by Khloe Wren
Cindy
After lunch, Johnny, I mean Nitro, had walked me back to the shop before he headed off. He’d wanted to take me out to dinner after I finished work, but I’d refused his offer. I wasn’t sure he realized what could potentially happen after our lunch. If my stalker had seen any of it, anything could happen. I had no clue what having Nitro back in my life would do to him, even if we didn’t do anything romantic. Nitro was the thing that initially set off this nut-job so it made sense him coming back into my life would send him over the edge again.
Thankfully, I worked a full day at the store on Tuesdays, and the afternoon was busy enough I didn’t end up with time to dwell on any of it. But as five o’clock crept closer and the customers dried up, I found myself with way more time to think. To wonder if telling Nitro had been the right thing to do, to over-analyze, and basically get myself totally worked up over every possibility.
“I’m being stupid. This is just like every other Tuesday.”
After giving myself a little pep talk as I locked up, I hopped in my car and headed from the shop back to my apartment to get changed for practice. It was strange to have two Harleys follow me the whole way, but at least this time I knew for sure I was being watched. Over the years, the not knowing where or when I was being spied on had just about driven me insane at times.
When I pulled up outside practice, the rumble of the bikes got louder as I got out of my car and they pulled up behind me. Not sure what exactly they were planning to do, I went to talk to them.
“Um, I’m going to be here for hours so you really don’t need to hang around.”
“Ma’am, if Nitro found out we left you unprotected, our lives would be shortened considerably.”
“Yeah, he’d fuck us up like you read about.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. The first guy had tried to be all polite southern charm with me, while the second one clearly didn’t have any kind of filter.
“Okay, well, if you don’t want to sit out here in the parking lot, there’s an area inside where you can sit and watch us practice.”
Since I was going to have to tell my entire team about what was going on now that I had two biker bodyguards following me everywhere anyway, I might as well do it now. Then, none of the team would worry whenever they saw them around me.
I couldn’t help but shake my head at how fucked up my life had gotten as I walked into the large, converted warehouse that was Her Royal Hellions’ home base. Before I put my skates and helmet on, I started with some stretches and warm up as I waited for the others to arrive, knowing I wouldn’t have to wait long. By the time I was lacing my skates up, most of the team was there.
“What’s with the hot bikers?”
I chewed my lower lip as I ran my gaze over my teammates. As much as I’d expected the women to ask, and that I knew I had to tell them, it didn’t change the fact that I didn’t want to confess to them about my stalker. Now that both Natalie and Nitro believed me, I was trying to let go of the worry that no one else would. But I’d been telling myself that for so long, it was hard to snap out of it. And I knew my friends would be hurt that I’d kept the secret so long from them. Her Royal Hellions were more like a family than a sports team and they were not going to be happy that I hadn’t told them a long time ago. And honestly, after so many years of doing my best to keep it to myself whenever something happened, having everyone suddenly wanting to know about my past was a big mental adjustment for me.
“Ah, they would be my new bodyguards.”
Silence greeted my statement. Along with a few glares and frowns.
“You know you can’t leave it there. Spill, sister.”
Holding Renee’s gaze, I took a deep breath. I had no idea how any of them would react, but it was Renee’s reaction that could make the most impact on my life. She could tell me to get out of her apartment.
“It’s a bit of long story. So, ah, it turns out I have this stalker...”
For the third time in as many days, I went through all the details of my past and how this bastard had shaped my life for past eighteen years, eight months, two weeks and five days. The story rolled off my tongue easier now I’d gone over it a few times recently.
None of my derby family interrupted me, and every time I glanced up, Natalie was there giving me a smile and nod for encouragement as I spoke. When I was done, silence filled the large space. Reaching down, I adjusted my knee pads, then my elbow and wrist ones. Hoping someone would say something soon, because I had no clue what else to say.
“Holy fucking shit, Cindy! Why haven’t you mentioned this asshole before now? We would have helped you.”
Tears pricked my eyes and my heart swelled with love for my family. “I couldn’t risk that you’d react like my mom and the police did. Ya’ll are basically the only family I have left now. My aunt hates that she has to employ me and is constantly suggesting I leave. My parents moved to Florida years ago and don’t visit much at all. You’re all I have left. I couldn’t risk losing you over this shit.”
My voice cracked with emotion and I closed my eyes against the burn of tears. The next thing I knew, I was being pulled up from my seat and I found myself in the middle of a group hug.
“Never, Sin D Ella!” Renee calling me my derby name had me chuckling through my tears. “You’re one of us. And actually, after hearing all of that, so much makes sense now. This stalker is why you don’t date, right? Why you turn down all the Doms at the club and basically refuse all contact with men?”
I nodded as I wiped the tears from my face. “Although, it looks like Johnny―I mean Nitro―wants to brave my stalker’s wrath. I don’t think he’s going to really give me choice about it, actually.”
“Oh, is he a Dom?”
I shook my head a little. “I don’t think so, at least not a trained one. He definitely has a dominant vibe going on. He’s all alpha male, always has been. And he spent ten years in the Navy SEALs.”
