“Who sent you?” I growled.
“Fuck you,” he spat.
“Who sent you?” I repeated, shoving the knife down at him.
His grip weakened and I twisted the knife out his hands. He was at my mercy now, but I wasn’t giving any. I saw him calculating, trying to find a way out of this. His hand moved toward his belt, but I was faster. I shoved the knife down into his shoulder to prevent him from reaching for another weapon. He cried out, his hands immediately going for his shoulder and the knife. I yanked it out and held it to his throat.
“One last time. Who fucking sent you?”
“No one,” he said, grinning as he reached again for his belt. Whether he sent someone or not, I wasn’t giving him another chance to get the drop on me. I slashed the knife across his throat and watched in pleasure as his blood spilled across the floor. When he collapsed and his body stopped moving, I raced out of the room to where Delaney was nervously waiting in the living room. She rushed into my arms, wrapping hers tightly around my neck.
“Oh, God! I thought he was going to kill you.”
“Never,” I swore. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.” She started shaking in my arms and I pulled her out of the house as I called the police and Cap. I couldn’t keep her in that house. She needed to come home with me, no matter if we were a couple or not.
“What do I do now?” she asked, her body still shaking.
“You’ll come home with me.”
“But, Tony, we’re not a couple.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’d never let anything happen to you, Delaney. Do you trust me?”
She looked at me with so much hope and trust that I vowed, no matter what happened between us, I would always be there to protect her.
“I trust you, Tony.”
Holy fuck. There was a jackhammer going off in my head. What the fuck? I rolled over and hit something solid. Feeling around, I felt soft curves and my fingers got tangled in what could only be long hair. I cracked an eye open and saw the unmistakable figure of a woman. Lifting my heavy head, I looked closer at the woman, trying to place her. She had dirty blonde hair and an angelic face. She was pretty, but what the hell was she doing in my bed?
I flopped back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, but something wasn’t right. I didn’t have a popcorn ceiling, did I? I squinted at the light shining in and shook my head. I didn’t have a window in the bunker either. Shit. I wasn’t at my house. Well, that made it easier to slip away. At least I wouldn’t have to kick her out.
I shoved the covers off, even though I was quite comfortable, and felt around on the floor for my clothes with my foot. God, my head felt like a bowling ball sitting on my shoulders, all held there with a very slim stick. If I actually bent over to get my clothes, I might fall to the floor. I finally found my pants, but my boxers were missing. Fuck it, I could go home without. I found a t-shirt and pulled it on, but it only came down to my belly button. I stared down in confusion. I yanked harder, but it wouldn’t budge. Someone had shrunk my shirt in the middle of the night. What the fuck?
Movement behind me made me jump up and run from the room. I wasn’t about to get caught with the woman and be expected to cuddle or talk about what happened. Fuck, I wasn’t even sure what happened. I ran down the hallway, tripping over clothes that were laying on the ground and the random high heel shoe that was laying wrong side up. I narrowly avoided stepping on the pointy object, and instead slipped on a shirt lying on the ground, and fell into the wall.
“Crap,” I cursed as I held still for a moment, hoping that the woman in the bed didn’t hear me. A low growl sounded in front of me and I slowly turned, fully expecting to see a giant attack dog staring me down. Instead, some kind of beast, the size of a small dog stood in front of me with half an ear missing. It had to be a cat. There was no other logical explanation, but it was larger than any cat I’d ever seen. I bared my teeth at the offending creature and let out my own low growl. He opened his mouth and hissed at me, his bumpy tongue sticking out like he was going to taste me for a possible meal. I was already down on all fours, so I let out my own hiss, hoping to scare off the creature.
“M-ow,” the cat meowed. It was low and demonic, that much I was sure of. The cat was obviously a bass in the cat voice department. I had never heard any cat sound like that before, and I was quite sure that I never wanted to again. Slowly moving to my feet, I slid against the opposite wall and moved down the hallway. Just when I thought I was in the clear, claws dug into my skin through my jeans and latched on for dear life.
I bit my fist to keep from shouting out and started shaking my leg, hoping to get the rabid beast off me. But the more I shook it, the deeper the claws dug in. I was going to need a course of antibiotics when I finally got the creature off me. With no other options, I bent low and barked once at the cat, hoping that I didn’t wake up the woman in the other room. The cat let out a low meow and jumped back, releasing my leg.
When I didn’t hear anything from the other room, I scrambled away from the furry monstrosity and ran for the front door. Except, there was a big pile of shit where the living room should be. What the hell? Didn’t this woman ever clean? It looked like a bomb went off. I started flinging things around, looking for my keys. Why the fuck didn’t I keep my keys on me?
A sound from the other room had me pausing. Fuck it. I’d leave my truck and come back later. Right now, I just needed to get out of here. I grabbed the door handle, but paused when I looked down on the very neat, very organized table next to the door. My keys sat in a bowl and my jacket was hanging neatly on the hook by the door. I snatched both and ran out the door, flipping off the cat that was staring at me and locking the door behind me. I barely got the door shut before I was bounding down the steps to the front door of the apartment building.
