Go Big

by Joanna Blake

  I wanted to laugh with relief at the absurdity of the situation. My wedding dress was streaming out behind us as he sped through the backstreets towards the industrial area outside of Miami. I’m sure we were a spectacle.

  Thankfully, we didn’t pass too many people out here.

  Every few minutes I glanced behind us, looking for cars. So far no one was following us. Neither of us had a phone. I guess we were well and truly off the grid.

  We wove randomly for almost an hour as Chan took us farther and farther away from the city. Warehouses and monster power lines were the only things for miles. It was desolate out here.

  I still had no clue where we were going.

  But it didn’t matter. As long as we were together.

  Up ahead I had my answer. What looked like small airfield stretched out to the north. We followed the faded signs to the entrance and pulled into the long drive. Chan parked the bike and pulled me into his arms for a long, deep, desperate kiss.

  That’s when we heard the shouting.

  “HEY YOU!”

  A man came out of the rusty old hangar. He was huge, dressed in leather and covered in tats. He didn’t look friendly. Neither did his dog.

  Neither did the rifle he was pointing at us.

  He got a little closer and spat on the ground.

  “This is private property. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  Chan held his hands up in the air to show he was empty handed.

  “Joss sent us.”

  The change was immediate. The gun was lowered. The craggy face smiled. The dog sat and offered his paw.

  Just like that.

  “Say no more. You the fellow with the death wish?”

  “That’s me.”

  The man grinned.

  “Where are we off to?”

  Chan grinned.

  “How about Vegas?”

  Chan looked at me for approval.

  “I’ve never been. Have you?”

  I shook my head, laughing.

  “Wheels up in ten. I’m Brock by the way.”

  “Chan. And this is Carolina.”

  Brock smiled and tipped his hat at us.

  “Nice to meet you folks. Bathroom’s in there if you need it. The one on board is a bit rustic.”

  I smiled at him.

  “Rustic?”

  “It’s a bucket, sweetheart.”

  I laughed. I was so relieved that the thought of peeing in a bucket was almost charming. I looked at Chan. His arms were loose around me suddenly. He looked pale.

  “Katey?”

  “She got out.”

  He smiled at me and started to stand.

  “Good. I just need to- sit down a minute.”

  Chan collapsed the instant he was off the bike.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chandler

  I tried not to move as the plane bounced its way down the tarmac.

  It hurt like hell.

  Fuck, everything hurt.

  Seems I’d been shot during our dramatic escape from the alleyway. Hadn’t felt more than a sting at the time. Funny how adrenaline can play tricks with your mind.

  The bullet tore through my side, missing any major internal organs.

  I was lucky as hell.

  Well, more or less.

  The part about having to get stitched up in a moving plane with out painkillers was somewhat unfortunate.

  Brock’s first aid kit was incomplete. Even the aspirin was gone. Thankfully, he kept tequila on site. I’d already drank more than a little bit of it.

  It was a decent painkiller. It was sterile too. We’d already splashed some onto the wound before take off.

  Caro’s eyes were worried as she sat beside me, holding my hand. She still wore that filthy wedding dress. The ends were shredded from the ride. Damn, if she didn’t look beautiful all the same.

  My runaway angel.

  “Okay, we’re going to be relatively smooth for a while. You ready to do this?”

  Brock was shouting over his shoulder. The sound of the engines made it hard to hear anyone who wasn’t right beside you. It wasn’t luxurious but Brock referred to it as his ‘private jet.’

  I liked this guy already. Hell, I’d like him even if he hadn’t saved our asses.

  He was calling Caro over. She stood at the front of the plane, her torn dress trailing behind her. She looked back at me and gave me a brave smile.

  “You hold the wheel and I’ll stitch him up.”

  Caro looked alarmed.

  “I’ve never flown a plane before.”

  “Have you performed surgery?”

  She lifted her chin.

  “No. But I’m one hell of a seamstress.”

  He shook his head and laughed.

  “Fair enough. First you got to clean it out. Too bad Rusty isn’t up here. Dog’s saliva is actually one hell of an antiseptic.”

  Caro made a face at me and I laughed. I flinched too. Laughing hurt more than the bumpy take off had.

  “Once it’s cleaned out, you can sterilize the needle and thread. I would do the back first. Then you need to cover it with something clean.”

  “Clean?”

  He looked around the plane.

  “Well, cleanish.”

  She nodded.

  “Okay. I can do it.”

  She smiled at me as she walked back to me. I could tell she was nervous. But she didn’t let it show.

  Good girl.

  “You ready?”

  I grinned at her.

  “Always.”

  Caro rolled her eyes at the double entendre and sat down beside me. Gently she unbuckled my seat belt. Then she started pulling my shirt up.

  I tried to help her and immediately cursed from the pain.

  “Be still, Chan!”

  I grinned over my shoulder at her. She was frowning.

  “I’m going to have to cut this off of you.”

  “You were just waiting for an excuse to get my clothes off, weren’t you?”

  She laughed.

  “Yes Chan. I was hoping something like this would happen.”

