I walk into my condo to find Dennis and his new friend Tucker, from the VA hospital, sitting on the couch watching a baseball game. Dennis looks over at me first. I know Tucker’s hearing is next to nothing, so he probably hasn’t heard me come in. Dennis frowns at me.
“Why are your eyes all red and puffy? Were you crying?” he asks.
Tucker glances at Dennis before turning to follow his line of sight. He sees me and smiles as he raises a hand in greeting. I return his smile and wave before turning my attention back to Dennis.
“I’m fine, had a meeting with Beau today,” I say and start for the kitchen to grab a drink.
Dennis gets up and follows me. “And? How did it go?” he asks curiously as he leans on the island counter.
A small smile steals across my face as I grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. “Pretty well actually, we’re gonna start over.”
Dennis grins wide. “That’s great, Lizzie! I’m glad that you guys are gonna work it out,” he says, sincerely happy for me.
I nod. “Yeah, me, too. Any luck finding a job?”
Dennis shrugs. “I have an interview tomorrow and Tucker has one on Monday,” he says, trying for nonchalance, but I can tell that he’s excited about it.
“Yay! That’s so exciting!” I chirp.
“I guess. It’s just to be a bouncer at a bar. I really don’t have any other skills, since I’ve been a Marine and in war for half of my life.”
I reach over and grab his wrist. “It’s a step forward, Denny,” I assure him.
He takes a deep breath and nods in agreement. “I know. Tucker’s a computer programmer, so he’s definitely going to get a higher paying job than I am. I’ll probably try to find a second job just to compensate.”
“That’s okay.”
“Are you two talking about me behind my back?” Tucker asks with a wry grin as he saunters into the kitchen.
I chuckle. Dennis smiles then signs to Tucker as he talks. “I was telling Lizzie about our job interviews.”
Tucker nods. “Ah, gotcha.”
Tucker is a really good-looking guy, but not in a classically handsome kind of way. There is just something about him. He has bright blue bedroom eyes and a naturally sultry smile that can bring any woman to her knees. His hair is dark brown and wavy on top where he keeps it the longest. He’s only a few inches shorter than Dennis, but he is bulkier in his muscle mass.
“I wanted to be a cop, but that’s not possible with my situation,” Tucker says and motions to an ear.
Dennis snorts. “Yeah, same here. I can’t run too great with my leg.”
“Well, you can only do what you can with what you have. You’ll have jobs, you’ll be able to get an apartment, and you’ll move forward with your lives,” I affirm.
Tucker watches my mouth as I talk. When I finish speaking, I smile and nod. “Thank you, Lizette.”
“Yeah, thanks, Lizzie,” Dennis says.
I smile. “You’re welcome. Are you guys’ hungry? I can make you some sandwiches.”
“Hell yeah!” Tucker says enthusiastically.
I chuckle and glance at Dennis, who smiles wide and nods vigorously. I smile and shoo the guys out of the kitchen so that I can make them some sandwiches.
*Beau*
All I want to do is take Lizette out for a nice dinner. Well, the dinner goes well up until half way through, that’s when the paparazzi arrives and starts flashing us to death with their cameras through the window we are seated next to. Now, we are trying to get back to the car, but are still being hounded.
“Beau! Beau! Are you and your manager on a date?” One called.
“Are you two together?” Another yelled.
“Were you cheating on Lizette with all of those other women that you were with the past couple of months?” Cried another one.
I am ready to punch someone in the face. Rob is fending off people from the front as we slowly make our way toward the parking lot, where the valet has already pulled up my car. Lizette is tucked protectively under my arm. I hate that she has to be subjected to this. Not that she’s unfamiliar with it, she’s been dealing with it for the past five years. None of it has been directed at her, though, because she’s always just been in the background. One particularly vicious bastard speaks up.
“Hey! Lizette! I heard that your parents are alcoholics! How do you feel about Beau’s new drinking habits?”
I spun so fast that I ended up tossing Lizette into Rob’s back. I grab the fucker by his collar and get in his face. “You better back the fuck off before I hurt you,” I snarl.
The smug asshole smiles and says, “And you better get your hands off me before I have you arrested for assault.”
I give him a nasty smile in return. “I’m shakin’ in my boots,” I say and shove the guy back.
“Are you really sure that you should be driving? You reek of alcohol; I think you’ve had too much to drink!” The dickhead calls after me.
I roll my eyes. “Whatever, man, I haven’t had anything to drink all night. Make up whatever the fuck you want.”
“Hey, Lizette! Did Beau tell you that he got some fan pregnant?” The asshat yells.
“WHAT?” I roar.
I’ve had enough of this motherfucker. I lunge for the guy, but Rob grabs me around the waist and hauls me back.
“He’s just tryin’ to bait you, man, relax,” Rob hisses in my ear, keeping one arm around my waist as he drags me back toward the car.
“I’ll fucking ruin that motherfucker!” I grind out, staring down the fucktard that keeps running his mouth.
