by Cole Lepley
Frantically, I grab towels from under the sink and hand them to him. He wipes his face the best he can, but the blood is already starting to dry. After he lifts his shirt over his head, his eyes lock with mine.
The lump bobs in his throat when he swallows. “I didn’t have a choice, Tess. Sean was hurting Mack.”
“I believe you,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself.
Perry’s bare chest heaves silently. “I think I killed him.”
I struggle to get words to come out. One the third try, I manage a whisper. “Was he breathing?”
Perry shakes his head.
“Did someone call for help?”
He nods.
“Okay,” I say, taking a shallow breath. “He’ll be fine. An ambulance will come and they’ll take him to the hospital.”
The stoic expression on his face is starting to scare me more than the horror scene in my foyer. He tosses the blood-stained rag into the trash and takes a step toward me. His hands are balled at his sides when he comes to a stop in front of me.
“I wanted to kill him. I would kill anyone who hurt someone I love.” His hand relaxes and he brushes the hair from my face. “That includes you. I wouldn’t hesitate to hurt someone if they were going after you.”
I take a shaky breath. “Who would want to hurt me?”
Perry steps past me and looks around. When he doesn’t find what he’s looking for he releases a string of profanities.
“When did Walker leave?”
My eyebrows pull in. “Walker was with you. He left an hour ago to go meet you.”
Perry’s eyes harden, looking over my shoulder. “An hour, huh?”
My heart starts to pound. If Walker wasn’t with Perry, that means he lied about where he was going. There’s only one reason Walker would ever feel the need to lie to me.
“What’s going on? Why are you here right now when you need to get as far away from here as possible if you any chance at getting away?”
He laughs bitterly. “I’m not trying to get away. I’m already fucked.” He takes a seat in the chair by the door, resting his head in his hands. “I’m too late.”
On shaky legs, I move to stand beside him. When I place my hand on his shoulder, he jumps. His eyes flick up to mine. “Tess, I’m too late.”
“Too late for what?” I whisper.
Before he can answer a pounding on the front door startles us both. We exchange a weary glance and Perry brings his finger to his lips as he stands. He proceeds to walk behind the partition separating the shop and the front office. When he’s out of sight, I shake out my hands and walk to the door. A key jingles through the lock as I get closer and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see Walker enter.
“Oh my God!” I cry, throwing my arms around him. “Where were you?”
He looks over my shoulder as Perry steps into view. “I was with Perry.”
I pull back slowly to study his face. “Walker.” My tone is a warning and he cringes slightly.
His eyes fall between us. “Okay, I wasn’t with Perry.”
“No fucking shit,” Perry says, taking forceful steps toward him.
Walker holds his hands up. “Will you let me explain please before you murder me, too?”
Perry’s nostrils flare. “So, he’s dead.”
Walker shakes his head. “I don’t know. Mack called me when you ran off. They took him in the ambulance, but his vitals were weak.” He gives me a long look. “He might not make it.”
I turn to Perry and grab his arm. “It was self-defense, right? You said he was hurting her.”
Perry’s eyes remained locked on Walker as he speaks. “He’s a minor. I could get attempted murder—or worse.”
My eyes drift back to Walker and all the color drains from his face. I suspect he’s thinking the same thing I am. A life without Perry could spell disaster for us. He’s what holds us all together, whether Walker wants to admit it or not.
“I heard it on the scanner. They’re looking for you,” Walker adds, leaning against the counter.
Perry runs his hand over his head and nods. “Yeah, I have to turn myself in.”
My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. How can everything go from being pretty much perfect to being completely fucked in a matter of one night? I can’t stop the tears from falling down my face, so I turn away from him.
I break into sobs when a pair arms comes around me. I don’t have to turn back around to know it’s Perry. He presses his lips below my ear. “Sweetheart, I’m coming back. I don’t know what kind of deal I have to make, but I’m not leaving you.”
This causes me to face him. “You can’t make a deal that could get you killed. You know what they’ll want from you.”
He smiles and my heart breaks a little more. “I promise I’m going to fix all of this.” He looks over his shoulder to Walker. “That includes you, too. No more deals while I’m gone.” He takes a breath. “However long that may be.”
Walker nods but his features are hard. I have a feeling tonight was supposed to be important and Perry’s impromptu freak-out messed it up somehow.
Another knock on the door causes all of us to jump again. It’s a much smaller knock and I have one guess who it could be. Perry removes me from his arms and looks out of the small keyhole before pulling the door back.
Sloan has mascara running down both sides of her face, dressed in Perry’s sweatpants and old t-shirt. She would die if she saw how she looked right now. Obviously she knows how important this is because I half expected her to stop at home and freshen up.
Before Perry can get the door all the way back, Sloan jumps into his arms and wraps her legs around him. He walks backwards into the room, stroking her back while she sobs into his shoulder.
“This can’t be happening,” she cries. She pulls back and places her hands on his face. “They’re talking murder, Perry.”
His jaw clenches. “He’s not dead yet.”
“Yet?” Sloan’s eyes widen. “If he dies, you’re totally fucked. They’ll never let you out of prison.”
