Part 10 (1/2)

We were on a flight by nightfall, landing in Florida before heading our separate ways. After we wished each other luck and made plans to meet up, I headed toward Roxy.

Chapter 10.

It had been weeks since Blue and the rest of the club disappeared in federal custody. Wild rumors had started shortly after their arrest. There were murmurs that Rebel had been placed in witness protection and was feeding information to the Feds about the club. The timing made sense, so many of the old ladies and the left-behind prospect believed that s.h.i.+t as gospel.

I was exhausted, barely able to stay awake as I drove home from my s.h.i.+ft. Business at the club had plummeted after the arrests. Either the clientele was behind bars or people were too scared to come around, thinking they were being watched or that the club was bugged. It didn't seem worth showing up for fifty dollars in tips after dancing my a.s.s off and letting men paw me like I was a s.e.x toy. I was sick of it, ready to leave the life behind, but that would require relocating. What if Blue came looking for me, though, and I wasn't here? I couldn't leave until I knew where he was or how to contact him.

Walking into my kitchen, I tossed my purse on the table, not bothering to look at my phone. What was the point? My phone had been silent since he'd vanished. It didn't stop me from keeping it within hearing distance. I'd hurl myself off a bridge if I missed his call.

As I sauntered through the living room, a hand suddenly grabbed my wrist. I screamed b.l.o.o.d.y murder, flailing my hands as I tried to hit whoever was holding me in their grip. My heart was pounding so quickly that I thought it would explode. The blood coursed through my body, causing my temples to throb and my body to shake.

”Stop!” he snapped, grabbing my other wrist and holding me captive.

I couldn't see his face as I shrieked, hoping someone would hear me. Then my instincts kicked in and I fell to the floor, deciding I wouldn't make it easy. I'd use any means necessary to survive and not be raped by the slimeball.

”f.u.c.k you!” I yelled, now using my feet as weapons.

”Stop,” he said again, trying to capture my legs with no success.

I kept kicking, pus.h.i.+ng myself backward and toward the coffee table in the living room, as I searched for something to strike the intruder with.

”Roxy, stop fighting me!” the man hollered as he captured my ankle.

Instantly, I froze. I knew that voice. Maybe my brain was processing it wrong, the blood flowing through my ears helping mask the voice and making my fantasy come to life. I was likely hearing s.h.i.+t.

”Get off me, f.u.c.ker!” I screamed, kicking him in the b.a.l.l.s.

As he bent over, cupping himself, I took the opportunity to reach back and open the drawer. As my fingers felt the cold steel of my gun, he pulled my feet, yanking me away.

”No!” I cried out, tears flooding my eyes.

”Roxy, it's me, Blue,” he said, his voice strangled from pain. His hand released my leg before the light in the living room switched on, illuminating his face and giving me a view of my Blue.

I covered my mouth, shocked and a little horrified that I could have killed him. ”How?” I mumbled from behind my fingers. My eyes were wide, slowly filling with tears as I drank him in.

”Rox,” he whispered, kneeling down on the floor and wrapping me in his arms.

”How?” I asked again, unable to form any other words. I could barely process that he was inside my house after not having heard from him in two weeks.

”I had to come for you.” He cradled my cheeks in his hands, placing kisses across my forehead before capturing my mouth.

”How?” I repeated in a garbled voice, his lips impairing my ability to speak.

He drifted backward and stared at me. ”It's a long story, baby. I had to see you.”

Before I could respond, he kissed me again, pulling me into his arms. At this point, I didn't give a f.u.c.k how he was here. All that mattered was that he was here in front of me and I was in his arms. His words, I had to come for you, echoed in my head as our tongues danced together, the longing we both felt clearly conveyed without words.

Had he escaped from jail? My heart was still pounding roughly in my chest, but now I felt paranoid as I thought about the cops busting through the door. f.u.c.k. I couldn't have him ripped from my life again.

Breaking the kiss, he sat down on the floor and hauled me into his lap. ”We have to talk, angel.”

”Talk. You have my full attention after once again making me think someone was here to murder me.” I laughed, rubbing my nose against his. ”Wait,” I said, backing up enough to see his entire face. ”Did you break out of jail? Are they looking for you, Blue?”

He laughed, shaking his head. ”No one is looking for me.”

”But how?” I asked, my jaw dropping in shock.

Touching my chin, he pushed my jaw closed, kissing my lips as he gripped my a.s.s.

”Rox, do you love me?” he asked, staring at me.

”You're kind of scaring me, Blue.” I chewed my bottom lip, my eyebrows turning downward as I tried to figure out what the h.e.l.l was going on.

”Don't be scared. It's simple. Do. You. Love. Me?” His ice-blue eyes cut me deeply. I could see behind them the same war I had seen in him the last time we were together.

My voice was shaky as I spoke. ”Yes.”

My stomach started to hurt, the adrenaline from being scared to death wearing off. Blue looked so d.a.m.n serious that I knew something heavy was about to happen.

”You need to listen to me and understand everything I'm saying. Can you do that?” His voice was strong and stern. There was no smile playing on his lips and no smug smirk-only a serious look, his lips set in a thin line.

”I'm listening.” I reached up, stroking his cheek and still not believing that he was really here, that I was sitting in his lap.

”Do you love me enough to leave this life?” he asked, motioning around my apartment with his hand. ”To leave all this behind?”

I started to giggle. He had to be joking. I didn't live in a palace with servants. I was a stripper, living in an apartment with mediocre furniture at best. I didn't have a family to worry about. No parents to keep me here. Blue was my constant, and he had grown into my beacon of happiness over the last couple of months.

”I'm serious, Roxanne.”

”Ooh, you're breaking out my proper name. You must be serious.” I tried to stifle my laughter, but it was hopeless.

”Rox,” he barked, shaking me slightly in his grip. ”I mean it. Can you walk away from this town and your life and never look back? There's no turning back once you walk out that door.” His eyes darted around my face as he stared at me.

”Are you in witness protection or something?” I blurted out as soon as the thought popped in my mind.

”No, angel. I'm not in witness protection.”

”Then why can't I come back?”

”It's too dangerous. Too risky for me, and it will be for you too if you come with me.”

My mouth hung open again. Had I heard him right? I shook my head, trying to rid myself of my mental fog.

”You want me to come with you?”

”Roxanne. I love you. I've loved you for a long time. There's no one but you in my heart. I couldn't move on without you.” He nestled his face against my neck, inhaling my perfume. Moaning lightly, licking my flesh. ”I wanted to run away with you for a long time, but I couldn't. My duty held me back. It stopped me from making you mine. I knew I couldn't have you. I had to wait to claim you for myself.”