Where I Belong (Alabama Summer) (20 page)

“I know that. I haven’t been able to get a hold of her all
day. She left me a message and asked me to try and get a hold of you because
she couldn’t reach you. And then
I
couldn’t reach you. Where the hell is
your phone?”

He looks at the vest on the bed and reaches for it, pulling
out a barely held together phone. “Shit,” he whispers, looking quickly at Nolan
who is now playing with the TV remote at the foot of the bed. He winces while
the nurse continues to stitch him up. “Call her. Find out where she is and tell
her I’m coming to get her.”

I pull my phone out and notice the nonexistent reception I’m
currently getting. “I have to step outside. Do you want me to take Nolan?”

“No. But I’ll need you to watch him when I leave. I’m
getting to Fulton in under four hours.” He turns and watches the nurse,
undoubtedly willing her to hurry the fuck up.

I nod and exit the room, hearing footsteps behind me. I turn
and Luke runs straight into me, grabbing me before I topple over. “Christ!
What? I don’t have time for this. I need to call Mia.”

He keeps his grip on my arms. “Tell me why you broke up with
me.”

I’m sick of this. And I know Luke. He won’t let this go
until he gets what he wants. Persistent little bastard. Just like when he has
to get another orgasm out of me.

The nerve.

I pull my arms out of his grasp and grit my teeth. “I
thought I was pregnant, you prick.”

He leans back as if I’ve just slapped him across the face.
“What? You did? When? Are you?” His voice is softer, the heat that was in it moments
ago completely vanished.

I feel my body remembering that day and the pain I felt when
I delivered the blow that broke us. The agony burns like acid in my mouth,
coating my words. “No, I’m not. But I thought I was.”

He holds his hands out in front of him, still seemingly
clueless to why I ended things.

“I asked you if you ever saw yourself having kids someday
and you said no. You said you never wanted what Ben had. And I want that.” I
bite my tongue to distract me from the pain of the memory.

His nostrils flare and he steps closer to me. “You broke up
with me thinking you were pregnant? And you didn’t think I should know about
it? Do you know how fucked up that is?”

“You wouldn’t have wanted it. You said…”

He steps into me and brings his face so close to mine, his
breath tickles my eyelashes. “Don’t tell me what I would’ve wanted,” he growls.
“Was there a chance it wasn’t mine? Is that why you didn’t tell me?”

His words are like venom coming out of his mouth. I gasp,
stepping back and putting some distance between us. “No, there wasn’t a chance
it wouldn’t have been yours. But since you’re bringing it up, how many other
girls were you sleeping with besides me? I should probably go get myself tested
while I’m here.”

He shakes his head and comes up beside me, stopping when his
arm brushes against mine. “You should’ve told me,” he snarls down at me. He’s
never looked at me like this before. I can practically feel the revulsion
coming off him. And then he’s gone, moving down the hallway in the direction I
was originally heading. He chose not to satiate me with an answer to my
question, but I suppose his silence answers for him.

I walk outside and quickly dial my parents’ number after my
phone beeps with a voicemail alert. My mother’s casual voice throws me off,
until she informs me that she hasn’t read my text message due to the fact that
they’ve both been asleep. However, that doesn’t prevent the earful she gives me
about not feeling the need to call her with that kind of information. She calms
down eventually after I tell her Ben’s okay and only keeps me on the phone for
a few minutes. After hanging up with her, I dial Mia’s number. She picks up on
the second ring.

“Oh my God. Is he okay? Please tell me he’s okay.”

Her panicky tone makes my heart shudder in my chest cavity.
It’s my fault she’s so worried. “Sweetie, he’s fine. He’s not really hurt at
all. Just a minor cut on his arm.”

She cries through the phone, her whimpers mixed with the
noise of traffic. “Tessa, I thought… I thought I’d never see him again. I never
got to tell him…” Her voice breaks apart in sobs and it kills me.

“Shhh, Mia, it’s okay. He’s okay, I swear. He’s fucking
pissed as hell about not being there with you. And so am I. Are you okay?”

She pauses, taking in a few deep breaths. “I’m okay I guess.
She wasn’t in any pain when she died. It was very peaceful and I got to say
goodbye. My last memories of her are of when she was healthy, so I have those
to hold on to.”

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. And Ben’s tore up about you
going through this alone.”

 “I actually thought that maybe he didn’t care about
me. That he didn’t care enough to call me when I needed him. And then when I
got your message telling me he had been shot, God, Tessa, I almost died right
there. I’ve never been that scared before.”

