Sweet Ride (11 page)

I continue to run down
one of the side streets. I don’t hear his footsteps behind me, so I
turn down an alley and stop to try and calm myself and right my
clothes. Once I catch my breath, I take my phone out and dial Ella’s
number. I need her help, again.

“Payton? What’s
going on?” Ella’s sleepy voice answers the phone, but quickly
turns to panic when she hears me speak.

“C…can you come and
get me, please?” I ask, sniffling.

“Are you okay?”
She’s starting to sound really scared for me.

“Baby, what is it?”
I hear Ryder asking her in a gruff voice in the background. I tell
her where I am, and I tell her what happened. She retells the story
to Ryder. He’s pissed! I hear what sounds like him taking the phone
from Ella. “Payton, babe. Find somewhere safe to hide until I can
come get you. Understand?” he borderline yells into the phone.

“Okay,” I say.

He hands the phone back
to Ella, and she stays on the phone with me while I find my hiding
place behind a smelly dumpster in the alley. I don’t say anything
else because I’m afraid that Dag will hear and find me. Ella keeps
talking to me for what seems like forever about the twins and all the
things happening in her family’s life, trying to keep my mind
occupied and calm. It actually works.

Then a black muscle car
comes to a screeching halt at the end of the alley, and I see Jack’s
large body running my way.
What’s he doing here?
I let Ella
know that Jack’s here, and we say our goodbyes before we disconnect
our call.

“Payton?” he yells.

“I’m here,” I
answer, coming out from behind the dumpster.

“Jesus fucking
Christ! He did this? Dag did this to you? I am going to fucking choke
the life out of that fucking prick. He’s dead,” Jack rambles,
while cupping my face in his hands and caressing my cheekbone with
his thumb.

“I’m okay, Jack. He
just scared me. I’m safe now,” I reassure him.

“It’s not okay. No
man takes his fist to a woman,” he soothes and places tender kisses
on my already swollen face. Jack wraps his arms around my waist and
walks me to his car.

“Come on, Payton,
you’re staying with me tonight,” he informs me.

“That’s okay,
Ryder’s on his way to get me,” I tell him, which reminds me of
why he’s there. “Why’re you here?” I ask.

“Ryder called. Said
you needed help, and I could get to you quicker. He’s gone over to
Dag’s.”

Oh shit!

“We need to go get
him.”

“Just get in the
car,” he gently orders. I get in and buckle up. Jack reaches over
and pulls on my shirt, and the pieces fall apart so my breasts are on
full view to him.

“Payton,” he
growls, “What the fuck happened?”

“Ryder, didn’t tell
you?” I answer his question with my own.

“No, what the fuck
happened?” he asks again, more demanding. You can almost see the
smoke coming out of his ears. If we were in a cartoon you would
definitely see it. I retell the story for him, but leave out a few
very important details. I see the expression on his face and begin to
worry about what’s going to happen next. Jack turns the car around
and starts heading in a different direction.

“Where are we going?
We’ve got to get Ryder,” I tell him.

Nothing.

“Jack! Where are we
going?”

He stops the car and
leans into me taking off my seat belt and pulling me into his chest.
I can feel him shaking and how tense his body is. I realize that he’s
freaking out.

“We can’t fucking
go there, Payton. I’ll fucking kill him if we do,” he tells me,
point blank.

“Oh, Jack,” I sigh.
“I’m okay. It’s over,” I reassure him.

“No, it’s not. No
man hits a woman or forces her to do something she doesn’t want. I
need to know everything that happened,” he says.

“I can’t tell you
everything right now, maybe later.” That’s all I can offer him
right now. “I need to call Ella,” I say, pulling out my phone. I
dial her number while Jack moves back over to the driver’s side of
the truck, but he takes me with him and tucks me into his side as we
make our way to his place.

Once I get Ella on the
phone, she informs me that when Ryder got to the apartment, Dag
wasn’t there, and his place was trashed. Ryder’s on his way home
now, but he wants to go looking for him tomorrow. She also tells me
that they want us over there tomorrow afternoon. Ryder says he needs
to see with his own eyes that I’m okay because he knew he shouldn’t
have let me go with Dag tonight. He had a sick feeling in his gut
that something wasn’t right. I tell her I’m fine and that I’m
staying with Jack, afraid that Dag will come looking for me. That’s
my excuse, but really I just want to stop running. Look at the mess
I’ve gotten myself into. I want to be with Jack right now.