The bright light blinded me as I stepped outside, but I quickly located my truck. It was taking up two spots and I was surprised that no one had egged my truck for me being such an asshole. Parking spots were coveted, especially in small parking lots. I ran to my truck and hopped inside, slamming the door just as I backed out of the parking lot and headed for the road.
I fumbled around for my phone, trying to find it in the truck or in my jacket, but it was suspiciously absent. I never went anywhere without my phone. Shit. I checked the glove box and the top of the visor, but it was nowhere. I quickly made it to the main road of town that would lead me back to Reed Security. After putting in my code and scanning my hand, I drove through the gates and sighed in relief at being out of that situation.
When I pulled up to the parking garage, Coop and Storm were standing there waiting for me, looking pissed as hell. I got out and sauntered over to them like I didn’t have a care in the world. They were all geared up. Was I missing something? Did we have something going on today that I forgot about? The good thing was, my teammates weren’t babying me. In fact, they seemed to be the only people I didn’t mind hanging around.
“Where the fuck have you been, Tacos?” Storm snapped. “We were supposed to leave a half hour ago.”
I thought about it hard, but it wasn’t coming to me. We had something going on, but there was nothing in my memory. Had I really drank that much last night?
“Where are your fucking shoes?” Coop snapped. I glanced down at my bare feet and shrugged. I guess I hadn’t really realized when I left the apartment that I didn’t have any on. He sighed heavily and waved me over. “Come on. We don’t have time to get you new ones. You’ll just have to go like that.”
“Go where?” I asked. They both turned to look at me like I had lost my mind. Had I? Because I really didn’t know what the fuck they were talking about.
“Didn’t you get the text?”
“What text?”
Storm shook his head in frustration. “Training exercise this morning, Tacocheese. You really didn’t get it?”
“I lost my phone.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Coop snapped. �
�We have to get to the starting point. Every other team already has the leg up on us. You’ll just have to go as is. Get in the SUV. I want to get back to Becky and Kayla as soon as possible.”
I got in and ignored the looks they both shot me. That had been happening a lot lately. Dirty looks always came from my teammates, although, Coop didn’t have anything to be pissed about. It wasn’t just my evaluation that was holding up the team. He hadn’t done one yet either. Sympathetic looks were shot to me by everyone else in the fucking place. They wanted me to talk and act like a fucking woman. Derek even suggested having a crocheting session. I almost pulled out my gun to shoot him.
We drove through the backroads until we reached the very familiar woods behind Ryan’s property. We had used it once already to train since I had been here, but apparently, the guys used it at least once a year.
“You want me to run through the woods without shoes on?”
“Hey, maybe if you fucking showed up when you were supposed to, you would have had the time to get some fucking shoes,” Storm snapped. “Although, I’m kind of curious to know where the fuck you were that you don’t have shoes.”
“Some woman’s apartment. Not that I could have found them in there anyway. I don’t know,” I muttered.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Storm snapped. Hell, it was like he had taken over the lead on the team since the whole debacle with Becky and Delaney. Were Coop and I really that fucked up that we needed a new leader? Coop didn’t even seem to care. It was like he was glad not to have the additional responsibilities.
“I mean that I woke up in a bed that I didn’t recognize. I don’t remember jack shit about last night, and I don’t remember how I got there.”
“Nice, Tacoman,” Coop snorted.
“Fucking random women isn’t going to help you forget Delaney,” Storm said.
If only he knew. I wasn’t trying to forget her. I was trying to ease the guilt I felt. But I couldn’t say that. Everyone expected me to be torn up over Delaney’s death, and I was, but for other reasons. Now, everyone treated me like the kid that just got news he was going to die. Kid gloves. I fucking hated kid gloves. But I had tried to talk to Cap about it and he had chalked it up to my head being fucked up over everything. He told me to take some time. I didn’t need fucking time. I needed for everyone to just act like they had before Delaney had been murdered.
We pulled up to Ryan’s house and parked. He nodded and jerked his head toward the trees. “Everyone’s out back. You’d better watch out. James is home and he’s playing today.”
I groaned and hopped out of the truck. I hated when James played. He was a sneaky fucker, and I knew that Cap put him out there from time to time just to fuck with us. I grabbed the vest out of the back of the SUV and took off my leather jacket, throwing it in the trunk.
“What the fuck are you wearing?”
I turned to see Coop, Ryan, and Storm staring at me. I looked down at the cropped shirt that I had on and shrugged. “I thought it was my shirt when I put it on.”
“And you didn’t realize you were missing half a shirt when you left?” Ryan asked.
“I was thinking more about getting the fuck out of there than whether or not I was wearing my shirt.”
“Are those kittens?” Storm asked, trying to hold back his laughter. “And glitter?”
I looked down and studied the shirt. “Shut it, asshole.” I yanked the vest on and grabbed my gear. My head was fucking pounding and my feet were already hurting at the prospect of trudging through the woods without shoes on. Today was gonna suck.
