Never Say Goodbye (Rebel Walking #6) (16 page)

I know the wrath of Greg is going to be terrible and I find myself hoping that Lou and Luke heard him pull up.  He looks over just as I sit up and try to slide out of sight.  My frozen state has him smiling, like he knows he just caught me and there's nothing I can do about it.

I know there's two ways that this can go.  I'll be drug on my ass to his truck or Luke will stop that from happening.  My size doesn't stand a chance against him when he's this pissed off, not to mention my overly emotional state of being right now isn't really prepared for this shit. 

"I figured I'd have to beat the fuck outta that old man for him to tell me where you are.  I'm glad to see you've just saved me from one hell of a fucking mess."

"What's your problem?  Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"You're mine.  You have forgotten that in your new mission to fuck around on me."

"You're crazy.  I haven't
fucked
around on you at all."

"You seem to think this guy can be your knight in shining armor, but he's more like a retard in tin foil and I refuse to lose you to some pompous prick who thinks he can come here and carry you off over his shoulder like a fucking caveman."

"Who I leave with is none of your fucking business."  I say this loud, hoping my voice will carry to someone, anyone.  Please let someone hear me.

"The fuck it isn't.  Do I need to remind you what happens when you disrespect me?"

"Are you going to beat me again to prove that you're a man?  Is that your plan?"  I yell even louder this time. 

He grabs my arm and begins to pull me toward the steps.  I use what little body weight I have to pull away from him, but it's as if I'm not doing anything but annoying him.  He gets pissed and turns to yank my hair so that my face is right up against his.  The spray from his words land on my face with every word.

"You will come with me or I will make everyone in your life pay for the bullshit you've pulled."

"Greg, I haven't done anything.  Let. Go. Of. Me. NOW."

"Or what?  You'll call your fucking dog on me?"  He grips my hair tighter and begins to drag me towards his truck.  Why in the hell hasn't anyone heard this shit and come to look for me?  I've never been able to depend on others in the past and this time shouldn't be any different.

The pain from him pulling my hair is making my eyes water and I decide it's time to fight back.  The self-defense courses that I took as a teenager are getting ready to come in handy.  I refuse to let this asshole take me down again without a fight.  Just as I decide what I'm going to do to fight back, he slams my head into the side of the truck.  I use my arms to shield the blow, but he knew where to hit me that it would hurt the most.  My bruise from last night will definitely be getting worse after that blow.  My face begins to swell instantly and my nose starts to bleed. 

This pisses me off.  Flashes of my night at the hospital flood my brain and I finally find the strength in me to fight this fucking asshole like I wish I could've last night.  I begin to cry and hold my face in hopes of distracting him long enough to get in the exact place I want to be.  When his hand loosens on my hair just a little, I knee him right in his balls and the look on his face as he goes down to cup them lets me know that I better not fuck this up.  One chance is all I have to get away from him before he makes me regret that move.

A swift knee to his nose and his blood begins to pour from his face.  I turn to run and scream just as I run into the wall of muscle that I've been praying for.

Chapter Six

Luke

I'm watching this man as he continues to land a hit on me.  Someone more than three times my age shouldn't be able to get one in on me and he has landed a shit ton.  He's making a point that my focus isn't quite where is should be and I'm trying like hell to fix that.  I hear the roar of an engine and my mind begins to think about the possibilities of Greg finding her here. 

Lou pushes me harder until he practically has me backed into a corner after a round of blows that I was in no way prepared for. 

"COME ON!  This guy is going to kick your ass."  Lou pulls some more punches and I let my instincts go.  I block him left and right, right then left, left then left, low then high.  I have one mission and that is to move his ass over to the cage door and then walk the fuck out of this barn to see what that noise was. 

I finally make my way to the cage door and do exactly that.  Lou starts talking shit in the background, but I don't even bother to stop and give him any attention.  As soon as I step outside, I know my worry was warranted and that I'm about to kill a mother fucker.  Running across the gravel that separates me from her, I watch him slam Kimber's face into his truck and then I see her take him to his knees like a fucking champ.  She may be little, but that girl is mighty. 

I catch her in my arms just as she begins to run from him.  Her heart is beating so fast and her breath blows across my face with every exhale.  She's scared out of her mind, but I see relief in her eyes when she lands into my arms.  I hold her at the same time turning her so that she is behind me.  She buries her head in my chest as I look back to see where Greg is. 

He's beginning to get back up, when Lou steps in front of me.

"Greg.  You don't want to cross me.  You know I've got more shit on you than you'll ever be able to wash off.  If you so much as touch one more hair on her body, I will ruin you."  Greg begins to open his mouth right before Lou starts in again.

