My Addiction: Second Chances Series

by S. K. Lessly

  Lock leaned back against the couch. “First thing, Ayana, you’re not going back to that place, understand? You’re right not to trust this guy, Allen. He sounds like he’s completely in over his head. I don’t trust shit about him. I remember him from Ice’s that night Brad first came home. I didn’t like him then, and from what you said, I really should have arrested his ass that night.”

  “Yeah, well, you don’t have to worry about me going back,” Ayana smiled, “He’s called me a few times already and I haven’t returned his phone call. I only went home because I knew you were watching me.”

  “How so?” Lock asked, his eyebrows rising skeptically.

  She shrugged. “I saw someone following me here one day. I figured it was you and your team. So I just assumed you had someone watching me twenty-four/seven, so I felt somewhat safe. Unfortunately, for me, you caught on to me after things really got scary. I mean, Lock, it scared the shit out of me when Ramone put his hands around my neck. I thought-”

  Lock frowned and held his hand up. “Whoa, wait a second, Ayana. You didn’t tell me he laid a hand on you.”

  Ayana, taken a back slightly by his sudden anger said softly, “Yeah, he got angry with me one night because I asked him to call his partner Martins and check in. I started questioning him the moment he said to me that Santos was interested in buying me. I went crazy, telling him to call Martins and he went ballistic on me. He almost choked the life out me. He told me he had everything under control and that Martins was fully aware of everything. That’s when I knew my time was running out. He threatened to tell Santos that I was the one who had Noelle, and he said he would lead them right to her. I believe him, Lock. That man seems desperate and, like you said, way over his head.”

  Lock nodded and scrubbed his bearded chin. “Listen, the sooner we can get Noelle and you safe, I can…” That instant Lock heard his phone. He pulled it out and just as he answered, he heard gunfire inside the warehouse.

  Lock stood. “What’s going on, Scott?”

  “You’ve got company,” he told him in the phone.

  “Yeah, no shit. Who is it?”

  “It’s that guy I saw with Ms. Peters a few times. I didn’t think anything of it until a couple of cars pulled up with him.”

  Lock looked at Ayana and Noelle and made movements, telling them they need to get out of there quick. They moved toward a door adjacent to the elevator, but they heard footsteps. They then heard the elevator and Lock knew they were too late.

  “Boss, what do you want me to do? There’s at least seven of them.”

  Lock looked at Ayana and noticed she was motioning him to listen to her. “Martins told me there is an escape route that will take us to the next building. I don’t know if Ramone knows about it, but we need to go now.”

  Lock followed the two women to the back of the apartment. He barked in his phone, “We’re heading to the neighboring building. Get there and see if anyone is there waiting for us. Clear a way for us, Ivey.” He hung up and once they got to the bedroom, he saw Ayana move to a closet and press on a panel. The door separated and they entered. Lock with his gun and a small pin light in his hands led the way telling Noelle, “You shoot anyone that comes through that door, understand me?”

  She nodded and he moved quietly and as quickly as he could. The space was cramped, but wide enough for his big frame to get through as long as he moved sideways. Once they made it to the other side, he paused and listened. He heard footsteps behind him, so he knew they didn’t have much time. He pulled his phone out and dialed Scott. When Scott came on the air, he whispered, “How does it look?”

  “There were two guys waiting, but they’re down. Derek was here for some reason and we both took them out. Come downstairs and head for the back alley. We got you covered.”

  Lock motioned for the women to get in front of him and he kept an eye on the back. They moved quickly and once they got to the back door they were met by a rather large black man in a black t-shirt, too small for his broad shoulders, and jeans. Alongside him was a tall, lean white guy with a long beard and long sleeved white t-shirt.

  “We have company coming fast. We need to move quickly,” Lock said to them.

  Derek nodded and took up position in the rear. Ayana and Noelle, panic etched in their features, followed directly behind Lock. Lock took the shotgun from Noelle and tossed it to Scott. Ayana watched Scott catch the shotgun in midstride as he moved to the side of her and Noelle, shielding them as they moved quickly through the alley.

  “How did you get here?” Lock asked Derek.

  “My car is just down the street here to the left,” Derek replied.

  Once Derek’s car was in sight, Lock moved faster, knowing they were running out of time. They piled into Derek’s car with Lock behind the wheel when gunfire exploded around the car. Ayana and Noelle screamed just as Scott pushed the girls down and placed his body over them. The driver side back seat window exploded and Scott turned, pushed the shotgun out of the window, and returned fire instantly as Lock pushed the pedal.

  Tires screeching, he moved through the neighborhood looking back multiple times in search of a tail. When his rearview mirror was clear, he slowed down but only slightly.

  Just as his heart rate came down he asked, “Is everyone alright back there?”

  Scott moved back from the women and looked at them both. Ayana and Noelle both looked around the car breathing heavily while holding on to each other.

  Lock took a sharp turn and yelled, “Damn it, Ayana, are you two okay?”

  “Yeah, boss they’re fine,” Scott replied.

  “Where are we going?” Derek asked.

