Fighting for Phoebe

by Jennifer Ann

  The news throws me for a loop, though I can’t pretend I’m not stoked by the invite. And even though I’d have to behave myself considering what she’s been through tonight, the thought of seeing her in whatever she wears for pajamas has my dick stirring in my jeans, coiled for action.

  I lift one shoulder. “Didn’t know anything about it, but wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on her after what that dickhead did to her in there. I’m certain you’re wrong about him being abusive with her. He was getting rough with her and she slapped him after I pulled him off. It felt like payback for something more than tonight, like she’s been saving it up.”

  Kory scratches at the scruff on his face. “Dude, I don’t know you from Adam. You roll into town by yourself, looking like someone who spends all their time at the gym, and it seems to me you’re running from something or someone. Am I seriously supposed to just send you home with one of my best friends who weighs a buck and a quarter when soaking wet?”

  Holy shit. Why’d he have to make me visualize Phoebe wet, and why does he seem to know my story? With a swipe of both hands over my face, I wonder if he’s the kind of guy I can trust with my secret. Maybe he knows where I can find Bugsy’s family. Then I remember Kory has a wife and a kid, and decide to stick with my rule not to engage with anyone because of the danger involved. It’s the only thing that’s kept me off the grid for this long.

  Still, leaving Phoebe and knowing that asshole could have his way with her solidifies a concrete ball in my gut. Taking off without making sure she’s safe is no longer an option.

  “You’re right,” I tell Kory, reaching for my wallet. “I am running…from something so dangerous and fucked up that I promise you don’t want to get mixed up in it. But I would never hurt a woman, even if she hit me first. I’m going to trust you with my name only because I know you care about Phoebe. What I’m about to tell you stays between you and me.” I pull out my license and hand it to him. “If anything were to happen to her tonight, you have my blessing to call the San Diego Sheriff and tell them you know where they can find me. But when I see you again tomorrow, and nothing happened to Phoebe, I want this back.”

  Kory squints at the plastic card before looking back at me, as if deciding it’s really my picture. “What do the cops want you for? Did you hurt someone?”

  “I’ve hurt a lot of people.” My stomach surges with the brutal memories that chased me out of California. “But I’ve never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

  Kory’s eyes narrow. “For real?”

  “Yeah,” I say, “For real. You have my word, man. I won’t hurt her, but you can bet your ass I’ll kick the shit out of anyone who tries.”

  “I don’t just mean physically hurting her, you know. She’s been through a lot, and not just with the dickhead. Her life’s complicated.” Kory’s tense expression relaxes as he hands my license back. “You can keep this, Jace Daniels of four-oh-one Redwood Lane in El Cajon. I have a photographic memory.”

  “So we’re cool?” I ask, lifting an eyebrow as I slip my wallet into my back pocket.

  Kory holds his fist out for me to bump, so I do. “Yeah, man. Just don’t make me regret trusting you.”

  “I won’t.”

  We start for the door as Phoebe steps out, a pensive look in her eyes as she tips her chin up to face me. The way she slips her bottom lip between her teeth when cracking a smile is one of the cutest things she’s done all night. The genuine smile tugging at my lips in return feels completely foreign. How long has it been since I felt anything close to happy?

  Her eyes swing onto Kory. “So can I?” she asks.

  “He’s not a goddamned puppy you’re bringing home,” Kory grumbles, rolling his eyes.

  “You can drop the tough guy act,” Phoebe teases as she moves in to hug him. “You know me, I’ll keep the pepper spray close by.” She disappears in his massive arms the way she had in mine. A pang of jealousy slices through my gut, and not because I would think they have anything sexual, but because I know he gets to remain a constant in her life. He won’t have to say goodbye because he’s not on the run.

  Kory bobs his head my way when they’re done. “Later man. Be safe.”

  “Good to meet you,” I reply.

  Phoebe practically bounces my way as Kory retreats inside. The urge to invite her into my open arms has me slipping my hands into my pockets. I can’t afford to get any further involved with this chick. I came here for one reason, and it has nothing to do with satisfying my dick.