"I don't think you understand.  Get the hell off my property and don't come near Kimber again.  If you do, I will let my little birdie handle your ass.  Just remember, I have people in place in the event you try another thing."  Greg looks at Lou with challenge, then understanding.  He backs away toward the door of his truck and with one final glare at Kimber, he gets in and drives away.

She was watching him from behind me the whole time.  I'm just so glad that I heard him, who knows what would've happened if I hadn't.  Although she did put up one hell of a fight, I just don't know if he would've reacted quicker if I wasn't standing here.  I have never wanted to beat someone's ass so much in my entire life.  This asshole deserves to die for killing a baby.  The shitty thing is, I'm not too sure how he would've treated her if he knew about the baby.  It seems to me that their relationship was all kinds of fucked up. 

I turn and wrap her in my arms.  My lips land in her hair as I start to remind her that I'm here and that she's not alone.

"I'm here.  I want you with me at all times until you can drive the fuck away from here and this hell."

"Luke, he almost took me.  I don't even want to think about what he would do to me since I made him so mad."  I pull her away from my chest and look into her eyes.  Using my thumbs to lightly wipe her tears, I try to comfort her.

"You didn't do this.  His crazy way of thinking did this."  Her nose is bleeding and her cheek is swelling again.  My insides twist with rage and I really just want another piece of that mother fucker.

I pull off my shirt to help stop the bleeding, but Lou hands her a towel right before I get it off.  That's probably best since I was sweating my ass off trying to block the old man's attacks.  The adrenaline from seeing Greg hurt Kimber didn't help either.

"You are coming to stay with me.  The only other option is that I stay here with you.  I don't trust him and if I thought a protective order would actually work, that's where I'd take you first thing in the morning."  Guys like Greg think that they are the law.  Leaving her like a sitting duck, now that he knows where she is, would be the dumbest move that I could make.

"I can't even argue with you.  I'm so scared he'll find me again."

"Good.  We'll leave the Jeep here, so there's no possible way he can find you."  I begin to walk us toward my bike, when Lou reminds me that he's here.  My focus is on getting her out of here.

"Luke.  We have a lot of work to do.  When will you be back?"

"Will 5 a.m. work?"

"Perfectly!"  The smile on that man's face is the first I've seen on him tonight.  I look over Kimber one last time to make sure she managed to stop the bleeding before I step over my bike and wait for her to melt into my back again.  She does exactly that and I feel an emptiness begin to shift.  This is something that I already find myself craving.  Shit, it can only get messy from here.

Kimber

I let the feel of the wind on my face take away my thoughts.  How is it possible that I'm so relaxed like this even after the shit I just went through?  Luke does this to me.  He calms me.  There's just such a simple demeanor about him that demands no stress.  I need to be more like that.  I'm sure he's thinking that his life has been flipped upside down since the second he saw me.

He takes the shortest route to his apartment.  It occurs to me at a light about half way that I don't have a single thing to change in to. 

"I didn't bring anything to wear.  We need to go back."

"You can wear something of mine."  This should get interesting.  I'm sure he's not used to a female in his space from what I've learned about him in the short time I've known him.  The fight is in just a few days, so I hope he can adjust easily to me staying there.  I don't want to try to stay here without him nearby.  He's become a safety net for me.  I'm not sure if I could sleep if he wasn't there to help me feel safe. 

We pull into his spot right beside the brick wall of the apartment and I manage to get off the bike a little more graceful this time.  He follows right behind me and we go straight up to his apartment. 

He walks behind me almost like he's making sure that I'm safe.  I seriously doubt that, but it feels like he's a little on edge until we're in the apartment with the door locked behind him. 

He walks up to me and puts both hands on my cheeks lightly, tilting my face upwards until my eyes meet his. 

"How bad did he hurt you this time?"

"I blocked it for the most part."  I try to look down, but he doesn't let me.  He's holding me so firmly, yet gentle at the same time and the sincere look he's giving me is too much for me to take in all at once.  He's so close.  He's too close.

I step backwards until he releases me, but he continues to look at me with so much intensity.  Shit, even though I've stepped away from him, I can still feel the heaviness of his stare.  I turn to put more distance between us, which is virtually impossible in this tiny assed apartment.

"Kimber, I wanted to kill him when I saw him hurting you."  His words are deep and don't carry very loudly across the room, but I still hear him clearly.

"I know you did, I'm sorry."  I step in front of the one window in the entire apartment space and look out to the building across the street. 

I feel him before I hear him.  He uses one finger to move a strand of hair that has fallen on my face and let's his hand glide down my shoulder, continuing down my arm until his hand is right next to mine.  "Don't be sorry for what that asshole has done."  I can feel his thumb sliding over my pinkie in a light pattern until he steps closer.  So close that I can feel him all the way down my back and against my ass. 

He uses his other hand to pull my hip to make me even closer and I feel his face lean in next to mine.  His large hands slide over both of mine and we stand there, both of us looking out the window and neither one of us moving a muscle. 