CHAPTER THREE
Molly
Sunday
“Anthony!” I shouted out the window as he peeled out of the parking lot, but he didn’t hear me. Sighing, I shut the window and flopped back down on the bed. God, last night was not what I was expecting. Anthony was so hot, but not at all what he appeared to be. That man had some major demons to deal with, but it made me all the more attracted to him. I never would have thought that he would approach a table full of women, let alone zero in on me. Not that I wasn’t grateful that he stopped, but he was the last thing I needed in my life right now. He was everything I wanted, and now that I met him, I knew I wouldn’t be able to be cool about this. I wasn’t that girl to begin with, but Anthony sent my slightly crazy demeanor flying into overdrive.
After sitting and talking for hours, I knew that he was the one for me. It wasn’t just the electric pull or the way he was so open and honest with me. It was the genuinely good person that was in there, just waiting to get out and be himself again. I could see him hiding, but every once in a while, he smiled or told a funny joke. Afterward, he looked confused, like it was a foreign concept to feel happy. The man was guilt-ridden, but what he needed was to be himself again. I was determined to make that happen, and once I did, I knew our lives would never be the same.
“Molly, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. I’ve been waiting for you my whole life. How did I miss out on you until now?”
I sighed and placed my hand on his cheek, rubbing it lovingly. “Oh, Anthony, until I met you, my life was nothing. I’ve been with other men, but none of them have made me feel even a tenth of what you do to me.”
He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me in close, holding me to his body like he needed me to survive. He kissed me softly and pressed his cheek to mine. “My darling, Molly. Life will never be the same for either of us. Imagine all we can accomplish together. It’s because of your love that I am the man standing before you. You are the light that brightens my life. You bring me full circle and make my life whole. Please tell me you’ll never leave me.”
“Oh, Anthony. Never. I could never leave you.”
“Good. Tell me you’ll marry me. Tomorrow. I can’t stand to spend another day without you.”
“Yes, Anthony. Yes.”
He kissed me, his lips molding to mine, sending sparks flying through me. By tomorrow, I would be Mrs. Russo.
I sighed dreamily as I stared at the wall. Okay, I hadn’t exactly woken up the way I had thought I would. In my head, that’s the way it would go with Anthony. He would realize how much he needed me and we would spend the rest of the day in bed together. But he had left, and I knew after the night we had that he wouldn’t have done that unless it was necessary. Luckily, my Momma had taught me all the different ways to treat a man so that you can hold onto him forever.
1. Call him and let him know you love him as much as possible.
That could be a little difficult, seeing as how he left his phone here.
2. Make sure he is always fed. A hungry man is an angry man.
No problem there. I loved to cook. I knew I wasn’t the best, but I could whip up something for him to eat in no time.
3. A man will push you away until you prove to him that you are the one for him. It may take time, but never give up.
I didn’t intend to. Although, I knew that Tony would be more difficult than most men, given his sour demeanor.
4. Plan, plan, plan. Eventually, they give in and go with the flow.
5. Engage with his friends. If a girlfriend can’t get along with his friends, she has no place in his life.
I could check that off this week, possibly even today when I brought him the things he left behind.
6. A man needs a place to call his own. Make a home for him and he’ll never leave.
Well, one thing at a time.
“I need to make him some food,” I said to myself, sitting up suddenly. “He didn’t take anything with him, and he left in a hurry, so he’s going to be hungry today. I need to make him some food.”
I scurried off the bed and ran down the hall, sidestepping all the crap that I still had to pick up. Stumbling into my small kitchen, I threw open the cabinets to see what I had on hand. A man would want something hearty to get him through the day, but he also needed something healthy. Anthony definitely worked out a lot, so that meant he wouldn’t like a lot of crap in his fo
od. Hmm…that didn’t leave me with a lot of options.
Stepping over to the freezer, I pulled out some frozen chicken and popped it into the microwave to defrost. Then I pulled out some potatoes and chopped them up quickly, tossing them into a leftovers container.
“Let’s see….He should have some peas for sure.” I reached into my cabinet and grabbed a can of peas, opened it, and upended the whole thing into the container. “Right, and he’ll probably want some kind of seasoning.” Pulling out the salt and pepper, I dumped a good heaping amount into the container. “Perfect.”
I grinned to myself and went to the microwave when it beeped. Seeing that the chicken was defrosted, I set it to cook in the microwave, and then pulled some rolls out of the fridge. After reading that the oven needed to preheat, I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to make them according to the instructions. I cranked up the heat and shoved the rolls in the oven, then ran for a quick shower. I threw on some clothes and let my hair hang down my back, still dripping with water. I wouldn’t have time to do much of anything else if I was going to drop this off before my shift.
Snatching the chicken out of the microwave, I tossed it in with the peas and potatoes, then put the lid on and shook it up. The timer beeped on the oven and I pulled out the pale rolls. Well, it wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do. I slipped a few in a sandwich bag and was out the door five minutes later, just barely remembering to snatch my apron for the bar.
I followed my GPS directions to Reed Security, and got lost twice on my way there. I wasn’t the best with directions, and I was constantly mocked for it in my family. I couldn’t help it. I was always second-guessing myself.
Maybe I should have turned at that light. What if 1st Street is the same as 1st Ave? Was that considered the second bush or should I have turned at the tree?
TNT Page 2
