by Ali Parker
"We're leaving in the morning, so I was thinking you could join me tonight for dinner. I'm taking out some wealthy supporters. We're going to-"
"Nope. Sorry. I have plans already. Seeing that I took a bullet for you, I'm thinking you could give me a mulligan on this one." I glanced over my shoulder, almost enjoying the disdain on his face.
"Right. Where are you going and who will you be with?" He walked into the room and sat down on my bed next to my suitcase.
I had nowhere to stare but at him now.
"Last time I checked, I'm over the age of eighteen, and not really required to gain your approval for anything." I dropped the silky top in my hands and pressed my fists to my hips.
"I didn't say I wanted to approve your plans, Chloe. Why are you so damn angry with me? I didn't take you to an abandoned house and almost kill you. I didn't fail in my job to protect you. Why are you lashing out at me? I'm your father and you and me are it, kiddo. We're all we've got." He threw his hands in the air and shook his head. "I just don't understand you at all."
I let out a sigh and shoved the suitcase off the bed and dropped down next to him.
"I'm pissed. I don't want to go on this trip and I want to see Ian. I feel like you've strapped a collar around my throat and are once again forcing me to heel to your side because you have the power to make that happen. I want my own life. I'm so damn sick of living yours." I pressed my hands to my knees and tried not to jerk away from him as he rubbed the top of my back.
"I understand that." He leaned forward, putting himself in my line of sight. "It's just a few more months and we can get back to normal. I don't want to control you at all, baby. I promise. I just want to keep both of us safe. When your mother died, my world crashed in around me. You're all I have left. Please understand that as your father, it doesn't matter how old you are. I'll always want to protect you."
I nodded, trying to let his words sink in. I could hear him, but for some reason, I couldn't find an ounce of sincerity in his voice. Maybe it was there and I was bent toward finding the worst parts of him instead of the good anymore. That happened after so many years of being carted around like an extra piece of furniture.
"I know. I'm going dancing with Jess tonight. Nothing too extravagant. I'll tell Daniel about it and make sure that he's within my line of sight all night. Okay?" I turned my attention on him. He'd aged so much over the course of the last year. Running for president didn't seem to be worth the energy, nor the effort my father had expended in the last year.
"All right. I guess that will be fine." He stood up and brushed his hand down my hair. "Just don't stay out too late. You know you get cranky without enough sleep."
“I’m going to San Diego, dad. It’s going to be late.”
“Then be back in time for the flight, and be careful.” He pulled out his phone, which meant our time was almost over. Good.
"What time are we leaving in the morning?" I got up and lugged my suitcase back onto the bed.
"Around five. I know it's early, but we need to get up there in time for lunch with a few of the staff who's been helping us with scheduling events."
I groaned, but didn't respond.
"Make sure you bring something nice to wear to the dinners and such. You'll need five to six outfits and something very business-like for the large event near the end of our trip."
"Got it." I turned and smiled. "Leave me be, please. I want to finish packing and take a nap before tonight."
"Sure, pumpkin." He turned and walked out.
I closed the door and finished packing before pulling my phone from my pocket to call Jess. It was nice to have a new one, though I probably didn't deserve it. I wouldn't put up with my shit if I were my father, but then again, payback was hell. If I ever did find a man that would stick around for more than a few weeks, children might be part of the future. I had no doubt that all of them would be as bad as I was, but one thing would be different for them for sure... I'd love on them every day without fail.
Ian brushed by my mind, warming my insides completely. I dropped back on the bed as my nipples hardened. The way he’d taken such good care of my body was something I couldn't soon forget. I'd never been in bed with a man like him, and after having him... I didn't want anything else. I had to find a way to spend one more night with him. To say goodbye properly.
I pressed the button to call Jess and tried to push away the need to spend the afternoon lost in the fantasy of what could have been between me and my hot bodyguard.