He takes a deep breath and I feel him pull away just slightly.  We're still touching, just not in full contact like we were before. 

I look up in hopes of seeing something in a window in the complex across the street to help ease the awkwardness that seems to be following us today.  I'm positive he sees it at the same time I do, because his deep chuckle mirrors my own at much the same time. 

"You've got to be shitting me." 

"I'm pretty sure that guy is really sitting there naked, watching TV."  He is and hell if he doesn't have the hairiest body I've ever seen.

"Yeah well, I'm not even fucking opening these curtains again if his ass is going to be laying it all out there."

"Aww, come on.  It could get interesting."  

"Dude needs some loppers for that overgrown forest he's growing."  He moves away from the window just as he stops talking.  This whole situation makes me laugh.  I was praying for an ice breaker, and this is one way to break the ice again.

The smile on my face reminds me of my bruised cheek when the soreness hits.  Just as I'm about to walk away from the window, I notice a woman in the same apartment.  I can't take my eyes away from them.  It's like watching a silent movie. 

"Damn Kimber, didn't know you like the hairy kind."

"Very funny.  There's a naked girl too."  He's at the window again in no time.  There's barely enough room for the both of us, so it's inevitable that he's touching me again. 

"Shit, she's hot.  Surely fucking not."

"Ummm.... looks like it sure as hell is."  We both watch this gorgeous woman straddle him with obvious fake tits and a perfect ass.  It seems like they're being playful and just talking for a little bit.  He slaps her on the ass and by her response you can see that she likes it.  I can't look anymore after she slides down him and kneels on the floor. 

Well, that just went from saving the awkwardness to creating an even bigger stench of it.  He won't even look at me and I can't stop laughing on the inside.  When the absurdity of the situation catches up to me, I bust out laughing and he joins me.   

"Would you like a side of hair ball with that?"  I say through tears of laughter.  He grabs his side in laughter until we both finally calm down.

"I can't take anymore entertainment for tonight, I'm going to catch a shower."  He tosses me a tank top and some shorts as he walks into the bathroom.  I wish I had the courage to follow him into the shower.  I'm not sure how he would take it if I tried.

I shouldn't want anything to do with a man after everything that I've been through, but Luke is just different.  Everything about him is gentle and strong.  He has a kind heart and I can tell he is the kind that loves unconditionally once he finally loves.  I know his mind is wrapped up in someone else, but I'm afraid to ask about it.  I can tell how much hurt and depth there is by the way he was so devastated last night.  It was hard to sit there and witness him breaking and not be able to help like he has helped me. 

You'd think we've known each other for years with as much as we've been through.  Hard to believe it's only been two days.

 
Luke

Get your ass in that shower and turn on the cold water.  Do not think about anything but trying to get this hard on taken care of.  This make two in one day.  Both because I had Kimber in my arms.  She turns me on, there's no doubt about that.  I knew once I met her that I'd struggle letting her go without knowing she was safe.  There was just something that night in her eyes that drew me in and I've been mush since. 

I haven't put this much thought into how another person is feeling since I got here.  It's nice to have something to think about other than how much of a fuck up I was.  Thinking about Lilly again instantly forces the lump in my throat to return.  The guilt of losing her is killing me inside and I can't seem to be more than one thought away from returning to this feeling of numbness.

Turning off the water, I freeze to the sound of a guitar.  She's touching the guitars.  Please tell me she didn't touch hers.  The sound of the strings in chaos doesn't do well for the chaos in my head about her guitar being moved.  I rush to put on clothes after I half ass dry off. 

The look on her face when I yank the door open can only be classified as a look of complete horror.  I've scared the shit out of her and I only stop panicking when I see that she's strumming my guitar and not Lilly's. 

I take a deep breath and try to recover any ounce of normalcy in my face for her sake.  She's just staring at me and watching me lose my shit... and there's nothing I can do about it.  Then she strums again, off key, but better than before.  Her smile at the improved sound calms me just enough to restrain from taking the guitar and screaming at her for going near it.  I should've made it very clear that she was not to touch them and for fuck's sake... don't ever fucking play them.

I lean against the wall with my arms crossed and watch her.  She looks up and strums the strings again.  Turning her ear just a little, like she caught the sound of something.  She strums again, this time closing her eyes to listen harder.

"I've never played a guitar before.  This is a first for me."  She strums again. 

"You'll have to teach me to play a little."  She begins to move her fingers to change the notes.  I know there's no way I could ever play guitar with another woman.  I'm just not ready for that.  Talking her through it is a possibility, but I'll have to see if I can deal with this, because right now I'm fighting the urge to rip the guitar right out of her hands.  That would only spark up a conversation that I'm not ready to have, not to mention it would be an ass move and hurt her feelings.