Chapter 6

The sound of the safety being clicked off a gun woke him in a second and in another he was up but then it was total confusion, his brain struggling to comprehend the view of the harbour with the strange room around him until his hand pressed into the warm sheets and it all came flooding back. Tess, the Bratva, the Chief, the cat and the purple hair. The feeling of her in his arms. But she wasn't in them now and another click had him quickly but quietly scrambling off the bed, grabbing her sweats and his own gun before he made his way down the stairs, noticing three things as he did.

First, the pants were too tight.

Second, they were on backwards.

And third, they were his.

From when he was still in the Rangers. He knew because when he looked down he could just make out the faded ARMY letters. It was the pair he'd given Tess the first time he'd gone to check on her.

"They won't fit great, but they'll do the trick."

He shouldered open the door to Tess's hospital room, rather one of the doctors rooms that he'd demanded they give her rather than putting her out in the open with the rest of the soldiers in the Med Bay, gripping the edges of the dinner tray, Mouse's small radio balanced precariously on top and a set of his clothes tucked tightly under one arm. Being the kind and humble man Jay was he'd run out to get her some new clothes, though in truth he would have done anything to get her out of that flimsy hospital gown. He didn't know why someone hadn't already, though he supposed no one else had been able to get close enough to try. He gazed at the girl in front him, how a spark lit in her eyes as he walked in and how the bruises on her face were starting to fade, though she had a while yet before she'd be fully healed. What she'd gone through... he didn't know the details, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to. Tess watched him kick the door shut, eyeing the tray as he slid it on the beside table and staring distastefully at the sad bowl of broth atop it. He'd stopped by the kitchens on his way back, knowing she would need something more than the little she'd had. Not that the bland liquid was filling.

She didn't seem to register what he'd said, still frowning as he passed over the clothes, and he had to smother a smirk. Twenty minutes ago she'd been laughing at him and now he had the feeling she wanted to smack him. "Hey, I told you. You don't eat, I don't eat." He told her, unable to hide the amusement in his voice.

"Then where's your bowl?" She countered, unimpressed.

"Oh, I'm not eating the broth. I'm eating this." He grabbed the dinner roll and waved in the air before taking a bite. "Can't have you wasting it." He said as he chewed, grinning when she made a face, though after a minute he had to fight to keep his expression neutral as the texture of the bun settled in. Now he could see why she'd thrown up the first one. The roll was drier than the desert outside; it had probably been like a hockey puck in her stomach.

She tried, and failed, to hide a knowing smile as she picked up the sweatpants but it faded as she shook them out and laid them over her legs.

"Want some help?" Jay asked softly. They both knew she needed it but if she wanted to do it herself he wouldn't push- he wasn't going to make her do anything she wasn't comfortable with.

Tess took a moment to look between him and the pants before she nodded, and he was surprised by the wave of relief that washed over him when she did. He grabbed the clothes and crouched down as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, doing his best to avoid staring too long at the burns and bruises that marred her skin. A deep rage filled him as he remembered the way one of her captors had gripped her by the hair when she'd tried to flee, how her head had whipped to the side when he'd smacked her and how she'd trembled in his arms as he carried her back to the truck because she was too weak to walk. It made him sick but Jay comforted himself by saying those men would pay. He would see to it that they did. He slid the socks on her feet and spread the waistband of the sweats wide open, gently pulling the material over her ankles until her feet poked out and then he carefully slid them up to her thighs, once again forcing himself to calm and focus on the present when he saw the burns on her thighs. She was safe now and that was all that mattered. He took one of her hands and slowly pulled her with him as he stood, the other hovering at her side as she steadied herself against his shoulder and tugged them the rest of the way up, and as she did he realized for the first time just how tall he was in comparison to her; the top of her head only reached his chin. It was probably wrong, definitely wrong, but he couldn't help thinking that if she tilted her head up just a touch she'd be the perfect height for him to kiss her.

For a moment they stared at each other and then his eyes flicked to the shirt on the bed then back to hers in question. "No peeking." Tess's tone was stern but her eyes were light and her lips quirked slightly when he made a face.

He took a quiet breath and stepped closer, keeping his gaze locked on the wall behind her as he slipped his jacket off her shoulders and moved it to the side, trying to give her as much room as possible as he slid his hands around her back and began to untie the laces of the gown. It was obvious she was nervous but she didn't tremble or flinch away from him, just used an arm to cover herself as he traded it for the shirt, and though he could tell she tried to keep her small gasps of pain to herself as they slipped it on Jay heard every one. They put the hoodie on too and when they were finished he stepped back to give her space, unable to stop from staring as he did. Though the clothes were baggy on her small frame they didn't look half bad, not to mention she looked more settled in them which brought a strange feeling to his stomach, and he found his eyes lingering on the black ARMY letters printed on her thigh.

"What?" She asked, looking down at her new apparel for any stains or holes.

