by May Bridges
“Not yet, Doll.”
I heard glass breaking. One sharp sound followed by smaller cracking ones, like the rest of the glass was being removed.
“I think they’re in the house. My bedroom window just broke.”
“Your bathroom door is locked and you have your gun, right?”
“Yeah.” I was trying to focus on breathing but the air in the room felt too warm. I felt trapped.
“Stay quiet. Sean is close.”
“Alex. If I have to climb through this window and cut myself, I won’t be the only one to bleed.” I heard Mike’s deep voice.
The bottom of my bedroom window was chest-high and the lock was at the top. Even with the window broken out it would have been almost impossible to reach the lock. He would have to pull himself through the broken glass.
Shortly after, my phone chirped letting me know I had another text. I tried, but failed, to read it without hanging up on Cade. It was from Robert.
All I want is to talk. What changed so much between us that I have to kidnap you to have dinner? It better not be a certain bottom-dwelling prick I know. Let Mike give you a ride to my house and we can talk.
I barely finished reading the text when my phone started up again. Cade.
“Hello, sorry, I didn’t mean to hang up.”
“Sean is there. He said there are two men, one in a black Range Rover parked next to your Cadillac. One outside your bedroom.”
“It’s Mike. The text was from Robert. He wants me to ride back to his house with Mike and talk to him. Maybe it’s not a bad idea, Cade. See what he wants—”
“If I were there right now I would bend you over my knee and spank your ass till it was bright red for saying that,” Cade said, cutting me off. “Actually, I’ll add it to the list.” His voice was dark and laced with anger.
“List?” I questioned.
“We can talk about it later. Text Rob back and tell him you’ll drive yourself and Mike can follow you. Tell him to have Mike wait in his car and you’ll be right there.”
I typed out a quick text to Robert. Telling him to call his dog off and I’d be out in a bit. I explained that I was locked in my bathroom, indecent, and didn’t want Mike to see me that way. I needed time to dress. Robert wouldn’t want Mike to see me that way either.
I got a quick response telling me Mike would be waiting and not to fuck around.
“Sean wants you to unlock your bedroom window. He’ll be there waiting for you. I’m going to hang up. Hurry.”
I cautiously opened my bathroom door. Out of the window on my far bedroom wall, out of a broken out window I saw a tall dark silhouette. I didn’t know Sean and the only other time I’d seen him he was throwing Christian off my balcony. It made me seriously question which man put me more in harm’s way: Cade or Robert.
“Miss Ryan,” Sean said.
I stepped out of the bathroom and over to the window, tiptoeing around broken glass in my cream carpet.
“Alex. Not Miss Ryan.” Maybe it was that he was dressed in a clean, crisp suit and looked like he could’ve been Mr. Arnold’s boss, but for whatever reason, it was easy to offer him that as a name to call me.
Sean smiled back, beautiful white teeth flashing on his smooth brown face. He reached his hand through the window to shake mine. “I’m Sean. Are you ready to go?”
“Go where?”
“Cade asked me to take you back to his house. My car is across the street. We need to go now.”
The thought of going back to Cade’s gave me that nervous excited feeling. The thought of having someone to take me out of Mike’s reach, after he had threatened to make me bleed, made me ecstatic.
“I need to get a few things first.”
“Well that was easy. Guess I don’t need the duct tape and burlap sack after all.”
“What?” I asked freezing mid-step.
“Cade said you might be stubborn about going. Told me to bring my bag with duct tape and burlap sacks in case I needed to gag you and carry you to my car. I told him I was sure you were smarter than to refuse me.”
Cade actually told him he could gag me and put a sack over my head? Asshole!
“Like I want to stay here and let Mike drag me out by my hair.”
“Speaking of, you really need to hurry.”
Sean waited at my bedroom window. I pulled down a small overnight bag and Mr. Heart’s carrier. Mr. Heart promptly moved back under the bed at the first sight of the carrier. “No. It’s okay, come here, Heart. Come on.” I cooed to him on my knees, looking under the bed.
“Who are you talking to?” Sean asked.
