by Nicole Fox
If King was gone, I didn’t think I’d be capable of doing anything I’d dreamed of doing anymore. How could I even consider opening up a club without him at my side? I couldn’t think about doing something like that, when all I would have were the tainted memories of King and I.
No, I wouldn’t let him go to prison. I wouldn’t let him leave me. There had to be something that could be done.
“King, we’ll figure something out. It’s okay.”
King remained silent, and I felt my stomach drop. The look on his face wasn’t a good one, and who knew what he was planning. I hoped that he wasn’t going to do something crazy and dangerous, because, at this point, I didn’t know if I could take it.
Chapter Twenty
King
I couldn’t believe it.
I couldn’t believe that Rossi taken things so far, or that my old friends had teamed up with him and betrayed me like they had. I barely even recognized them anymore. They were just people that I used to know.
I couldn’t believe any of what had happened today, and I probably wouldn’t be getting over it any time soon.
Christy had leaned close to me, whispering reassuring words in my ear, but it wasn’t doing any good—not when my whole life seemed to be crumbling around me. Being wanted by the police was no small matter, and it wasn’t something that I could just fix overnight, not with knowing the evidence against me. There was no hope for me, no matter what Christy said.
I wasn’t the type to wallow in my own self-pity, but I could honestly say that there was no way out of my situation. Rossi had well and truly fucked me over, and there wasn’t a single thing I could do about it. The only thing that I could think of wouldn’t really fix the situation, but it would help me, and that was all I could really do now—prolong the inevitable. I knew, without a doubt, that Christy would be thoroughly against it, and that she would try to convince me not to do it, but she wouldn’t be able to sway me. Not this time.
The entire drive to Sky’s house was quiet. Christy sat beside me in uncharacteristic silence, probably not wanting to push me, and for that I was grateful. I, on the other hand, had my mind preoccupied with every single possibility and course of action. When we finally arrived inside, Christy stopped me in my tracks with a hand on my arm.
“King?” she questioned.
“I know what you’re going to say, but it’s not happening,” I said.
“Why not? We can stop him,” she insisted.
“No, Christy. Not this time.” We wouldn’t be able to figure a way out of it this time. If the police caught wind of me, then I’d be going to prison for a long time, for something that I hadn’t even done. All the evidence was against me, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to talk or fight my way out of this, like I had in the past. There was only one thing I could do now.
“What do you mean? We have to do something. You can’t just let yourself be arrested.”
She didn’t understand what I meant, and I hated what I was about to say. There wasn’t even a small part of me that wanted to tell her what I was about to do. I could already predict her reaction clearly in my mind.
“I need to leave town, Christy. It’s the only way.”
Christy frowned up at me, then began nodding her head.
“Okay. We’ll leave then. That’s okay. It’s probably the best idea, until things calm down a bit and then–”
“No, Christy. That’s not what I meant. I need to leave town,” I said again.
“Yes, I know, King. I’ll get my things ready, and we can go–”
“Christy!” I interrupted with a shout, watching her eyes dart around in confusion. “I’m going on my own. I can’t let you come with me,” I said seriously.
She had to understand. I had to make her understand.
“Are you serious, King? How could you say that? We’re in this together. If you have to leave, then I’m coming with you.”
“Christy, I can’t let you do that.”
How could she not understand? I couldn’t let her go on the run with me. We weren’t vacationing somewhere, and we weren’t going to visit a new place. We would be running from the cops. How could she want to be dragged into that? It was one thing to want to stand by me, but this would be ridiculous.
“King, you can’t stop me,” she pleaded. “I won’t let you go that easily.”
Before I knew it, Christy began to stride forward toward me, wrapping her arms around my neck, and pulling my lips down to hers. I knew what she was doing. It wouldn’t work, but I wasn’t going to stop her from seducing me, if that’s what she deemed the best was to convince me. If she wanted to give me something to remember her by, then there wasn’t a single part of me that would even think about complaining.
Instead, I deepened the kiss, intertwining my tongue with hers and biting down on her plump bottom lip. She had her hands on my collar now, moaning into my mouth. I slipped my hand up her thigh and under her skirt, cupping her ass and drawing her tighter against me. Christy and I were wrapped so tightly around each other that I was scared I was going to break her, but I didn’t let go, gripping her tighter to me.
She didn’t even bother leading me to the bedroom, taking me over to the sofa instead, and sitting me down roughly.
“I’m coming with you,” she said as she stepped back, pulling her shirt over her head and revealing her lace bra.