I wipe the tear that had worked its way down my cheek. “Oh,
sweetie. How could you think he doesn’t care? He loves you. Hasn’t he told you
that?”

“No, not yet. It doesn’t matter. I’m telling him as soon as
I see him. I can’t wait another second.” Her voice sounds steady now, full of
determination. When my best friend wants something, she goes for it. “I better
get off here though before I get pulled over. I’m about two hours out so tell
Ben I’ll be there soon.”

“He’s coming to you, Mia. I’m telling you right now, as soon
as he’s discharged, he’s leaving here.”

She sighs heavily. “Well tell him to stay put.”

“You’ve met him, right? I can’t tell him anything when it
comes to you.”

She laughs slightly, sniffing at the end of her subdued
chuckle. “Yeah. Just have him call me when he’s leaving. I guess I’ll meet him
somewhere.”

I walk toward the entrance to the hospital, having worked my
way along the side during our conversation. “Alright. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I end the call and pull up the voicemail, crying again when
I hear her voice. And then she says it, “Tell him I love him, Tessa.” And I
stop the message. This isn’t for me. It’s for him.

Ben

I keep my eyes on Nolan as he fumbles with the TV remote. I
need a distraction and he’s the only thing keeping me from jumping out of this
bed and not giving a shit about my stitches. Every time I watch this nurse work
the needle in and out of my skin, she seems to slow down. So I don’t look.
Because I need to get the fuck out of here.

I wasn’t with her when she needed me.

It kills me to think that she couldn’t get a hold of me. And
worse than that, that there was a moment I considered not putting on my vest
before that raid. Something could’ve happened. One of those bullets could’ve
been fatal and I’d never hold her again. I’d never see her face light up with
her smile or the playful glint in her eye that teetered on seductive. My chest
is on fire where the welts are forming, but the pain I’m feeling right now,
being without her, is excruciating. I feel like a part of my soul is missing.
She’s the best part of me, my entire future, and as soon as I see her, I’m
saying it.

Tessa walks into the room, wiping underneath her eyes before
giving me a nod. “I talked to her. She knows you’re okay. And she seems okay
now. Her mom wasn’t in any pain when she died. She’s on her way here.”

Fuck.
I wasn’t there for her. Her mom died and I
wasn’t there.

The pressure forming in my chest intensifies and I scoff at
the nurse who seems to be taking her good old fucking time on my arm.

Tessa walks over to the bed, holding out her phone. “Here.
You need to listen to this.”

I take it from her with apprehension. “What is it?” She
doesn’t answer me as she walks over toward Nolan and I place the phone up to my
ear. Within seconds, my angel’s voice fills me.

“I’m on my way. Oh my God, please call me back and tell me
he’s okay. Tell him I love him, Tessa. Tell him I’m going to say that to him
every second for the rest of his life. He’ll never go another day without
hearing those words from me.” I hear her quivering breath before she pleads,
“Please don’t take him away from me.”

The desperation in her voice nearly guts me. But those
words, the words I’ve held off saying, have my heart slamming so hard against
my sternum I’m certain it’ll snap it in half. But I don’t care if it does. I
never want it to stop beating like this. I’d do fucking
anything
to keep
feeling this way.

I need her. Now.

I start to move off the bed when the nurse slams her hand on
my shoulder. “I have one more stitch. And then you’ll have to wait to see if
the doctor will release you. You have a lot of bruises from those bullets and
you’ll be in a lot of pain. You might want to think about going home with some
medication.”

I turn my head and make sure she is looking right into my
eyes. I don’t want to have to repeat myself. “I don’t care about the pain. I’ll
endure anything to get to the woman I
fucking breathe
for. She needs me
and as soon as you’re finished with that last stitch, I’m going to her.”

Her eyes widen slightly and she steadies the needle against
my shoulder. “But the doctor will want—”

“Tell him that I’m not waiting to get discharged. Say I went
against orders. I don’t give a shit.” I look at my shoulder and then back at
her. “It doesn’t need to be pretty. Just finish it so I can get out of here.”
She gets to it and I hold Tessa’s phone out to her.

She waves me off with her hand. “No. Take it. You’ll need to
call her so you two don’t pass each other on the highway.” She looks down at
Nolan and smiles before looking back at me with a saddened expression. “Her
message kind of killed me.”

I rest my head back on the bed. “Yeah. It kind of killed me
too.”

The nurse stands and pulls off her gloves after placing a
bandage over my stitches. “All finished. I’ll go grab the paperwork you need to
sign.” I’m out of bed before she leaves the room and my speed startles her.
“Uh, you’re not going to stick around and sign anything, are you?”