  Ayana tuned everything out and looked at Noelle. Noelle’s eyes were huge and she was desperately trying to grasp air. Ayana instantly felt for any wet spot on her friend as she said, “Hey, Noelle, it’s okay, sweetie. We’re fine, okay? I told you Lock would protect us, right? He and his team are the best. I know he won’t let anything happen to us.”

  Noelle looked Ayana in her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing, but she was in full panic mode. She started to think about what would have happened if Lock didn’t show up today. They were banking that he would, but what if he didn’t?

  “Hey,” she heard the cop next to her say and she turned to face him. He smiled at her and squared her shoulders with his. “What’s your name beautiful?”

  Noelle frowned but she whispered out her name.

  His smiled deepened. “Noelle, my name is Scott. The big guy up there is Derek. We have another burly guy that works with us and his name is Sol. Noelle, we are not going to let anything happen to you, okay? You have my word on that. Trust me, you’re safe. Just take a few deep breaths.”

  Ayana looked at the rearview mirror and saw Lock’s eyes on her. She mouthed, “Thank you.” Hell, that was all she could say. She knew if Lock wasn’t the hound he was, he wouldn’t have been there and she wondered too what would have happened if that was the case.

  Lock tightened his lips and nodded once.

  Derek looked over at his boss. “What’s the plan?”

  Lock took a deep breath. “That’s a good question.”

  “Everyone needs a second chance! If she’s begging you for one give it to her.

  You never know when you’ll need one from her.” – Unknown Author

  Chapter 10 - Bradley

  Getting out of the shower freshly shaved, skin red from the heat of the water, I walked into the room and went right for the bar. When I left my brother’s, I went to Ice’s for a few drinks. I needed something to help calm me down.

  I wanted to punch my brother in his mouth. I wanted to know what in the hell possessed him to contact Nora. I told him repeatedly that Nora and I were through. As always, he felt as though it was his job to get into my business.

  I ran my hands through my wet hair, poured a glass of Scotch, and quickly threw it back. The room was starting to spin, but I didn’t give a shit. I needed something to take my m
ind off this fucked up situation.

  When I left Ayana’s the other night, I just drove around the city thinking about the last time I was wrapped up with her shit. When her mom died suddenly from a routine procedure, I was in medical school in California. I knew it hit her hard, but there wasn’t anything I could do for her. I was miles away, and I couldn’t get to her due to the multiple exams I had coming up.

  She ended up hooked on pain meds during that time or, more than likely, it was a little bit before that. She got hurt playing basketball and was already on Oxycodone for that injury. The problem was she kept using it well after she needed to. She then started using it to deal with the pain and agony of losing her mom so suddenly. She lost her rock and she didn’t know how to handle it. By the time I got home, I had to detox her, but not before she overdosed on the shit. I had to stabilize her while I waited for the ambulance to come. It took me a long time to get her back but I did. Getting her clean was hell but as I said, I did it. She told me she mistakenly took some of her mom’s pills thinking it was hers. but I wasn’t buying it. I told her to get clean and stay that way or I’d never see or speak to her again.

  Things were good for a while. She stayed clean. We worked on getting her through the loss of her mom and the fact that her brother was nowhere to be found to help her with arrangements. She needed him to be there for her like the countless times she was there for him.

  The moment her brother showed up, though, he brought drama as always and as always Ayana felt like it was her job to help him. I told her no. She didn’t need to bail his ass out of trouble all the time, but she didn’t listen. She did all kinds of things to protect him from the police and even their mom. Anything she could do to keep his ungrateful ass out of jail, she did it. And even then, when he was MIA when she needed him the most, she still felt compelled to help him, saying he was the only family she had left. I tried not to let that get to me. I mean, what was I? Chopped liver?

  But I didn’t bring that up. Instead, I tried to support her. I told her that I was there for her if she needed me and I would do whatever I needed. What I didn’t expect was how far she would go to save her brother. Apparently, her brother stashed a huge amount of drugs in their mother’s house and some people broke in to get it while Ayana was home. Well, she decided she wasn’t going to tell them shit and they shot her twice for it. They ransacked the house as she bled out. The only reason why they didn’t kill her, I think, was because they heard me coming. The only reason she’s living right now is because I had a feeling something wasn’t right because she wasn’t answering her phone.

  What pissed both my brother and me off was her lack of cooperation. She wouldn’t tell Lock that she knew who the guys were and what they were looking for until after she told her brother. Her brother and his crew got the people involved but that was it. The only justice she got was the fact that her brother and his crew were forever indebted to her.

  I was done. My patience was gone. She put her life in jeopardy too many times for her brother and I just had enough. When I left to return to school, we broke up. I told my brother she just decided not to go to California with me. I didn’t tell him what she did to help her brother and his crew.