Perry smooths her hair and kisses her once. “Don’t worry baby, we’ll figure it out.”
“How?” Sloan cries, jumping down from his arms. “What did he even do to cause you to freak out like that?”
Perry tenses again, his eyes drifting closed for a moment. When he opens them, they blaze with the intensity I saw when he first arrived. “I don’t know. I saw his hand around her throat and I lost it. I couldn’t control it and I didn’t fucking want to.” He slams his fist on the counter. “I knew there was something off about that fuck!”
I look to Walker who is extremely quiet right now. Every now and then he glances at his phone and tucks it back in his pocket quickly. I walk over to him and nudge his shoulder.
“Who are you talking to?”
He leans over and kisses my cheek. “Nobody, babe.”
I narrow my eyes. “You’ve been talking to nobody for the past ten minutes.” I motion to Perry. “And in the middle of a serious crisis.”
“It’s business.”
“Fuck business,” I say a little too loudly.
This gets Perry’s attention and he walks over between us. “What are you doing?” He grabs Walkers phone before he can pull it back. He growls as he scrolls through the messages.
His voice is low and eerily calm. “What did I tell you?”
Walker squares his shoulders. “It’s not always about you, Perry. I can make my own decisions without your approval.”
Perry shakes his head. “Not this time.” He shoves the phone back in Walker’s hand. “You call him and tell him the deal’s off.”
“What deal?” I ask in frustration. More and more I feel like I’m completely out of the loop.
Walker looks to me and then back to Perry. “We’ll discuss this later.”
Perry laughs bitterly. “There isn’t going to be a later.” He throws his arms up. “Look at me. I’m covered in the blood of the town’s star q
uarterback. I’m going away for a long fucking time. We talk about this now.”
Walker crosses his arms. “Fine, I’ll tell him no. If you’re not going to be here I won’t do it without you.”
Instead of relief, Perry grabs Walker by the throat. Sloan and I gasp, but don’t move forward. Perry backs Walker against the wall.
“You swear on Jeremy’s life that you’re done. That you won’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
Walker grunts and struggles against Perry’s hold. “I promise,” he grits out.
Perry’s eyes darken, increasing his grip. “Say you fucking swear.”
Walker begins to choke and Perry releases him forcefully against the counter. Walker brings his hands up to rub his swollen neck. “Jesus, I swear. I won’t do anything.”
My relief is short-lived as the sirens from outside penetrate the walls. He looks to Sloan—then to me.
He grabs me first, hugging me so hard I can’t breathe. “Watch him, please. I won’t be here and you need you to be strong for both of us.” He pulls back and holds my gaze. “Can you do that?”
I nod and he leans in to kiss my cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Sloan’s waiting for him by the door. He takes her hand and walks outside as the sirens get closer. When they reach the sidewalk, she wraps her arms around his waist and she rests her head on his bare chest.
“We’ll figure it out,” she whispers. “It’s going to be okay.”
He shakes his head, already convinced this is the end. But he doesn’t argue with her. Instead he kissed her hard. “I love you, Sloan.”
A tear falls down her cheek and onto her lips. “I love you.”
I never wanted to see him like this—handcuffed and shoved in the back of a cop car. It was inevitable. Even though I expected one of them to down for far worse things, this is bad enough. He’s leaving four people who need him more than ever right now and my only hope is that we’re strong enough to hold it together until he can come back.
37
The Fire
Perry- Now
When I walk back to the apartment, Tess has the bedroom door closed. That’s never a good sign. One thing I’ve learned over the years, if a girl is angry, they want you to go to them. They may act like they don’t want to talk or they may even tell you to get the hell out—don’t do that. It only makes it worse.
I knock gently on the wooden door before pushing it open halfway. Tess has her back to me, angrily shoving laundry into her dresser drawers. This scares me the most. Tess hates doing laundry. I lean in the doorframe and continue to watch her. She knows I’m standing here. I can see the tension in her shoulders as she takes her frustration out on a pair of jeans, folding them violently.
“You mad at me?” I ask in a small voice.
Tess chuckles. “Why would I be mad at you?”
Again—this is a trick. She’s fucking furious and I know why. The only problem is, she has it all wrong.
“Can we talk about it?”
She slams the drawer shut and turns to face me. The smile she gives is borderline terrifying. “No, I don’t feel like talking to you right now.”
I swallow hard. She’s not going to make this easy on me and I didn’t expect her to. The last thing I want is to have a fight about something she has nothing to worry about. When she moves to step past me, I grab her arm.
“Let me explain.”
Her eyes meet mine with a fury I’ve only seen from her a handful of times, the last of which she socked me right in the throat.
She pulls her arm from my grasp and sighs. “I knew it would suck when the time came for you to choose her over me, but I didn’t realize how much it would physically hurt.”
“Tess, I didn’t…”
She shoves me in the chest and I stumble against the door. “You fucking did! You left me on that street to see if she was okay.” Her hands are shaking and she takes a step back. “How do you think I felt? Watching that smug smile on her face because she knew she won again. What if I wasn’t okay? Or don’t you care about me?”