“Mr. Heart, my cat. I can’t go without him.”
“Open the window.”
I did, sliding the frame with shards of glass up. In one smooth leap, Sean was through my window and in my room, broken glass crunching under his shoes. “You get your bag. I’ll get your cat.”
Before I could say anything, Sean was on his stomach on the floor, in what must have been a five hundred dollar suit, making ticking sounds to Mr. Heart. I kind of liked him already.
It only took me a minute to throw some work clothes and a few other things in the bag. I slipped on shoes, and I was ready. It took Sean half that time to get Mr. Heart out from under the bed and into his carrier.
My phone pinged and I checked the screen. Robert.
You have two minutes and Mike drags you out.
Sean hopped out of the window first, took Mr. Heart and my things, and then helped me out.
It was dark, but my building was well lit. I usually appreciated it, but not at that moment. From the back of my apartment to where Sean was parked there was a four-foot gap between buildings where Mike, and whoever was with him, would have a chance to see us. We stopped at the edge of the building. Sean went across first and I followed. I got a glimpse of Mike, and what I thought was Oscar, parked next to my car. I hoped they didn’t see me.
Across the street Sean led me to a big black truck, sitting in the Quicky Mart parking lot. He put Mr. Heart and my things inside. We made it out of Highland Park and onto the highway without being followed.
“Do you always dress so nice?” It was the second time I’d seen him, both times in a beautiful suit.
“No, gym shorts and a T-shirt usually. I was on my way to pick up my date for the evening.” The corner of his mouth quirked up and he shook his head. I guessed he wasn’t pleased at missing his date.
“You have a girlfriend?”
“No.”
He was hard to make small talk with. Polite but short answers.
“Cade said he has a warehouse. Is that where we’re going?”
I could see his brow raise and an amused look crossed his face. He side-eyed me for a moment. “No. Cade is at home. He asked that I take you there. Did Cade tell you who is at his warehouse right now?”
“Christian,” I answered. “The guy you threw off my balcony.”
“And you’re still going along with all this? Going to his house. Getting in a car with me?”
“Going with you was either going to be of my own free will, or duct tape and burlap, right?” I stared, irritated, at him for a prolonged moment. He chuckled, but was otherwise unaffected. “I have also realized,” I continued, “that when Cade wants to intrude on your life, you don’t get to say no. He’ll do it anyway.”
“You couldn’t be more right,” Sean agreed, his hands relaxing on the steering wheel. “I think it’s funny when he calls you stubborn. There is no one on the planet more stubborn and pigheaded than Cade Brannon. I think you two are a great match for each other.”
I felt the heat of embarrassment rise in my face. “Oh we’re not a . . . It’s not like that,” I mumbled out.
“Of course it’s not like that. Cade pulls me away from my personal life all the time to go rescue chicks. We’re like a regular Robin Hood and Little John.” I couldn’t really tell from my angle, but I was sure he rolled his eyes at me.
We pulled up to a ni
ce brick house on the east side of Dallas. It wasn’t the mansion-like estate Robert lived in, but nicer than the home I grew up in. Sean pulled up to the garage and the door rolled open for him. Inside I saw Cade’s baby, his Charger. Leaning against the back was Cade. He looked delicious in jeans that hung low on his hips and a plain black T-shirt. Maybe I would have dessert after all.
He was at my door the moment Sean put the truck in park. He pulled me down from my seat and stood me at arm’s length in front of him.
“You okay?” he asked, after a long moment of looking me over.
I didn’t know why, but my chest was filling with emotions. I was okay. I knew I was. By the time Sean made it to the highway with no sign of Mike, any fear I had felt sitting in my bathroom faded to nothing. Standing there with Cade’s hands on me, I felt relief. It felt like maybe everything really was going to be okay.
I reached out for Cade and pulled him into me, eager to be skin on skin with him again. There was a moment I feared he would reject me, push me away, especially in front of Sean. Robert had always been careful about not showing affection in front of his crew, I assumed Cade would be the same. Cade crushed me to him. I felt his warm breath on the top of my head as he breathed through my hair.
