THE WATCHERS: 6 Military Romance Bundle

by Kristina Weaver

  I hate that she’s different from other women because I can’t pigeonhole her into a slot like I do with the others. She’s so unique it would be like trying to hide a diamond among coal.

  “Lex—”

  “I’m going to move us to Gino’s hotel tomorrow anyway, so we’ll be more insulated until I can decide what I want to do. Tell the girls I said hello, and tell Lenny the name Lexington is gender neutral.”

  “Not happening, asshole,” Storm laughs. “Okay. Two days, Lex. Do something or the guys are coming your way to lend a hand. And tell Rosie I said hi.”

  I grin as I end the call and rest my head back against the sofa, my mind and body at odds. I want to go in there and make love to Rosetta, a previously unheard of thing with me.

  I want tenderness and sharing instead of just mindless sex. That’s why I keep my ass on the sofa and ignore my hard-on, no matter how it pains me.

  I’m the guy who has threesomes because, despite what people think, it’s a lot less personal than one-on-one. I choose my bed partners carefully. I know you all think I’m some unprincipled dickhead, but I’m not. I have never slept with a woman who wasn’t completely down for some meaningless fun.

  Until Rosetta. With her, it’s more than just getting hard and coming as soon as possible. I feel more for her than I want to admit, and that scares the hell out of me.

  So, I stay put and instead start going over plans in my head, trying to find a way to draw this asshole out without putting Rosetta directly into the line of fire.

  I can’t work it though. Every plan comes up a bust, and by the time I stretch out on the sofa for some much needed rest that I didn’t get last night, I’m angry and not happy with the current way things stand.

  ***

  Rosetta

  “This is not a good idea,” Seri hisses at me, as I slip into her car and grab the seat belt, pulling it a little harder than necessary.

  “Hush, Seri, I don’t want to hear it.”

  “But I’m telling you not to do this. As your in-house psychic without pay, I want to express my belief that sneaking out of the house where you’re at least protected to go and get your shit-heap of a car is not a good idea. I have a bad feeling about this,” she mutters, pulling away slowly because I refuse to let her turn on her lights before we get away safely.

  I feel guilty about doing this, tricking Lex this way, but I’ve had a rough day and a lot of time to think after he left me alone to sleep in the guest room.

  I’m not stupid. I get why he’s so antsy at the moment, but I also have this wonderful thing called rationalization, and for the life of me I can’t think about anything but getting my old Civic, Nana’s last gift to me.

  So yeah, I’ve thought long and hard and finally come up with a way to rationalize my stupidity by assuring myself that this freak won’t even know I’ve slipped the coop before I’m back.

  Sure, Lex may be mad when he realizes what I’ve done, but I firmly intend to be right back with him before he even sees that I’m gone. Basically, I’m lying to myself right now because I need to escape for just a moment and get out of the house.

  “You said you don’t see anything bad happening, Seri. Come on, girl. Be a little naughty with me. That’s what friends are supposed to do.”

  “For the last goddamn time, Rosie, I am not your friend, you idiot! I don’t have friends.”

  “What? Why not?” I ask, watching the suburbs melt away, giving way to the strip and the bright lights of my little city that never sleeps and always gets its pound of flesh.

  “Because I don’t want to see things about people I like or love, okay? Sheesh, get a clue, you moron.”

  Wha—?

  “Like, you prefer loneliness to seeing the death of a loved one or something?”

  “Bingo. And the Grammy goes to…”

  “Oh stop, I get it, though I can’t even pretend to agree with you. Look, death sucks. I’ve been there, I should know. Nana was old, and I completely understood that she wasn’t going to live forever, but it still hurt when she died. So, I understand where you’re coming from. However—”

  “Big word,” she cuts in, snorting at my snarl.

  “Shut up. I’m trying to be all soulful and tender here, Seri. Death is inevitable. It happens all the time. You can’t live your life alone just to avoid heartache, babe. You’ll be miserable otherwise. And yes, I am your friend and you’re mine. I don’t give a damn how you feel about that either since I’ve decided that you’re naming your firstborn after me,” I quip.

