Redemption Road (Roughneck #3) (10 page)

“I think about you every fucking second of the day. I want to be inside you all the fucking time. I think about kissing those beautiful lips constantly. Because I want you, constantly,” he said, as he kissed me gently.

“I know I should stay away from you, because you’re too good for me. You deserve better, but I can’t stay away anymore. I can’t handle you with someone else. It would make me crazy. And I know it makes me selfish, but I don’t give a fuck anymore, sweetie, I want you.”

“Only me?” I whispered.

“Only you,” he said, as he kissed me. “Always you,” he said, as his breathing became heavier and he rubbed against me, the bulge in jeans causing me to grab his ass and pull him closer.

“I want you, Kash,” I whispered, as I unbuttoned his jeans. “Please,” I begged.

I didn’t care that we were in public. I didn’t care that someone could walk around the corner. I just wanted him. Now.

“I’ve told you before I could never fucking deny you,” he said, as he unzipped my jeans, and pulled them down enough to slam himself inside me. I let out a loud cry that he tried to muffle by putting his mouth over mine. He started to rub my clit with his fingers as he kept pumping inside me. We both climaxed in record time, and then clung to each other.

“Are you sure you can handle me?” Kash asked, as he rubbed my cheek.

“I know I can,” I said, with full confidence.

“Then let’s go home,” he said, as he pulled my jeans back up and zipped them for me.

“Let’s go,” I said, and then kissed his lips before I started to cry. I was such a damn baby sometimes.

Chapter 18

The next morning I woke up at 6 am, but I didn’t want to move. Kash was sleeping so peacefully, in my bed, and I didn’t want to wake him. The memories of last night kept running through my mind. Were we really going to give this a shot?  The way he got jealous over me dancing with another guy probably should have made me mad, all things considered, but it didn’t. I wanted him to be protective of me, and I knew he wasn’t crazy. Well, not Jake crazy, anyway.

He looked so beautiful as he slept. He was sprawled out on the bed; it was pretty obvious he was used to sleeping alone, which made me smile. That perfect mess of hair standing on end and his stubble that grew in just a few hours. So completely sexy. I wanted to touch him, but I didn’t want to wake him.

“Do I smell coffee?” he mumbled, without moving or opening his eyes. Was he talking in his sleep?

“No,” I giggled “Do you want some coffee?” I asked.

“I’ll get it,” he whispered in the sexiest morning voice I know I’ve ever heard.

“Nope, let me, I’m wide awake,” I said, as I hopped out of bed.

“Don’t move,” I told him, as he started to raise up. His head hit the pillow again and he gave me a smile.

A few minutes later, I walked back into my bedroom holding two cups of fresh brewed heaven. I handed Kash his cup and blew him a kiss.

“I’ve never had someone make me coffee before,” he said with a wink.

“Never?” I asked. But, realizing that he never stayed the night with women, as far as I knew, he had never really been in a relationship before. This worried me and got me excited at the same time.

“Nope,” he said, as he took a sip. “Perfect,” he mumbled, and then patted the bed beside him.

“How did you find me last night?” I asked him. It was a question that had been weighing on me. Surely, he didn’t follow me.

“Pure fucking luck, sweetie,” he said, as he looked me in the eye.

“Really?” I asked.

“Yeah, I even called Sam to see where you might be. By the way, she tore into my ass for even asking, so get ready to hear her fucking mouth today,” he said with a smile.

“Oh, goodness,” I laughed. Sam would have a fit when she realized what was going on.

“She got worried that something happened to you because of dick munch, so I had to text her as soon as I found you.”

“Oh.” I was so pissed about Kash last night, the possibility of Jake causing trouble hadn’t even crossed my mind once I left the house.

“Speaking of,” he said, as he sat his coffee on the nightstand. “Has he given you anymore trouble?”

I hated talking about Jake. I hated thinking about everything he did, but I had to be honest with Kash. He deserved to know, and I had a feeling my vague answers weren’t going to fly anymore.