I don’t let her get past me again and pull her into my chest. She fights it at first, but then her arms relax and wrap around my waist. I plant a kiss in her hair. “Of course I needed to know if you were okay.” I tilt her chin up so she has to look at me. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, but…”
“But, what? That’s all that matters, right?”
Tess shakes her head. “It’s not actually. You don’t love me the way that you love her.”
“That’s not fair.”
She tilts her chin back up to me in anger. “Yeah, and why’s that?”
I take a breath. The line I have to walk is narrow. Our situation is unconventional at best.
“You knew this would be hard for me. Last week I proposed marriage to her and now I’m just supposed to shut all my feelings off. You had almost a year to get over Walker and I get—what? Like three days to get over someone I spent seven years with.”
Tess pushes back from me. “If they were seven solid years, maybe I’d be a little more sympathetic. You knew she would do this. You knew as soon as she found out about us, she wouldn’t let you walk away, and you still ran to her.”
I shake my head. “I told her it was over.” Tess scoffs as if she doesn’t believe me, but my expression remains serious. “I mean it, Tess. I want you.”
Her eyes soften when she looks over at me. “You told her that?”
Unable to take any amount of distance between us, I drag her into my arms. After planting a kiss to her lips, I cup her cheek. “Yes, but that’s not something you blurt out in the middle of the street. You may think Sloan’s a terrible person, but she deserves an explanation and I needed to give her one.”
“I get that,” she says in a small voice.
I smile and kiss her once more. “Do you? Because you looked like you wanted to stab me.”
She slaps me playfully in the chest and goes back to her laundry basket. “It still sucked though,” she says over her shoulder.
I walk up behind her and kiss her neck, wrapping my arms around her waist. “I have an idea how I can make it up to you.”
Her body tenses, but she grabs one of my hands and pushes it lower. My fingers brush the button of her jeans, my pulse pounding. I kiss her neck and then whisper, “I want to touch you here.” I run a finger up the seam of her jeans, feeling the warmth penetrating through.
She gasps a small moan, tilting her head back against me.
“Please do,” she breathes.
Hearing those words from anyone else might be amusing. The eagerness she feels isn’t funny because I feel it too. I’ve never wanted anyone more than I want Tess.
All of her.
I unsnap the button and slip my hand down the front of her pants, over her panties. My fingers trace he dampened fabric, her arousal causing my own pants to tighten. I release a groan when my fingers slip inside, gently stroking along her folds. Her back arches and I rub her clit for another moment before spinning her around.
This time when she faces me her intentions are clear. She’s not angry or upset like she was moments ago. There’s a lust in her eyes, and I’ve been ignoring it for far too long.
I kiss her hard, my hand moving back inside her pants. She grinds on my fingers, whimpering when I pause to get a better angle.
Our eyes connect and she gives me a coy smile before reaching for my cock. It strains against the waistband of my boxers when she pops the button on my jeans. I watch as she runs her hand up my shaft, my breathing already reduced to short pants.
I get lost in watching her stroke me. She isn’t even touching my skin yet and I already feel like I could explode. I soak in the pleasure in her eyes for a moment longer and then brush my lips across hers once more. I kiss her slowly, parting her lips with my tongue.
I walk us backward toward the bed, our hands still connected to each other. I reluctantly pull
mine back and tug her jeans the rest of the way down. She steps out of them and lifts the hem of my T-shirt, tugging it over my head and then goes right back to kissing me.
My lips move over hers while I lower my pants, freeing my throbbing erection from its restraint. Her hands roam over my body, down my arms and around my waist. I break our kiss long enough to pull her shirt off and unsnap her bra. Her perky breasts spring free and I drop my head to her nipple, drawing it between my teeth.
She gasps as I suck and lick my way over to the other one, her back arching against my arms. I place open-mouthed kisses down her stomach at the same time as I lower her to the bed. My pulse thrums harder as I continue lower, removing her panties so I can finally taste her.
Her cries get louder when my tongue flicks over her clit. I keep going in small circles, pausing to suck or bite after a few rotations. She grips at my hair, and struggles to get a firm grasp on my short strands. The combination of her frustrated whimpers and breathy moans makes it hard for me to focus. I don’t think my dick has ever been this hard.
I raise my head and climb up her body, kissing my way back to her mouth. My lips hover over hers and I ask the question I should have thought about earlier.
“Condom?”
She nods to the drawer beside the bed and I try not think about who she used them with last. I push that thought aside and grab one of the foil packets and open it with my teeth. She watches me roll it on my dick and the look in her eye is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. A combination of anticipation and lust that I never thought I’d see from her.
When I lower myself between her legs, I gently cup the side of her face.
“You sure?”
Tess grabs my ass and pulls me into her. “Yes. God, yes.”
I chuckle against her lips and then kiss her once. She keeps her eyes on me as I inch inside of her. A soft gasp parts her lips when I get all the way in. I groan in response and start to move slowly at first, but pick up the pace when she bucks against me.
She stares into my eyes for a minute before grabbing my face and kissing me again. It’s hard to focus on everything at once. My hips thrust faster and her cries become muffled in my mouth.
