Big Bad Neighbor: A Single Dad Next Door Romance

by Tia Siren

  “Feels worse,” replied the officer.

  I looked through the windows of the station, hoping I’d see Rex any time, but he wasn’t there. All hope I had of surviving left me.

  The two officers led me out the front door and shoved me into the backseat of the same car I had stolen last night. Once they were comfortably seated in the front, they turned and eyed me like fresh meat.

  “That stab you gave me could have cost me my job, you know,” said the first.

  “I’m going to enjoy this,” said the second.

  They started up the car and tore off down the street. I couldn’t even find tears at this point. I felt like giving up, as everything seemed hopeless.

  But then I heard a familiar rumble. I looked out the back window and saw Rex following behind with the rest of the gang. I wondered why he didn’t just drive up and rescue me.

  We drove for a while, another hour outside the city with Rex in almost clear view through the back window. I think he must have unnerved the officers, because they pulled over to let him pass. I hoped he wouldn’t, but he drove right past.

  The cops let out a collective exhale and continued to drive. As they drove, I didn’t see any sign of Rex. Then the cops pulled off the road as they had last night.

  “Get out,” they said.

  I did as I was told. The kept shoving me and kicking me as we walked through the woods, getting a small amount of delight from every exasperated sigh I released.

  “If you guys are going to kill me, why don’t you just get it over with?” I said, battered and bruised.

  “Why would we kill you right away? A cute girl like you has her uses,” they said.

  I knew what that meant. They were holding a length of rope, and I wished I had just let them shoot me last night. I wished I could call out to Rex, but I didn’t know where he was.

  “Okay, here is far enough,” they said.

  I stopped and looked around. There wasn’t much to see in the moonlight. With the rope, they bound my legs together and tied my handcuffs to a nearby tree.

  “Guys, can we make a deal? I still have that money from the other day,” I said.

  “I don’t think that’s worth much right now. Besides, we get those envelopes every time we take in a dealer that Mr. Novak wants off the street.”

  Their hands started tugging at my jeans, and though I struggled against the ropes and handcuffs, there was little I could do to stop them. They shoved my pants down to my ankles and tore off my shirt.

  “Only one person puts hands on her, and it sure as hell ain’t the two of you!” I heard bellowed from the forest.

  I stood there, dumbfounded. It had sounded like Rex.

  “Who the hell is out there?” they said, drawing their pistols.

  Before either of them could do anything, Rex threw a giant fist into their faces. I heard their bones break under the weight of his strike. One of them fell to the ground and didn’t move.

  “What took you so long?” I said hurriedly. “We gotta run before they get up.”

  “Who says they’re getting up?” Rex said.

  The conscious officer tried to raise his gun at Rex, but it was a wasted effort. Rex grabbed his hand and dealt him a punch to the chest.

  Then Rex looked over at me, bent over with my ass sticking straight in the air.

  “That’s a good look for you,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Oh, ha ha, very funny,” I replied sarcastically.

  He sauntered over and untied the rope that kept me stuck to the tree. I jumped up and gave Rex the biggest kiss I could manage. He didn’t stop me, and I felt his large hand planted on my back. His familiar touch was welcome, and I yearned for more of it. He eventually managed to push me off, even though I was pretty sure he didn’t want to.

  “Might want to make yourself decent. We gotta ride,” he said.

  Then a bullet rang out in the night, pinging off the tree I had just been tied to.

  Rex turned around, still holding the other officer’s gun, and started firing. He unloaded the entire gun into the two sorry sacks of meat on the ground before returning to me.

  “There, problem solved,” he said.

  I pulled up my pants and started searching the cops for the key to the handcuffs. Blood was soaking through everywhere. I took the other officer’s gun and stuffed it into my waistband, and then a phone fell into the dirt nearby. It was the phone they’d been talking on last night. I had a feeling it might come in handy, so I pocketed that as well.

  “We gotta move their car. If other cops don’t hear about them reporting in, they’re going to be looking for it,” Rex said.