"You're a real soldier now." He said softly, and though it could have meant because of the word they both knew he meant it for an entirely different reason.

Tess glanced down at the letters and then back at him, with bright eyes and a soft smile, and something in his heart gave that little tug again. "Thank you." She said warmly, but he just shrugged. "I mean it." He could see how genuine she was. Could feel it. She sounded so different from the girl he'd carried up the mountain, or the one who'd yelled obscenities at Katherine; he'd never known anyone who could be sweet yet so ferocious. "Thank you." She said again, locking her eyes with his until he dipped his chin.

Jay realized in that moment that he would do whatever it took to save her, and though he knew he would see that promise through he also knew he didn't have to.

She wasn't a girl who could be broken.

"You haven't imposed on my evening enough?"

Her voice brought him out of his head, the lightness of her tone instantly lowering his weapon while the easy laughter that followed had him peeking around the stairs to peer through the open doorway. Tess was standing in the little portico, his shirt falling just past her thighs and her gun held loosely at her side as she spoke to the man before her, two others standing another twenty yards back. Bodyguards. He slipped closer, sharing a look with Aelin as she sauntered inside, watching her jump onto the island and sprawl out in a moonbeam. The cat's nonchalance helped to soothe some of his worry and he slid closer, keeping to the wall to stay out of sight as the two continued to speak.

"Heard you got dragged into some trouble."

"Not how I imagined spending my evening." She replied, taking something from him before she leaned against one of the beams.

"I also heard the police got involved. A certain unit." The man drawled, looking her over as Jay tensed; he must be the contact she'd gone to meet tonight. It shouldn't surprise him that people knew about him, in truth it didn't, but it was still strange to hear. "Apparently Ivan is in custody and Igor is getting fished out of the port."

"Cops shot him." Tess shrugged in response, unbothered, and he realized whoever this guy was he wasn't someone she considered a threat. Which meant he didn't have to either. He quietly put his gun down on the sideboard and took another step, stopping just behind the door.

"I'll pass that along to Alexei."

"Make sure he also knows how this started." Her position didn't change but there was a tangible aura of warning around her now, one that urged caution. "And that it's only because I'm still enjoying my post-retirement glow that I'm not looking for retaliation."

Retaliation?

Since when was that a thing she believed in? His gut began to tighten, that feeling he'd gotten earlier when he'd caught a glimpse of the thing that wasn't Tess growing. Just what had she gone through the last five years?

"I like when you get like this." The man had the opposite reaction to her anger and grinned, and in a second that ice melted.

Not just a contact, but a friend too.

Curious he leaned closer to get a better look but he must've gone too far because the mans gaze suddenly shot to him. Even with the distance still between them Jay could see the interest that flared in his eyes and stepped out of the shadows to meet it, positioning himself just behind Tess, who had also noticed her friend's attention and was giving off that warning again. Much stronger this time.

"I'm glad you're alright." He said to her, his smile briefly fading as he gave a nod and stepped away, but like he couldn't help it his eyes flicked back and this time they ignored her to take a moment for each other. A moment where Jay let him see, this man who knew parts of her that he didn't, who's very presence meant he cared for her, that he cared too. That he may have been absent from her life for a while but he was back now and she would have no supporter more loyal, no protector more fierce than him. The man just stared, his smile growing before he smothered it and looked back at Tess.

"I'm also really glad I called you out tonight." He turned and walked away with a wave, flipping his middle finger the same time she did.

Jay could imagine the face she was making as she watched him go but it was gone by the time she turned and slipped inside, quietly shutting the door behind her. There was soft concern on her face, uncertain how much he'd heard and what his reaction was, but she held his gaze as she put her gun on the sideboard next to his and then she stepped into him, placing her head on his chest as he pulled her into him. Within seconds he could feel the tension leaving her body, even more so as he ran a hand down her hair, and it helped to ease his own unrest.

"You're wearing my sweatpants.' He heard her whisper after a moment.

"They're mine." He replied with a kiss to her temple, and remembering that helped to settle him further; things were different now, she was different, but that part of her hadn't changed. Had she been through more? Yes. More than he could even begin to imagine right now? Yes. But she was still Tess. Sweet, fiery, vulnerable Tess.

She pressed her own kiss to his chest and he smiled, holding her close as he lifted her up and walked them back upstairs. He kept her on top of him as he lay on the bed, tugging the blanket around her shoulders the way she liked, but would shrug off twenty minutes after falling asleep, and using one hand to rub her back while the other ran through her hair. Slowly her breath deepened and began to slow and then she nuzzled closer, her fingertips pressing into his chest as she let out a small, familiar hum of happiness.

"I came home."

She mumbled it so softly he didn't think she realized she'd spoken but he heard, and his heart clenched so tightly it sent another crack through him. "Thank you." Jay whispered, tightening his grip and tilting his head up so she wouldn't see the tears that started to slide down his cheeks. "I love you for it. I love you. I'll always love you."