Rescuing Jenna - Anna Blakely Page 0,93
long to go after the thing you wanted, you may end up losing it, forever.
Chapter 19
Adrian was losing his buzz. That magical, fuzzy, floaty sensation that had kept him from thinking too much. From feeling too much.
That simply won’t do.
Not bothering to peel himself from the lawn chair that had been his go-to spot for the past six weeks, Adrian reached down next to where he sat and grabbed the empty bottle nestled snuggly in the sand.
Through the tinted lenses of his aviator sunglasses, he stared out into the rolling sea as he held the bottle into the air and waggled it back and forth.
His signal to the private bartender that came with this private section of the beach, which came with the middle-of-nowhere room he’d rented on a week-by-week basis.
It was the perfect place to hide away. From people. From his non-existent future. From himself.
At night, though…damn if the nights didn’t get to him. No matter how many beers he consumed or how many times he told himself to forget her, the fiery redhead he’d fallen in love with still haunted his dreams.
But at least she was safe.
From his past. From his enemies. And from his perpetual destruction of all things good and pure.
Damn, I really need that next beer.
Adrian started to wave the bottle again, tempted to holler up at John…or Joe…or whatever the guy’s name was who got tipped too damn much, when the man appeared.
Stepping into his sunlight, a large shadow covered Adrian’s sweaty body. The affect was soothing and cool.
He didn’t want soothing. He wanted pain. He craved it.
“You’re blocking my sun,” he grumbled without sparing the man a glance. “Just take this and leave the other one down there. I’ll add another tip when I settle up for the night.”
His server said nothing. He also didn’t take his bottle.
“Hello…” Adrian prompted him rudely. “You gonna take this sometime today?”
The man took the empty bottle from his hand.
About fucking time.
“Just leave the other one and go.”
The sun returned in full force as the man stepped aside.
Alone again, Adrian closed his eyes and drew in a breath. He knew he was being an asshole, but he couldn’t seem to help it. The anguish he’d been living with since walking out of that damn hospital had made him this way.
No, you made you this way when you ran off like a little bitch. Again.
Refusing to respond to his annoying inner self, he blindly reached for his newest drink. His fingertips met nothing but sand.
Opening his eyes, Adrian had just started his search for the misplaced bottle when a fountain of fresh beer rained down over his head. The cold liquid was a shock to his heated system, and he jumped up like a wild man to try to retreat from its path.
“What the fuck?”
He swiped a palm across his dripping face, knocking his baseball hat off his head and to the sand by his feet. The hat had helped block some of the fresh brew, but the position Adrian had been lounging in had left most of his face exposed to the attack.
“What the hell is your problem, man?” He rubbed beer from his stinging eyes. “Know what? Doesn’t matter ’cause you are so fucking fired.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you don’t have the authority to fire me. Or anyone else, for that matter.”
Adrian froze because, shit. That was not the voice of the man who’d been bringing him endless drinks these last few weeks.
“Dawson?” He licked a drop of beer from his upper lip. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Funny. I came all this way to ask you the same question.”
The man was dressed in a U.S. Navy t-shirt and a pair of khaki cargo shorts. And he looked pissed.
“It’s none of your goddamn business.” He walked back over to his chair. “Sorry you wasted a trip.”
Adrian made a move to sit down, but his ass met sand because Gabe had just pulled that chair out from underneath him.
“Jesus.” He stumbled to his feet and dusted himself off. “What is your fucking problem?”
Gabe glared. “You’re seriously going to stand there and ask me that? I’ve known you as a lot of things, Walker. But not once did I ever see you as a fucking coward.”
The words didn’t hurt as their owner had intended. Mainly because Gabe wasn’t saying anything Adrian didn’t already know.
“Go home, Dawson.” He turned his back on the other man and started walking toward the water’s edge.
“She’s fine, by the way!” Gabe hollered