  She smiled at me and kissed my cheek.

  “Have another slug of that. I’m going to need it in a minute.”

  I nodded and took a few deep pulls of the tequila. It was starting to work. I was getting fuzzy around the edges.

  She was back in a minute, neatly cutting away my shirt. I was bare chested on a plane, with a bottle of booze. And a bullet hole in my side. Beside me was a gorgeous woman in a busted wedding gown.

  There was something epic about this moment.

  I must be drunk if I could find the humor in something that was about to hurt like a motherfucker.

  She took the bottle and poured it over a needle and thread. She’d torn off part of her slip. That got the run off.

  Then she pressed the fabric to my back.

  Holy shit that stung.

  I did my best to remain silent. It was the manly thing to do. It mattered to me that she thought I was tough.

  Though I doubted I was half as brave as she was.

  She poked and prodded at me, pressing the tequila soaked rag to my back and my front several times. I felt her trim the ragged skin away from my back. Then she stopped.

  “I’m ready to stitch this up. Have another sip.”

  She didn’t have to ask me twice. I held onto the bottle, taking a sip now and then as she stitched my back. It hurt like hell. By the time she got to the front, I was well and truly shellacked.

  I grinned stupidly at her beautiful blond hair as she bent over my wound.

  “Hi Princess.”

  She looked up at me and smiled.

  “Hi Chan.”

  “Distract me, would you?”

  “Okay… any idea what we are going to do next?”

  She started sewing. I did my best not to flinch. The tequila had definitely started working. The pain was almost bearable now.

  “Couple of ideas.”
<
br />   I took another pull on the bottle. She pushed the needle through my skin again before speaking. Probably for the best. I wanted a manly scar, to remind her that I’d gotten shot for her. Not a busted up ugly scar. I trusted her to make me pretty.

  Or keep me pretty anyway.

  “Oh yeah, like what?”

  “We are going to put everyone back home on high alert. We are going to call Joss. And then we are going to get naked for four or five days.”

  She stopped sewing and looked up at me.

  “Oh, we are are we?”

  I grinned at her confidently.

  “Yep.”

  She didn’t say anything for a minute.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure Princess.”

  “Why did you pick Vegas?”

  “So I can marry you, of course.”

  Carolina

  I stared around the hotel room. It was a huge suite in one of the nicest hotels in town. Without using cash or a credit card. Joss had managed to set this up somehow.

  All under a fake name.

  It was hard not to notice that there was one room. With one giant bed. But beggars really couldn’t be choosers…

  Chan was on the phone that Brock had given us before taking off again. He’d even called a buddy to come and pick us up in a town car. The network of guys who’d served together was amazing.

  They were helping us out without asking for a thing in return. All because Joss was one of them. And since Chan was his best friend, we were in their protected circle now too.

  The concierge had even brought up fresh clothes for us. Nothing fancy of course. We’d found a note hidden underneath. It said not to use the hotel phone. Only if it was an emergency.

  I checked on Chan before heading into the bathroom. He’d been ready to pass out from the pain. Not to mention he was pretty drunk by the time we got here. Still, he’d managed to walk through the lobby standing up.

  I had to admit, I was impressed.

  Of course, no one but me knew he was bleeding and half-naked under his leather jacket. We’d zipped it up. And cut the bottom off of my wedding dress. Now it was a mini skirt and a bustier. I probably looked like a hooker.

  We fit right in.

  Chan thought my outfit was perfect just the way it was. He kept telling me so. He spent the entire ride to the hotel trying to paw me. It must have hurt like heck but it didn’t stop him from trying.

  And now he was asleep with strict instructions to wake him up in an hour.

  He had plans for tonight.

  Plans that involved me. And that big bed out there.

  But there was something else he wanted to do first.

  Chan was bizarrely determined that we get married. Today. I didn’t argue with him. Of course, I’d been abducted in my nightgown. I didn’t have ID on me. Or a credit card. Or a dime.

  He didn’t seem worried about any of that.

  I ran the bath, squeezing in a generous dollop of bath gel. The tub was enormous. The bathroom was bigger than my bedroom back home. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

  If I’d learned nothing else over the past week, it was to seize the moment.

  I washed myself thoroughly, refilling the tub twice. I knew it was silly but I couldn’t relax until every trace of Max was gone. And Chan’s blood. I wanted to put everything behind me and feel fresh.

  Reborn.

  As the water rose for the third time I leaned back and let myself drift.

  Was I seriously considering getting married for a second time in one day?

  That had to be a record.

  Chan hadn’t asked me properly. He’d told me. But it was sweet all the same.

  Even if he didn’t love me. I knew he didn’t. Still, he’d done more for me than any man ever had. Risked more.

  His very life.

  That had to count for something.

  Of course, he was doing this to get around my chastity vow. I considered marrying him anyway, even though he was drunk. I giggled. It would be me taking advantage of his inebriated state this time.

  By the time he sobered up he’d be sure to regret it.