  I nodded and took their keys as well. At least they had learned from their past mistake.

  I undid the rope around my legs and kicked it aside. With keys in hand, I trudged toward the police car. My heart was still beating like mad, and I needed to clear my head.

  Rex had parked his motorcycle behind the car, and I slipped back into the driver’s seat again. I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the moment. I was driving a police car for the second time in two nights.

  We drove back to the small town where I’d been arrested, but just outside the town I ditched the car, shoving it into a ravine. Rex did most of the heavy lifting.

  “Where’s the rest of the gang?” I asked.

  “They went on ahead and are waiting for us in the next town down the road. I told them I’d meet them after I got you back,” he said.

  I craned my neck up and kissed him again.

  “Maybe they can wait for us a little longer,” I said with a wicked smile.

  Rex laughed.

  7.

  He took me by the hand and led me deeper into the forest nearby. My heart quickened for a different reason.

  We found a small spot of even ground, covered in clover, just a ways from the road. The moonlight lit up the small empty patch of ground.

  Rex had already yanked off his leather vest and shirt. His barrel chest rippled with muscle on top of muscle. I could still remember the last time we were together like this.

  “Maybe I should handcuff you to the tree,” he said.

  I strode over to a nearby tree and leaned against it.

  “Like this?” I said.

  He came up behind me and grabbed me by the waist. His strong grasp made me pause. Then he hooked his fingers into my jeans and slid them down over my long legs. He planted a quick kiss on my thighs from behind, and I let out a small moan.

  I was so turned on that I could feel myself dripping down my leg. I heard him unfasten his belt and his pants drop to the forest floor. The mystery just served to turn me on more. I waited with bated breath for his touch.

  Then I felt his throbbing member rub along my slit. One of his hands stroked along my back, moving slowly up before grabbing my hair. He tugged my head back by my hair, causing my back to arch more.

  Then I felt him press himself into me. That forgotten but familiar feeling of his massive manhood forcing its way into my dripping wet sex overtook me. I let out a gasp as he shoved himself in with almost no regard.

  A twinge of pain shot through me but then quickly subsided. I continued to pant and moan in the darkness as he started pounding. The more I moaned, the more turned on he became, and the harder he would pound.

  I held on to the tree to stay upright. My legs had almost no life left in them. He put his hands on my hips and held me up himself as he continued to grind. I lost myself in the moment, the sensations overtaking my body.

  For the first time in years, I felt alive again. With every thrust I begged for more, trying to sate a hunger that hadn’t been fed for a long while.

  That old feeling started to well up in the pit of my stomach. I hadn’t felt it since the last time I was with Rex. It just kept building and building until finally I couldn’t hold back anymore. I felt the strongest release I had felt since I’d first lain with a man.

  Every muscle in my body tensed and relaxed at
the same time. I quivered from exhaustion, but Rex wasn’t done. He threw me down into the clover on the ground and continued his onslaught.

  I felt dead to the world, and parts of me were numb. Then Rex exploded inside me, filling me up more than he already had. I welcomed it.

  Then he joined me on the clover, feeling just as dead as I did.

  “Thanks, Rex,” I managed to say.

  He grunted.

  “For saving my life,” I added.

  He threw his arm over me, and for the first time in forever, I felt like I was in the right place.

  8.

  I woke up to the sound of a phone ringing. It wasn’t my phone; I was sure of that. No, it was the phone the two officers had had on them.

  I didn’t answer.

  But after it stopped ringing, it immediately began again. I considered turning the thing off so it wouldn’t bother me. I knew who would be on the other side. Still, I wanted to tell him where to shove it.

  I answered the phone.

  “Hello,” I said confidently.

  “So you did get rid of my two good officers,” said Mr. Novak over the phone.

  “It wasn’t me, but I was there when it happened. And trust me, he would do the same to you if you were there,” I said.

  “Oh, would he?” he asked.

  “He would,” I replied.

