Redemption Road (Roughneck #3)

by Nicole Hart

  “Kash, please,” she said, as she stuck her ass out for me.

  Whatever this woman wanted from me, she would get.

  “Thanks for taking me to lunch,” Mackenzie said, as we were on our way back to her job.

  “Gotta keep your strength up, I plan on wearing you out the next couple of days,” I said, as I glanced at her and gave her a wink. I watched that beautiful smile come across her face and had to force myself to concentrate on the road. That’s when I looked in my rearview mirror and noticed that mother fucker a couple of cars back. This piece of shit just doesn’t get it. I gripped the steering wheel trying to contain the anger that was bubbling up inside me. I was so fucking sick of dealing with this son of a bitch. I didn’t want to freak Mackenzie out, I had to stay calm. I reached over, squeezed her knee then gave it a pat as we pulled into the clinic. The parking lot was pretty crowded, and the only empty space was about midway to the front, so I pulled into it. I glanced in my mirror and noticed him park across the street. Mackenzie reached over and gave me a quick kiss, and started to grab her purse.

  “I’ll see you this afternoon, ok?” she said with a smile, as she reached for the door.

  “Ok,” I said, with a smile. I watched her open the door and stand up.

  “Hold up, sweetie,” I said, as I opened my door. This mother fucker was about to see that she was mine. She belonged to me, and he wouldn’t get near her. He was about to get the hint. Or, I was going to make him even more fucking crazy than he already was. I didn’t care which. I jogged over to Mackenzie’s side and watched her stare at me with a sly smile.

  “I forgot one thing,” I said, as I grabbed her gently on both sides of her neck and brought my lips to hers. I pushed her mouth open with mine and slid my tongue inside. I heard the thud of her purse falling to the ground. She instantly fell into me, and I let my hands run from the back of her neck, slowly down her back and then cupped her ass. Her arms went around my neck as I lifted her and forced her legs around my waist.

  “Kash, I’m at work,” she whispered, as she broke our kiss.

  “Just one more kiss,” I said quietly into her neck, as I spun her around so my eyes could find his car. There it was.

  “You have to put me down,” Mackenzie giggled, as she glanced toward the clinic doors.

  I did as she asked, and pushed her gently against the side of my car. I knew that fucker was watching, so I was making sure to give him something to see.

  “So fucking sexy,” I whispered as I touched her lips to mine, and then bit her bottom lip gently, knowing what that did to her. I put my weight against her, and she leaned into me as I kissed her hard.

  “Oh, Kash, we have to stop,” she said breathlessly, when our lips broke apart.

  “Ok, sweetie, get to work,” I said, as I grabbed her hand and pulled her away from my car. She just shook her head and gave me that beautiful fucking smile. I reached down and gave her a quick peck, then a slap on the ass as she walked away from me.

  “See you soon,” she said, as she turned around and blew me a kiss. She was only looking at me, so I knew she didn’t notice the prick.

  “Hell yeah, you will,” I said as I gave her a smile, and watched her walked inside.

  Once she was safely inside, I turned around and spotted his car. I started to walk to my car, but then stopped in my tracks and stared at him. I wanted him to know he wasn’t fucking hiding from me. I stood completely still, with my arms crossed, and just watched him, waiting for him to make a fucking move. He didn’t. He sat there, staring right back at me. I couldn’t see him clearly, but I knew he saw me. I knew he was watching me. Fuck this piece of shit. I darted to my side of the car and jumped in. My baby roared to life as I threw it in drive. This mother fucker was about to learn his fucking lesson, once and for all. I was sick of him. No one would pull me off of him, this time. I tried not to squeal my tires; I didn’t want to draw any attention to myself as I pulled out of the parking lot. But I was determined to get to him, and the sound must have got his attention, as I sped to the highway, needing to get across. I was going to rip him the fuck apart. My hands were white knuckling the steering wheel as I waited for the opportunity to pull out. Fucking lunch time traffic in this town. His car started to move as an 18-wheeler decided to creep by me.