The hug broke up and Renee fanned herself. “Uber protective SEAL vet, who also sounds like he may be hiding a Dom in there too. Phew, be still my heart!”
“You need to bring him to Titanium so we can all check him out while he gets run through his paces!”
“...and see how he handles Cindy’s kinky side.”
Within minutes we were all laughing, but inside there was a spark of fear that Nitro wouldn’t accept my kinks. Not that I knew exactly what my kink was just yet, but I’d seen plenty of scenes I’d love to try out. I wasn’t sure I could survive Nitro rejecting the idea. I knew I couldn’t survive without Titanium. In the beginning it was simply a safe place for me to relax and work. And even though I may not have scened with a Dom yet, I’d liked what I’d seen over the years and craved to have a man take care of me like the Doms did their subs. I wanted to be able to explore my sexuality there with my friends around me. If I had to give up Titanium, it would be like slicing off a part of my heart and soul. But losing Nitro again would leave me bleeding in the same way.
“Alrighty, ladies! Enough talk, let’s skate! Warm-up laps, then we’ll move onto practicing blocks. I’ve got a couple new plays I want us to try out.”
As I made my way out to the track, I shook out my shoulders and arms, forcing all thoughts from my head except for roller derby. Once on the track, I pushed off and along with my teammates, started doing laps. I loved derby, loved the skating, how free I felt when I was moving this fast. I loved how we ribbed each other and shoved at each other, the fun we had together. I was quite sure that without roller derby or Titanium, I would have gone mad years ago from the pressure of feeling like I was under a microscope most of the time.
Chapter 4
Nitro
In the week following my first lunch with Cin, nothing happened. Keys hadn’t picked up anything unusual on the cameras. Jazz and Keg had been rotating guard duty after that first day, and they’d had nothing to report―well―nothing except for how hot derby chicks were. I’d also made sure I’d spoken with C
in each day and she promised me that she was being honest when she said she’d received no new notes or damage to her car. Unfortunately, none of that made her relaxed enough that she’d accept my requests for another lunch or dinner. Damn woman. Surely, she realized I wasn’t going to give up until she was mine again?
I’d quietly slipped into the shop again later in the week when I knew she was working a half day and from what I observed, her aunt really didn’t like her niece being there. Nor did she like Cin chatting to people who weren’t paying customers. Not wanting to get her in trouble, I hadn’t hung around for long.
With how she was dodging all my attempts to take her out, I was going to have to get sneaky. I was getting desperate to see her again, hopefully maybe even be able to kiss or touch her. So, determined to take Cin out to dinner, I waited until ten minutes before Retro Funk closed to arrive, then I stayed out the front of the store chatting with Jazz as I kept an eye on the door. Keg was getting some sleep so he could take the next shift. I was fairly certain she’d be left to lock up, since her aunt seemed to be the kind of person who’d make Cin do as much as she could while she sat back and bitched about it. That was something else I planned to do tonight―talk to her about why she worked for her aunt when clearly the woman didn’t think much of her. I knew nothing about my girl was simple, so there had to be a story behind it. I could get Keys to dig into the history of the store to try to work it out, but I didn’t want to take up any more of the man’s time, especially when I could simply ask Cin for the details.
“What are you doing here? Has something happened?”
The panic lacing her voice had me muttering a curse. Maybe turning up unannounced hadn’t been my best idea. Although, it wasn’t like she’d left me any other options.
“Relax, everything’s fine, babe. I just wanted to catch you before you took off to see if I can convince you to allow me to take you out to dinner tonight?”
Her gaze took in the street as she nervously tossed her keys between her hands. “I don’t know―”
“Your stalker hasn’t done anything in the week since we had lunch. I’ve got you protected, Cin. Stop letting this bastard control your life. Unless, you really don’t want me?”
With a curse she threw her head back and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she shifted so she could look me straight in the eye.
“Fine. Dinner. But I have derby practice first, I can’t miss it.”
From what I’d seen so far, the girl practiced just about every damn day, she was dedicated, that’s for sure. And I knew it was all that practice that made her so damn good at it. I’d been on their website and done some Googling. My girl rocked on skates. Moving forward, I snagged the hand not currently holding her keys, and pulled her against me, pressing a kiss to her temple while I enjoyed the hell out of having her body pressed up against mine. Even if we were both clothed. Later, I’d fix that.
“I know, Cin. I wouldn’t ever ask you to skip something you love. I’m gonna come watch you in action, see what all the fuss is about, then we’ll head out to eat.”
She opened her mouth, frowned, then with a shake of her head pulled away from me and proceeded to lock up the front door of the shop.
“I need to go home and get changed first. Did you bring your bike, or do you want to come with me?”
The fact she hadn’t really tried to get out of dinner had my hopes for the evening rising. I couldn’t resist pulling her back against me, cupping her face and putting my mouth against hers, when she’d finished locking up. I’d missed this woman so fucking much and I couldn’t wait to reacquaint myself with every inch of her. To drown myself in her taste.
“I’ll follow you back to your place, then we’ll go together.”
As much as I’d fucking love to have her on the back of my bike, I wasn’t sure if that would be possible with her in her derby gear. However, I didn’t have a problem with being caged in her car if it meant I got to be close to her.
