Taking The Fall: the Complete Series(44)

“All right, I’ll be out front with her in fifteen,” I say and hang up.

I go to Cherry’s dresser and open her underwear drawer. I smirk and close it again. She won’t need any of those. I grab her bags and walk down the small hall to the living room.

“Jeanette’s coming with us,” Cherry says. She’s standing in the living room with her feet planted and her arms crossed.

“No she isn’t,” I say, and her jaw clenches. What the fuck? That’s my move.

I drop her bags and mirror her stance. Feet planted, arms crossed, and I stare her down.

“Jeanette’s coming or I’m not going.”

“Cherry, you’ll go if I have to drag your ass.”

“Cherry? Oh that’s adorable. Can I call you that too?” Jeanette asks.

“No!” we both shout in unison.

“Fine, fine, I like Lays better anyway,” she sniffs.

“Layla, this isn’t a slumber party. You can’t just invite your friends along. This is a secure location and I don’t want it compromised because your co-worker decided to Twitter about it.”

“Hey, asshole, I’m her best fucking friend, not just her co-worker, and it’s called a Tweet, dipshit,” Jeanette snaps.

I like this chick, she’s got sass. But it’s not enough to make me change my mind.

“I said no.”

Cherry drops her arms and walks slowly over to me. She gets up against my chest and looks me directly in the eyes. With her heels on she’s still only up to my shoulders, but right now it doesn’t matter. Those big beautiful eyes are looking at me with so much love. She puts her small hand on my chest and whispers “Please”. I’m finished. I can’t ever deny her when she’s like this, when I can see how desperately she needs something. I don’t know why she can’t be separated from her, but Layla wouldn't ask like this if she didn’t need it.

I look over Cherry’s head and glare at Jeanette. “We will go to your place. You’ve got exactly three minutes to grab a bag and get back in the car or we will leave without you. That’s the deal – take it or leave it.”

“Deal,” she says excitedly.

“All right. Let’s move,” I say and grab Cherry’s bags with one hand and Cherry’s hand with the other. I lead us outside to Saint who’s waiting in my GTO.

“Cocksucking motherfucker,” I hear Jeanette mutter from behind me.

“Problem?” I ask and eye her over my shoulder.

“I didn’t realize this was a co-ed sleepover. I didn’t agree to spend lockdown with an asshole.”

“Careful, Chuck Norris, that’s my best friend you’re talking about.”

Layla stops short and she pulls me to a halt. “What is it, baby?” I ask.

“Just give me a second,” she pleads.

“I’m going to load up the bags. Get your pretty ass in the car.” She nods yes, and I go to the trunk. Saint comes around to help me and we both watch the women talk.

After a few moments they both walk over to the car and get in without saying a word. I feel the tension between Saint and Jeanette and wonder what happened. I don’t ask, because it’s not my business. The reason Saint and I work so well is we have a don’t ask, don’t tell policy. Don’t ask me shit and don’t tell me shit. End of story.

I get behind the wheel and we take off.





Twenty minutes later I’ve finally got my girl safe and secure. We’re in a warehouse outside of Reno. I had it converted into a fortress because I knew this day was coming. I knew I might need a place to protect Layla, and I would need a safe place for us to live, so I had this put together right when I got out. You have enough money you can get anything put together in a few months. The bottom floor is dedicated to living space. I’ve had it modernized with a living/dining area with an industrial kitchen. There’s a home theater, game room, and a small indoor pool. I’ve added a gym, a greenhouse, and even a panic room. I may have gone overboard, but my life has taught me a few things and one of them is have a back-up plan to your back-up plan.#p#分页标题#e#

Upstairs we’ve got seven rooms. One is an office and another is a library. The rest are set up for bedrooms. Our bedroom is the biggest and at the most private end of the building. There’s an emergency escape through there, as well as a small room off of it that would be perfect for the baby now that I think about it. Each room has its own bathroom, and our master has everything you can dream of. Huge tub big enough for the two of us, and a shower I can spend a lifetime fucking Cherry in.