I reached behind me, grabbing the seat belt and groaned as my bruised ribs protested.
“Stop, I got it.” Troy reached over, grabbing the seat belt out of my hand and pulled it around me and snapped it into place.
His face was right in front me when he looked up and our eyes looked at one another. “I could have gotten it.”
“I know. I just didn’t want you to hurt yourself,” he whispered, his lips inches away from me.
“Thanks,” I whispered, not knowing what else to say.
Troy pulled away, breaking the trance I was in and started up the truck and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Do you know where I live?”
“Yeah. Meg showed me where when we were looking for you. You’re only a couple of houses down from Ethel,” Troy said as he maneuvered down the town side streets. I really had no idea where we were going, but I assumed it was to some fast food restaurant. Rockton was a much smaller town than I had ever lived in before, but it was still taking me some time to get used to where everything was.
“You good with Chinese?”
“Sure. Can we just get it to go?”
“Yeah, I’ll call in our order.” Troy grabbed his phone, swiping to unlock the screen. “Is there anything special you want?”
“Sesame chicken and steamed dumplings.” My usual order.
While Troy called in the food, I glanced around, trying to remember the way we were going for future reference. If it wasn’t work, the clubhouse, or the grocery store, I had no idea how to get to it.
“It’ll be ready in ten minutes.” Troy slid his phone into his pocket and turned down another side street. I was completely lost.
“I’ve never been this way before,” I said, looking out the window.
“We’re headed over to my house quick. I need to pick up some clothes.”
“How long have you lived in Rockton?”
“All my life.”
“Wow. I can’t imagine living in the same place forever. After my mom and I had left Illinois, we lived in about four different towns before we settled down in Forrest View.”
“There’s no reason for me to leave Rockton. All my friends and family are here, what else could I need?” Troy asked, glancing over at me. I wish that I had what he had. Leaving my mom and California had been an easy decision, there was nothing there holding me down.
“I didn’t really have much of a choice when we moved. Mom and my aunt decided it would be best to get away from everything and start over new.”
“Is that why you came back, you missed your dad?”
Ha! Boy was Troy waaay off track. “Hardly. I came back because things in California weren’t working out for me.”
“You want to wait here, or come inside?” Troy asked as we pulled up in front of a two-story house with an enormous wrap-around porch.
“This is where you live?” I gazed out the windshield, amazed at the vastness and all around awesomeness of Troy’s house. It was the kind of house I always imagined living in.
“For the past seven years.”
“You live here all alone?” His house had to have had at least three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
“Yeah. When I first moved in, I rented out the basement to a buddy, but when he got married and moved out, I never looked for another tenant. I like having the whole house to myself now.”
“Makes sense.”
“You coming in or not?” His hand was on the door handle, waiting for my answer.
“Not. I’ll just wait here.”
“Suit yourself. I’ll be back out in five minutes. I just need to let Bandit out and grab a change of clothes.”
“Bandit?” I asked as he opened the door and jumped down from the truck.
“Dog.” Troy slammed the door shut and made his way to the front door.
Not only did he have the house of my dreams, but he also had a dog. I had wanted a dog ever since I was eight years old. I had begged and begged my mom that whole year for a dog, but I never got one. She told me we weren’t dog people.
I watched as Troy unlocked his front door, pushing it open and was bombarded by an enormous silver lab who was jumping all over Troy begging for attention.
Troy held his hand out, and Bandit instantly stopped jumping around and sat down. I sat forward, intently watching Troy and Bandit.
“Go.” Troy pointed to the grass. Bandit got up and moseyed to the lawn and started sniffing around. Troy disappeared into the house and left the door open a crack.
I kept my eyes trained on Bandit, wondering if I could get out quick, pet him, and be back in the truck by the time Troy came back out.
Bandit finished up his business and I figured it was now or never if I wanted to pet him. I slid out of the truck and slowly made my way over to Bandit.
He was sniffing the trunk of a tree when he heard me behind him. He quick whipped around and started barking. Shit, there went my idea of quick petting him.
“Shh, it’s OK, handsome. I just want to pet you,” I cooed, holding my hand out for him to sniff.
He stretched out, his paws not moving, but his neck was stretched out trying to smell me. I moved two steps closer and crouched down closer to him, waiting to see if I would pass the sniff test.
His tongue snaked out and licked my hand. He nudged it with his nose and I took that as my permission to pet him. My fingertips grazed his soft ears and I knew I had a big loopy smile on my face. I freaking loved dogs.
I plopped down on my knees and started scratching Bandit behind his ears.
“I guess he’s not much of a guard dog.”
I whipped my head around and saw Troy coming out of the house with a duffle bag tossed over his shoulder.
“He’s sweet.”
“Huh, he’s something alright.”
Bandit had sat down and was leaning his head on my hand, begging for more petting.
“OK. That’s enough, Bandit. Back in the house.” Troy whistled and Bandit stood up, his tail wagging a mile a minute.
“You’re just going to leave him here tonight?”
“I’ll have the neighbor come and check on him before bed this evening. He should be fine.”
