A Changed Man (Altered Book 1) Read online

  "Are you hungry?" Jackie asked Remington as he walked in to the kitchen. She felt like a nervous teenager running from her first kiss. This wouldn't have been her first kiss, not her first anything, so why was she acting like such a chicken shit? She was obviously attracted to him. Now that he was no longer swollen and bruised he looked hotter than anyone she had ever seen. Shit, he was hot even then. "I was going to make us some pasta for dinner if that’s okay." Jackie kept her front to the counter and her back to him.

  Remington walked up behind her and put both hands around her grabbing on to the counter, trapping her between his muscular arms. He leaned over, putting his lips right next to her ear. "That sounds delicious. Anything I can do to help?" He whispered.

  Jackie felt his hot breath on her ear. It was like some sort of cat and mouse game, her being the mouse, or was it the chicken? It didn't really matter; she liked it. "No, I got it. You go relax. Turn on the TV; I'll bring it out when it’s done."

  "Yes ma'am." He said and just as fast as he trapped her, he dropped his arms, turned, and walked out of the kitchen. Jackie was blushing like a fool, she knew if she looked in the mirror right now she would see her cheeks a deep pink. She liked his flirting, it made her feel wanted, something she hadn't felt in a long time. She finished making dinner and brought her and Remington’s plates into the living room where he was sitting watching TV.

  "Wow, this smells great!" He said taking the plate she handed him. "Thank you." Jackie sat down on the couch next to him and started to eat.

  "Hey, can I ask you something?" Remington said turning to face her. "What did you mean earlier? When we got back and noticed the new doorknob you said it's happening again, what exactly is happening again?"

  Jackie stopped eating and set her bowl down. She was unsure if she wanted to say anything. "Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it."

  "Jack, tell me, please."

  No one calls her Jack but Sarah. It was a nickname she reserved for only the people closest in her life, and Sarah was the only one left. But for some reason she liked hearing it from him, it sounded right coming out of his mouth. "You'll think I'm crazy." she laughed.

  "Are you kidding me? With all the shit I told you? You believed me, and I promise I'll believe you."

  "Okay." She said deciding to just go for it. He was right, after his story, nothing she said could be crazy compared to that. "Well, last week I decided to get off my ass and start working on the house; I had been moping around for a few months after moving here, feeling sorry for myself. Anyway, I was working on the shutters. I wanted to repaint them and re-hang them on the house. I went to town and got some paint and I left it out on the front porch overnight. When I woke up the next morning I went out to get started and it was gone. I thought I may have put it in the shed, and when I checked, it was in there on the counter. I didn't think anything of it so I grabbed it and headed back to the house when I saw the shutters were all freshly painted and hanging perfectly straight on the house." She watched his face for any sign that he thought she was nuts. She didn't see any. He was looking her right in the eyes waiting for her to continue. "There's something else." She looked down at her lap. "I've been seeing things. Well, not things really. A shadow. I've been seeing a black shadow. I saw it for the first time out the kitchen window, in the tree line. It disappeared so fast I thought it was just me, that maybe I was just tired or whatever. Then I saw it in my room. I thought it was being cast from the light coming through my window or something but I got up to use the bathroom and when I went back to bed, it was gone. Then again closer to the house while I was sitting out on the front porch one night." Jackie waited for him to say something; she knew what she was saying must have sounded strange.

  "I believe you." He said reaching out and taking her hand. This time she let him. "Does it do anything? Does it seem to be threatening in any way?"

  "No, not really. It's just freaky as hell. It's like it has a mind of it's own. I don't know how else to explain it. The last time I saw it, it was like its movements were purposeful, like it's alive."

  Remington let go of her hand and picked her plate back up and handed it to her. "Eat, before it gets cold. We'll figure it out. If I’m not around when you see it again, even if you're not sure it's what you experienced before or just a regular shadow, if it makes you wonder at all be sure you come get me."

  "I will." She said smiling at him. "Thanks."

  They ate the rest of their meal in silence, just watching TV. Remington would scan through the news stations to make sure his picture wasn't showing up again. It hadn't. After they finished dinner Remington got up and took both of their plates to the kitchen. He rinsed them and loaded them into the dishwasher, then went to work on cleaning the pots and pans Jackie had used to cook.

  "You don't have to do that." She said looking over the back of the couch at him. "I'll get those later."

  "No, I'll do it." He turned from the sink to face her. "You made that wonderful dinner, the least I can do is clean up. Plus, your letting me stay here, I want to pull my own weight. If there are anymore repairs you want to make on the house, I'm your man."

  I'm your man. Jackie liked the sound of that, even if he didn't mean it that way. "Well thank you. I'd really appreciate that."

  Remington finished cleaning and putting everything away. "It's still early, you want to watch a movie or something?" He asked from the kitchen. "I just thought it could get our minds off of everything for awhile."