“I’m just fine,” I said.
Sean came around to our side of the truck and I started to pull away from Cade. I didn’t get far. He tucked me under his arm, his hand resting on my shoulder, and started talking to Sean. It was like having me there was the most normal thing in the world.
“Thanks for your help, man,” Cade said, bumping fists with Sean.
“For sure.” Sean let out a hard breath and his eyes settled on me. “Can I talk to you, Cade? I mean . . .”
“It’s fine,” I said, seeing Sean was hoping for a moment without me. “I need to get my stuff anyway.” I slid out from under Cade’s arm and toward the back door of the truck.
“I need to understand how we’re moving forward with everything at the warehouse,” Sean said as I walked away.
“Business as usual,” Cade answered. Both boys’ backs turned toward me as I lingered.
“You really going to try and play both sides with Rob?” I heard Sean ask. “You stole his girl out from under his nose . . .” I tried, but couldn’t hear much more as they paced away from me.
I grabbed Mr. Heart’s carrier and my bag and walked over to where the boys were. Conversation dried up as soon as I was in earshot.
“I’m going to head out,” Sean said. “It was nice to meet you again, Alex. Get my number from Cade in case you need me.”
“Thanks, Sean. Sorry about messing up your date.”
Sean waved back and climbed into his truck.
I followed Cade inside. His house was stark, open, and modern. Ash wood floors, clean lined furniture, tables of metal and glass. It all felt sterile. He led me up a curved staircase and down a hall. I followed him into a small bedroom. It didn’t look lived in. It had the same ash wood floors as the rest of the place. The bed was made perfectly, blue-black sheets and a matching duvet. There were no pictures or knickknacks on the night stands. Some disappointment washed over me when I realized I wouldn’t be staying in his room, followed swiftly by surprise at my desire to stay in his room.
My putting the cat carrier on the bed must have been a sign to Mr. Heart that the trip was over. He started pushing against the sides and meowing.
“Why is your bag making noise like a cat?” Cade asked.
“The bag isn’t. My cat is.” I unzipped the front and Mr. Heart eagerly climbed into my lap. He pushed his orange face against my hand, forcing me to pet him. “This is Mr. Heart, or Heart, whichever works. Also known as my dinner date.”
“Why is it here?” Cade asked.
“I couldn’t leave him at home. You wanted me to come and Mr. Heart goes with me. It’s a package deal.”
“Does he bite?” Cade asked. His top lip was pulled up into a worried looking sneer.
“What is your obsession with animals biting? No, he doesn’t bite. Well, not much, anyway.”
“Not much? That doesn’t work for me. You can keep him in your room but that’s it. I’m not going to be bitten by your cat.” Cade crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’m not locking him in a room. You’ll be fine. He only bites for good reason. Don’t give him a reason. Didn’t you ever have pets growing up?”
“We had a twenty-gallon fish tank. No fish though.” Cade stepped back away from Mr. Heart and leaned against the pearl colored wall. “My uncle would come by and put frogs and stuff in it for me to keep for a few days, then he’d come let them go.”
“That’s kind of cool.” I said, trying for a positive spin on the pet situation.
“Yeah, until I got bit.”
“A frog bit you?”
“No. Don’t be a smart ass. A frog didn’t bite me.” Cade suddenly found the pattern in his wood floors very interesting. He looked down, studying it intently as he said, “a turtle bit me.”
“A turtle?” I laughed. “Seriously?”
I could see some color coming into Cade’s face. “It’s not funny. They bite fucking hard and they don’t let go.”
I giggled, unable to hold it in at the idea of this massive man being scared of a turtle.
“Keep laughing,” Cade said, looking at my face now. “You’re going to get it later anyway.”
That shut me up.
“So you never had a dog or a cat, anything like that?”
Now Cade laughed. It was a completely humorless sound. “My mom barely scraped enough together to keep me fed. Would have been one really hungry pet.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t . . .”
“Whatever. Point is, I’ve never had one and don’t want one now.” Cade continued to eye Heart. He had backed as far away from him as possible while still remaining in the room.