"Hey! Man, I miss you. What the fuck? You not coming back to the beach house?" Jess's voice caused my lips to lift in a smile.
"I should be back down there in a few weeks. What do you think about me coming down tonight and us going to Ocean Beach? We could go dancing and then I'll get us a hotel room?"
"Is your hot bodyguard coming? Ian?" She laughed low in her chest.
"No. Long story short, he's not with me anymore. I have this stiff-necked fucker, but he might be just your type. Looks like a bodybuilder and a princess had a kid. Proper and bulky." I rolled over onto my stomach and pressed my lips into my teeth as a thought raced across my mind.
"I'm down with anything if I get to see you." Jess and I had been friends since grade school, but me going to college in L.A. had seriously cut off our ability to see each other much.
"Can you call Ian for me and tell him to meet us? Tell him that I just wanted to thank him for everything and that only the three of us know about him possibly showing up tonight."
"Why can't you call?" She snorted. I had a track record for lying a mile wide. She knew I was up to something. I always was.
"His number is blocked on my phone. It keeps coming up as disconnected, but I don't think that's the case."
"Interesting. Where are we going? Howl at the Moon okay?"
"Yep. That will work. I'll see if anyone else wants to go with us."
"Like who? Does he have a hot brother?"
"Actually..." I laughed. "I think he might, but I was talking about some of my other girlfriends. I'm going to have to create a diversion to get away from Daniel."
"Daniel being the hot brother or the new bodyguard?"
"New bodyguard. I'll figure it out. Just call Ian and tell him Howl at the Moon at ten tonight. I'll get packed up now and head that way. It's about a four-hour drive."
"And you're up for it after everything that happened?"
"Fuck yes. I gotta get out of here before I go stir crazy."
"All right. Work your magic and I'll see you tonight. Be careful."
"You too." I laid the phone down on the bed and stood up as excitement pumped through me. I would have to make sure I laid out the plan well or it would flop and seeing Ian would become the pipe dream it was an hour before.
I walked out into the hall and made my way down to the living room, stopping beside the couch where Daniel and Pauly sat talking.
"Change of plans..." I smiled and put my hand on my hip.
"What plans?" Daniel glanced up at me, his handsome face a mask of indifference. He was like the older brother I'd love to kick in the crotch ten times.
There was no hope for us becoming friends or anything close to what Ian and I had become. I wasn't interested in even knowing his last name. His time was limited and the sooner I could get out from under his thumb, the better.
"I get one more night of fun before this trip that I'm being forced to go on sucks up two weeks of my freedom." I glanced over at Pauly. "Dad said I could go out tonight. I'm taking a quick trip down to San Diego."
"Quick trip? That's four hours, Chloe."
"And?" I tilted my head to the side, playing the part I knew to play best.
"And it's five in the afternoon. You won't get there until nine tonight." Pauly shook his head. "Find someplace to go here."
"Not happening." I shrugged and turned to walk back to my room. "And get me a later flight. I'm sleeping at the beach house and can catch a flight out of San Diego in the morning."
/> "That's not the plan, and you know it." Pauly followed me, which was funny, seeing that Daniel was the one in charge of me.
"I don't give a shit what the plan is. I'm a grown woman." I walked into my bedroom and pulled my suitcase off the bed. "I'm not trying to pull anything over on you guys. I want one more night with my friends and then I'll meet you in New Hampshire tomorrow. Daniel will be with me, and we'll be fine. Seriously."
"You're not going to budge on this, are you?" Pauly reached out and ran his hands down my arms to grip my hands.
"Nope. I hate this life you guys have forced me into. It's one night to drink with my friends and forget everything. I need it. Seriously, before I crack in half and turn into a real bitch."
"As opposed to the partial bitch you're being now?" He smiled and released me. "Fine. I'll get you a flight from San Diego, but it's going to be early. Don't miss it. Understand?"
"Yep. I get it. I'll try and behave."