  “Where’s your car?” I ask, assuming the two obnoxiously pimped out pickup trucks parked side-by-side aren’t something she would be caught dead in.

  “I don’t have one. I walked.” The lights aren’t too bright, but I’m pretty sure I see another blush darkening across her cheeks with my disapproving scowl. “It’s only a dozen blocks or so. Better than getting a DWI, right?”

  Cringing with the thought of her drinking and driving, I point at my motorcycle across the street. “Will it be safe to park my bike at your place? I don’t want to leave it here for the dickhead to mess with overnight.”

  “It’s fine as long as you don’t mind walking it for a block or two.” Twisting a blue tip of hair around a finger, she smiles. “I’ll never hear the end of it if we wake Ellen or the old bag next door.”

  By the way she fidgets, I’m suddenly wondering if she’s somehow afraid of her mom, too. What kind of hell is she forced to live in?

  Taking her hand, I lead her across the street. “You ever ridden one of these?”

  Her big brown eyes stare at my Harley like it’s a rare animal in the wild. “I rode one of Kory’s dirt bikes in high school. Does that count?”

  With a one-shouldered shrug, I swing my right leg over the seat and remove the kickstand to hold it upright with my faded Chucks secured on the pavement. “The muffler is on the right side, so you’ll want to keep your foot and ankle as far away as you can. Normally I wouldn’t let you ride wearing flip-flops, but I’ll make an exception since we don’t have far to go.” After turning my baseball cap around, I press the ignition button, laughing at her expression when I twist the throttle and the bike roars into the quiet night. “Don’t be scared, I’ve been riding one of these since I was sixteen. Hop on.”

  As I’m flipping the foot pegs down, I feel her hand on my back. A second later the bike slightly dips with her added weight and her arms are wrapping around my waist. I’m not gonna lie, the feel of her tits pushing into my back are nothing short of heaven. But when she squeezes me tightly and rests her head between my shoulders? I’m a fucking goner.

  Leaving her behind is going to hurt like a bitch.

  3

  Phoebe

  I wasn’t one of those little girls who believed in fairytales and wanted to dress like a princess. Ellen made sure of that. For as long as I can remember, she told me stories of life like it is, men who use you and want nothing more than a piece of ass. Who run if they knock you up, like my dad did when she found out she was pregnant with me.

  When I was older, Logan tried like hell to make me see things differently, saying only our mom attracted dirt-bags like our fathers, but I got burned by enough boyfriends in high school to believe Ellen over him. Then Logan left without coming back to get me like he had promised, proving no man was willing to stay in my life. It’s one of the reasons I was able to tolerate Decker in the beginning when he seemed accepting of my mess and showed the slightest bit of affection. No guy had done that before. According to Ellen, that’s not what they do. Better to use them than let them use you, as she always says.

  So to have my own drop-dead gorgeous superhero threaten to kick Decker’s ass, then whisk me away on the back of his Harley is the biggest mind fuck. Even with the warm summer air whipping my hair around my face and my arms coiled tightly around his hard body, it still doesn’t seem plausible that it’s happening.

  “You doing all right back there?” Jace asks, glancing over his shoulder.

&nb
sp; “I’m golden,” I lie. Although he’s taking it slow and I doubt we’re not even touching the posted speed of 30, I’m paranoid my ankle will hit the muffler as he warned, and I’ll be stuck with a bill from the emergency room that I can’t afford. I point up ahead into the motorcycle’s narrow path of light. “Turn right at the next block.”

  As we near my apartment, a rush of dread smacks me in the stomach. What if he runs when he sees my place is a piece of shit? What if he only agreed to come because he’s planning to chop me up into little pieces? Worse yet, what if promising to protect me from Decker is just some hero bullshit he concocted to get in my pants? And who am I kidding with that last question? I’d totally be down with that.

  Hot damn…the fantasy of him yanking my panties down my legs has me wet and achy all over again. From his size, it’s hard not to imagine he’s impressively built everywhere. And his delightfully dark scent has been driving me insane since I first sat down behind him. He’s all man in every way. The vibration of the motorcycle does nothing to stop the desire tingling between my legs.