  Jackie rose from the couch and walked toward the hallway. "Sure, that sounds great. I'm just going to go change first, I wanna get comfortable so that if I fall asleep on the couch I'm already dressed for bed." She laughed.

  "Sounds good. I'm going to jump in the shower real quick while you do that if that’s ok."

  "Of course! I’ll meet you back here in fifteen minutes?" She replied and continued down the hall to her bedroom.

  "Perfect." Remington followed her down the hall stopping at his room. He grabbed the backpack that he had left on the floor earlier and took it with him to the bathroom. He started the water and while waiting for it to heat up he stood in front of the mirror and stared at himself. He couldn't believe there wasn't a mark left on his face. Maybe Jackie was right, maybe it has something to do with the operation. He didn't really want to think about it right now. He was exhausted, and just needed to let go for a while. He got undressed and stepped in to the steaming shower.

  Jackie was in her room with the door shut trying to figure out what to put on. She wanted to be comfy, but her idea of comfy was going braless and just wearing a t-shirt and panties. She couldn't really do that with the company she had. She opted for a pair of pink pajama boxers and a dark purple tank top with a built in shelf bra. Jackie left her bedroom and could hear the shower still running, she went to the kitchen and put a bag of popcorn in the microwave then grabbed a couple of cokes and two glasses filled with ice. When the microwave dinged she poured the bag of popcorn into a bowl and took everything to the living room and set it down on the coffee table. The sun had been down for about an hour now and there was a slight chill in the air so she decided she wanted a fire. She opened the front door and went outside to grab a few logs from under the porch.

  Remington came out of the bathroom and was walking down the hall when he noticed the front door was open. He called out for Jackie but there was no answer. His adrenaline immediately sped up and he took off running and stopped when he reached the porch. "Jack!"

  "What?" Jackie yelled startled, raising her head up while still under the porch and bumping it hard a on a beam. "Shit!" Remington heard the thud. He ran down the stairs to where she was hunched over coming out from under the porch with a load of logs in her arms. She had blood oozing from her forehead.

  "You're bleeding!" Remington said helping her stand up straight. "Are you okay? What the hell are you doing?" He took the logs from her arms.

  "I was chilly, wanted to start a fire." She said reaching up to touch the cut at her
hairline.

  "That's my job now." He said frustrated. "As long as I'm here, that’s my job now understand?"

  "Fine. I was okay till you came out and yelled my name. You scared the crap out of me!"

  "I'm sorry. I saw the door hanging wide open and called out for you but you didn't answer. It scared me."

  "Aw, you were worried about me?" She said in a baby voice. Then she burst into laughter.

  Remington looked at her like she had lost her mind. "You may have hit your head harder than I thought." He gave her a big smile.

  "HA! You're hilarious. I'm going in now before I pass out." Jackie walked up the stairs and went back in to the house. Remington was right behind her still holding the logs. He set them down next to the fireplace. "Let me see your head." He walked over to the sink where Jackie was wetting a rag.

  "It's just a small bump I'm fine." She turned to face him while holding the wet rag against the cut on her head.

  "Yeah, I'm sure you are, now let me see." Remington gently pulled her hand from her head taking the rag away from her. He brushed her hair back from her face so he could get a good look.

  Jackie just realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. All he had on was the new pair of sweats she had bought for him earlier. She was eye level with his wide chiseled chest; his skin was so smooth it looked like caramel. She took a deep breath in and his scent was so fresh, soap and something else she couldn't put her finger on. Maybe it was just him. Her heart was starting to speed up and she had to close her eyes to calm herself down. He dabbed her forehead softly with the wet rag.

  "There. It's not bleeding anymore. Maybe you heal super fast too." He looked down at her smiling. Jackie tilted her head up and opened her eyes to see his face so close to hers. All she would have to do is move a fraction of an inch and her lips would be on his.

  "Just one more thing." He said and brushed his lips against her forehead, laying the softest kiss on the small bump that had formed. He backed away a few steps. "All done." He walked back to the living room and began building the fire.

  A few minutes later they were sitting on the couch with a fresh bowl of popcorn between them and a crackling fire, watching a pay-per-view movie. Remington didn't have the chance to watch a lot of movies, so it wasn't hard to pick one. Jackie didn't want to make him sit through something sappy, the poor guy has been through enough, so they settled on Divergent. Jackie read the book and had wanted to see the movie since it came out in theaters, but never got the chance. She looked over at Remington munching away on popcorn; he seemed to really be enjoying it. He turned his head and caught her watching him.

  "What?" He asked wiping his mouth. "Am I being too loud?"

  Jackie gave him a small smile. "No, this is just the first time I've seen you relaxed. What do you think of the movie?"

  "I'm enjoying it." He said returning her smile.

  "Good, me too." Just then Jackie let out a big yawn.