  “Kids? Not happening, Rosie, not freaking happening. I once saw a cow give birth, and it was the grossest shit I have ever witnessed. My vagina isn’t even that big, either. That poor thing was lowing as if she were being ripped in half. No thanks.”

  “Come on. You know you want to fall in love and meet someone and have three kids who pick their noses and go Picasso on your walls with your lipstick.”

  “I want kids like want piles.” She snorts, making me laugh for the first time all day.

  Not that I’m over Hussy, because I am so not. I loved that ugly cat and the fleas she was hosting. I won’t just get over what was done to her in hours, but I do have the capability to move past this, and I have. Sort of.

  Now, I’m just mad. So mad, in fact, that if that asshole came within spitting distance of me right now, I’d attack and start thinking of survival later.

  I want to hit him, kick him, and do things to him that will make poor Hussy’s death look like a peaceful passing. I am that angry. No longer do I feel like maybe this poor guy is just misunderstood and crying out for help. No, he’s going down.

  I need to go get my car to ensure that I have at least one piece of my life that still means something to me. I love the house. It’s where I grew up and where I had my last happy moments with Nana, but it feels different now, and I know I will never feel safe there again.

  With that certainty comes the almost desperate need for the one thing I still have that is mine and undefiled—my car. I know you think I’m stupid, but so what? I don’t care.

  You can’t possibly understand how I’m feeling right now, or how much I need something to make me feel more stable. Lex isn’t helping, because as sweet and nice as he’s been, I felt him pulling away the moment he realized how close we were earlier when I was crying on his shoulder.

  And just like always for the last four years, I realize that I am alone. I have friends, people I call my family because I actually don’t have one living soul to call mine anymore, but they’re just on the periphery of my life.

  They have their own shit to deal with, and I accept without recrimination that I’m not a starring role in their life, just a guest actor.

  It’s just me and my car and memories of a cat that was mine only because she enjoyed eating and shedding her hair all over my furniture. I have Lex now. Yes, I say that with a heavy heart because I am so gaga for him, but he’ll be gone soon.

  I need to salvage what I can and stop depending on him to make it all better, because soon enough, he won’t be there to fix my problems.

  “Rosie, let’s call him at least. I don’t want to do this without at least some back up,” Seri begs, making me frown.

  “It will be all right. I have this.”

  “Got. I got this,” she mutters under her breath.

  “Why are you being so stubborn, Rosie? Lex and the security are here to help.”

  “With the stalking, Seri. Not with me and my emotional needs, okay? I need my car.”

  “Because Nana gave it to you. I get it. But it’s just a car, Rosie.”

  “No, it’s what I have left. You think I couldn’t have bought a new one? I make an okay wage, Seri, enough to live and still drive something decent. I keep it because it reminds me that I have something even though I’m alone. Nana gave it to me, and I get to drive in something that was filled with her love. Now shut up before I start crying. Just get me to Graceland. We don’t have a lot of time before Mr.
Man goes to do his hourly check-in, and I’d like to be at least half way home when shit hits the wall.”

  “Fan. Shit hits the fan. Dammit. Fine! Don’t say I didn’t warn you though. And that boss of yours…he’s going to shit a brick.”

  “Sounds painful. Step on it.”

  We reach the casino minutes later, Seri’s beat up old Ford hissing as she screeches to a halt and goes to turn off the ignition.

  “You don’t have to come with me. I’ll be okay.”

  “Fuck that. I’m your anti-best friend, not some insensitive idiot. Come on, kid. Let’s go get that heap of yours. You’re feeding me wine and those cat death cookies you told me about baking earlier.”

  I giggle a little at her gruff words, insensitive as they may be, and follow her out of the car and onto the little walkway that leads to the upper deck where the employee parking lot is situated.

  The place is dark, lit only by a few street lamps and the lights shining from nearby buildings. I feel a shiver race down my spine as Seri takes my hand and gives me a look that screams “so creeped out.”