“He doesn’t mean it, Heart. Everybody loves you.” I kissed his head and he jumped off me and dashed out of the room.
A small groan came from Cade and he flexed his hips forward. He looked almost tortured. “Even the cat gets a kiss,” Cade mumbled as he walked out too.
Chapter Thirteen
I followed behind Cade. He rattled off rooms as we walked through his house: guest room, bathroom . . . his room was at the other end of the hall from mine. A very long hall that had three other guest rooms between the two. I couldn’t help but feel the sting of hurt when I realized he’d put me as far from his room as he could.
“Thanks, Cade, for letting me stay tonight. I promise Heart and I will be out of your hair tomorrow,” I assured him.
“Tomorrow?” Cade stopped in the middle of the hall and turn on me. “Where are you going tomorrow?”
“Home? It is where I live, and I need to get my window fixed.” It was an obvious answer to me, but his reaction had me unsure.
“You can’t go home tomorrow. We will call your building management about the window, but you can’t go back. Rob’s going to keep sending people to your house until he gets you.”
“And that’s one more reason why I should go over and talk to him. Just get it done.”
“I told you I would spank you for that,” Cade said as he stepped in close. “I still plan to, Doll.” The promise made butterflies flicker in my stomach.
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Stay with me until we get it sorted out.” With every word he inched toward me. “Take some time off work, too. Stay here and I can make sure you’ll be safe, especially now that Rob is sending his boys to get you.”
“That’s ridiculous.” I looked down at the floor. Saying no to Cade was easier if I wasn’t looking at him. “I don’t need to do all that. It’s just Robert. This was my fault, anyway. He came to my work on Monday. I was supposed to go over tonight to talk and forgot.”
“When were you going to tell me this?” Cade’s hands rested on his hips.
“He also told me to stay away from you. I didn’t wa
nt to get you more involved. I didn’t want to get you hurt.” And agreeing to stay was going to put him in more danger than me. I wanted it, but that wasn’t fair to him.
His brow raised. “Get me hurt? I can handle myself. You agreed to tell me if he contacted you.” I could see the anger rising in his face.
“I thought I could handle it myself.”
“Doll.” Cade scrubbed his hand over his lightly stubbled face. “I thought we were clear on what Rob was capable of?”
“We are, but—” He placed a finger under my chin and raised my face.
“So, you’ll take the time off work and stay with me.” His head tilted to the side, just a bit. A small challenge to argue with him, it seemed.
“Okay,” I agreed, to shut him up.
He moved his finger from my chin and slowly traced the outline of my lips. “No, say it.”
I wanted to open my mouth and suck his finger between my lips. I didn’t want to say it. I wasn’t ready to give in on this one yet. “Can we argue about it tomorrow? I really am exhausted.”
Cade stepped in, backing me up the last few inches into the wall. His hand slid from my face and settled around my throat. The other moved under my shirt. He pinched my nipple through my bra, pulling just enough.
“Aww fuck, Cade.” I groaned, my hips moving forward away from the wall to try and contact his. The exhaustion from my day withered as lust fired through me.
“We won’t be arguing about it at all. Things would be so much easier if you were more compliant.” Cade massaged out the pain in my breast. He leaned his head down and swept his lips over my cheek. “Just give in, let me take charge, Doll. Everything will be so much better when you do.” He was pressing against my throat hard enough to restrict air and I couldn’t respond.
Cade hovered his mouth over mine, looking into my eyes, asking permission. I didn’t give it to him. He moved on and his tongue licked slowly down my neck. “Let’s go back to your room,” he said. “I owe you some time with my belt and you still owe me another orgasm. You’re still up by one.”
I was writhing against him when he let go of my throat. The rush of oxygen made me unsteady. For a moment as my vision went black and then refocused the world around me. Cade didn’t let me hit the floor. He lifted me up and wrapped my legs around him. I put my head on his shoulder, letting my lips rest innocently against his neck. A small victory for me. The need to put my mouth on him was worse since he told me I couldn’t four nights before.