“Yeah,” I said quietly.

“Mother fucker, he just isn’t gonna learn,” Kash said, as he rubbed his hands over his face. “What did he do now?” he asked, as he faced me.

“Just still following me, but thank you for the taser, it really does help my peace of mind.”

“What else?” he asked, as he put his hand on my thigh.

“Hang up calls at work. He left black roses at the clinic with a nasty note.”

“What did it say?” he asked, as he sat up a little.

I didn’t want to say it out loud; it made me sick to my stomach.

“Mackenzie?” Kash asked.

I let out a loud exhale, but finally continued.

“That I won’t get away with this.” I had to swallow the lump in my throat. “And ‘whores always pay for their sins,’” I said, and then rolled my eyes to keep the tears from falling.

“I’m sorry,” Kash said as he kissed me gently, and grabbed me around the waist.

“Don’t be sorry, Kash. It’s my shit to deal with,” I said.

“First, I’m sorry for not being there for you when I should. And now, it’s both of our shit to deal with,” he said, as he kissed my forehead. “There’s no you and me anymore, it’s us,” he said.

“Us?” I asked, as he rolled me onto my back and hovered over me.

“Mmhmm,” he said, as he kissed my neck.

“I like the sound of that,” I giggled, as the scruff on his face tickled my skin.

“I never thought I’d fucking say it, but me too, sweetie,” he said, as he started to kiss my neck. “Me, too.”

As soon as I got to work, Sam was waiting on me in the break room.

“Are you gonna give me shit?” I asked Sam with a laugh, as I put my purse in my locker.

“Well, I was,” Sam said with a smile. “But Moon talked me down.”

“Tell him I said thanks,” I said.

“Just be careful with Kash, ok. He doesn’t have the best history with women,” Sam said. I knew she was concerned.

“I know, and I’ve been dealing with feelings for him for a long time now, Sam. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“It’s probably good you didn’t, because I might have flipped my shit on him. But the way he sounded last night when he didn’t know where you were, really shocked me. I can tell he cares about you, which is not Kash. At all.”

“I know; I’m still a little shocked that he wants to be with me,” I said honestly.

“Are you shitting me? Girl, you are amazing! Don’t sell yourself short! He’s lucky to have your ass!” she said, as she smiled and headed out of the break room.

“Thanks, Sam,” I said.

“You’re welcome, bitch,” she mouthed from the doorway, and then walked out.

I was getting ready to head out of the office, and I couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that I had. My stomach was in knots, and I couldn’t figure out why. Things were good. I hadn’t heard from Jake in a couple of days, but I couldn’t ignore it.

Kash: Hurry that sweet ass home, I’m cooking you dinner

As soon as I read his text, I couldn’t help but smile, and the dreaded feeling eased up a bit. Maybe I was just worried that I would grow attached to him and our relationship would go to shit, I don’t know. Whatever this feeling was, I didn’t like it.

Me: Sounds perfect, leaving now. Be there in a few.

I got in my car, made sure the doors were locked, and looked around before I headed out - my usual damn routine. I was driving home, listening to the radio, and when I turned down the dirt road, my car started to feel funny. At first, I thought it was just this old bumpy road, but then realized I must have a flat. I guess. In all my years of driving, I had never had a flat before, but I’m sure that was it. I pulled the car over and killed the engine. The sun was setting, but it was still bright enough to check the tires, so I got out and checked the front tires. They were good, so I walked to the back of the car. That’s when I saw bright lights pulling up behind me. It wasn’t dark enough for the lights to be that bright, so I couldn’t tell what kind of car it was. It wasn’t loud enough to be Kash, and I immediately got nervous. The other car engine died and he got out. Jake. Shit. Shit. Shit. My taser was in the console of my car. Oh, my god, why didn’t I grab it? Why did I get out of my car? Why didn’t I call Kash and tell him I had a flat? A million questions were running through my mind as he quickly walked towards me. I started to run around the car back to the driver’s side, but he grabbed me by the arm before I could reach the handle.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Jake said, as he squeezed my arm and pressed his body against me. I was pinned between him and the car.