  Remington grabbed the throw pillow on his end of the sofa and laid it on the couch next to his thigh. "Come here." He said patting the pillow.

  Jackie looked at him, then the pillow. "Umm, I don't know if that’s such a good idea."

  "I’m not going to try anything, I promise. You're exhausted, just lay down."

  "No, I didn't mean that." She giggled. "If I lay down, I may fall asleep."

  "If you fall asleep I'll wake you up when it's over." He said patting the pillow again.

  Jackie moved the popcorn bowl that was between them to the coffee table and laid down, putting her head on the pillow. Another inch and she would have had her head on his lap, but he didn't put the pillow on his lap, he put it next to his lap. Smart. She thought.

  Remington grabbed the throw from the back of the couch and covered Jackie with it. He didn't know how much more he could take looking at her beautiful long legs. He bet her skin was as soft as silk. All she had on were those short pink boxers, and trying not to stare at the cleavage coming out of that tank top was killing him. "How's that?" He asked.

  "Great, thanks." Jackie tried to refocus on the TV but was having a hard time with him so close. She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. She laid there about ten minutes and was just starting to get back into the movie when she felt Remington’s hand on her head. He started to gently massage her scalp and run his fingers through her hair. He didn't say a word and neither did she. It felt too good to be uncomfortable. Jackie snuggled down deeper under her blanket and just enjoyed his touch.

  Remington had been rubbing Jackie’s head for the entire second half of the movie. The credits started running up the screen and he realized she hadn't moved in awhile. He grabbed the remote, turned the TV off and just sat there listening to her soft even breaths. After a few minutes he smoothly rose from the couch and collected the bowl and glasses from the coffee table and took them into the kitchen, setting them in the sink. He went back to where Jackie was still sleeping peacefully on the couch and very gently lifted her into his arms. He was halfway down the dark hall with her before her eyes opened and she looked up at him. "I can walk." She said in a sleepy voice.

  "It's okay. We're almost to your room now." He chuckled.

  "I told you if I laid down I would fall asleep. You could have just left me on the couch."

  Remington looked down into her heavy lidded eyes. "Then I wouldn't have had the pleasure of carrying you." Jackie wasn't sure of what to say to that, she figured the blush moving up her cheeks was probably glowing in the dark by now anyway.

  Remington pushed open Jackie’s bedroom door with his foot and carried her over to the bed, laying her down gently. He used the down blanket that was at the foot of her bed to cover her up. "Goodnight Jack." He whispered, turning toward the door.

  "Goodnight Rem." She whispered back.

  Remington had the biggest smile spread across his face as he left her room.

  Rick Davis was being led down a long, dark corridor by the two men who caught him outside his local watering hole on his way home. They had greeted him with a taser, multiple times, but not before Rick got a few good punches in himself. Next thing he knew, his hands were cuffed behind his back, and one of them threw a bag over his head. He was being stuffed into the back seat of a vehicle. It was a long ride. He tried asking who they were and where they were taking him and with every question a punch to his face was the answer. After being hit twice and having blood run from his split lip down his chin, he decided to just stay quiet. He didn't know how rough these guys would get, and he needed to be able to fight if he got the chance. Rick had a feeling this all had something to do with Remington. First he calls, and now Rick's being held by god knows whom, going god knows where.

  The men were still leading him when he noticed all the doors they were passing. They were evenly spread out, about every twenty feet or so. Finally the men stopped and opened a wooden door; there was a cell door behind it. They unlocked it and shoved Rick inside and slammed the door. "Back up to the bars." One of the goons said, waving the handcuff keys in front of his face. Rick did as he was told and the man unlocked the cuffs and removed them from Rick’s wrists. "Make yourself at home!" He laughed as he and his asshole buddy went back down the corridor the way they had come.

  Chapter 11

  Dillon Porter was sitting on her bed when the door to her cell swung open and two guards pushed a man inside. She had been here for at least a couple of months and had never shared a room before. She stood up and took a defensive stance. "Who are you?" She asked the stranger.

  Rick had no idea what to expect, but this wasn't it. What kind of punishment was being thrown in a cell with a beautiful woman? The calm before the storm he supposed. "I'm Rick, who are you?"

  "My name is Dillon. Did they just bring you in?" She asked surprised.

  "Yeah, where am I?" Rick looked around the small room.

  "You're a prisoner, like the rest of us. You're conscience and in my room before your alteration. Has to be a reason for that." She said curiously.

/>   "Alteration? What are you talking about kid? Where are we?"

  "It's a huge cavern of some kind, and I'm not a kid. I'm pretty sure the government runs it; I don't know who else would have the kind of technology these people do. They're doing experiments on people, on us."

  Rick looked at the girl like she was some kind of whacko. "What kind of experiments? I have no clue what you're talking about." He started moving around the room looking for any hidden cameras or listening devices.