“Nope.” I turn to Tessa who is scooping up Nolan as the
nurse utters something under her breath while leaving the room. “You got him?”

“Yup. Go to her. But please be careful. I’ve suffered enough
stress today.”

I give Nolan a kiss before I sprint out of the room and down
the long hallway to the stairwell. I’m out the door and running toward my truck
that thankfully, Luke had made sure would be here for me when I was released.
But it didn’t matter. I’d fucking steal a car at this point to get to her. As
soon as the bars register on Tessa’s phone, indicating the reception, I dial
Mia’s number.

“Hey, I’m still like an hour and a half out. This traffic is
ridiculous! Does nobody work anymore?”

I start up my truck and pull away from the hospital, the
sound of her voice sending an ache throughout my entire body. “Baby,” I
whisper, my voice a strained plea. I hear her soft gasp and then her staggered
breathing fills my ear.

“Ben,” she says through a soft cry. My name on her lips
blankets the pain I’m feeling right now. The pain that I’ve felt for the past
several hours. Hope and pure need flood my senses and I push my foot down on
the gas pedal until it touches the floor. “Oh God, babe. I’m so happy to hear
your voice. I was so worried.”

“Angel, where are you? I’m getting on 215 right now.”

“I’m on Route 7. Why don’t you just wait there for me? We
might pass each other.”

I laugh slightly, my first laugh since yesterday. “There’s
no way I’ll let you pass me, baby. Just keep driving to me and I’ll find you.”

She pauses for a beat and I can almost see her fidgeting
through the phone. “Ben, I have to say it. I can’t go another second without
saying it to you.”

Christ, I needed to say it too. But not like this. Not
fucking yet. “Don’t say it, Mia. I want to be looking into your eyes when I say
it to you. And then you can say it back. Okay? Just hang on for me.”

She sniffles several times. “Okay. But you better say it the
second you see me or I’m saying it first. I’ve waited long enough for you,
Benjamin Kelly. Don’t make me wait anymore.”

I shake my free hand out of the fist that is beginning to
permanently set in. Knowing Mia is this close to me feels like having an itch I
can’t scratch. “No more waiting, baby. I promise you that.”

“Good.” She pauses and a muted grunt fills the phone. “Shit,
babe. My phone’s about to die. I should get off here in case we completely miss
each other and I need to call you. I’m actually betting on that happening.”

“Don’t doubt me, Mia. I’d find you anywhere.” The possessive
hunger in my blood yearns to prove her wrong on this one. She won’t need that
phone again. I’m drawn to her like a fucking honing missile.

She laughs slightly. “Yeah, you better.”

**

I knew I’d run into her on Route 7 somewhere. It was the
longest stretch of highway that connected Alabama and Georgia. I was only
looking out for one vehicle across the grass covered median that separated east
and west bound. And as soon as that cherry red jeep comes into my line of
sight, I feel like someone plugs me into an outlet. My entire body stiffens in
anticipation as I cross the three lanes and drive my truck across the median.
My back end fishtails several times given the speed I take it at but it doesn’t
slow me down. I drive toward the direction of the traffic, still in the median,
and the red jeep darts off the highway in between cars and skids to a halt in
the grass.

Christ, baby. If you got into an accident right now…

I slam on my emergency brake and jump out of my truck,
leaving it on. She swings her legs out of the jeep and hops down, steadying
herself before taking off running in my direction.

Mia. Mia. Mia.

She slams against my chest, a whimpered moan escaping both
of us as I cradle her to me. The pain she’s causing against my welts is
ignored. I can’t let her go. Not yet. But I do ease her away from me and take a
hold of her delicate face with both my hands. She looks at me with desperation.
To hold me. To talk to me. To fucking hear what I’ve kept from her. And I don’t
make her wait.

“I love you. I can’t remember a moment when I didn’t love
you. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there for you when you needed me, but that’ll
never happen again. I can’t be without you, angel. Please tell me you’ll stay
with me.” I drop my forehead to hers and close my eyes. The magnitude of my
love for her is crippling. “I can’t say goodbye to you.”

Her hands grab my wrists with a gentle squeeze. “I love you
too. And you’ll never have to say goodbye to me. It was always supposed to be
you in the bar that night, Ben. You were always meant to be my first, and my
last. I can’t imagine giving myself to anyone but you. Not now. Not ever.” I
open my eyes when I feel the tears falling down my face. She reaches up and
wipes them away. “This is where I belong. Wherever you are. Always.”