We got a tip from an
informant that our no-show supplier from a few weeks ago would be
making an appearance at Climax. Devon and I had been staking out the
place pretty well all day, when he got a call from the surveillance
team saying they had a lead on his identity and whereabouts. Devon
left about a half hour ago, but now that I’m off the clock I call
one of the servers over and order a Coors. An ice-cold beer will
really hit the spot right about now.

After a couple of
mouthfuls of beer, I notice Payton at the bar flirting with the
fucking bartender. My possessive and protective sides emerge, when I
see that fucking asshat of a boyfriend of hers come up behind her.
Thankfully, he doesn’t touch her because I’d have to rip his
fucking arms off if he did. She spins around, and I try to make it
seem like I don’t notice her, but out of the corner of my eye I can
tell that she definitely fucking notices me. She freezes mid-step
then grabs hold of the assholes hand, dragging him over to a seating
area to the side of me.

Holy Shit! Payton looks
unbelievably sexy tonight and totally fuckable. She’s wearing a
little black skirt, that’s too fucking short for my liking and a
super tight off-the-shoulder top that shows off all her sexy curves
and about an inch of skin on her flat belly. Yes, I think she looks
fucking hot, but I don’t like the fact that every other person with
a dick likes looking at her, too, especially dipshit Dag. I don’t
know what it is, but there’s something about that guy that just
isn’t right. I tried to do a background search on him, but I don’t
know the fucker’s last name and nothing showed up for the name Dag.

Not long after, Ryder
and Ella show up and join them. They spend a little while just
drinking and talking. Well, the ladies spend the time drinking and
talking—the men, not so much. I can definitely see the tension
building in Ryder’s body. Apparently, he likes this dickhead just
as much as I do. I breathe easier knowing my brother has her back.

Payton, not liking the
tension at the table, grabs Ella by the hand and drags her out back,
behind the stage.
What the fuck is she up to?
A Def Leppard
song starts to play, and I watch as two amazingly sexy women strut
out onto the stage. It’s a good thing that the place is empty with
the exception of the employees, Ryder, Dag and me. I’d shut this
shit down, if anyone else were here to witness it. Since there’s
not, I truly intend to sit back and enjoy the show, but first I’ve
got to get closer … much closer.

I watch the stage
intently as Payton and Ella show off their dance moves, but my eyes
are glued to Payton. The way her body’s moving on that stage only
makes me think of how she moves when I’m balls deep inside of her.
I adjust my painfully hard cock as I continue to watch her display on
the pole. I manage to tear my eyes away from her for a second to see
that Ryder’s just as affected by Ella’s performance as I’m with
Payton’s. Then I see the asshole she came here with, and he’s all
but taking his cock out of his pants and jerking off right in front
of everyone. Hell, no. This shit’s getting sorted ASAP. The thought
of her leaving with him and getting in his bed makes me want to go
over there and beat him to a bloody pulp.
Get a hold of yourself.
You’re a fucking cop. You can’t go around just beating the shit
out of guys because they’ve got your woman.
I’m going to have
to be creative to come up with something to keep this asshole away
from her.

The music ends and
Payton and Ella shake their asses as they strut back to their table.
Ella sits down on Ryder’s lap, and he doesn’t hesitate to claim
her with his mouth. Fuck, I want that with Payton, something fierce.
Before I can do anything, the slime ball grabs hold of Payton,
dragging her into the hallway leading to the washrooms. I follow
close behind, pressing my ear to the door.

What I hear makes my
rage boil, and pretty soon I’m going to erupt. Dag is in there
trying his hardest to convince my girl to fuck him right there
against the wall. But she’s having none of it. He’s super pissed
with her, but finally takes the hint and stalks off to the washrooms.
That’s when I make my appearance known, blocking her view of him as
he walks away.

Even though she’s
been drinking, I see the lust brewing in her eyes. Yeah, I don’t
think I’d have to say too much to convince her to let
me
fuck her against the wall. Her hands reach up squeezing my biceps,
and instinct makes me move my hand to the bare skin of her outer
thighs. My hard-on threatens to bust out of my pants. Fuck, I want
her so bad.