  “Then why don’t you have him come out and prove it?” he said.

  “Why would we drive all the way back to the city for him to beat you up? I’m just here to tell you to stay away. I won’t go to the cops, and you won’t get your money back,” I said.

  “Well, that’s too bad,” he said over the phone. “Because I’m right here.”

  I heard him nearby, and my heart skipped a beat. I looked around and saw him standing by a tree. Then I saw the rest of his gang start to file out.

  I quickly covered myself up, while Rex lay naked in the clover, snoring.

  “How did you find us?” I asked.

  He pointed at the phone.

  “If you need to, you can find any phone anywhere in the world. It helps when you have a few cops in your pocket who can take care of that for you,” he said.

  I smacked Rex alongside his head, and he just rolled over.

  “Heavy sleeper, it seems,” Mr. Novak said.

  I stood up and pulled the gun out of my jeans.

  “I don’t think you’ll need that,” he said.

  A couple of guys I recognized from the other day stepped out from behind the trees, brandishing much bigger guns. I dropped my small pistol to the ground.

  “Is this the guy who’s supposed to beat me to a bloody pulp?” Mr. Novak asked.

  I nodded.

  He pulled a pistol out and shot Rex in the arm.

  Rex stirred and snapped awake. At least a bullet was able to wake him up.

  “Geez, Celia, I’m awake. You didn’t have to shoot me,” Rex said.

  Mr. Novak laughed. I wanted to laugh, but my sense of humor was lost in the moment.

  “Rex, this is the guy who sent those cops after me,” I said.

  Rex pulled on his jeans.

  “He don’t look so tough. I bet you could probably beat him up,” Rex said.

  Mr. Novak stopped laughing.

  “You think this bitch could even lay a hand on me?” he said.

  “No. I’m saying she’d knock you out,” Rex replied.

  Rex’s arm was bleeding pretty badly, but he didn’t seem to care. He just grabbed his shirt from the other night, ripped it up, and tied it around the wound.

  “I’ve had enough of this,” said Mr. Novak. “Get rid of them.”

  The thugs took their aim only to be smashed upside the head with clubs and tire irons; the rest of the motorcycle club was here.

  “Thanks, boys. I was wondering when you’d finally show up,” Rex said, pulling on his vest.

  Rex stomped his way over toward Mr. Novak. They were both hulking men. Rex was more barrel chested, but Mr. Novak was a little taller with more chiseled muscles.

  “I hear you tried to have my girl killed,” Rex said.

  “Loose ends need tying up,” he said.

  They stood toe to toe, neither of them wanting to back down or show any sign of weakness. I knew Rex; he didn’t have an ounce of weakness in him, and he didn’t bow down to anyone.

  “You wanna know what the worst thing is?” Rex asked, but he wasn’t looking for an answer. “Waking up to a gunshot wound.”

  Rex reached out and grabbed the gun from Mr. Novak. The two wrestled with it for a brief moment, but Rex was clearly stronger. I wanted to cheer on Rex and see him wipe the smile from Mr. Novak’s face for good.

  “What should I do with this guy, Celia? It’s my wedding present to you,” he offered.

  I thought about it for a second. I wanted him to do nothing what he did to the cops the other night. I wanted to find my friend Jimmy and dig a grave right next to him to plant Mr. Novak in. I wanted to have Rex squeeze him until all of his bones snapped.

  Most of all, I just wanted to feel safe. And I did feel safe as long as Rex was nearby.

  I walked up to Mr. Novak.

  “What is your life worth to you?” I asked.

  “Everything,” he replied.

  I laughed.

  “Yeah? And how much is everything?” I asked.

  He pulled a small black book from his chest pocket.

  “This has all my bank codes and passwords. It’s worth almost ten million if you let me go,” he said.

  I snatched the book from his hand and started thumbing through it. It was just a bunch of numbers and passwords, but it looked real enough.

  “So I get to leave,” Mr. Novak said.