“You can bring him to my house if you want. He’s sweet,” I said once again.
“You won’t want that. Bandit is shameless when it comes to attention and petting. He won’t leave you alone the whole night, and you really need to sleep,” Troy said, walking to the front door and patted his leg, calling Bandit to go in the house.
“I really want him to come. Please,” I begged, shuffling forward on my knees closer to Bandit. I cradled his gorgeous gray head in my hands and placed a kiss on his face.
“Unbelievable.”
“What’s unbelievable?” I asked as I buried my face in his neck and rubbed his back. Bandit groaned as I found his special spot and leaned into me. I. Loved. This. Dog.
“You and Bandit. He has never acted like that with anyone but me.”
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Troy take off his hat and run his fingers through his hair. “Please, just for the night. If he drives you or me crazy, we can always drop him back off at your house.” I knew Troy was going to say yes, and I knew Bandit wasn’t going to be a problem this evening.
“Alright. Let me go grab his food and bowl,” Troy said. He walked back into his house, mumbling under his breath.
“I think we are going to be great buddies,” I cooed to Bandit.
Troy was back in a flash, now holding a plastic bag full of all of Bandit’s doggie things and locked the front door.
“All right. Let’s hit it. The food should be ready by now.” I gingerly got up off the ground, careful of my ribs and made my way over to the truck. I opened the door and Bandit leaped in and plopped his ass next to Troy. I hoisted myself up and slammed the door shut.
I turned to look at Troy and came face to face with Bandit’s wet nose. “Remember, y
ou asked for this mongrel to come along.” I wiped my cheek off where Bandit’s tongue had made a swipe across my face and laughed.
“I have a feeling asking Bandit to come along is going to be my best decision I’ve made all day,” I said. I scratched him behind his ears and he sprawled out, his head resting in my lap.
“We’ll see about that.”
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Chapter 5
Troy
Marley was passed out at the end of the couch with Bandit sprawled out on top of her, and I was looking over the destruction of her living room. Chinese takeout containers and soda cans littered her coffee table and the credits of Pretty Woman were rolling on the TV.
I had put up a fight to watch something different, but as soon as Marley pulled out the ‘I got kidnapped today’ card, I really couldn’t argue with her. She definitely played dirty and to win.
Bandit’s head raised, looking at me as I started picking up the empty containers. “Shh. Stay,” I said as I raised my hand, letting Bandit know he shouldn’t move. He laid his head back down, but his eyes remained open and alert as he watched me gather everything and head to the kitchen.
After I had dumped everything in the garbage, I glanced at the clock and saw that it was only nine o’clock and shook my head. Having worked second shift for close to ten years, nine o’clock at night was not even close to bed time for me. Opening the fridge, I saw she had beer and not much else to eat, which was fine, because beer was what I was looking for.
Walking back into the living room, I dimmed the lights and headed out to the front porch. Bandit’s eyes followed me the whole time, but he made no move to leave Marley’s side. Leaving the door open, I quietly shut the screen door and took a seat in the rocking chair right next to the door.
I didn’t expect Marley to wake up, but I wanted to be close by just in case. I took a long pull off my beer and wondered what the hell I was doing. Having tried the whole relationship thing in the past, things just didn’t work out for me. I think the longest relationship I had ever been in had been just over six months. That relationship ended for the same reason all the others did: Meg.
I just didn’t understand how no one believed that Meg and I were just friends. It always blew my mind when after telling these girls till I was blue in the face that Meg was just a friend. They would still give me an ultimatum of either Meg or them, or they would just leave because they didn’t believe me. It was for the best that all those girls left. I didn’t want to be with someone who didn’t believe what I said, but I use to hold out hope that there would be one girl who would trust me and stick around. Right now I was zero and fifteen in the girlfriend department.
“Shouldn’t you be in taking care of my daughter and not out here drinking?”
Son of a bitch. I should have known Gravel would make an appearance tonight. “She’s sleeping.”
Gravel walked to the foot of the porch steps but stopped there. “I don’t like you being with my daughter.”
Straight to the fucking point. “I’m not with your daughter. You insisted on her having someone stay the night, so she picked the one person she knew would piss you off. Here I am,” I said, holding my arms out, wide.
Gravel shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Marley has enough shit going on in her life right now. She doesn’t need you.”
“You’re acting like I insisted on being here, Gravel. I think you need to take a step back and take a look at things. Maybe figure out why your daughter would rather be with me, a guy she met twenty-four hours ago, instead of being with you, her father.”
Gravel’s face turned bright red and I could see his rage. I took a long drink and waited for his response. I didn’t want there to be a fight between Gravel and me, but he just kept coming at me, telling me to leave Marley alone, acting like I was the one pursuing her. I wasn’t going to let him railroad over me.
“Our relationship has nothing to do with you. Stay away from her. She’s got problems following her from California she needs to focus on right now, not some hick in cowboy boots.”
“What do you mean problems following her?” I asked, ignoring his dig at my cowboy boots. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before.
A grin spread across Gravel’s face. The prick liked knowing something I didn’t. “Well, I think I’ll just head on back to Ethel’s.” He shoved his hands back in his pockets and headed back down the sidewalk.
