by T. E. Black
“Well, thank you for your time. I hope your life turns around,” Josie offers before showing Leigh’s mother out.
After shutting the door, Josie turns to us and gives Leigh a saddened smile.
“I’m sorry, Ryleigh.”
“Leigh,” I correct her.
“Yes. Sorry.” She nods before continuing, “I hope everything works out for you, Leigh.”
“Thank you.”
Josie hands both of us our own set of original paperwork and then shoves her copy into her briefcase. I watch as Josie looks up at Leigh with a small sparkle in her eye. I’ve seen that look from Josie enough to know that she’s giving her silent approval. I know by that look alone, that Josie sees the good in Leigh the same way I do.
“I’ll show myself out. Leigh, it was nice meeting you. Take care of Rook for me, will you?”
“I will.”
“Rook, talk to you soon. I’ll let you know when this shit storm calms down enough for you to come out of hiding.”
I stop her before she leaves, my voice sounding desperate. “Any news?”
“As far as I know, the police are canvasing the area for more video footage that would leave you innocent or guilty—which they haven’t found yet. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”
I nod, accepting her answer. “Thank you, Jose. I hope this is over soon.”
Stepping forward, she places her hand on my shoulder, looking me in the eye. “You’re going to be fine. Take this time as a blessing,” she looks at Leigh, and I follow. “Work on you and your happiness for a change. Hell knows you deserve it.”
With that, Josie walks out of the bar, shutting the door behind her. A tension in the air makes me need to break it.
I don’t want Leigh to be upset over this. She shouldn’t feel anything but happiness for her mother being out of her life for good.
I don’t think twice before I push Leigh back a step and slam my mouth down onto hers. She moans into mine as I swirl my tongue against hers.
I move quick, taking steps until her back hits the front of the bar. I can’t hold back my desire for her. Because the truth is, she needs me to take control. I know it.
She’d never admit it, but I feel it in every fiber of my being. She needs me to save her from the kind, caring part of herself right now.
“Wrap your legs around me tight, baby,” I command.
She does as she’s told, and I make enough room to pull her T-shirt over her head. Her red lace bra puts me in a trance. The contrast of the deep red against her soft skin is enough to make me want to demand she never wear another color again. Everything about this woman is stunning.
Skimming a hand over the swell of her breasts, I smile at the way goose bumps pebble over her skin. The shivers coming from her body and her shortened breaths tell me how badly she wants this.
I want her, too.
“You’re fucking beautiful,” I mumble, placing delicate kisses on the skin not covered by her bra.
I nip and suck while Leigh threads her fingers through my hair, pulling enough to make my cock jump. There’s nothing sweeter than her rough touches.
I live for them.
Breathe for them.
Let them consume every part of me.
Her free hands slips under my shirt, her nails scrapping against my stomach. I hiss out in desire as her touch becomes rougher with every minute.
“I’m going to make you forget your name, Leigh,” I moan against her breasts.
“Please,” she begs.
Dipping a hand in her jean shorts, I run my finger along her pussy and fight the desire to drop to my knees when I feel how wet she is.
“Fuck,” she moans, rocking her hips against my hand.
I dip one finger inside her, and it’s heaven. Her walls contract as I pump into her furiously, needing to bring her to the edge of the cliff we’re standing on.
It’s the only way she’s going to forget the last twenty minutes.
Leigh cries out while her fingers find the button on my jeans and she works it free. Her hands dip into my boxers, and when she wraps her hand around my cock, my whole body stills for just a second.
We stroke each other, forgetting the rest of the world even exists. It’s only us—the now.
“I love you,” she calls out as her whole body seems to constrict around me.
“I love you too, baby.”
“Are you kidding me?” An unfamiliar voice slams us both back to the ground, and out of instinct, I shift my body in front of Leigh’s to block her from view.
“Susan,” Leigh breathes the name, and it’s a mix of fear and anger, which makes me turn my head.
Standing in the doorway of Max’s is a tiny brunette with eyes intent on setting me on fire. Her arms are crossed over her chest, and her face is full of rage.
Susan.
The ex.
Fuck.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ryleigh
“Are you serious?” Susan’s face blanks. “This is why you’ve been avoiding me—for him? They guy who was fucking a married woman?”
It’s impossible not to hear her emotions slipping off her tongue. She’s hurt, angry, jealous. I get it, but I won’t let her talk bad about Rook. She knows what I went through when he left, but that doesn’t mean she gets to judge. I’m not hers, and she’s not mine. I can do what I want.
“It’s complicated,” I offer her a soft smile, trying so hard not to escalate the situation by yelling. I also squeeze Rook’s shoulder. I don’t even think he realizes where his hand is. He slips his hand from my pants but doesn’t move from his spot in front of me as I button myself back up and reach for my shirt.
“Complicated? That’s the line you’re going to use on me? You’ve been fucking the man who left you ten years ago and, to make it worse, he’s hated by half the damn country. He killed someone, Ryleigh.”
“He didn’t kill anyone,” I correct her. “He was being questioned. People are accused of all kind of bad shit they didn’t do on a daily basis. I figure if anyone would know what it feels like to be accused of something, it’d be you.”