  “Mother Fucker!” I yelled, as I punched the steering wheel. My anger was getting the best of me.

  Once the truck finally drove past me, he was fucking gone. I scanned all directions, hoping to see him. I didn’t. He was gone. Fuck that. This town isn’t big, and I knew where the fuck he worked. So, I drove. I drove down all the streets, through the bank parking lot, front and back, looking for him. He fucking vanished.

  “Son of a bitch,” I mumbled, as I sat at the red light.

  His payback was coming. I would make sure of it.

  Chapter 24

  “I’m really glad you get to come home every night,” Mackenzie said, as we lay wrapped up in each other, slick from sweat and still a little out of breath.

  “Me, too,” I said, as I kissed her damp forehead.

  “I mean, it will be late, and I have to leave really early, but at least I’ll be here.”

  “You won’t mind all that driving?” she asked, as she ran her fingertips down my chest, causing my skin to prickle from her touch.

  “Nah,” I replied.

  “I do have something to talk to you about,” I said. I had arranged a couple of things, though, that I needed to run by her.

  “What?” she asked, as she sat up on her elbow and looked at me, with worry in her eyes.

  “Now, I’m only doing these things to protect you. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to control you,” I said. I needed her to know that.

  “What things?” she said, as she eyed me with suspicion. But she didn’t look upset, more curious than anything.

  “Moon and Sam will be here in the mornings, to follow you to and from work, just until my days off.”

  “What? Kash, that’s not necessary,” she said, obviously frustrated.

  “Yes, it is,” I said. I wasn’t budging on this, she would be wasting her breath to even try and convince me otherwise.

  “I don’t want to put them out. I’m sick of being the victim. I have my taser; I’ll deal with it myself,” she said.

  “Sweetie, it’s already arranged. It’s happening. I just want you safe.”

  “So how long is this going to go on? Everyone can’t baby me forever,” she said. She was getting aggravated.

  “No one is trying to baby you. We all want you safe,” I said. I had rarely seen her be anything but sweet. I kind of liked this feisty side of her.

  “How long?” she asked, with a loud exhale following.

  “As long as it takes,” I said, and rolled her on her back, lying on her.

  “I don’t like this, Kash,” she said.

  “Sorry, it’s the way it is,” I said as I kissed her neck, and felt the tension leave her body.

  “You’re sexy when you’re feisty,” I said, and felt her body shake as she giggled against me.

  “There’s one more thing,” I said, and she groaned. I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “What?” she asked.

  “I have you set up to start self-defense classes. The first one is Saturday, and Sam is going with you,” I said sternly, waiting for her to blow up on me.

  “Oh,” she said. That wasn’t the reaction I expected out of her.

  “Oh?” I repeated.

  “I like that idea,” she said, as she wrapped her leg around mine.

  “You do?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about doing that,” she said.

  “Well, damn, I thought I was gonna get to see you get pissy again, I kinda like it,” I said, as I gave her a kiss.

  “Maybe next time,” she said, as she pushed me on my back, and climbed on top of me. She ran her hands through my hair as her soft tits rested on my chest.

  She bit her bottom lip
and stared at me, her eyes screaming that she was deep in thought.

  “You’re pretty good at this boyfriend stuff, you know that?” she said, as she kissed me.

  “I’m trying,” I said.

  “Are you sure you haven’t had much practice?” she asked. I knew she would ask for details. I knew it was coming. Fuck.

  “Not in a long time,” I said, biting the inside of my cheek. Stupid fucking nervous habit. Mackenzie stared at my mouth, and then climbed off of me. She snuggled against me, wrapping her arms and legs around me.

  “How long?” she asked, with her head against my chest. I stayed quiet.

  “Kash?” she said, as she rested her chin on my chest, and stared at me. She wasn’t giving up. She was just as fucking stubborn as I was.

  “Since I was eighteen,” I said.

  “You haven’t been in a relationship in seven years?” she asked, her eyes wide with shock.

  “Are you surprised?” I asked, laughing at her expression.

  “A little. You’re a good man, Kash,” she said, and kissed my chest.