“Let me go,” I said with a shaky voice.

“Are you looking for this?” he asked, as he held up the valve stem cap. Oh my God, I should have known. How could I be so careless?

“You’re crazy,” I said, as I struggled to get out of his grip. It wasn’t happening. He was bigger and stronger, I couldn’t overpower him.

“And you’re a fucking dirty whore who deserves to die,” he said. His eyes were filled with evil. They were darker than usual, almost black with dark circles around them. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days.

“You think you can send your new fuck buddy to try and scare me, bitch?” he said through gritted teeth.

“What? No,” I said quietly, trying to find a way to escape.

“Shut the fuck up!” he screamed, as he shoved me against the car again.

“Please, let me go,” I said quietly. Trying to talk him down had sometimes worked in the past. I was willing to try anything to get away from him. He just stared at me, squeezing my arm. He threw the cap down and grabbed my other arm, squeezing it just as tight.

“I’m sorry, Jake, I’m sorry for leaving. Please, don’t do this,” I begged. I was desperate to get away. I would say anything to get away from him.

“You’re sorry?” he asked, looking confused, and his grip loosened a little.

“Yes, please, just let me go,” I said quietly through the lump in my throat, forcing the tears to stay away. I had to keep calm; I had to get away from him.

“No!” he screamed, as he started to shake me. I hit my head on the car as he continued to shake me, harder. I cried out in pain; my head was burning.

“You’re a liar, Mackenzie! A liar!” he screamed, and put both of his hands around my throat.

It was getting harder to breath as his hands gripped my neck. I clawed at his hands with mine, but it didn’t loosen his grip.

“Please, stop.” I struggled to talk as he started to squeeze tighter. I felt hot tears falling down my cheeks. My face was on fire.

I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. All I could see was his face. His teeth were clenching as he stared at me. My feet started to lift off the ground as he groaned. My chest started to burn. I couldn’t see clearly. Was it my tears blurring my vision? Everything was burning - my eyes, my face, my neck. I tried to reach the ground with my feet, but was kicking air. God, please, I don’t want to die. Please. Please. Help me. It was getting darker. Darker. Darker.

Kash

Chapter 19

Something was wrong. I fucking knew it in my gut. I jumped in my car and took the route to the clinic. I sent Sam a quick text to give her a heads up.

Kash: Mackenzie isn’t home yet. Bad feeling.

Sam: On our way.

She should have been home a few minutes ago, and I was fucking worried. I sped down the dirt road and quickly spotted the two cars on the side of the road.

What the fuck? No. No. No. I’m going to fucking kill this mother fucker. I slammed on my brakes, spraying gravel on that piece of shit’s car, but he didn’t even look at me. He had his hands around her throat. He’s dead. Fucking dead. I jumped out of my car, and ran over to the both of them. I grabbed him around the throat with the crook of my arm and slammed him to the ground. I heard Mackenzie gasp for air and start to cough as I jumped on top of him.

“You will never put your fucking hands on her again!” I screamed at him, as I pounded my fists into his face. He wasn’t even fighting back. Fucking pussy.

“Kash!” I heard a female scream my name. But I couldn’t stop hitting him. I wanted him to feel my fucking wrath. But, immediately after I heard the voice, I felt a pair of huge arms wrap around my shoulders and pull me off the piece of shit.

“Kash, stop, that’s enough,” Moon said through gritted teeth, as he held me against him.

“Mackenzie,” I said when I snapped back, and realized I needed to see her face. I spotted her crouched down on the ground, with Sam next to her. I lunged towards her, and Moon let me go.

“Are you ok?” I whispered to her through my heavy breaths, as I moved her hair out of her face. I needed to see those eyes.