  I might love him, but he was still Chan. He was not the settling down type. If I let him marry me drunk and desperate to get into my pants, he’d regret it. I didn’t want that, even if I did want him.

  More than I cared to admit.

  But bad boys never changed. I knew that. I didn’t even really want to change him.

  I just wanted… him.

  Maybe it was time to let him off the hook. If I broke my vow, we could both get what we wanted. I still believed in it, but I didn’t want him marrying me for the wrong reasons.

  If I took that off the table, I knew he would jump at the chance.

  I was out of the bath when I heard the knock on the door.

  The concierge was back. He was obviously one of Joss’s friends. He was big and strong and no nonsense as he handed me the envelope.

  Until he winked.

  “Have a very good evening Miss.”

  Then he was gone.

  I went back inside and opened the envelope, shaking it out onto the table.

  A perfect replica of my passport slid out. It was even my original photo. I had no idea how the heck they had done that.

  It was magic.

  It was a disaster.

  I had to hide it or Chan would see.

  If we couldn’t get married then he wouldn’t argue when I told him I was ready to break my vow for him.

  Even without a marriage certificate, I knew I loved him. And I wanted him to be my first. But that was it. Just a one time thing. It would have to be enough.

  For both of us.

  I didn’t hear him come up behind me. His arms slid around me from behind. I pushed the envelope under the room service menu.

  “You smell nice. Who was that?”

  “Wrong room.”

  He turned me around and kissed me.

  “Are you ready to become Mrs. Carolina Jacobs?”

  I shook my head.

  “No, Chan. It’s impossible.”

  He growled at me, pulling me against him.

  “Like hell it is!”

  “It doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t have my ID.”

  He narrowed his eyes, looking at me.

  “Having cold feet?”

  I shook my head.

  “It’s okay Chan. We can… be together. I don’t care about my vow anymore.”

  He stared at me hard, like he was trying to look inside me.

  “Nice try, Princess.”

  “What?”

  He reached down and grabbed the envelope.

  “You are just going to have to learn to love me. Because I am not letting you get away from me again.”

  I stared at him. He knew about the passport? I sighed. He had known all along. And he let me lie to him.

  “Chan. You don’t really want to marry me. It’s okay. I said I would sleep with you anyway.”

  He started kissing my neck, ignoring me completely. I pushed against him gently. He looked up.

  “What do you want, woman? I’m busy kissing my future wife.”

  “Stop it, Chan. We both know you’ll regret this.”

  He gripped my face, staring into my eyes.

  “How could I regret marrying the love of my life?”

  My jaw must have dropped.

  “Don’t you know how long I’ve loved you, Caro? I never forgot you. I never wanted anybody else.”

  Tears filled my eyes as he lowered himself to his knee. He took my hand and stared up at me.

  “Carolina Murphy, will you be my wife?”

  I couldn’t stop the tears as I nodded. I knew it was crazy. But I couldn’t resist him.

  I couldn’t ignore my heart.

  “Yes. Oh Chan… Yes, I will.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chandler

  I stood inside the chapel, waiting for my bride. My brave, brilli
ant, beautiful, sexy as all get out, perfect for me in every way bride. I wore a black t-shirt and jeans and a tuxedo jacket loaned to me by the chapel itself.

  They had a whole selection of tacky wedding clothes in the back apparently. Thankfully, this jacket was simple and fit me almost perfectly.

  I had a hole in my side. I was on the run from the Russian Mob. I had left all my worldly possessions behind.

  And I’d never been happier in my life.

  The people who worked at the chapel were all staring at me. I knew why. Because I couldn’t stop smiling like a buffoon.

  I didn’t care.

  I didn’t care about anything.

  I just hoped she didn’t get cold feet.

  She’d scared the hell out of me back at the hotel when she’d hidden the passport Joss’s friend had rigged for her. I thought she didn’t want me. Then I realized it was the opposite.

  She didn’t think I wanted her.

  Not for keeps anyway.

  How little she understood. But I would fix that. I would show her.

  Starting tonight.

  Oh yes, I had big plans for tonight. I was not going to let a minor thing like a bullet wound interfere with ravaging my bride.

  My wife.

  I crossed my hands over my cock. It was starting to rise. Just thinking about how many times I was going to take her. All the different ways. All the different places.

  That bathtub came to mind.

  So did the terrace.

  The bed would get its turn too.

  First probably.

  That seemed like the proper place to take my sweet girl’s virginity.

  I grinned a little wider. It felt like my face was going to split. Just then the music started.

  The doors opened and Caro walked through.

  I felt all the air leave my body. She was so beautiful. She wore a borrowed veil and held a generic bouquet sold in the lobby. But the look on her face was breathtaking.

  She hadn’t run.

  She was here.

  This was happening.

  She walked forward through the tacky decorations, looking like an angel. Or a movie star. Or a movie star playing an angel.

  Yep, that was my Caro.

  She smiled shyly at me as the ceremony began.

  It was fast. They read a famous poem, we said our vows and then it was over. I barely heard a word of it.

  I was too busy thanking God for bringing her to me.