  Another part of me worries what Kory found it necessary to say to him outside. Knowing my old friend and his fiercely protective side, he threatened to break Jace’s fingers if he touched me, even though violence isn’t really Kory’s thing now that he has a family. Jace doesn’t have a bag, though I’m guessing his things are in the leather pouches attached to either side of the motorcycle. How long is he planning to stay in town? Could I live with myself if I slept with him and he took off in the morning?

  My nipples harden with the idea. Hell yeah I could. I’m lonely as shit. Why do I bother asking myself these lame questions?

  I’m almost too absorbed in my thoughts to realize we’re a block from Ellen’s place. She has a thing for men like Jace and I would die if she were to discover I’m bringing him home. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’d try to steal him from me and make him her new conquest. I’m not saying he’d fall for it, although she is only 16 years older than me and still ridiculously hot for her age. I’d just get grossed out having to watch her flirt with someone I’d desperately like to hook up with. And I’ve seen firsthand what she’s capable of in order to get her way.

  “We should walk it from here,” I yell above the roar of the motor.

  Jace dips his head and veers off to the side of the road. I’m frozen to the narrow seat, wondering how the hell I get off this thing as he places his feet on the road and kills the engine. I feel him kick the stand out before he leans the big hunk of metal to the left and turns the front wheel.

  “Stay put. I’ll help you off.” In a perfectly executed move, he slides off the motorcycle without touching me and spins around with his hand held out. “Just watch your right leg…swing it straight forward and up.”

  I’m all jittery as I lift my leg, but suddenly I’m hoisted into the air like a bag of groceries and set back down on the road. He’s still holding onto my waist when I meet his heavily lidded gaze. For a delightful second, I think he’s going to kiss me. We’re standing in the perfect position for it, and his gorgeous lips are slightly parted. But as my shitty luck would dictate, or lack thereof, he drops his arms to the sides and steps back.

  “How was it?” he asks, one side of his mouth tilting upward. “Think you’d want to do it again?”

  “Wasn’t so bad. Then again, I had liquid courage.”

  His face screws up with a hard scowl. The switch between hot and cold emotions he’s capable of with the blink of an eye are dizzying, making me absolutely certain that he’ll be a total tiger in bed. Every part of my body buzzes in anticipation.

  Taking the motorcycle back off the kickstand, he begins pushing it. “Which way?”

  “Just up a block on the right. We can take the alley.”

  Walking side-by-side the rest of the way, we’re quiet until we reach the alley where I point out Ellen’s little rambler. At least in the dark he can’t see how badly the old house needs repairs since Logan left. Ellen’s jobs are enough to pay the monthly mortgage and her car payments, but I usually pick up the rest since her extracurricular habits often eat up the rest of her income. I try not to join her for every meal, but sometimes it’s just easier since it’s what she wants. It’s easiest to do things Ellen’s way in general.

  “You can park it here,” I tell Jace, pointing at the garage driveway.

  I dig my keys out from my purse as he arranges the motorcycle in the center of the pavement and grabs an olive green bag from one of its pouches. He follows me up the stairway on the side of the building where I unlock the door. We’re met with a small puff of chilled air from the window air conditioner unit that I apparently forgot to turn off when I left for work. Sweet. Another surge in expenses.

  I grumble to myself with the sight of empty beer bottles everywhere, also forgetting about the impromptu party Kory and I had the other night as we listened to the new Avenged Sevenfold album. Clean laundry litters the old floral couch I inherited from one of the cashiers at work. Mounds of dishes practically cover every inch of the 5’ counter space in what Ellen calls an “economy kitchen,” and the gray tile floor shows mounds of dust in addition to foreign objects in need of being swept away. There’s a funky smell in the air that makes me wonder if a dead mouse is hiding somewhere.

  Until seeing the place through Jace’s eyes, I didn’t realize how bad I’ve let this place become. What a shit-hole. It never looked like this when Logan lived here his last four years of high school, and I’m supposed to be a grown adult.

  “Obviously I don’t make a habit of entertaining,” I blurt, starting for the couch.