  “Sure,” I said. “I’ll let you go.”

  He let out a sigh of relief.

  “To prison,” I added.

  Rex was a good man, and I knew what he wanted to do.

  “Only downside is you didn’t bargain for what you’ll look like when you get there,” I said.

  Rex knew what I meant. He threw a punch that would’ve splintered a tree square into Mr. Novak’s stomach. The man fell to the ground with the wind knocked out of him.

  But, in desperation, he threw a quick jab, trying his best to strike Rex. Rex easily blocked the blow and delivered a kick to Mr. Novak’s chest. Running on pure adrenaline, Mr. Novak tackled Rex to the ground. He threw punch after punch as hard as he could, but the punches didn’t seem to faze Rex in the slightest.

  Rex just stood up and picked the man up by the collar, only to deliver a blow square to the side of Mr. Novak’s face. It was brutal to watch. They two of them kept at it for a while.

  Before long, Mr. Novak was bloodied and beaten. His strength had been bested easily by the only person who knew how to make me happy. I was seeing, again, the reason why I had always been so close to him in my youth.

  Good people were hard to find, so sometimes you found a bad one who knew just what you need.

  I tucked the book into my pocket and made my way toward the road. Rex seemed to be enjoying himself with his punching bag. After about five minutes of Mr. Novak taking a beating, I saw one of the club members come out with a length of rope tied around his torso.

  The group dragged him back to the motorcycles and tied the other end of the rope to the bike.

  I gave Rex a kiss on the cheek as he rode off down the street with Mr. Novak in tow.

  Unfortunately, the ride didn’t last as long as I would had hoped.

  9.

  “Celia Murphy?” chimed the voice of the officer.

  I stood up and walked over to the holding cell bars.

  “You’re free to go,” he said.

  I walked out to the lobby of the police station. A good portion of the club was there waiting, but not Rex.

  “Celia Murphy,” said the old woman behind the desk, “your marriage license is in order. Here’s your certificate.”

  I laughed at how droll she made the w
hole proceeding sound. If Rex were here to see this, he’d probably laugh about it too. I was his now and forever.

  “Will Rex be out soon?” I asked.

  The officer who had led me out was sitting at the front desk. He looked at me in disbelief.

  “You do know we caught him dragging a man behind a motorcycle down Main Street at highway speeds, right? I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up locked up for the rest of his life.”

  “Naw. He’ll get out. He always does,” I said.

  I was contacted later that day by drug enforcement officers. The information I had and the bodies I’d left were more than enough to convince them that I had just been fighting for my life.

  It took a while, but I finally managed to convince them to let Rex go. Mr. Novak had survived and was in critical care at the local hospital. I felt completely free of my dumb mistake.

  In the end, I felt sorry for my friend Jimmy who got stuck in a mess he couldn’t dig himself out of. But, some good did come from the whole situation. I got my man back.

  We saddled up outside the police station, and I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  “You know, we’re married now,” I said.

  “I think I want a divorce,” Rex replied. “You’re just too much trouble.”

  We both laughed, and everything felt right. As we drove down the open road, as I had so many years ago, I felt free.

  *****

  THE END

  MAFIA Romance – Owned by the Mafia

  It was terrifying to have a pistol shoved in his mouth. More terrifying was the knowledge that he had no way of repaying his debt.

  “How dare you,” Grigori said. “How dare you sit at my table and gamble with me when you know you don't have the funds to cover your debts.”

  Grigori tightened his grip around Lenny's throat. Lenny looked up at him with saliva running from his open mouth and a great deal of fear in his eyes.

  “I ought to kill you now, you asshole. But I'm a benevolent man. I'm going to give you a chance.” Grigori looked at the photo on the mantelpiece. “She's very pretty, isn't she?” he said. Lenny growled at him and tried to break free. One of Grigori's henchmen stepped forward and assisted his boss in restraining Lenny. “What time will she be home?” Grigori asked, removing the gun from Lenny's mouth to allow him to speak.