“Good, call the police and make a report. Now, what’s his address?” I repeat.
“Luke,” she demands.
“Babe,” I say. “I’m hanging up right now and calling Caden. I’m getting your truck back whether you like it or not. By the time I’m done talking to Caden, I better have a text message from you with his address. Got it?”
She lets out a deflated sigh. “Fine,” she says. “Just don’t do anything stupid.”
“I can’t promise that, babe,” I tell her. “Go get yourself checked out by a doctor. I need to know that you’re not bleeding internally.”
“I can’t,” she says. “I haven’t got a damn truck.”
Damn it.
I think it over for a second. Rylee, Cole, Jace, and Cami are all a bit busy. I’m about to take Caden. Imogen will be working. “Try giving Charli a call. She has plenty of staff. I’m sure she’ll be able to take some time away from the salon to get you checked out.”
“Ok,” she says. “Be safe.”
“Alright, babe. I’ll see you later.”
I end the call and instantly get Caden on the phone. “What’s up?” he says after the second ring.
“Dude, I’m almost back at Rebels. Lexi’s truck was just stolen by her ex. I’m going after it.”
“I’ll meet you out the front.”
Sure enough, thirty seconds later, I pull up by the doors of Rebels Advocate and Caden instantly gets straight into my truck. “Where are we headed?” he asks, as I step on the gas.
“Here,” I say, handing my phone over so he can read the address on the text that just came through from Lex.
“Oh yeah,” he says. “I know this area. It’s about a half hour drive.”
I’m not sure how much of a head start her ex has got, but I’m assuming he’s driving fast. Caden points out where the hell I should be going and I fill him in on everything that just went down with Cami and Jace.
We navigate right to the fucker’s front door and I cringe at the house. It looks as though it hasn’t been looked after or cleaned in years. The lawn is overgrown, the paint is coming off. There’s a fucking hole in the deck and bottles are scattered all over the place.
I find myself wondering if this is the house Lex lived in when they were together, but then put the thought to the back of my mind. I don’t want to know. I have more important things to be worrying about right now.
Lexi’s truck is sitting in the middle of the overgrown lawn and I find myself pulling up right beside it. It’s clear the fucker is here and I try my best to reign in my anger as I hop out of my truck.
Caden and I walk straight up to the front door and I kick it in, not bothering with the formalities. After all, I’m assuming he barged his way into Lexi’s home like he did the previous time, so why shouldn’t I do the same thing?
Jeremy sits on his lazy ass with a beer in hand and the second we walk through the door. He flies to his feet. “Hey,” he yells. “Get the fuck out.” As he turns and looks at us properly, he starts to recognize me. His eyes widen before a scowl sets itself into his features. “You can’t be in here.”
“I can be where ever the fuck I want to be,” I tell him. “Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It’s your fucking choice, but no matter what, I’m not leaving without that truck.”
“It’s my fucking truck now,” he spits.
“I guess you’re going with the hard way.”
As I walk towards him, Caden takes off in a different direction probably to see if there’s anyone else in the house or if Lexi’s keys have been put down anywhere. I have a feeling they’re right here in the fucker’s pocket. He isn’t about to put them down. He’s probably proud of the fact that he’s taken something from her. Proud of the fact that he couldn’t be stopped. But that’s not going to last for long. The fucker is about to learn that Lex is a woman he can no longer mess around with. She’s not his anymore. She’s mine.
I walk toward him and the closer I get, the further he narrows his eyes on me. “Just fucking try it,” he says as though a scrawny twig like him has got any chance against me, a trained fighter and a soldier.
Yeah right.
I scoff as I get closer and the sound has the anger bubbling up inside him. The second I get close enough, he swings. It’s predictable and sloppy as shit.
In one easy move, I grab his arm, twist it up behind his back and slam the fucker into the wall. “Now, you’ve got something that belongs to my girl,” I tell him.
“Fuck you,” he spits with his face smooshed against the wall.
I pull him back just a tiny bit so I can slam him against the wall again. I tighten my grip on him and grin at the fact that with one tiny flick of my fingers, I could snap his wrist like a fucking twig. “Tell me, Jeremy. Do you enjoy hurting defenseless women?”
“I didn’t hurt nobody,” he says.
“So, Lex was lying when she said you pushed her into the counter,” I scoff.
“I didn’t fucking touch her,” he snarls.
“You see,” I say. “The issue here is that Lex can’t lie about it. The proof is all over her body. You should know better than that. You were fucking married to her.”
“I’m still married to her. She’s my fucking wife and I’ll do what I please with her.”
I slam him against the wall again, purely for the fact that I don’t like hearing that they’re technically still married. “She’s your wife by a technicality. She doesn’t love you. She can’t stand the sight of your pathetic face. She’s my fucking woman, and the second she can, she’ll be severing every damn tie she has to you.”
“She’ll come running back,” he promises. “That little slut can’t resist me.”
Nope. There’s a lot of shit I can handle, but hearing another man call my girl a slut is more than I can take. I pull him off the wall and in one quick move, my fist comes arching up into his stomach.
The fucker doubles over with a groan and falls to his feet before throwing up the contents of his stomach all over the dirty carpet. I scoff at the sight. He’s fucking pathetic.