A sarcastic laugh rips from Susan’s throat as she glares at Rook beside me. “I have to give it to you Wallaces’. You and your brother are pretty damn good at manipulating her. Trent keeps her around while he is shoving coke up his nose, and now, you are keeping her by your side while you’re a suspect in a murder investigation.”
Rook releases a low growl from under his breath, getting ready to rip her apart. I stop him by intertwining my fingers through his.
This isn’t his fight.
It’s mine.
Susan is a champion when it comes to winning battles.
She knows exactly what to say to get under people’s skin. She knows the perfect time to sneer and tip someone right over the edge of anger. She knows where and when to pick someone apart to hurt them the worst.
She’s ruthless, and Rook isn’t a match for her, no matter how many title fights he’s won.
“Fuck you, Susan.”
“Fuck me, Ryleigh?”
“Fuck you.” I hold my chin high and dare her to push me on this. I have told her so many times that I am done, that we are done, but she just never seems to get it. Maybe now she will.
Then, she’s stalking toward us. With each step she takes, Rook’s grasp tightens on my hands a little more.
He’s protecting me, or at least he wants to. I don’t need him to save me from Susan. I can handle her myself. I always have, and I always will be able to get under her skin like she does everyone else.
It’s because I really know her. Her hopes, dreams, fears. I know every single nuance of how this woman thinks.
“I thought I knew you,” she says, stopping in front of us.
“Well, I know you pretty damn well,” I retort, stepping toward her and pushing Rook behind me. “Did you ever think that was the reason I left, because I finally figured out who you were and didn’t want anything to do
with you anymore?”
Her expression softens with my insult, but I know better than to fall for it. This is her best tactic. The crocodile tears will come next. I think she truly believes that she’ll be forgiven for being a bitch just because she’s crying.
“You don’t mean that.”
“Yes. I do,” I say with the utmost honesty.
“He’s making you say this shit, Ryleigh!”
Susan’s defense mode kicks in as if she’s flipped a switch inside herself—it’s how I know I’m winning this fight.
“Rook isn’t saying a word if you haven’t noticed. He’s not whispering in my ear or even near me. He isn’t now, and he wasn’t months ago when things ended between us. You came here. What exactly did you want?”
“He won’t make you happy.” She glares, completely ignoring my question.
“He makes me very happy.”
“He won’t be able to keep you that way forever. What’s going to happen when he’s free to go back to his old life? Do you think he’s going to stick around and settle for your life when he has fame waiting on the other side? You can’t be that blind.”
I’ve often thought about what would happen once Rook’s name is cleared and he’s free to go back to the real world, and it makes me nervous. I’m not sure what he’ll choose to do.
Will he leave again? Will I have to make the sacrifice I made ten years ago … again? It makes me wonder what the hell I’m even doing with him in the first place. I don’t see the outcome being any different than the last time, and I don’t think my asking him to stay will be an option for either of us.
A smirk appears on her lips and I know I stayed silent for too long. She knows just how close her words hit. I open my mouth to tell her … what? I don’t know.
“I’m not leaving her!” Rook’s voice is fierce and low and so damn strong it echoes inside every piece of me.
“Holy shit! He speaks.” She laughs long and loud as she holds her hands out as if she’s witnessing a goddamn miracle.
“I was keeping my opinions to myself because it wasn’t my place to get involved in your and Leigh’s problems, but you brought me into it when you said I would leave her once my name was cleared.” He pauses, stepping around me and getting into Susan’s face. “I don’t like liars, Susan. So, next time you’re in this situation, one where you’re implying lies about a man who’s standing next to his woman, think twice about who you’re pissing off.”
Susan raises a brow at Rook while her lips set in a thin, hard line. “What are you going to do? Bounce my head against a dumpster?”
Rook flinches, but I know she only said it to set him off. It’s how she works. She kicks people when they are down instead of offering them a hand up. I grip Rook’s elbow, giving him a squeeze before turning back to her.
“Watch what you say next, Susan,” I warn her.
“Jesus, Ryleigh. It was only a joke.” She looks me in the eyes.
“No. It wasn’t a joke. And if it were, you should know that I’m sick and tired of ‘jokes’ today. So, get the hell out of my bar before I call the cops and have you arrested for trespassing.”
Her expression leaps in surprise, but I can’t tell if it’s real or not. I don’t give a shit either way. This is my place. I own it, and if I don’t want someone here, I have every right to kick them out.
I’m done playing games.
“You want me to leave?”
“I’m telling you to leave, aren’t I? So, get the fuck out and don’t come back.”
A moment of hesitation on her part has me hoping and praying she listens and leaves. Just when I think she’s going to refuse, she takes a step back, turns around, and heads for the door.
“When he fucks you over, I’ll be here for you,” she says over her shoulder, smiling from ear to ear. “All you have to do is say the word, and I’ll be there for you. Just think. It will be like old times when I picked up your broken heart ten years ago.”
