by Zoey Parker
“I’m on the second floor. Asya should be home soon; you don’t need to stay.” She walked past me and headed up the stairs to the building. I watched the sway of her ass and shook my head. Fucking Leroy. No wonder he never saw the color of her hair. The curve of her hips and ass would probably distract the goddamn pope.
“I’ll stay as long as I need to. I have a few more questions.”
“Why should I answer yours when you won’t answer mine?” she threw at me once I had her door open.
The scent of pine hit me when we walked into her apartment. Looking around I could see why. The whole place was spotless. Not a speck of dust or dirt anywhere. She’d always been neat but I didn’t remember her room ever looking so damn clinical.
An overstuffed couch took up most of the living room, with a matching ottoman facing one of those curved televisions mounted on the wall.
“Asya decorated the place. Her brother works for HH Gregg and gets disgusting discounts, especially on things that don’t quite make it into inventory,” she explained when she saw me gawking at the television. “She’s also a neat freak, so can you put my bag on that chair there in the corner?”
“You telling me the TV is stolen?” I put her bag down. Maybe I hadn’t been the only one falling in with the wrong crews.
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. She pays her rent, keeps the place clean, and brings home all sorts of leftovers from the restaurant she works at. So I don’t ask about the TV, or her brother.” She sat on the couch and leaned her head back, looking up at the ceiling. “You can go now, Michael. I’m home. Asya will be here soon.”
I sat down on the ottoman, spreading my legs to put hers between mine and put my hands on her knees, drawing her attention to me. “Answer me about that guy. What’s his name?”
Her phone beeped from her back pocket and she dug it out, ignoring my question. She looked at the screen and rolled her eyes before putting it on the arm rest.
“What? Who keeps texting you?” I looked at the phone. I was tempted to grab it and check myself, but I needed her to start cooperating, and pissing her off more wouldn’t help me in that department.
“Caleb. My ex-boyfriend.” I was more surprised that she actually answered me than by what the answer was. “He heard about the accident, was just checking to see if I was okay.”
“How’d he know about the accident?” I went to reach for the phone, but she grabbed it before I got to it.
“His sister works at the hospital. She came in to check on me after you huffed out of the room. She told him.”
“I didn’t huff,” I corrected with a pointed finger. She smiled at me, a soft, teasing smile that I remembered from another life. “I thought you said you two broke up.”
“We did. I said my ex-boyfriend.”
“You still talk to him?”
“Nope. Not since I caught him in bed with my friend.” Okay, that didn’t set well with me either. Being cheated on hurt enough, but finding the bastard in bed with the chick, and the chick was her friend…my fists clenched all on their own.
“Why is he texting, then?” I didn’t mean to sound so hostile but that guy fucking needed a beating, and I didn’t like the idea of her even thinking about giving him the time of day.
“Why do you care about any of this anyway, Michael? You made it clear you don’t want me in your life anymore. Remember? You didn’t then, and you sure don’t now. So why get defensive about an old flame? Or keep pressing the issue about Pierre at school?”
I inched a bit closer to her, my knees touching the couch. “I need to be sure you’re safe.”
She laughed. “Safe? You’ve avoided me for seven years, but now all of a sudden you need to know I’m safe? Michael, you haven’t been my bodyguard since we were in high school. I’m twenty-four now. I don’t need you to play that role for me anymore.”
The words stung. She didn’t need me anymore. She had no idea that I’d checked on her after high school. That I made sure no one gave her a hard time when she started working at the local diner to help her mom pay the rent, or that I followed her home more times than not when she took a night class at the local junior college, making sure she got home safe. She didn’t know any of those things, and I wasn’t going to tell her either. She had one thing right: I had kept my distance for a reason. That reason hadn’t changed.
My hands found their way to the couch cushions beside her as I leaned closer to her. I could smell the cherry of her lip balm. Her eyes widened as I moved toward her. “My reasons for staying away are mine. You won’t bully me into talking about it.” Our noses touched, a light, feathery touch. Her lips were so close, just another inch and I’d have what I wanted. Her tongue darted out, the tip running along her bottom lip, moistening the pink flesh. She didn’t move, didn’t back away, instead her eyes went to my mouth, willing me to take what was mine, had been mine for years. Her breath warmed my chin.
“Lauren! Oh!”
I didn’t pull away, but I did turn my head to see who the hell interrupted what promised to be a damn fine moment. A short woman with black pixie cut hair grinned at us from the doorway. “I’m sorry. I just heard about the accident. Are you okay?”
Lauren shoved me out of the way and addressed the intruder. “Hi, Asya. Yes, I’m good. Michael here was nice enough to take me home, but he’s leaving now.”
“He doesn’t need to. I’m going to take a shower and get dressed. My night shift starts soon. Are you sure you’re okay?” She walked over to where we were, pointing at the sling over Lauren’s arm. “Your arm.”