I walk around his living room as he crouches on the ground on his hands and knees, hurling up every last drop.
I walk by his television and see something with Lexi’s name on it. Its covered in food scraps and had rings all over it from where drinks have been put down and spilled. I pick it up and dust it off before making my way back over to Jeremy.
Caden appears from a hallway and shakes his head. “I got nothing,” he tells me.
I nod. I didn’t expect him to find the keys in this shithole anyway, and that knowledge has me grabbing Jeremy by the scruff of his shirt and hoisting him to his feet. “Where are the fucking keys?”
“I don’t have them,” he spits.
Well, that’s a load of shit. The fucking thing is parked just outside the window. My fist comes up and slams into his stomach for a second time. He gasps for air, but I don’t release him. I’ve had enough of this place already and I’m ready to get the fuck out of here. “Where are Lexi’s keys?” I demand again.
He tries to swing back at me, but I can’t put up with this shit any longer. I grab him by the arm and slam him against the wall again, twisting it behind his back. I grab his other arm and hold him there before nodding to Caden who instantly goes in and pats down his pockets.
Within seconds he pulls the keys out and dangles them in front of his face. “I thought you didn’t have them?” he taunts.
Jeremy narrows his eyes on Caden as he passes me the keys. I hand him mine and tell him he can get out of here. I’ll drive Lexi’s truck back and then somehow get myself back to Rebels for the self-defense class that starts at five as I have a feeling I can’t skip this one. If anything, Jace has probably already left Rebels for the day and we won’t see him for a while.
I watch as Caden nods and steps out through the door. There’s still one more thing I want to get done here before I can leave and I honestly don’t want Caden to
witness it.
In Iraq, I lost a bit of my humanity. I became hard and unforgiving. And unfortunately for this guy, he’s about to see the true monster that I became. The one that I’ve worked my ass off to release since being back, and the one that, thanks to Lexi, I’ve been able to acknowledge and let go of.
As Caden takes off with my truck, I reach across and release the blinds. It clatters down and the house dives into darkness as they block out the outside world.
Right now, it’s just me and him, and from the sudden flash of fear in his eyes, he finally realizes that this is not the place he wants to be.
Twenty minutes later, I walk out of his home and get myself up into Lexi’s pride and joy. I’ve got a girl to see.
Chapter 22
Lexi
Charli pulls up to my house and narrowly avoids hitting Jeremy’s shit box car that still lays across my mailbox. “I have to get back to the salon,” she tells me. “But I’m so glad you’re ok.”
“Me too,” I smile. “Thank you so much. Luke would have had a heart attack if I didn’t get myself checked out.”
“I can only imagine,” she chuckles. “I think Rylee could use a girl’s night this weekend, what do you say we take her out?”
I give Charli a sad smile. She told me all about Cami leaving, which apparently had only happened a little while ago. And, well, news travels quickly around here. Caden had called Imogen and Imogen called Charli. So naturally, within the space of an hour, the whole group knew what was going on. I just wish we knew what the hell had happened between Jace and Cami to make her leave so suddenly.
“I think that’s a great idea,” I tell her as I step out of her car.
She waves goodbye as I close the door and a second later, she’s speeding down the road to get back to her busy salon.
I scrunch up my face as I walk by Jeremy’s stupid car and also stop to kick the tire on the way. I head up the pathway to my home and pull out my phone. I do a google search of local tow-truck companies and get to work finding someone who’s available to get rid of this hunk of shit off my property.
As I bring the phone to my ear, the sound of a truck approaching has me stopping in the middle of the path and hitting end on the call. I turn around as the most stunning truck makes a stop in my driveway, right where it should have always been.
A grin takes over my face as Luke jumps down from the driver’s side. “You did it,” I squeal as I rush towards him.
I throw my arms around him and he catches me with ease. “Of course, I did it,” he tells me as he allows me to crush my lips to his. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
I melt into him before looking back at my truck. “Is she ok? He didn’t hurt her, did he?”
“Your truck is fine,” Luke chuckles before lifting me off the ground and carrying me bridal style across to his place. He walks inside and sits us down on his couch.
“Did I remember to say thank you?” I ask as he curls his arm around my waist
“You don’t have to,” he tells me. “Did you get to the doctor?”
“Yes,” I groan, knowing he was bound to ask at some point.
“And?” he prompts.
“And I’m fine,” I tell him. “There’s bruising, but I’m not surprised.”
He takes the hem of my shirt and rises it up over my head, needing to see the damage. So, I turn my back so he can get a better look. “Shit,” he grunts as his fingers gently rub over the black bruise that goes directly across my back.
“Yeah,” I agree. “There’s a bit of bruising on my ass too, but it’s not nearly as bad as my back. If I hadn’t had my medication, it would have been really ugly.”
“I hate seeing you like this,” he tells me.
I adjust myself around so I straddle his lap. “I know,” I tell him. “I’m sorry.”
His hands roam up my back and I lean into him letting my lips come down on his. “Do you need to go back to work?” I ask. “I sent Mick home early and gave him tomorrow off. I was kind of hoping to spend the next three days in bed with you.”