Her declaration has me struggling to stay upright. My knees
feel weak enough to drop me. But she has me. She wraps her arms around my waist
and places her head against my chest. I bury my face in her hair. “We’ll come
back for your car. I’m not driving home in separate vehicles when I’ve been
without you for this long.”

She giggles against me, her face turning up and knocking me
out with that smile. “It hasn’t even been a whole day.”

“Felt like a whole year. Come on.”

I move her along the grass and help her up into my truck
after securing her vehicle. There’s no space between us, not anymore. And there
never will be again. She’s against my side the entire drive home. Her head
against my shoulder and my hand in her lap with both of hers holding on to me.
I let her scent fill my lungs, feeling it calm me like a damn drug. Pain
killers? No. I won’t need any pain killers. She has me completely relaxed,
every muscle in my body loose, until I feel her lips press against my neck.

She squirms against me, wiggling my hand down so it settles
between her legs. “Remember when you were so close to pulling over and taking
me in your truck?” Her breath heats the skin below my ear, sending a jolt
straight to my cock. “I want that. Right now.” And then her hand is pressing on
my massive erection, the one that is threatening to rip through my zipper.

I hiss through a moan and she works me through my shorts.
“You want me to throw you in the back and fuck you on the side of the road?” I
feel her nod against me as her teeth scrap against my ear. “
Fuck.
How
wet are you right now?”

“Very.” She grabs my hand and slips it under her dress,
pressing my fingers against her panties. My cock becomes painfully hard at the
feel of her arousal and she moans when I press a finger against her clit. “Ben,
please,” she pants, digging her nails into my wrist as I twist my hand. I slide
underneath her panties and dip one finger into her. Her head falls back onto
the seat with a shuddering gasp.

“Jesus Christ. Hold on, angel.” She protests with a whimper
as I slip my finger out of her and pop it in my mouth. I pull off on a back
road that breaks into a secluded wooded area, parking my truck between the
trees. I turn the truck off and unbuckle my seatbelt as she does the same.
“Climb over the seat and take that dress off. I want you naked and ready for
me.” She complies with a gleeful chuckle, giving me a gorgeous view of her ass
as she crawls into the back.

I step out of the truck and glance around. We’re completely
isolated. Good. Nothing is interrupting this. Opening the back door, I pull my
cock out of my shorts before I climb inside. She’s slipping off her panties,
her dress discarded somewhere. Her hungry eyes focus on my dick that I’m slowly
stroking while I watch her.

“You’re so hard for me,” she states with a fascinated tone.
She reaches for me but quickly pulls her hands back. “Do you want me to do
that? Or should I touch myself while you watch?”

Christ. That is tempting as hell. My cock jerks in my hand
at the thought. But I’m suddenly hectic with the need to feel her around me.
Nothing else will suffice right now. I grab her leg and pull her toward me,
keeping my other hand on the base of my cock.

“Straddle me. I want those tits in my face.”

I guide her over me, sliding my hands up her thighs as she
grabs my cock and rubs it against herself, slicking the head. “Fuck, you feel
amazing, baby,” I grunt through a tense jaw. I lean in and lick her taut
nipple, teasing it before drawing it into my mouth.

“Ben,” she whispers urgently, shifting her weight forward
and guiding me to her entrance. She grabs my face with both her hands, pulling
me away from her breast and locks eyes with me. “Watch me.” Her mouth parts
slightly as she lowers herself down, taking me to the hilt. “I love you.”

I lean my head back and smirk. “Me? Or my cock?” Before she
can answer, I grab her hips and lift her up, slamming her down on top of me
five times with brute force. “You. Love. This?” I ask with my thrusts.

“Yes. God, yes.”

When I finish, she takes the lead and digs her nails into my
shoulders as she rocks against me.

“Easy, baby,” I warn her when her hand presses against my
stitches.

Her eyes go to the spot on my arm and she raises the sleeve
of my shirt. Her brow furrows with pain, guilt, maybe. I’m not sure. She leans
in, pressing her hand to my chest as she kisses the bandage. I wince at the
pressure she puts on me and she notices. Her hands grab the bottom of my shirt.
“Take it off.”

I stop her from lifting it farther than my upper abs. “I’m
fine. Just a little sore.”

“I want to see it.” She pulls with determination and I comply,
shifting so she can lift it over my head. She inhales sharply, her eyes taking
in the nine welts and the bruises that have formed around them. Her hand lies
gently over the one welt that sits right in the middle of my chest. I see her
lip tremble and reach up, cupping the side of her face. Her eyes meet mine with
agony. “I could’ve lost you.”