  “Not many would agree with that,” I said, as I ran my hands through her hair.

  “I don’t care what everyone else thinks,” she said, as she stroked my arm. “I know the truth.”

  “How long were y’all together?” she asked, after a couple of minutes. Shit.

  “A year or two,” I said. It was actually eighteen months, but I didn’t want to give that exact number. I hated that I still remembered it so clearly.

  “Wow. Why did y’all break up?” she asked. I knew that fucking question was coming. But I knew she wasn’t going to drop it, so I might as well just get it out there. Not that I was happy about it.

  “She cheated on me,” I said.

  “Are you serious?” Mackenzie asked. She seemed so shocked, which was a little funny.

  “Yeah,” I said, as I stroked her hair. I didn’t like talking about this, to anyone. But she needed to know me, my reasons for the way I was.

  “I’m sorry,” she said sweetly.

  “Oh, that’s not even the worst of it,” I said with a laugh.

  “No?” she asked.

  “I got to see it.”

  “Spill it, Bennett,” Mackenzie said, her eyes wide. She was so fucking cute. I couldn’t deny her anything, whatever she asked. I had held this shit in for too many years. But looking at Mackenzie, I realized that the anger about that situation was gone. So I let out a long exhale.

  “I was best friends with a kid named Josh, since we were five years old. He was my next door neighbor. He was like my brother growing up. Since my real brothers were older, they always had their own shit going on. We played sports together, inseparable. Until I met Casey,” I said, realizing I hadn’t said either of their names out loud in all these years. I looked at Mackenzie, who was staring at me with those curious eyes.

  “I already hate both of them,” she said, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Keep going.”

  “They acted like they hated each other. So it made it hard on me, trying to keep the peace. I wanted them to get along. Apparently, they decided they got along just fine.” I said with a laugh, surprising myself that the bitterness had finally left me. So I continued.

  “One day after practice, I went over to see Josh. He skipped it, and I was checking on him. I never knocked when I went to his house; his parents were still at work, so I just walked right in his room. And there they were, fucking on his bed.”

  “I’m sorry, Kash,” Mackenzie said, her voice full of sympathy.

  “I got so pissed, I attacked him. They were both still naked. She was screaming and crying. It was fucked up. My brother was outside working on his car and heard all the noise. He broke it up, and that was the end of it. I never spoke to either one of them again. I dropped out of school, and I got my GED so I could get on the rig. I never looked back.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said again. I just kissed the top of her head.

  “It was a long time ago,” I said. “But, I decided then that I wouldn’t get hurt again. So I did whatever I wanted, no matter how many I hurt along the way. I’ve done a lot of bad shit through the years,” I said. But looking at Mackenzie, I knew I could never hurt her.

  “You had your reasons,” Mackenzie said, as she climbed back on top of me. Funny, that she could actually defend me for being a whore.

  “I never wanted to get close to anyone,” I said, as I rubbed her back. “Until you,” I admitted, and grabbed her by the chin, pulling her closer to me, but stopping just short of our lips touching.

  “Don’t stop now,” she whispered, and I slammed my lips into hers.

  Until you.

  Chapter 25

  My head was fucking pounding. All those numbers and formulas, along with this new position, came a whole lot to fucking learn. But I could do it, I was always pretty good at math in school, but damn, it had been a long time. It had been a long week, but I got to crawl in bed with Mackenzie every night, so all the new shit and driving was worth it. My gas light started to beep, so I looked around for the nearest gas station. I just finished the last day of this hitch and I was anxious to get home.

  Moon and Sam had taken turns following Mackenzie to and from work, and everything had gone pretty smoothly. After her self-defense class on Saturday, she tried to convince me to make them stop. But, I kindly declined. Sorry, sweetie. She got a little pissy with me, and I liked it. She also knew I was only trying to keep her safe, so she finally let it go. For now, anyway, but that girl had a lot of fight in her, she wasn’t giving in for long. I couldn’t help but smile to myself, picturing her pouting to me about it. The beeping started again as I pulled into the gas station. I was still almost an hour from home, I had to stop.