“Don’t you think I should know what kind of trouble Marley is in, seeing as I’m the only person she wants around her?” I called from the porch.
Gravel stopped in his tracks but didn’t turn around. “I think that’s a question you need to ask Marley, seeing as you’re the only one she wants around and all.” Gravel headed down the sidewalk and turned the direction of Ethel’s. I watched him walk away until he faded into the darkness.
I tipped back the last of my beer and crushed the empty can with my hand. Marley was in trouble? More trouble than her being kidnapped by the Assassins? Although that had been cleared up by the fact, the idiots had thought she was Cyn.
What problem could have possibly followed Marley from California? She was a hairdresser for Christ’s sake. How much trouble could she possibly get into?
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Chapter 6
Marley
I rolled over and came face to face with a wall of gray fur. I pushed away from Bandit and looked around. The last I remembered was falling asleep watching Pretty Woman on the couch and now I was miraculously in my bed.
Bandit rolled over on his back, his legs pointing up to the ceiling and he cocked his head at me. His mouth was open with his tongue hanging out the side as he panted, anxiously waiting for me to pet him.
“You sure are a goofy boy,” I cooed as I scratched his neck and ears.
As I was in the middle of Bandit’s morning rub down, the door slowly swung open. “Bandit, come ‘ere boy,” Troy whispered as he walked into the room, but stopped in his tracks when he saw Bandit and me.
I pulled the comforter up around me, not knowing what I was wearing, but didn’t stop petting Bandit.
“I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just coming to try and pry Bandit away from you so he could go outside quick.”
Bandit shot up from the bed at the mention of going outside. He jumped and whined on the bed excited to go outside.
“Stop,” Troy ordered, holding his hand out like I had seen him do before. Bandit immediately sat down, but his tail still thudded against my leg, wagging.
“Did you start the coffee?” I asked as I peeked under the covers and saw I was still wearing the same clothes I had changed into when we had gotten home last night.
“First thing I did. I’ll let you get dressed and meet you in the kitchen.” Troy patted his leg and Bandit jumped off the bed and was right on Troy’s heels as they walked out the door and down the stairs.
I whipped the sheet back, sat up, and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I felt the side of my head, feeling the tender spot, thankful the pounding in my head had subsided.
Gingerly standing up, I felt my ribs moan in protest. Slowly stretching my arms over my head I cursed Big A and his goons.
Running a brush through my hair I looked over my appearance. It was definitely lacking. If I could take back Troy seeing me like this, I would be happy. My once silky blonde hair was plastered to one side of my head and the other looked like Bandit had been licking it all night. I touched it, just to make sure it wasn’t wet.
My face was makeup-free, which was how I typically looked unless I was doing something special other than going to work or lounging around the house. My eyes looked tired and I had a crease from my pillow lined my face. I looked like a wreck to put it mildly.
After fixing a nights worth of sleeping like the dead next to Bandit, I looked in the mirror and was much happier with what I saw. I grabbed a hair tie ou
t of the pile I had on my nightstand and headed down the stairs as I twisted my hair up into a messy bun and followed my nose to the coffee.
Reaching up in the cabinet for my favorite cup, I heard Troy and Bandit ambling down the hallway to the kitchen.
I loved where I lived. It was almost what I had always dreamed up growing. Although growing up, my biggest wish was to not live an apartment anymore. When mom and I had lived with Gravel, we had also lived in an apartment, but it felt like home. After we had left, nothing felt like home.
Now my place in Rockton finally felt like home. It had a porch that spanned the front of the house that I loved to sit on and just watch the world go by. As you walked in the front door, you walked right into the living room and the stairs to the upstairs were to the left. If you walked into the living room and down the hall, the half bath was on the right and all the way down the hall was the kitchen. It was painted slate gray on three of the walls and a bright sunshine yellow on the fourth wall. I loved it. It was where I spent most of my time when I was at home even though I couldn’t cook to save my life.
Holding the delicious cup of coffee up to my mouth I blew on it and watched Troy walk in the kitchen with Bandit, once again, right on his heels. Troy was wearing a dark navy blue tee and washed out jeans that were ripped at both knees. His tee was stretched taut across his shoulders and it took all my willpower not to openly stare at him as he took his cup off the counter and refilled it.
“Thanks for making the coffee,” I said, trying to distract myself from analyzing what color brown his eyes were as he looked at me.
“No problem. I was going to make breakfast, but I wasn’t sure what you wanted.”
“Oh, there’s really not a lot to choose from. I’m not much of a cook, so breakfast is normally either cereal or a toaster pastry.”
“I saw you had bacon and eggs. OK if I cook that up?” Troy asked, making his way to where I kept the pans I barely used and grabbed out my big fry pan.
“Um, if you want. Ethel went grocery shopping for me when I first got here. I forgot to tell her I wasn’t much of a cook. She bought a bunch of stuff I can’t make,” I said, trying to explain my full freezer and why I ate cereal for breakfast.
Battling Troy: Devil's Knights Series Page 3