  It was devastating to say the least, and it nearly destroyed me, but I almost lost her twice to some bullshit and she couldn’t see how that was a problem for me. If she did, she didn’t put up much of a fight to keep me. I couldn’t just sit around and create a life with her only for the shit to go up in smoke over her brother or anything else. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t get involved with her again and here I was doing exactly that. I don’t know if this latest shit has to do with her brother, but I knew our last break up was hard on her as much as it was on me. So, I had to believe her when she said it had nothing to do with Terrence. I needed to believe her when she said she wasn’t mixed up with drugs again. I needed to believe this was what she wanted. And most importantly, I needed to walk away if she was lying.

  One time I asked Ayana why she felt the need to use drugs for her pain. I asked what did she feel when she took them. She tried to explain to me what it felt like, how the drugs coursed through her body. She confessed that it felt like little feathers caressing her nerve endings, making her feel like she was floating on air. It made her forget everything; nothing mattered but the glorious feeling coursing through her. She told me that the problem is when the high is over. The need for it again takes over and all she thought about was that feeling. She wanted it, she craved for that sensation she got the first time she tried it. That’s what she was doing, chasing that high.

  I never wanted to admit this, but for the longest time I actually did know what it felt like to be addicted, to crave something that you knew wasn’t good for you. You knew this thing would destroy you but at the same time, it had this hold over you so strong that you’re helpless when you saw it.

  I threw the rest of my drink down and looked for my phone.

  I called my addiction.

  She answered on the forth ring.

  “Hey you,” she answered softly.

  “Where are you?” I asked her.

  “I’m at Ice’s. Where are you?”

  “8452 Dallas Parkway, Plano,” I said. She got quiet on the phone, but I knew she was still there. I felt her. I took a deep breath. “I need you.”

  That was it, three little words said with a profound meaning that I knew only she would understand.

  She remained quiet for a minute, then said gently, “Okay, I’ll be there.”

  See? That’s what I mean. I didn’t have to tell her what I needed. I didn’t have to convince her, try any word games or tricks, or explain to her why. All I needed to do was tell her.

  “A key will be downstairs at the front desk for you.”

  “Okay. See you soon.”

  I don’t know how long it took her to get to me; I was literally in a daze as my mind wandered to what I wanted to do to her the moment I touched her. The radio was playing, but I hadn’t a clue what station was on—it was all making me even more anxious. I can’t really explain what I was feeling. I felt this sensation come over me suddenly. This feeling threatened to devour me, to take over my body. I was starting to shake, my hands literally started to shake and my heart felt like it was going to burst from my chest.

  Shit… What the hell?

  Suddenly some shit happened that I swear needed to be scripted. First Lifehouse’s song Broken started to play on the radio and that’s when I heard a key fit into my room door. I turned from the window I was looking out of to find Ayana coming through my door.

  God. just seeing her made my heart rate increase. My hands shook more and as I licked my lips, the need…no, the burning fucking desire to taste her, came over me. The words to the song were added fuel and I was becoming out of control.

  I didn’t waste time. I dropped the glass out of my hand, unsure if it was filled or not or where it landed, and I moved to her.

  The room seemed too big and I couldn’t get to her fast enough. I needed this; I needed her so desperately that I was beginning to feel like I was suffocating.

  “Fuck, Ana!” I pleaded, voice hoarse and gritty.

  My hands got to her first as I placed them on the sides of her face. Then my lips instantly went to hers, and the second her taste hit my tongue, I exploded from the inside out.

  God, I needed this.

  I kissed her, chasing the feeling of the first time I ever tasted her. I kissed her deep, bringing her body as close to mine as I could. I started to remove her shirt and she helped me, bringing her arms up and taking her shirt off the rest of the way. I went to the front of her bra and released her, licking my lips at the promise they held for me.

  Ayana moved to unzip her jeans, and as I walked her back to the bed, I was already trying to pull them down.

  I got them down just as she fell back on the bed and I threw them behind me. I removed my t-shirt, dropped my shorts, and climbed on top of her. She spread
her legs for me and wrapped them around my waist.

  I finally paused, but only for a second. Looking deep in her creamy, chocolate eyes, I said to her, “What have you done to me?”

  Ayana brought her hands to my face and caressed me before her hands went into my hair and gripped me. She admitted to me, voice soft but full of desire and want. “I haven’t done anything that you haven’t done to me.”

  I tried my best not to hurt her, but I needed to feel her. I needed to be inside her and the moment I entered her, we both groaned from the sensation that our bodies felt from our union.

  She was made for me, and damn it I was made for her. I love her and as I moved my hips, grinding her hard and determined, I told her how much I loved her.

  I brought her legs over my shoulders. I picked up my pace and began to drive us both insane. She brought my face down to her and assured me, “Everything’s going to be fine, baby. Take what you need from me, Bradley. Take what you need.”

  The love from her eyes humbled me and sobered me slightly. I buried my face between her neck and I did what she told me to do; I took what I needed from her.

  When I felt her move moments later, I brought her body close to me. “Wait. Don’t go just yet,” I told her, voice groggy from sleep.

  She turned her body and faced me. “Okay.”

  We lay on our sides and stared at each other as I caressed her face and ran my hands through her hair. She caressed my chest, making my dick hard as a rock just from her touch.