“Just sore. I’m fine,” Lauren reassured her, ignoring my presence, or at least pretending to ignore me. “I’m just going to take some Ibuprofen and get ready to head to the shelter.”
“You can’t go in tonight.” I grasped her chin and turned her face me. “You need to rest.”
“I have a job, Michael. I just need to help a woman with a résumé, then I’ll come home. I won’t stay long.” Her words didn’t hold any sharpness to them. “I’ll have to take the bus. My car is still—”
“Tony pulled it back into the garage once the cops were done with all their measurements and pictures. We’ll have it repaired as quickly as possible. You can’t take the bus. I’ll take you.”
“No. You won’t. Please just go.”
“I can take her,” Asya interjected softly, looking at me with less concern than I would think a woman in her situation would. “I go that way to work anyway.”
“See?” Lauren pulled out of my grip. “I’ll take a cab home, okay?”
I looked from one girl to the other.
“I’m gonna hit the shower.” She smiled at me and backed out of the room.
“Fine.” I jerked the phone out of her hand and tapped my contact info in. “You call me if you can’t get a cab right away. Got it?”
“Sure.” She nodded, but that lip of hers was being sucked into her mouth. The little liar still had the same tell as when we were kids.
I sighed. “Fine.” I shot myself a text from her phone, giving myself her number. “I’ll call you tomorrow, then.”
“You don’t need to. I’ll be fine. Just give me a call when the car’s ready, and let me know how much.”
I eyed her silently for a minute. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said, and pushed myself off the couch. “You get the résumé done, and you get home. Understood?”
“Whatever.” She tried to look annoyed, but didn’t succeed very well. She may have been pissed, and she wanted to know things I wasn’t ready to tell her, but my Lauren was still my Lauren. Her emotions played across her face like a drive-in movie. Finding me had brought her relief. From what, I didn’t know yet, but I’d find out. “Now just go.” She shoved me with her good hand.
Without another word, I left her sitting on her couch. I wanted to help her to her room, help her change, get cleaned up, but I knew if I touched her, I wouldn’t be able to stop. Not kissing her at that moment had my dick hurting i
n my jeans. So close to touching her, tasting her, and it was yanked away from me.
When I stepped out of her building, I looked up and down the street. The sun had started to fade a bit, taking away some of the summer heat with it. The back of my neck tingled, as though I could feel someone’s eyes on me, watching me. I checked the cars lined up along the street, all empty.
On my way to the truck I kept my ears open, hearing nothing more than traffic from the main street. I couldn’t shake the feeling. Someone had eyes on me. On Lauren’s apartment. That car accident wasn’t an accident. Someone was out to get her, and I’d be damned if they succeeded.
Chapter 5
Lauren
“You shouldn’t go to school today. Just stay home and rest.” Asya poured herself a cup of coffee while I struggled to get my book back into my bag.
“I’ll be fine, Asya. I just need to do a few things. I’m almost done with this semester and then I can start my internship. If I miss too much work, I could lose it.”
She looked at me with hesitation. “Your shoulder looks like you were thrown against the wall by a gorilla. You barely slept last night; I know because I could hear you wandering around your room.”
She was right. I hadn’t slept well at all. Michael being thrust back into my life after seven years left me with so many more questions than answers. Where the hell had he been? Why did he feel so compelled to throw me out of his life if he didn’t blame me for what happened? How was I supposed to take his dominating concern for me?
The Michael I knew years ago was more than just my friend. He protected me, cared for me. When everyone at school laughed at my thrift store clothes, he took me shopping for new jeans. He spent what little money he had from his part time job at Jiffy Lube to put me in better clothes. When I promised to pay him back, he had grabbed my shoulders, squared us off, and told me in no uncertain terms that I was never to think about giving anything back to him. He liked taking care of me, and it was only my job to accept what he did and say thanks.
I should have seen the signs then, that he was a dominating jerk. Except he wasn’t. Back then he kept a soft side for me. The hard man I found standing in his garage yesterday, he still had that soft side; there were just a few more layers on top of it now.
I needed to get my head on straight. Michael didn’t want me in his life. He’d made that really clear for me. Right before I got myself plowed into. I hadn’t even heard the car coming; my mind was too busy replaying my conversation with Michael. My first conversation with him since he saved me from my stepbrother and it entailed him telling me he didn’t want me in his life. Awesome.
“I’m okay, Asya. Really. Thanks, but I can’t miss it.” The only thing going right had to do with school. I’d fought tooth and nail to get that internship. Getting that internship was my opportunity to get in with a good company at a competitive wage that wouldn’t short sell me.
“So, um, that guy who was here last night. What’s that all about?” A teasing grin slipped across her lips and she leaned against the cabinet, holding her cup up to her mouth.