She opened her eyes and looked at me. Her normally big, brown eyes were watery and blood shot. His hand prints were around her throat and she was still trying to catch her breath. She nodded her head at me and her lips started to tremble. I reached my arms out for her and she fell into them. She started to shake and cry. My anger took over once again at the pain he caused her.

“Mother Fucker,” I said through my teeth, and pulled away from her. I ran towards him again for round two. I didn’t care that he was lying on the ground whining like a bitch.

“That’s enough, Kash. You don’t need to go to jail,” Moon said, as he grabbed me again and held me back.

“He fucking needs to pay for what he’s done to her!” I screamed in his direction.

“I know, but you can’t protect her if you’re locked up,” he said calmly.

He was right. And I had to protect her from this fucker.

“Go back over to Mackenzie, please,” Moon said. “She needs you.”

Moon Jacobs. Always the fucking voice of reason.

I shook my head and he dropped his arms again. It took everything I had inside me not to jump back on that mother fucker, but once I saw her still crouched on the ground, my focus shifted. I knew where I needed to be. Right beside her.

I got down on my knees and wrapped her in my arms.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” I whispered into her ear, as she tried to hold back her tears. I could feel how tense her body was. I noticed Sam stand up and give us some space.

“You’re here now,” she said quietly; her voice was raspy, and it made my body start to tremble with anger again.

“Do you need to go to the hospital? Or should we call the cops?” I asked her.

“No,” she whispered. “Let’s just get out of here.”

“Get the fuck up!” I heard Moon in the distance. The piece of shit was talking, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying. I didn’t want to turn around, because I didn’t trust myself not to go after him again. I needed to be here for her, I had to control myself. For her.

I had Mackenzie in my arms and I was rubbing her head, with her face buried in my chest. I heard footsteps coming in my direction and I held her tighter so she wouldn’t move. Moon had him by the arm and was dragging him to his pussy car. Sam opened the driver’s side door as Moon shoved him inside.

“It’s up to her whether the cops get involved or not,” Moon said, as he leaned inside the car. “So, you need to get your pussy ass out of here, and I suggest you keep your fucking mouth shut,” Moon said, as he slammed the door.

“We need to get out of here,” Sam said, as she walked back over to us.

“Hold on to me,” I said as I stood up, and pulled Mackenzie into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and didn’t open her eyes. I knew she didn’t want to see him. I didn’t want her to. Sam opened the passenger’s side door of my car and I gently put Mackenzie inside.

“Are you ok?” I asked her.

“Let’s just hurry, ok?” she whispered, staring straight ahead; she looked like she was in shock.

“Are you sure we don’t need to take you to the hospital?” I asked, as I looked from Mackenzie to Sam, and back to Mackenzie.

“Home,” she said.

“I’ll follow y’all in her car. The tire’s flat, but Moon said it will make it, we need to get out of here.”

I shut the passenger door and ran over to the driver’s side. I pulled out with Sam behind me, and Moon following her. The piece of shit was still sitting there as we drove out of sight, dust kicking up from the dirt road.

I tried to keep my eyes on the road on the way home, but I needed to watch her. Was she really ok? She was just staring straight ahead, not moving. Luckily, we weren’t far from home, so I could make her my only focus. My only priority.

We pulled into the driveway as Moon and Sam pulled in right behind us. I jumped out of the car, went over to her side, and opened the door. I reached down to scoop her up.

“I can walk, Kash,” she said quietly, but still wearing that blank stare.

“But I want to carry you, ok?” I said, as I put my arm under her leg, and held her against me. I kicked the door shut, and Sam was waiting with the front door open.

“Thanks,” I said, as I walked inside. Sam was just staring at both of us and she gave me a sad little smile.

“We’re gonna go, but please call if you need anything,” Sam said, as she started to close the front door.

“Will do,” I said, as I turned around to take Mackenzie to her bed.