Lizette’s soft hand latches onto my arm. “Beau, just get in the car before he says something else,” she coaxes.
The constant flashing is making my eyes hurt and spots form at the edges of my vision. I give in and slide into the backseat with Lizette. Rob gets into the driver’s seat and gets out of there as fast as possible. I can’t help but brood as we head back to my condo. Lizette’s hand finds my thigh, giving it a squeeze.
“Don’t let those idiots do that to you,” she says softly.
I rub my eyes, trying to will away the spots dancing in front of me. “I hate those fucking liars,” I snap.
“They do that on purpose to get a rise out of you and you totally fell for it,” Rob mutters from the driver’s seat. “You usually have more control than that,” he says, glancing at me through the rearview.
“I know, but when that dick started talking about Lizette’s parents, I just lost my cool.”
“You don’t have to worry about me, I don’t give a shit about anything they say,” she assures me, rubbing my thigh.
“It just irritates me that they would even dare bring up something like that,” I growl, turning to stare out the window.
This is the one thing that I hate about my life. Those ruthless shitheads will do and say anything for a picture and a story. Then I notice Rob’s eyes and how they keep flicking to the rearview and out the back window.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I think that one vulture is following us,” he answers.
“Why does that not surprise me?” I ask dryly.
“You guys are buckled in, right?” Rob asks.
“Yeah, why?” Lizette asks suspiciously.
Rob hits the gas. “I’m gonna lose this cocksucker,” he grunts as Lizette and I are thrown back against the seat.
“Really, Rob? I don’t want to end up like Princess Diana!” Lizette squawks and glances out the back window.
“Yeah, Rob, no desire at all,” I agree.
“Shhh!” Rob says, weaving through traffic like a pro.
He hops on the highway and takes off. He bites out a curse, which to me means that the guy is still on our tail. Then out of nowhere, Rob slams on the brakes. Lizette screams next to me. My seat belt locks, cutting into my chest. Even with the seat belt, my head smacks into the headrest of the seat in front of me, disorienting me for a moment. I hear the other car’s brakes squeal and
we brace for an impact that never comes. A few seconds later, I hear the crunch of metal against the concrete barrier to my right.
The front of the car is already smoking pretty well and will no doubt be up in flames at any moment. The driver hasn’t gotten out yet and my gut rolls. No matter how big of an asshole he was, I can’t let him die in that car.
“Pull the fuck over, Rob!” I shout urgently.
Rob does as he’s told, pulling over about fifty feet in front of the wrecked vehicle. I jump out before it completely stops, both Lizette and Rob calling after me. I sprint down the side of the highway to the crash site. Luckily, all of the damage is on the right side of the car, but that doesn’t stop it from catching fire. I yank on the driver’s handle but it’s locked and the window is up. Sonofabitch! Smoke has already filled the inside of the car because the windows aren’t tinted and I can barely make out the figure in the driver’s seat. I look around frantically for something to smash the window. I see a large piece of two by four a few feet away. I grab it and swing it like a bat at the window, shattering it. I rake the two by four along the bottom of the window to get any leftover glass shards as smoke pours out.
I can see the guy now, still buckled in and unconscious. I hold my breath as I lean into the vehicle and fumble around for the seat belt release. It takes me a couple of seconds to find it because the smoke is so thick that I can’t see, plus it’s burning my eyes, making them water. I finally get it and start to pull the guy out through the window. I get him about halfway out when Rob appears next to me and grabs the man under his arms to heft him the rest of the way out. I grab his legs and we quickly move him away from the now burning car.
Lizette is standing by the trunk of my car with a cell phone up to her ear. Good girl. Rob and I place the man on the ground and I start to assess whether he needs CPR or not. I lean over the man, put my ear over his mouth, and look down at his chest to see if it rises and falls; he’s breathing, which is a relief. I gently slap the guy’s face a few times to see if I can get him to wake up. I can hear the sirens in the distance, so I know help will be here soon.
The guy coughs violently before sucking in a deep breath. His eyes flutter open and his gaze immediately locks on me. He looks at me in confusion before glancing at Rob, who is kneeling down on the other side of him.
“What…what happened?” he wheezes.
“You almost got yourself killed by chasing me down,” I grunt.
The guy looks back at me. “What?” he asks, still confused.
“You crashed your car and we had to pull you out, your car is now on fire,” Rob explains.
Realization flashes across his face. He glares at Rob for a moment. “You slammed on the breaks, making me have to swerve to avoid hitting you,” he said, a bite of accusation in his tone.
“Yeah, well, if you hadn’t been following us and riding my ass in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to do that to try to get rid of you,” Rob snaps.
“Instead of trying to make this our fault, how about you take the fucking blame and thank us for saving your life? We could have left you in your car to burn alive,” I snap.
The guy sighs, guilt filling his eyes. He nods. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Thank you for saving me.”
