A Kid Like Her (A Riddick - Jack Romance/Adventure Story)

Getting Jack Back

Jack nervously waited on a bench in the park with Hunter close by her side. The dog, sensing her anxiety, remained vigilantly on guard. When he began to growl, Jack leapt to her feet and scanned her surroundings, but saw no one. As quickly as he went into guard dog mode, he ceased and lay at her feet with his head on the ground. She shrugged it off, thinking perhaps it was a small animal he'd seen, knowing if it had been Griffen, he would've been foaming at the mouth.

Riddick arrived at the park only a few minutes after she did. He kept to the shadows as he watched, looking for signs of anyone else that might be there to bring her back to her father. The huge dog she'd brought as protection had caught his scent almost immediately, growling its warning. Without his contacts in, he crouched down to the dog's eye level and squared off in a stare down contest - animal to animal. The growling stopped and he didn't cut his eye away until the beast lay prostrate at her feet in submission. Once Hunter understood who was top dog, Riddick moved behind her.

He was there. She sensed it, and Hunter never so much as raised his head. She whipped around and there he was, leaning against a tree, arms crossed with a very casual air about him. Her heart raced and she swallowed convulsively to moisten her dry mouth so she could speak. Nervous beyond reason, she wiped her sweaty palms on her pants and finally summoned up the courage to look him in the eyes.

He heard her sharp intake of breath when their gazes met. "Shit! You weren't kidding. They are silver." She blushed embarrassed at her reaction. "I-. Th-thank you for coming."

She was right there in front of him, but he couldn't reach out and take her. He kept reminding himself to go slow, to not to scare her off. Problem was, she belonged to him and grabbing her right now sounded like a hell of a plan. In spite of her proximity, he felt powerless, unable to take control because of what her father had done. His anger and instincts were clawing at him to take what was his. Trust. He needed to gain some kind of trust with her to find out what was controlling her mind. Then he'd grab her ass and take off.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "You call. I come. That's all there is to it."

It was such a simple answer, but its impact was immense. Here she was, in front of the man who supposedly had caused her so much grief, physical pain, and misery, yet she wasn't the least bit frightened. Nervous, yes, but there wasn't the slightest sense of dread plaguing her from being in his company.

Why?

And he came. She called and he came, but he wasn't trying to whisk her away, much less touch her like Griffen had done. In fact, this felt vastly different from what she had experienced with her 'husband' not an hour ago. once more leaving her to ask 'why'.

"I did." She smiled tremulously. "Call that is. And you're here." Her hand went unconsciously to her stomach and rubbed over it, even though Spud hadn't moved.

Riddick noticed.

"Is she movin' around again?" He bit his tongue too late and was afraid he'd blown it when he heard her gasp.

"How-. How did you know?"

A memory of being in bed with this man with his hand on her stomach flashed through her mind. She swayed and he was there, gently supporting her by the arms. When it passed, she didn't pull away. Her hand went to her neck and scratched, and that's when he noticed the necklace. It had to be what was controlling her, and his fingers now itched to tear it off. She looked up at him, slightly confused.

"Wha-. What was I asking you?"

"You wanted to know how I knew about the baby. You told me about her."

It dawned on her that she didn't even know exactly how far along she was, which troubled her. What was even more odd is why she would tell him about the baby when he came back to kidnap her. And to tell him she was having a girl? It made absolutely no sense.