“Fuck, babe,” he says. “I have to go back until eight, but I have an hour before I have to leave.”
“Well then,” I say as my hands come to the bottom of his shirt and start raising it up to put that magnificent body of his on display. “We better not waste a single second.”
His big hand comes up and curls around the back of my neck as his thumb reaches around to stroke down the side of my face. “You read my mind.”
Luke pulls me into him as his other hand slips under my ass. He lifts me as easy as though he was picking up a feather. My legs wrap around his waist and before I know it, he’s sitting at the top of his bed, leaning against the headboard as he watches me slide my bra straps off my shoulders.
His eyes become dark and hooded as he watches every little move I make and I find it impossible to look away. He’s so intense and the way he looks makes my heart race in my chest.
And then he touches me.
His fingertips lightly trail down my neck and over my collarbone leaving a burning trail behind. I don’t know how he does it, but I need more. Always more.
I reach around myself and unclip my bra before letting it fall to the bed. Again, his fingers trail over my skin, touching my stomach, my arms, my breasts. My eyes close as I revel in the satisfaction of his touch. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Lex,” he tells me.
With that, I open my eyes and look deep into his. I rest my hand against his chest and feel his strong heartbeat beneath my fingers. “I love you,” I tell him with a shaky voice, hoping that I’m not going to regret telling him that.
I brace myself, fearing that it’s too soon for him, but that fear quickly disappears as his hands wrap around my back and he pulls me in close to kiss me. With his arms caged around my body, he lets me fall to my side before rolling us and hovering above me.
He props himself up on his elbows beside my head and looks down at me as a brilliant smile takes over his perfectly sculptured face. “Do you have any idea how good it is to hear those words come out of your mouth?”
I bite down on my bottom lip as I gently shake my head. My eyes search his, waiting and hoping he says something to ease the nervousness within me. His eyes soften and a seriousness comes over him as he gently presses his lips to mine. “I love you too,” he murmurs against my lips.
“You do?” I question.
“Fuck yeah,” he says. “I dare you to try and get rid of me.”
My lips lift into a massive smile, but it doesn’t last long before he crushes his lips to mine and devours me, making the need within me intensify. I arch up into him and he reads me like a map.
Luke reaches for the button of my jeans and pulls them down my legs. I’m too far gone to even comprehend how to get rid of his pants, so I’m pleased when the second mine are gone, he strips off his own.
My hand wraps around his velvety length and I pump my fist up and down before guiding him to my entrance. The need is too much for all the foreplay, I need him now, so the second he pushes up into me, my eyes start rolling into the back of my head.
I hold onto him with everything I’ve got, terrified to let him pull back even an inch. His hands find mine and he laces our fingers together.
As he pushes up into me, the emotion takes over. This is so much more than just sex. It’s not fucking or having a quick screw. This is about connection, two people coming together and letting the other in. This is expressing your emotion. This is one hundred percent pure lovemaking and it’s the most raw and beautiful moment I’ve ever shared with another human being.
My body craves its release and when he kisses me before his lips trail down to my neck and devour my sensitive skin, it’s exactly what I need to push me over the edge.
My hands clench in his as my orgasm rocks through me. “Luke,” I pant.
“I know, baby,” he says as he stills. “I’m right there with you.”
He rolls us again and I
let out a breath as I rest against his chest. “You’re incredible,” I tell him.
“Right back at ya, babe,” he says. I smile to myself as I take in his tone. I don’t even need to look up to know he’s smirking to himself, proud of his achievements as usual.
We lay in each other’s arms for a moment before he runs his fingers down my back. “I’ve got something for you,” he tells me.
My eyebrows furrow. “You mean like a surprise?” I question.
“Something like that,” he grunts before rolling me off him. “Wait here.”
I prop myself up on my elbows and watch as he climbs out of bed. My eyes can’t help but travel down his strong back to that sweet, sweet ass of his. It’s like the perfect peach. I just want to bite my teeth into it. It’s fucking delicious.
He turns back with a sparkle in his eyes. “Is there something you need?” he grins, catching me staring.
“Mmmm,” I groan with hooded eyes. “More than you know.”
He chuckles and shakes his head before disappointing me as he pulls on his pants and walks out of the bedroom, taking my eye candy with him.
I squish myself into his pillow and breath him in while I wait. My heart is completely overflowing with love for this man. He’s incredible and I have no idea how I ever became so lucky to be the person who bought the house right next door.
He walks back in a few moments later with a strange nervousness in his eyes. In fact, he looks downright cautious and a little shit scared with whatever this surprise of his is. He swallows before pulling out a lump of paper from his back pockets and handing it to me.
I take the paper from him and sit up in bed, wondering what the hell this is. As I unfold it all, I can’t help but notice how dirty and gross it is which only makes me wonder what the hell he’s been doing.
I flatten the paper out on the bed and look down. I gasp as I take it in. “Are these my divorce papers?” I ask him as I look up with wide eyes.
“Yeah… I, um,” he cringes. “Shit. I’ve completely overstepped here. I saw them at Jeremy’s place and got him to sign it.”
“What?” I gasp in disbelief. “He signed?”
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