Refuge(61)

Jordan let out a burst of laughter. “As much as I wish Nikolas would want to come running to my rescue – not that I need any man to rescue me – it will never happen. You didn’t see his face when he saw you getting attacked. I’ve never seen anyone move that fast.”

“I wish someone would tell Nikolas and Tristan I don’t need a man to protect me,” I grumbled.

“Males are just wired that way,” Jordan explained through a mouthful of food. “You’re tough but you have this whole vulnerable look going on that gets their testosterone in a twist. Of course, I’m pretty sure it’s more than that with Nikolas after seeing him downstairs. When you were standing there all wet and he moved in front of you – the look he gave those other guys . . . brrrrr. He did everything but pee a circle around you to mark his territory.”

“That is totally absurd. And thanks for that disgusting visual by the way.”

She gave me a long searching stare. “You simply cannot be that clueless. Anyone with eyes can see the sparks between you two.”

I looked away from her and unwrapped my sandwich. Before I could take a bite, Jordan let out a squeal. “Oh my God! You really have no idea, do you?” When I didn’t answer, she jumped off the bed and bounced up and down on her feet like she had just won a prize.

“What?” I asked defensively.

She fell on the bed, howling with laughter, and I watched her with growing irritation. After a few minutes, she pulled herself together and sat up, wiping her eyes. “I love it! Celine’s been throwing herself at Nikolas for years and he chose a sweet little orphan over her. She must be positively insane with jealousy. Oh how I wish she had stayed around to see him go all caveman on the other guys over you.”

“He did not choose me, and I certainly don’t want him.” I slumped in my chair, wondering why I’d ever thought it might be nice to have a girlfriend to discuss girl matters with. I was sure my face must be glowing like an ember now. “Can we please talk about something else?”

Jordan took a drink from her water bottle then made a face. “Sure, but it won’t be nearly as fun as talking about Nikolas.”

Anything would be better than that subject. “I get why Celine might not like me.” Jordan snorted at my choice of words, but I ignored her. “But why do you dislike her so much?”

“Are you kidding? Unless you have a penis, that woman is a total bitch to you. She always favors the boys in training. Thank God she is only here a few times a year.”

“So, she would have disliked me anyway just for being a girl?”

Her eyes sparkled. “Yes, but you are an extra special case.”

“How long have you lived here?” I already knew that all of the trainees here except for Terrence were orphans. Other than Michael, I didn’t know anyone else’s story. Jordan was brash and fearless and different from the others, and I wondered if she had been like that in her old life.

A shadow passed over her face. “My mother dumped me when I was four and I started telling people about the little person in my head. I guess it didn’t help that I was also beating up kids twice my size. No one else in her family wanted to take me, so I ended up in our wonderful foster-care system. I got passed around a lot. No one wants a kid with voices in her head who has to see a shrink twice a week for anger issues.”

She flicked her blond hair back, and her eyes filled with pride. “But I always knew I was different for a reason. When I was ten, I ran away from the last shithole they dumped me in. I was living on the street for three weeks before Paulette ran across me by accident. As soon as she spoke to me, I knew she was like me, and she didn’t have to ask me twice to go with her. She took me to Valstrom, which is their compound in northern California, and I lived there until I came here two years ago. Do you know I was the oldest orphan ever reclaimed . . . until you?”

“Nikolas mentioned that.” Jordan’s coldness toward me in the beginning made sense now. Her old life had been pretty rotten, and then she came here where she felt loved and special and, according to Michael, number one in everything she did. Then I came along and everyone was talking about the orphan who survived out there for seventeen years. I stole her spotlight, and even if it was unwilling on my part, she had resented me for it. At least she seemed to have gotten past that now.

Her eyes widened. “Nikolas mentioned me?”

“He told me you were ten when they found you and all the other orphans were no older than seven.” Seeing her expression at hearing that Nikolas had spoken of her, I omitted the fact that he hadn’t said her name, just that the orphan had been a girl. The smile that lit up her face was worth the tiny omission.