“You’re so fucking
hot. I can’t stand watching you with him when you’re supposed to
be with me,” I whisper into her ear, my fingers still caressing her
warm skin. I watch as she clamps her thighs together. She’s
definitely suffering from the same type of ache I am, but her
expression changes quickly.

“Leave me alone,
Jack. I’m with Dag,” she growls at me, as I softly kiss around
the base of her throat and my fingers move to stroke the inside of
her thigh. I push up her skirt, wanting to feel her pussy. Fuck, I
bet she’s dripping wet for me. I can see by the look on her face
that she’s struggling with herself on what to do.

“Back the fuck off,
Jack, before Dag comes back out,” she threatens, trying to push me
away. Ooh, like I’m scared of that fucking dipshit. I’m not
threatened by him. He’s probably got a small dick and doesn’t
know what to do with it, while I have a super-sized cock and know
multiple ways to make her come. I also have a gun and know how to use
that, too. Cocksucker.

“Payton, where are
you?” Ella calls out.

I know how Payton
thinks and she wouldn’t want her friend to see her with me when she
obviously has a boyfriend. I quickly, but reluctantly, break contact
with my sexy girl and pull her skirt back down. Then I exit the
hallway using another entrance. Once outside near the bar, Ryder
approaches me.

“Jack, brother,
what’re you doin’ here?” he inquires. We greet each other with
our usual one-armed man hug, patting each other roughly on the back.

“Work,” I say. He
knows I can’t tell him anything about my job. So he just nods and
doesn’t ask any more questions. “I’m surprised you didn’t
notice I was here sooner,” I add.

“Yeah, I was a little
preoccupied with Ella’s and Payton’s dance routine, if you know
what I mean?”

“Fuck, do I ever,
man.” We both stand there grinning like pussy-whipped morons.

“We’re headin’ to
Pulse soon. Interested in taggin’ along?”

“Fuck no.” I can
only take so much of that prick mauling Payton without taking my gun
out and putting a bullet in him.

“Your loss, bro.
But I’m tellin’ you right now—Payton isn’t over you. If you
don’t go, she’ll definitely go home with that asswipe. If you do
go, you’ll get the opportunity to convince her otherwise. And
maybe, just maybe, she might be goin’ home with you tonight,” he
says, with a crooked grin. And my cock’s hard again at the thought
of taking her home tonight.

“I’ll think about
it,” I return. Then I walk out the door.

Ryder’s words eat at
my brain, so here I am at Pulse waiting for them to arrive. I know
Ryder’s got her back, but I feel like it’s my job to make sure no
one messes with her. When I think of Payton, I get this tight pain in
my chest. I’m fucking crazy about the girl, which makes me think
back to my relationship with Julie. That girl was my everything, and
I didn’t do what I had to do to protect her. History will not
repeat itself. Nothing or no one’s getting near Payton. I’m gonna
make sure of that. I can’t lose her, too.

I finally see them walk
through the door. Ella and Ryder are hand-in-hand and Dag has his arm
wrapped around Payton’s tiny waist. It takes every bit of willpower
I have not to go over there and rip Dag’s arm out of his socket.
The girls walk over to a table, while the guys get their drinks. By
the looks of the tray Ryder’s carrying, Payton’s definitely doing
her fair share of shooters tonight.

After about an hour
into the alcohol flowing and music thumping, Ella and Ryder go to the
dance floor. Ryder hates dancing, but he’ll do whatever his woman
wants. Tonight she wants to dance. Payton and Fuckwad stay at the
table, but barely speak to each other. It’s almost as if she
doesn’t want to be here with him.

I can see her sweet
little ass moving in the chair. My girl’s itching to get up and
dance. She grabs hold of Dag’s hand, and they head toward the dance
floor. This intoxicated chick approaches me. “Wanna dance,
handsome?” she drunkenly asks. I take her up on her offer because I
need to keep a closer eye on Payton, and this is the only way to do
it. The pretty brunette, whose name is Rhonda, clamps on to my arm as
we head out into the sea of sweaty club goers.

As Rhonda grinds her
hips against mine, I scan the crowd and spot them. I let out a growl
when I see the asshole’s hands all over Payton’s body. Then his
lips join in on the action. I’m about to go over there and throw
her over my shoulder to carry her out of this place, but I notice him
pull away and reach into his pants pocket. Pulling out his cell
phone, he presses a button and looks at the display. He frowns and
leans in toward Payton saying something into her ear then leaves her
on the dance floor alone.