“An old friend from a different life,” I explained, not wanting to get into the details. Even if I could describe Michael to her, what definition would he fall under at that moment? “He was there when I got hit.” Stick to small facts.
“He didn’t look like any old friend when I walked in,” she pushed.
I rolled my eyes. That near kiss experience had played over in my mind on a loop all night. I wanted so badly for him to press his lips to mine. I remembered him kissing me when we were in school, that last kiss. The power behind it had kept me up all night then, too. “He’s pushy.” I managed to zip my bag but couldn’t quite get it over my right shoulder.
“Let me drive you,” Asya offered for the third time.
“No. As it is, I’m not sure how you’re standing here after working so late last night. It’s fine. I’ve always taken the bus when my car crapped out on me. I’m not going to stop now just because I have a busted-up shoulder.”
“Maybe you could call your friend for a ride.” She winked at me, then laughed a throaty laugh at my discomfort.
“No. Thanks.” Been burned by that fire before.
“I’ll see you tonight?” She put her cup down on the counter and helped me get the strap over my good shoulder.
“Thanks. Probably, depends on how long my shift takes.” I checked my phone, no messages. I couldn’t help the twinge of disappointment at not seeing anything come from Michael since last night. He’d been so overprotective I thought he would have surely sent me a message or two in the morning. Enough already! Get him out of your head!
Asya shook her head as she headed back toward her bedroom. “Don’t wait for him. Just call him.” She waved a hand in the air and disappeared into her room.
***
The air conditioner on the bus was busted. By the time I stepped off at campus, my hair had plastered itself to my forehead. Stepping into the building felt more like walking into heaven than school. My shoulder throbbed from all the jostling on the bus, but I managed to get up the flight of stairs to where my class was about to start without much trouble.
When I turned down the hall I saw him. Standing outside the door to my class, Michael was leaning against the wall, his hands shoved in his front pockets, and a grave look on his face. He noticed me right away, so running back down the stairs wasn’t an option. He moved away from the wall, staring me down, almost daring me to try to turn around.
Damn him. Until that moment, I hadn’t really taken the time to take in his appearance. The lightly muscled boy I knew had been replaced with the broad-shouldered, hard-muscled man before me. His shaved head had grown out into a shaggy style, his chestnut hair matching his dark brown eyes perfectly. The shirt he wore fit too tight, but I doubted any shirt would fit him better with the thickness of his arms. His jeans were snug in all the places I wanted jeans to hug a man. But this was Michael, and I couldn’t look at him that way, appraising the beauty of him. I needed to firm up my resolve and remember I was pissed.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed at him when I was within hearing range.
“How’s your shoulder?” He ignored my irritation and grabbed my bag from me. I would have fought him on it, but, to be truthful, it was a relief to have the weight removed.
“Fine. What are you doing here?”
He eyed me cautiously as thought he could see into my body and assess my discomfort from where he stood. “This Pierre guy, is he that little twerp in there?” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the door and I let out a low groan.
“You need to let this go, Michael. It was an accident.”
“No. It wasn’t. Whoever hit you did it on purpose.”
“You’re crazy. You know that?” I reached for my bag, but he moved out of my reach.
“Lauren, the car that hit you went from a standstill to high speed and blew right through that intersection. I’m telling you it wasn’t an accident. Whether you want to listen to me or not doesn’t matter. I know it’s true, and until I know this Pierre kid didn’t do it, or pay someone to do it, I’m going to be damn sure you’re safe.”
I saw it then, the determination in his eyes. He wouldn’t go away, no matter how much I assured him he worried for nothing. “Michael.” I breathed out his name. Everything inside of me just felt heavy. Too hard to carry with me anymore. Yesterday morning, I woke up and he wasn’t in my life. I didn’t know where he was or how he was doing, and within the course of twenty-four hours my entire life spiraled away from me.
Walking away from the door where several more students filed into the room, I leaned against the wall. He followed me with his concerned eyes and protective stance.
“Why are you doing this? You don’t know me anymore; I can take care of myself now. I’m not that scrawny, naïve little girl hiding under her bed every time there’s a bump in the night. You said yourself you didn’t answer any of my letters because you did
n’t want to. Just because I got hit by a car outside your garage doesn’t make you responsible for me.”
He stepped closer, invading the small space between us until the tip of his shoes touched the front of my sandals. “I stayed away to protect you, Lauren, but never did I leave you alone.” I blinked a few times at his words. What the hell did that mean? “I’m not going to leave you alone now. That Pierre guy could be a bigger pain in your ass than you think. You may not be the scrawny girl I knew in high school anymore, but you still don’t understand the big bad world. Not the way I do.” His eyes narrowed, and he spoke so low I could barely hear him. But the menacing tone came through pretty clearly. He pressed further toward me, my back pushed back against the wall, his face lingering just over mine.