  I’ve never before noticed how eerie this place is at this time of night. I’m usually too busy bantering with one of the guys until we go our separate ways to understand that this place is, in fact, deserted and only guarded by one camera.

  “Shit, we shouldn’t have come, Rosie. I’m getting a terrible feeling. Let’s turn back.”

  “No. We’re almost there, and I want my damn car. Suck it up, Seri.” I mutter, gulping down nerves as we reach the corner wall and turn—

  “No!”

  My legs buckle and the last of the flagging strength I have deserts me when I see the Civic sitting there, smoke billowing out from the back seat. I go to run. I have a mini-extinguisher in my trunk to put out the blaze, but Seri grabs me and tackles me to the ground just before I hear something go pop and see the windows explode outward. The car isn’t just smoking, but ablaze, so fast I feel my breath stall when it turns into a ball of flame in seconds.

  “Stay down!”

  I can’t move with her little ass pinning me, but I try to as the one thing I had left literally goes up in flames before my eyes.

  “No.”

  “Shh, don’t struggle, stay down,” she whispers, keeping me pinned as the door bursts open and the sounds of yelling and footsteps penetrate the misery that’s descended.

  It all unfolds right in front of me: security with their extinguishers, Gino cursing and yelling, Seri finally letting me up when he spots us on the ground and comes stalking closer.

  I feel nothing though. I’m numb to everything but the knowledge that I truly don’t have anything left of my old life. I know Gino and Gio have just been looking for an excuse to fire me so that I can move on and not cling to my Elvis safety blanket. My cat is dead. My car…it’s nothing now but a blazing pile of metal.

  It’s truly done, I think as I ignore Gino’s yelling and watch the car burn, taking with it the very last spark of happiness I had left. You think I’m being dramatic here but you have to understand, I spent my life with Nana.

  She was all I had all my life. She raised me, loved me, and showed me that love isn’t just a four-letter word. She was all I had till she passed on and left me all alone. I have no one really, unless you count Gio and his family, but that was okay because I at least had something to hold onto.

  The car was a piece of shit, but it held that one memory of Nana hobbling out to the drive way, grinning at me as she presented me with my first ride.

  The house, a haven where I was safe and loved, is nothing more now than a place that was violated and made into a dark mixture of hiding places and dark corners that could spell my death at any second.

  The cat reminded me of Nana, as terrible as that sounds, because she may not have been glorious anymore, just as poor Nana wasn’t after the arthritis took her body, but she was a fighter. A survivor. A symbol of Nana that may not have been all that rational, I get that, but she was my sub you know.

  Now I have nothing. I’m going to lose my job, not because Gino’s an asshole, I get that, but because they’ve wanted me to move on for a long time. I get that my job is just another sub for Nana, but I at least had that.

  Now I have a shitty house I won’t be able to stay in and nothing else.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?!”

  I ignore Gino and stare as the security guys fight the fire, the sound of sirens piercing the yells and the whooshing in my ears.

  “Leave her alone, you big bully. Can’t you see she’s in shock?” Seri yells, putting a thin arm around my shoulders when the stress of it all just becomes too much as my eyes start misting.

  Gino growls but stops yelling, bending to look down into my eyes.

  “Ah hell, honey, I’m sorry. I just had a heart attack when I saw you,” he mutters, pulling me to his chest.

  “I-I just wanted my car. I didn’t want to leave it here.”

  “Because Nana got it for you.” He sighs, rubbing my back. “I know. I was going to move it later and park it at my place. I’m so sorry, Rosie.”

  Yeah, me too, I think as the engine screeches up the ramp and comes to a halt, men pouring out of it even as squad cars scream up and officers start arriving.

  The place is a madhouse minutes later when I hear a yell and turn to see Lex barreling my way, his face a storm cloud of anger and what I can only hope is concern. I need at least one good emotion to go with getting my ass chewed up.

  “Out,” Seri mutters, giving me a look. “Chewed out.”

