reached for the door.
“Wait. I’m not ready. I want to grab a few things. And you’ll need to load the litter box in the car while I put Charlie in his carrier.”
“I don’t think so. I’m not hauling some howling cat around in the car.”
Cleo frowned at him. “Charlie doesn’t howl. He’s not a dog.”
“Howl. Meow. It’s all the same.” He wasn’t a cat person.
“And don’t forget to scoop the litter before loading it.”
“No way. I’m not hauling around a litter box and a cat.”
* * *
A few minutes later, Cleo settled on the passenger seat of the