  “I hear you baby,” I mumbled, as I patted the dashboard.

  I started the gas pump and closed my eyes, rubbing my temples, trying to ease the pounding. I heard the click of tiny footsteps coming closer, but I didn’t even look up.

  “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Kash fucking Bennett,” the high-pitched voice said, as the footsteps drew closer. I opened my eyes and looked up, wondering who the hell that was. I saw a little blonde standing next to the gas pump. She was wearing a tiny, barely there black dress and a pair of stripper heels. I was familiar with those. And she looked familiar, sort of.

  “You don’t remember me?” She pouted dramatically, and moved a couple of steps closer.

  “Uh, not really,” I said, trying to place her face. She had on a shit ton of make-up and her hair was bleached blonde. The blonde hair clicked to me, and I vaguely remember her sucking my cock in a bathroom of a bar. Somewhere. It was all fuzzy, I’m sure I was drunk.

  “Well, I could remind you,” she said as she pressed against me, swinging her hip across my dick as she scooted into me.

  She could remind me, no one would ever know.

  I looked down at her. Her hair was way too blonde and looked like it had been through the ringer. I decided I preferred long brown hair that fell through my fingers when I touched it. She stared at me with blue eyes, surrounding by black eyeliner and too much other shit. I liked those big brown eyes that stared at me, and spoke a thousand words for each one that came out of her mouth. She pressed her obviously fake tits against my chest and bit her lip. Her lips that were caked with shiny pink lip gloss. It didn’t compare to soft, real tits and plump pink lips that didn’t need all that shit covering them.

  “Kash?” she whispered, trying too damn hard to be sexy as she batted her eyes at me.

  No one would ever know. Except me. I would know.

  Six months ago, I would have let her blow me in my car, right here in this parking lot, or bent her over in the gas station bathroom. But it was different now. I was different. What the fuck was happening to me? Was I pussy whipped? No, it wasn’t just that, although Mackenzie’s pussy was fucking hypnotizing. It was everything about her, and I wouldn’t fuck it up.

  “Kash?” she repea
ted, and this time she dropped her hand down and rubbed it across my dick.

  “Thanks, but no thanks,” I said, as I grabbed her by the shoulders and backed her away from me. I turned my back to her, removed the gas nozzle, and put it back on the pump.

  “Are you serious?” she said, as she glared at me with a look of disgust. I wanted to return the look, because that’s exactly what I felt. Disgust. She didn’t look sexy to me. She looks desperate and a little trashy. It wasn’t what I wanted anymore, not even for a few minutes.

  “Absolutely,” I said, without even looking in her direction. I felt guilty for even having this conversation. The thought of hurting Mackenzie made me sick to my fucking stomach. I needed to get out of here.

  I hopped in my car and pulled away without looking back in her direction. I felt like I needed a fucking shower, and my head was pounding again. I was going to grab some Tylenol at the gas station, but fuck that, I had to get out of there. What are the odds of running into someone you messed around with at a gas station outside of town? Well, apparently, with my track record, pretty fucking good. The thought of it made my stomach turn again.

  As if she knew what I fucking needed, my phone started to buzz. I saw those beautiful eyes on my screen as I hit the green button.

  “Hey, you,” she said sweetly.

  “Mmm…there’s the voice I’ve been waiting to hear all day,” I said honestly.

  “Do you like mashed potatoes or baked potatoes?” Mackenzie asked, in that perky little voice I loved.

  “What?” I asked with a laugh

  “Well, I’m cooking you dinner, and wasn’t sure which one you preferred. I still have a lot to learn about you, Kash Bennett,” she said, and I heard pans clanking in the background.

  “Well, Mackenzie Harrison, I like both, whatever you feel like making is fine with me,” I said. “Surprise me.” I thought the whole being domestic shit would fuck with my head, and maybe a couple of times, it did. But only for a minute. I actually liked it.

  “Are you ok?” she asked.

  “I’m fine. Just a headache, ready to get home,” I said, still trying to shake my guilty feeling.