  “What the hell, Rosetta?”

  I’m fully prepared for him to yell at me and start shaking me to death, but he pulls me to him instead and seems content to just hold me as shudders race down my spine.

  “I’m sorry. I wanted my car,” I hiccup, keeping my eyes off the blackened wreck that is left.

  I had so many things in there that it breaks my heart to realize they’re all gone: Nana’s rosary on my rearview mirror, my old yearbook because I still read Nana’s entry in it every day for a laugh.

  My freaking spare ID, the one where I looked pretty instead of like an arrested hooker with bad hair and a doe-eyed expression that made me look like I just got caught with my mouth in pants.

  “I know, baby, Gino called me. Dammit, this shit has got to stop,” he mutters, looking over at the mess. “Gino said they caught someone on camera trying to jack it earlier and he intended to move it.”

  “He told me.” I sigh. “I guess that’s a moot point now. I almost wish it had gotten jacked, at least it would still be alive,” I mutter, ignoring Seri and Gino’s chuckles.

  Stupid car thief! What, like it’s too much to expect the idiot actually knew what he was doing, got it right, and stole my car? I’d have options then. As it stands, all I have now is the sad fact that my beauty is gone forever, destined for a scrap pile.

  “Yeah, Christ, we should probably get the hell out of here before they start towing it away. Come on, baby.”

  I follow Lex only because I have no choice when he starts dragging me away, and turn back just in time to see something no human should ever see: Seri and Gino giving each other the eye.

  Gross.

  The drive home is silent. Me, because I really don’t want to talk about anything, and Lex, because I’m sure he’s trying not to yell at me when I’m so fragile. I enter the house with my shoulders slumped.

  “Come eat. And then explain to me how you’re still awake after—”

  “The paramedic shot me up with some good shit? What can I say, I have a high tolerance. Nana used to say it was a blessing because it sort of made the whole experimentation phase a drag for me. I just don’t respond to narcotics, go figure. Now booze…”

  He grins and shakes his head at my tone, and I pat my own back at my attempt to lighten the mood.

  “You’re great, you know that?”

  “Oh yeah? Is that why you’re hiding out in the living room all day while you thought
I was asleep?” I ask, following him into the kitchen to grab two frozen dinners and the wine Seri passed on earlier.

  Lex shrugs uncomfortably as I nuke the food and pop the bottle, his stare intense when he finally stops avoiding my eyes.

  “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here.”

  “Oh, please, like I freaking could. You’ve made it more than clear that you and I don’t fit except for in bed, and I get that, Lex. I’m not stupid or so blinded by what happened last night that I’d force you to give more than you can. I get that I’m forceful, that’s just the way I am. I was raised to go after what I wanted and not pay too much heed to what others think.”

  “Mind. Pay too much mind, Rosetta, honestly. Can you just do one right? Just one?” he mutters, grinning a little when I shrug and shake my head.

  “Where’s the fun in that? And stop trying to change the subject. Is this about last night?”

  I know it is because, hello! It freaked me out, too, but I’m over that now. I kind of want to go back to having hot sweaty sex after he gets through with chewing my ass.

  Lex sighs and meets my eyes, his own blazing with something I can’t make out and, quite honestly, probably don’t want to anyway. I’m emotionally done and struggling to do what I always do and move on.

  I don’t need him putting more on me, things I haven’t even hinted at, when all I really need is a few hours where all I have to think of is body parts and pleasure. But I can’t get there if he’s going to be a big old baby about a good orgasm.

  “I don’t know what happened, but it freaked me out. I told you I only do sex, but I have never felt that before. It was more than an orgasm or just dirty sex. You want to know why I was on you constantly? I was hoping that just once it wouldn’t be so damn good, Rosetta. Just once. That way I can put it in the box I need to and move on.”

  Huh. Good luck with that, man. I am like the queen of denial. Really, I once convinced myself that I didn’t have a cold sore just so that I could perform. I saw the stares, and one old lady even reached out a hand as if to cover it.