  At least the door showing my unmade bed is closed, saving me from the embarrassment that would come if he were to discover the Deadpool comforter Kory gave me for my last birthday as a joke so I could “sleep with my favorite fictional character.” Asshole.

  Turning to Jace, my cheeks grow warm. “I’ve been…ah…picking up extra shifts at the grocery store and don’t spend a lot of time here. If I’m not hanging out at Ellen’s, I’m usually somewhere else with Kory.”

  More lies. I’m so busy grumbling to myself about not being able to tell him the truth as I gather my clothes off the couch that I don’t hear Jace sneak up behind me.

  “Doesn’t bother me,” he says as he starts gathering the remaining clothes in his arms. “I’m just grateful for a free place to crash for the night.”

  Opening my mouth, intending to tell him to stop, I see one of my thongs near his armpit and quickly snap my lips back together when the fantasy of him yanking down the pair I’m wearing returns. When I try to swallow, my dry throat refuses to cooperate.

  “Just…throw it over there,” I croak, bobbing my head toward the only decent item of furniture I own—a rocking chair from some dead old lady’s house that I got for two dollars at a garage sale. “It’s all clean, I swear. I just don’t have much for closet space.”

  When my arms are so full that half the stuff falls to the floor, I start shuffling to my bedroom. “Make yourself at home wherever you can find a spot on the couch. I’ll be right back.”

  I’m able to push through my bedroom door without giving him a view of the mess. Once I’m safely out of sight, I collapse on the bed while still clutching my clothes in my arms.

  What the shit was I thinking when I told Kory that I was bringing Jace back here? I mean obviously I was thinking I had a chance of getting laid, but housekeeping has never been my thing. I would’ve been better off putting a night at the motel down the street on my credit card, even if it would push my balance dangerously close to the limit. How can I heat things up with this sexy man among loads of dust and the odor of dead rodent?

  Pressing my face into the mattress, I muffle a frustrated scream. My chances with someone like Jace are completely screwed anyhow. The only difference between me and trailer trash is the fact that my “house” isn’t on wheels.

  “You all right?” Jace asks from the other side of the door.<
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  “Yeah!” I cry out, leaping to my feet. “It’s all good!”

  Sweet baby Jesus, did he hear me scream? Throwing my clothes over the pile already started on the closet floor, I quickly check my reflection in the mirror above the dresser. Despite the wind whipping my hair around on the motorcycle, it has that beachy-wave thing going on and my make-up is still on point. After huffing into my hand to insure I don’t smell like a brewery, I slip back through the door, almost colliding with Jace.

  “Hey!” I squeal, leaving my hand on the doorknob behind my back.

  “Hey,” he returns in a husky voice.

  His beautiful eyes skip down to my lips for half a second before his gaze captures mine. The baseball cap is gone from his head, revealing touchable hair that’s longer on top. The warmth of his body captivates me, drawing me in closer. Everything about this man is remarkable, and I’m unable to breathe under the intensity of his stare. Electricity crackles through the air, making it impossible to breathe. The way Jace’s chest stutters, I’d bet my brother’s precious collection of Funko Pop! figurines that he feels it too.

  Standing on my toes, I lock my arms around his corded neck and decide to go for it. His thick lips, though feather soft, warm, and as inviting as I had imagined, only move with mine for a gleeful second before he’s pulling away.

  “I can’t do this,” he says, even though his lustful gaze and stuttered breath say otherwise.

  “Why the hell not?” I ask as the feeling of rejection hits me square in the chest.

  With a dip of his chin, he shakes his head. “Because you don’t want to get involved with me.”

  But he’s wrong. I do want to get involved with him. In every position imaginable.

  Then he adds, “Before the sun’s up, I’ll be gone. You’ll never see me again.”

  Though I figured that’d be the case, I’m filled with disappointment all the same. I wish he’d wrap me in his big, strong arms the way he had after Decker’s attack, and never let go. I’m tired of always having to look out for myself since Logan left. I’m only twenty-four, but I’m totally exhausted. I want someone else to fight for me for a change so I don’t have to wear myself out trying to stay afloat. I need someone in my life who’s brave enough to battle my demons and my gut instincts tell me Jace is the one.