I want to tell her to shove the offer up her ass, but I don’t get the chance as she walks out the door, letting it close softly behind her.
“Are you okay?” Rook asks, wrapping his arms around me.
“I’m all right.” It’s another lie.
“Do you think she’s going to tell someone she saw me?”
I let out a sigh before telling him the truth. “Probably. Susan is a bitch through and through. She’s not going to let us get off so easily. She’s probably already running to any tabloid who’ll listen. Maybe I should take you to my apartment instead of here,” I offer.
Once Susan tells whatever slime reporters she can find about Rook being here, the bar will be swarmed by leaches looking to a get a glimpse of him. He has turned into some mythical creature—everyone wants a glimpse. From what I’ve seen on social media and talk shows, everyone wants to know where he went—where he’s hiding out.
They are smart enough to realize he’s still in Boston, but there are some who have been coming up with some crazy scenarios.
One chick on social media proclaimed she heard he’d become an Elvis impersonator. Another post claimed that Rook joined NASA and is currently sitting pretty on the moon.
The theories about his location get more and more ridiculous as time passes. Although, there are a few who came close to the truth. I noticed one post on social media where the girl said he’s probably hiding out with someone from his childhood, living a happy life, and not giving a shit what anyone thinks about him.
“I’m not running, Leigh,” Rook says, taking a step in front of me. “I’m not afraid for people to find out where I am. I didn’t do anything other than trust the wrong person. The only reason I don’t want anyone to find me is because of you.”
I flash back to the day he found me crying on the steps. Rook has always … always looked out for me before himself. But I’m not a kid anymore and would rather be by his side than hiding behind him.
“Rook, I can take care of myself,” I say as gently as I can and cup the sides of this face in my hands. “I don’t need you to worry about me. I don’t think Susan will tell them anything about me that they can’t find in the public records. You have to worry about yourself. That’s why I think we should go to my apartment. It’ll take them longer to figure out we’re there, not here.”
“I’m not leaving, Leigh. They’re going to find me eventually, one way or another. So, what’s the difference if I stay here or go to your place? It’s still the same outcome. Only if I’m there, they are invading your personal space. That’s not something I’m willing to risk.”
A soft smile coats my lips, and I pull him toward me. I kiss him softly, pouring all my love for him into the simple gesture.
“I love you, Rook. And if you want to stay here, we’ll stay. I’m not leaving you. Plus, my customers really only care about two things: cheap drinks and good music, and I have both in spades. Do you think they’re going to let a bunch of idiots with cameras and microphones stop them from coming in?”
Rook’s lips mimic the playful smile on my lips as he shakes his head.
“You’re right. Then, we stay.”
“We stay,” I repeat.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Rook
Twelve hours and fourteen minutes is the time it took Susan to leak my location to the media.
Twelve hours and forty-six minutes is how long it took them to figure out who Leigh was to me.
Thirteen hours and three minutes is how long it took before things started falling apart.
It started with a phone call from an unknown number. That call turned into a never-ending chorus of rings, the callers a mix of reporters (who she hung up on) and people angry at her that she didn’t tell them I was here (she hung up on them, too).
But, the one person I’d figured would’ve been the first to call, didn’t.
My brother.
We haven’t heard from him yet, and I think it’s driving Leigh more crazy than the crowds of people outside, surro
unding the bar and pressing camera lenses against the glass.
“Don’t these people have something better to do than stand in front of my bar all day?” Leigh peers out the window where dozens of reporters crowd the streets. “Don’t they have families to spend time with or grocery shopping that needs to be done?”
I hate this. I hate that this is affecting her more than she thought it would. I wish I could take it all back—redo everything and never come here.
I can’t, so I turn toward the television, which isn’t much better than watching her pace.
“Breaking news! An anonymous source has leaked the location of heavyweight MMA champion, Rook Wallace, the man at the center of the police investigation of the murder of Lauren Roche,” the reporter on television tells the story.
“Rook ‘The Reaper’ Wallace, who hasn’t been seen since his release from the Suffolk County police department almost two months ago, has finally surfaced. While it’s been said Rook’s been staying with a young woman named Ryleigh O’Donnell, we don’t have details about the pair’s relationship yet. Miss O’Donnell has refused to comment on the situation or her alleged relationship with Mr. Wallace.”
Well, at least Susan didn’t give up all the information she could about Leigh. Me on the other hand, she told them everything she could without bringing Leigh’s name into it, which I’m strangely okay with. Thankful for, even.
If they figure out the truth, Leigh will have to suffer what I did to her all over again, this time publicly. The media will spin it one of two ways: either I left her because I’m a prick or I left her because she’s a shrew. People will either feel sorry for her or hate her, and she doesn’t deserve either.
“Can’t the cops make them leave?” Leigh asks, still looking out the window. “The crowds are getting bigger, and it looks like a mob is going to break out any minute. Isn’t that a fire hazard or some sort of violation of whatever law?” She waves her hand in the air, clearly asking me to fill in the word she can’t quite remember.
“It probably is.” I’m sure if I call Josie, she will rip someone a new asshole for not providing protection against the crowd outside.