She glanced at Jazz briefly before looking back to me. “And since you’re with me, do I still need the bodyguard?”
“Yeah, babe, you do. Because I know full well I’m going to be totally focused on you tonight, not watching what’s going on around us, Jazz is gonna be guarding both our backs. Until we catch this fucker, I’m not taking any risks with your safety.”
Well, that wasn’t completely true. I would be keeping watch of what was going on around us, but I wasn’t sending away my back-up. The more people watching out for my woman, the safer she would be.
“You’ll have Keg after practice. We’ll switch out while she’s safely inside the warehouse.”
I gave Jazz a nod before all three of us started walking toward the parking lot. Reluctantly, I gave Cin another quick kiss before I left her to get into her car while I got on my bike and started it up. While she got herself sorted in her car, I took in the lot. There weren’t many other cars, which was to be expected at this hour of the day, and I couldn’t see anyone hanging around. It had only been a week but not being able to catch this fucker was already wearing on my nerves. It had to be someone from Bridgewater, someone who had known her as a teen well enough to grow fixated on her. And young enough that nearly nineteen years later he was still able to bother her. I mentally ran through all the people I could think of but couldn’t come up with anyone who I didn’t still see around town regularly. I needed to ask Keys if he could somehow find out who else moved to Houston around the same time Cin did, or who often visited Houston. It was probably near impossible to determine but I figured it was worth a shot. The man often pulled miracles out of his computer.
A few minutes later, Jazz and I followed Cindy’s car through the gates in the apartment building’s parking garage that had opened automatically. I was grateful her building had such good security for its parking. Not only did it decrease the chances of her car getting screwed with again, it meant my bike would be safe while I was with her too. After pulling up next to Jazz in the space beside her car, I turned off my ride and swung my leg over the seat. I wanted to see where she lived. I also wanted to spend the night with her here tonight, but didn’t want to get my hopes up too much just yet on that front.
“I just need to change quickly and grab my bag. Did you want to―”
I cut her off before she could imply I’d stay here in the damn garage. “I’d love to see where you live, babe, I promise I won’t do anything that’ll make you late to practice.”
By the stiff way Cin walked off I could tell she wasn’t happy. The silent treatment she was throwing my way was another pretty good clue to her current mood. And made me feel like a bastard for railroading her. When we came to a stop in front of the elevator, I spoke up.
“If you really don’t want me to come up with you, I can go hang with Jazz.”
With a sigh, her body relaxed and she shook her head before turning to face me.
“It’s not that I don’t want you with me. It’s just―you’re taking this bodyguard thing too far. This building is well protected. I’ve never received anything from him here.”
The elevator doors opening cut off whatever else she was going to say. I followed her in, and once she pressed the button for her floor and before she could speak again, I pulled her in against me and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“Babe, you’re not on your own anymore. I’m here for you, not as your bodyguard but as your damn man. I’ll always be here for you. I would have been here for you the whole time if I’d known where the fuck you were and what was going on. I’m not here only to find this fucker stalking you, I’m here for you. To spend time with you. To learn about who you are now. And that includes getting a look at where you live.”
Her head fell forward against my chest as she slipped her hands under my cut. The thin t-shirt I had on did nothing to ease the burning trail her fingers left as she slipped her arms around my waist to hold me against her. Leaning down, I rested my cheek against the top of her head as I wrapped my arms arou
nd her. A shudder ran through me at how right it felt to hold her like this. It was peaceful and, well, it was simply fucking perfect.
I just managed to not growl when she pulled away after the elevator dinged and the doors opened. I could have stayed like that forever. At least she seemed to be just as reluctant as me to end the contact and when she reached for my hand, I followed her lead, tightening my grip on her to make sure she didn’t drop my hand as we headed toward her apartment.
Once through the door I was a little shocked at what I found. The apartment was nice, but it was all super modern, sleek with sharp clean lines. I’d expected Cin to have little things sitting all over the place. If the way she now dressed was any indication, she hadn’t lost her love for all things old and funky.
“So, the apartment is really Renee’s place. She’d lived here for a few years before I moved in and I didn’t have much, so I have my room, which has its own bathroom thankfully, and that’s about it, really.”
She sounded flustered and nervous, so I let the subject drop. But it didn’t stop my heart clenching at how sad it was that she’d lived here for over ten years yet still only had one room that she could call her own. Back in Bridgewater, I had a room at the clubhouse and a house near the bar but I’d never done much with the place. Cin would have a field day decorating it and putting her stamp all over it, I was sure. And I couldn’t wait for the day to arrive when she was living with me and able to do just that.
I hoped like fuck that because she hadn’t been able to make herself at home here, that I wouldn’t have too hard a time convincing her to move in with me. I wasn’t sure how attached she was to her job at Titanium, but I doubted she’d miss having to work with her aunt if she moved to Bridgewater. The drive from there to Houston wasn’t so long that she’d have to give up her derby team. I knew she wouldn’t budge on that one, and she shouldn’t have to. I’d never expect her to give up on her dreams. Although, it would probably help if I could find her somewhere local to practice at least a couple nights a week so she wasn’t driving up here every day.