Protect & Serve(157)

“Me too,” I said quietly.

We fell asleep like that. On the side of the road in the middle of the desert with nothing covering us but the moon and the stars and the sky. When the sun came up we would figure out the next step in our lives. But for now all we had to do was sleep. Sleep and be together.





33





Bria





I was living in a whirlwind of joy. Days swept into nights and our little impromptu road trip carried us the slow way back across the country. We avoided the freeways and big cities wherever we could, avoiding media attention and shacking up in every cozy and hilarious little honeymoon suite along the way.

The last one was a motel with a big cheesy looking heart shaped tub that came right out of the seventies, and it was absolutely perfect!

By the time we finally made it back to Atlas Luke’s promoter had left about six thousand messages on his phone, and Kaitlyn was going nuts because the tabloids had gotten their hands on half a dozen pictures from our wedding.

So much for Elvis being trustworthy…

Splitting up for the afternoon was just about the hardest thing I’d ever done. Luke had a couple of post-fight interviews to handle, and I needed to go home to pack my things.

Stepping back into my little apartment for the last time almost made me want to cry. Not because I was sad to leave this place… But because I couldn’t believe the direction my life had taken.

I decided to pack light.

Out with the old, in with the new. I pulled my suitcase out of the closet and started to fill it with things I couldn’t leave behind. Pictures… My college degree… And a small selection of clothes. I smiled to myself as I pulled one of my best tailored professional work skirts and a blouse from the closet. Luke seemed to enjoy seeing me all dressed up. I pulled out a lace bra and panty set to go with them. Maybe I’d surprise him tonight…

I was pulled from my little daydream when my phone rang.

“Couldn’t live without me for half an hour?” I asked, laughing.

Luke’s voice wrapped around me as he spoke. “I just wanted to say I miss you.”

“Well than maybe you should turn the car around and help me break in this old bed one last time,” I replied.

I could hear the squealing of tires over the line.

“Luke?”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“I was just kidding… You need to get those interviews done!” I protested.

“You’re starting to sound like a concerned housewife,” Luke replied. I could almost see the smile on his face.

I was going to hit him with some kind of smartass comeback, but a sharp knocking on the door pulled me out of the moment.

“Hang on a second Luke, I think Kaitlyn is here to give me hell for disappearing… I’ll be right back.”

With the door rattling against its hinges, I dropped the phone onto the bed and ran out to the living room. I couldn’t wait to show Kaitlyn the ring Luke had given me. I pulled the door open with a great big smile on my face, and was hit with the thick sent of cheap tobacco.

I stumbled backward from the door as Rick stepped through, his crooked grin showing off a set of yellowed teeth. Every part of me wanted to scream, but the sound caught in my throat as I saw someone else coming through the door.

“Kevin!” I finally managed to shout, scrambling away toward the bedroom. “STAY AWAY FROM ME!”

“It was supposed to be me, you heartless bitch,” Kevin said, his face twitching with anger. My eyes traveled down to the gun in his hand and I screamed as Rick took a few steps and dragged me off the floor.

“I was supposed to save you. I was supposed to be the fucking one who pulled you out of that fucking alley, not some meathead piece of shit.”

I tried to shout again as Rick’s hand clamped down over my mouth.

“And now you marry this asshole? You think I’d just let you do that?” Kevin said, closing the distance between us. “I hope you know this is all your fault… You took this man to have and fucking hold… Till death do you part…”





34





Luke





Adrenaline rolled through me like a river as I pulled the Maserati through another tight turn. The engine screamed in protest and the suspension bucked against the crown of the road.

The faint scream has come through the car’s speakers and hit me like a brick. Chills ran through my spine and I’d pinned the accelerator to the floor. I didn’t even have to hear his name to know who had come knocking.

Kevin…

That little piece of shit from her office was going to find out exactly what happens to a man that comes between me and something I want.

Horns blared as I swung into oncoming traffic, dodging a truck and kicking out the tail end of the car as I launched down the side-street that would lead me to her. The world was crashing down around me and nothing mattered outside of reaching my destination.