Just then, a whole bunch of police, ambulances, and fire trucks pull up. EMTs race over to take care of the guy. I don’t know his name, and I really don’t care to know it. A police officer pulls Rob and me aside to ask for our statements on what happened. Lizette is also interviewed, and it is one in the morning by the time we get out of there. Rob drives us back to my condo and parks in my assigned spot. After saying goodbye, Rob gets in his car and leaves. Lizette and I head up to my condo for some much needed rest.
I’m sure that the tabloids tomorrow will be covered with pictures of us and all kinds of rumors and quotes from sources that don’t really exist. Whatever, I don’t care and neither does Lizette. We are happy together and that’s all that matters.
I open the door to my condo and let Lizette walk in first. We’ve been back together for about two weeks now. I’ve taken her on a few dates, this being the first one that we’ve been swarmed by the paparazzi. The other dates had been pretty low key. One of them, I rented out the entire miniature golf place so that we could play without being attacked. It had been seriously fun; we had laughed the entire time.
Her arms wrap around my waist, bringing me out of my thoughts. I glance down at her and smile. “Can I help you?” I tease.
She shrugs. “I don’t know, can you?”
“Depends on whatcha want,” I smirk, gliding my hands down her back to cup her luscious ass.
“I want to hold you, tonight scared me,” she says with a small frown.
I nod, humming my agreement. I pull her into a hug, sighing at the rightness of it. I drag her over to the couch and pull her down on top of me after I lie on my back. She curls around me, tucking her face against my neck.
“What do you say we go on a little mini vacation?” I ask.
This has been something I’ve been thinking about for the past two weeks. I just want to spend some time with her alone…completely alone. No distractions. I’m also dying to make love to her in front of the giant stone fireplace in the living room of my cabin.
She lifts her head and looks down at me, eyebrows raised curiously. “Hmm, where to?”
“We can go to my mountain house in Colorado for a long weekend,” I suggest.
“Ooh, sounds romantic,” she teases.
I smile. “It is. What do you think?”
She nods. “Sounds good to me,” she agrees.
“Great, we’ll go next weekend,” I announce.
Lizette giggles. “I need to check my schedule first, make sure there is nothing going on.”
I sneer. “Fine.”
She gives me a peck on the lips. “I’m pretty sure it’s clear,” she says before snuggling her face back into my neck.
“Good, cause we’re going next weekend,” I huff, making her chuckle quietly against my neck.
Chapter Fifteen
*Lizette*
I stare in awe at the magnificent cabin that we pull up to. It is absolutely gorgeous and very secluded. Beau pretty much has his own road leading to it. We are on the top of a mountain, so the view is incredible when I get out of the rented SUV. The air is thinner and crisper on the mountain. I am instantly in love with the place.
Beau grabs our bags and starts for the front door so I follow. He opens it and lets me walk in first. My breath catches as I look around the very large cabin. The living room and kitchen are one giant room. In the center of the living room is a huge freestanding see-through stone fireplace. Behind the fireplace, the back wall is solid glass and looks out over the valley beneath the mountain. There is a comfy looking semicircle couch situated in front of the windows.
I look around and find Beau placing our bags by the stairs that lead to a loft bedroom. There is another hallway on the first floor with more doors that I’m suspecting are other bedrooms, but the master bedroom is the loft. He looks up and gives me a small but tense smile. We’ve only been back together for two and a half weeks and I can tell that he’s still unsure of me and if I am in this relationship for the long haul. It hurts my heart that he doesn’t completely trust me, but that’s my own fault. I can’t blame him for feeling that way after what I did to him. I can tell that he’s trying to not get his hopes up, and he’s still holding back from feeling everything for me like he had before.
I return the smile, hoping mine is less tense. We’ve had some really great dates these past couple of weeks. We’ve had a lot of fun together, along with being all over the tabloids. My boss is still giving me shit about it, but I told him that if he didn’t like it, then he can fire me, but I would still be Renegade’s manager. He chose not to fire me, smart man. Some of the headlines have been somewhat nasty, calling me a cougar and a cradle robber. I try not to look at them, but some just pop up on my Facebook page.
“Hey, Sugar, you wanna go for a little hike?” Beau asks in his southern drawl, breaking through my thoughts.
I nod. “Yeah, sounds good, just let me go to the bathroom first.”
“Okay,” he replies. “It’s down the hall, third door on the right.”
After I go to the bathroom, we head out to go for a hike. Beau puts a couple of bottles of water, a handful of protein bars, and some trail mix in a backpack and slings it over his shoulders. It’s not super cold out, but beautifully crisp. The sun is warm but the breeze has a little chill to it, it feels good. Beau leads us to a trail at the edge of the clearing where his cabin is sitting. The trail is pretty clear to see, as if it’s used fairly often. I don’t know how often he comes here, though, so maybe he rents the place out certain times of the year? I’m sure he lets the rest of the guys use it, too.
Sweet Renegade Page 18