“No, you’re not,” I replied, even as my hands lifted to cup her breasts while she straddled my lap. Our lips connected once more, moving in sync as we lost ourselves in each other. She was grinding on me, rotating her hips with almost hypnotic circular motions.
I wanted her even closer to me, and I knew she thought the same when she slipped my own shirt above my head and pulled herself even higher on my lap.
“I’m coming with you,” she repeated, as I unclasped her bra, letting her bare nipples rub up and down my chest as I tilted her hips to a more comfortable position. My erection was so close to her, only separated by a few layers of easily-discarded clothing. Her skirt and my pants came off next, both in a fumble of fingers and limbs, as we struggled to stay connected.
I didn’t want to leave her for a moment, not now when I needed to connect with her one last time.
“You’re not,” I replied again, but this time with more of a grunt as she moved in a particular way that made my hips jerk.
I was determined for Christy not to change my mind, but, fuck, when she did things like that, I forgot why.
Finally, Christy’s panties came off too, and, at last, there was no barrier between us.
I gripped my cock in my own hands and helped her lower herself onto me.
“King,” she panted, seating herself down completely and arching her back so that her perky tits were right in my face. I bit down hard on one nipple as she began her slow rising and falling motion.
“You’re not going off by yourself,” Christy said, her head tipped back and her hands grasping my shoulders.
“You can’t change my mind.”
With every downward stroke, she clamped hard around me, almost coaxing me to orgasm.
It didn’t take long before we reached bliss together, our sweaty bodies reaching the height of our pleasure and sharing it with each other. If it were any other time, then maybe I would feel content, peaceful, or even loved, but knowing I had to leave her had cast a darker light on things.
“Please, don’t make this harder than it has to be,” I said. “I won’t be able to stand it if you do.”
“This is bullshit. You’re being set up! Why can’t we fight this? Together!”
I knew what she wanted. It was the same thing that I wanted myself, but I couldn’t get through to her that it couldn’t happen.
There was no way I was going to weigh her down with all my baggage, drag her around from place to place while I stayed on the run, and let her become a criminal, just because I was a selfish bastard.
No, she would have to stay behind and avoid Rossi as long as
she could. Maybe he would leave her alone, and maybe he wouldn’t. I’d make sure she was protected, nonetheless. Maybe I’d pay Romano another visit and try to strike a deal for her protection. I had a feeling I might not need to, though, if what I suspected of Romano was true. He would find his own way to protect her, regardless.
If not, maybe she would decide to leave on her own and start over somewhere new, away from all the drama. I wouldn’t blame her for that. Who could?
Either way, she and I had to go our separate ways.
“You know it’s the only way,” I said, hoping she understood that I wished to God that things could be different.
Chapter Twenty-One
Christy
He was leaving. I felt like every time I thought about it, I would add the silent me to the end, because that’s what was really happening, wasn’t it? After everything that we had been through together, he was leaving me behind. I wasn’t selfish enough to think that it had everything, or maybe even anything, to do with me, but I still resented the fact that he couldn’t take me with him.
I could pick up and start over in another town. In fact, I’d done it before, and I was fine. Well, I was fine until this entire mess had happened. King didn’t want me to come with him because of some misplaced sense of chivalry, or maybe some archaic idea that he was protecting me, or maybe just because he didn’t want to ruin my life. What he didn’t understand, though, was that I was entirely too involved in the situation, and with King himself, to ever be willingly left behind.
Frankly, I was offended that he’d ask that of me. Didn’t he know me at all?
He’d said that I should stay behind, but what would I do then? I had no job, Rossi and his goons were after me, and Romano was thrown into the mix as well. My whole life here was a disaster.
If anything, I’d probably have to move away, too. Starting over didn’t scare me. The thing was, I didn’t want to just move. I wanted to go with King, help him hunt down his old crew, and get vengeance. I wanted to clear his name and let him go back to living his life like a free man. Ever since I’d met him, he’d had some kind of weight hanging off his shoulders, and, for once, I wanted to see him free of all his burdens—really, truly free.
I had an idea, too. I wasn’t just all talk. King may have thought that I hadn’t planned anything out, but I had a firm idea of how we could solve our dilemma. What I needed, though, was for him to listen and get rid of his ridiculous notions of leaving me behind. Or leaving at all.
The truth was, I didn’t think we even had to leave. Rossi had said the police would be after us soon, so that meant they weren’t already. Sure, we didn’t know how long we had, but that still gave us a bit of time to execute my plan, and time was all I needed.