"Yeah right. I'll believe that when I see it." He kissed my cheek and left me standing there, wishing that he were my father instead of the one I had. I didn't need money or fame, attention from the world, or even a pedestal to stand on. I needed a solid relationship in my life. Just one would do.
Too bad it wasn't in the cards to happen.
Chapter 5
Ian
I jerked up from a dream that I couldn't remember and didn't fucking want to. Sweat poured down my face and coated my skin, leaving my sheets to stick to me as I tried to get up. It was something about Chloe dying in my arms, much the way Mandy had.
My pulse raced through my veins and my steps were unsure as I stumbled to the bathroom and splashed water on my face from the faucet. I wanted a cold shower, but hadn't left myself with enough time before I was supposed to meet up with Cole. Him and Cindy were fighting again, and hopefully the bastard was moving toward a happy ever ending with divorce being the ticket to the promise land. The bitch had only gotten more and more moody over the handful of years that she and Cole had been together.
How he put up with her, I couldn't understand.
I ran a comb through my hair before dragging a cold washcloth up my chest and around my neck. It wasn't hot in the rundown apartment where I stayed, but my skin was on fire. Fear had me dripping sweat.
"Two weeks," I mumbled and walked to the closet to grab a pair of jeans. It'd been two weeks since I'd seen or heard from Chloe. I missed her like a mother fucker, especially her poking fun at me, and acting like a spoiled brat. It was nuts, but her attitude gave me the fuel needed to get in her face and promise her the much-deserved spanking she had coming. She needed a man like me. One that wouldn't put up with her shit.
I almost felt sorry for the stiff dick they had watching her - almost. I needed to get past hating him for no good reason. I had to think that she'd learned her lesson sleeping with me. It was smart for her to keep her distance from her guard. We were lower class men with a hankering for a cold beer and a tight body to lose ourselves in. I thought I could stand up against her teasing, but how quickly I'd fallen for her.
My cock bounced around, thick and hard as it always seemed to be when I thought about her. I stroked it a few times as I jerked a pair of jeans off the rack.
"Sorry, man. No attention for you for a while." I tugged the jeans over my legs and tried to let go of the thought of her pressed to the bed below me. She'd been perfect and had taken me like a champ. She was all mouth when it came to acting up. The minute the law was laid down, and she was moaning and twitching against the press of a hard body, she was all woman - the little girl was gone, tucked away for another fit another time.
I missed her. Something terrible.
I had to sweet talk one of the nurses at the hospital where I worked to get some information on Chloe. I promised the pretty nurse that helped me a night on the town, which she seemed more than happy to have. Why she would want one was beyond me, but a couple of hours eating dinner and shooting the shit with her was well worth the peace of mind I got. Chloe was fine, and the bullet had made a clean exit as Pauly described. She only had to stay two days in the hospital and was back home, wherever that was now. L.A. maybe?
I'd tried to call her number a few times, even though it was against the rules of the restraining order. Rules could suck a dick. I could care less what they wanted from me. I needed to know she was good, but the number was blocked. My only hope was that Pauly would be true to his word and protect her.
"Get over it. Fuck." I grabbed a t-shirt and picked up my boots before walking back to the bed and dropping down. One more night with her would have been my only wish at that point. Just another night to worship her beautiful curves and pretend that my life might include a woman like her. It was a fucking joke, but one I wanted to drown in.
I finished getting ready and grabbed my keys to the bike before locking up. After having lunch with my brother, I planned to walk the beach near her house, just to see if I could see her. I'd been over there a few times, but the place looked empty.
If she's not in San Diego, then where is she?
I wanted to find out, but something told me that it wouldn't matter if I did.
*
"Oh, my god. I honestly have no clue why you put up with that shit." I pressed my hand to my face and tried to stifle the groan that lodged in my chest. My poor brother.
"Man, I love her. It's not that fucking easy. You keep harping divorce in my ear, and her sister is telling her the same thing, but we got together years ago, Ian. She cared about me when it made no sense to, when I was still a piece of shit."