If King was intent on hunting down his old crew and taking Rossi out of the picture as well, there was no reason why he couldn’t do both at once. In fact, that was exactly what I was going to suggest to him.
King’s crew were our only solid link to Rossi, and the only way we might have something on him to take him down. We had to use them to our advantage.
It was a perfect idea, and I knew it would work if King gave it a chance, but somehow, I was unconvinced that he would.
He was so intent on leaving me behind and getting revenge on his crew by himself that he refused to see that he wasn’t making the best decision.
Well, I refused to let him ignore me any longer. I would just have to make him listen, and that was all there was to it.
# # #
I barged into King’s apartment, thankful the door was unlocked, and stormed into the bedroom where he was flinging some clothes into a bag. I’d never been inside his apartment before, but now was not the time to dwell. I was on a mission, and I wouldn’t be leaving until King agreed with my plans.
“Christy?” he asked, as he whipped around. “Jesus, what are you doing here?”
“You’re not leaving. Stop packing.”
“Christy,” he said sadly, dropping the clothes in his hands and giving me an exhausted expression. “We’ve talked about this. Would you please let it go?”
“No, I’m not letting it go! I have a plan, and it’s going to work.”
“Don’t you understand, Christy? I’m a wanted man. There’s a fucking reward for anyone who hands me over.”
Well, this just kept on getting better. I hadn’t realized there was a reward for turning him in, but that just made my plan even greater.
“Good, because I’m turning you in,” I said harshly.
“What?” he yelled.
“I’m turning you into the police and getting the reward for myself. I could use the money. You know that.”
“This isn’t the time for games!”
“I’m not playing with you. Stay and help me with my plan, or I will go to the police, turn you in, and collect the reward.”
“You wouldn’t,” King said in disbelief.
He was right. I was completely bluffing, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. There was definitely some guilt in my stomach over how I was tricking him, but sometimes things just needed to be done. If coercing him was what it took to keep him from leaving town and to keep him out of prison, then so be it.
“Try me,” I said flatly.
There was a moment of silence as King debated my words. He was definitely trying to decipher whether or not I was serious, but I was determined not to give anything away, so I stared at him with the most unexpressive face I could muster.
It must have worked because a second later he said, “What do you want?”
I could tell by his slumped shoulders and tone of voice that he was conceding, and I didn’t even bother to suppress my triumphant smile over the fact.
“I have a plan to clear your name, and get our revenge,” I said, putting a slight emphasis on the word ‘our,’ so he knew that there was no way I was going to stay out of it.
“I’m listening,” he replied, like he had any other choice.
“You’re planning on tracking down your old crew, right?”
“What makes you say that?” King asked.
I almost scoffed. Of course he would be tracking them down. I’d seen how broken he was when he found out that his old friends had betrayed him and agreed to work for Rossi. That kind of betrayal didn’t go unavenged, especially with someone like King. It was like he’d forgotten that we’d spent so much time together in the past few weeks, and that I knew him as well as I did.
“I know you, King. Do you have any idea how to find them?” I asked, knowing the answer already.
“Not yet.”
“I know a way to track them down.” I smiled broadly then, aware I had his attention now.
“How?” King asked, intrigued.
The fact that he was so ready and willing to listen warmed me, and the guilt that I had felt earlier started to evaporate. This really was the best thing for him, and if I had to resort to blackmail to get King to see reason, then so be it.
“Well, the only person we know that knows where they are is Rossi, right? So, we’ll go and interrogate him.” I said it quickly, in the hopes that he wouldn’t question it too much, but, unfortunately, King picked up on it straight away.
“Christy, we’re not doing that,” King groaned. No, I couldn’t lose him now. My plan would work. I knew it would. I just needed to get King to invest in it.
“Why not? It’s perfect! He’ll tell us where your crew is, and then your crew will help us get some evidence on Rossi. It’s a win all around.”
“Rossi is not just going to give up information like that.”
“Yes, he will,” I said adamantly. “That’s what the interrogation is for.”
King slumped down on his bed and raked a hand over his shaved head.
“I don’t know about this, Christy.”
He may have been uncertain, but I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Walking over, I sat down beside him and leaned my head on his shoulder.
“Please, King.
Just do this for me. We’ll clear your name, and everything will be okay.”
I knew King was weighing his options carefully as he looked into my eyes, and when he finally sighed aloud, I knew I had won.
Chapter Twenty-Two
King
It was crazy how the course of my life seemed to have changed in a few short hours.
I had been ready to leave and spend my life on the run.