"You're still a piece of shit. You just hide it better now." I chuckled at the sordid look I got. The basket of chips between us was almost gone, as were our beers. The conversation had been about Cindy since I'd gotten to the small pub an hour before.
"Very funny." He ran his fingers through his blond hair and tugged a little. "I don't know what to do, but I should shut the fuck up about it until I figure it out. Bitching and moaning about it isn't doing anyone any good."
"Are you guys still fucking?" I lifted my beer to my lips and drained the rest of it. My brother was a couple of years older than me and slightly more modest than I was, but he was still a rough-neck mother fucker. You couldn't live in orphanages and on the streets without being.
"No." He picked up his beer and shook it. "We haven't made love in over three months."
"What?" That had to be the cherry on the shit sundae. "Are you kidding me right now? She's a total witch, treats you like a dog and you're not getting pussy? Hell no. Damn, Cole, I'm losing respect for you here, brother."
"Shut the fuck up." He lifted his beer in the air as the pretty brunette who was taking care of the table walked over.
"Need another one, good looking?" She smiled at Cole and glanced over at me and winked.
I answered before he could. "Sure do, baby doll, and bring my older and much lamer brother another one too."
Cole rolled his eyes. "I want Coke instead. I gotta drive home soon, and I brought my bike."
I coughed into my hand. "Puss."
"Yep." He smiled and handed the waitress our empty bottles. "Give him a Coke too, miss?"
"Sure thing." She walked off, shaking her hips a little more than necessary.
"A Coke? Damn." I picked up another chip and popped it in my mouth as I glanced around the pub. "So I've stopped having as many dreams about Amanda."
"Really? Tell me about that. I feel like all we've been talking about is my shit." He gave me a sheepish grin.
"Cause we have, you dick. That's all we talk about nowadays. I'm telling you for the last time that you need to get out of your marriage, before you guys have kids and fuck up their lives too." I brushed my hair from my face. "Anyway, the dreams aren't of Mandy anymore. They’re about Chloe again. I'm in the fucking house again, but instead of the cops getting there in time, they don't, and I have to sit there and hold her while she dies in my arms. I'm helpless, useless, worthless."
/> "Hey, man. It's just a dream." Cole reached out and squeezed my shoulder. "You just went through a big shit storm. Give yourself time to get over it, all right?"
"I'm trying. I think there are just parts of the fucked-up puzzle that don't make any sense. Like, why would Mitch put a restraining order on me? I've not done anything but help Pauly put up with Chloe's shit and protect her."
"Maybe she told her daddy about you guys sleeping together?"
"No. No fucking way." I shook my head and reached out to pluck the beer from the waitress’s hand as she laughed. "Thank you, baby. Do I look like a man that drinks Coke?"
"Not in the slightest." She pressed her hip against my thigh and bit her lip as she gave Cole his glass of Coke. "I get off in about two hours. You got plans tonight?"
"Unfortunately, I do. Maybe later this week? Give me your number before I leave and we'll hook up." I let my eyes run across her, playing the game and nothing more.
"Absolutely." She turned and walked off as Cole chuckled.
"Now who's the pussy? You have no interest in taking that girl out."
"No, I can't seem to move past the idea that maybe I'll see Chloe again. I know it's stupid, but I have this notion that she wants me as badly as I want her." I shrugged and took a long sip of my beer.
"Then fly under the radar and find her. Maybe all the shit was a set up." Cole ate a few chips as he studied me. "What if Pauly or Mitch or one of those mother fuckers is up to something? What if she's in danger?"
"You're looking for adventure. Shut that shit up." I rolled my eyes and turned to find our waitress eye-fucking me from across the room. I half expected my body to react to her big tits and pretty pink tongue she kept putting on display, but nothing. It would seem the saucy little blond I'd lost my head over a few weeks back still had a tight hold on my libido.
