Be Free
~Caroline~
The walls are closing in. My mom is now staying with Boomer until the club gets a better grasp on how far the governor will go to protect his secrets. I have been staying with Rex for the last week since everything came crashing down in my apartment.
Who takes someone’s panties and pajamas? Well, that and my vibrator. Embarrassment has prevented me from sharing that with Rex. He is mad enough that someone touched my panties; as a result, I won’t go into the loss of my battery-operated boyfriend.
We almost caught the guy two nights ago. Rex had Jag, another Hellion, park three driveways down and watch after we pulled in. Sure enough, the blue sedan slowly passed by. Rex flipped the guy the bird while lifting the waistband of his jeans to reveal the gun tucked there. Boomer followed the car, yet lost him in traffic. Rex wanted to shoot the tires out and possibly beat the shit out of the driver; however, there would be witnesses, and then the cops would definitely be involved.
Honestly, I hope the guy will slip up sooner rather than later. I am tired of looking over my shoulder. I am tired of waiting for the bottom to fall out.
Rex is outside on the phone, pacing his back patio. The man is so much more than I ever could have wanted in a partner, in a friend, or in a lover. He has rearranged everything in his life to take care of me.
While I shower in the morning, he gets my coffee ready. If he is not able to stay or go pick up something for me during the day while I am at work, the badass biker packs my lunch for me. He lets me be in control in our bedroom activities. He goes out of his way to show me I am special and what we share is different than what he has had in his past.
I have allowed myself to become comfortable, maybe too comfortable, sleeping in his arms. Other than when he has had plans with Axel, he is with me unless I am at work. Even with Axel, he makes sure I am left with Doll and Tripp so he can give his undivided attention to his son.
Seeing him, hearing him, and watching the bond form as he grows into his role as a father is sexy, and it honestly makes me fall in love with him more and more with each passing day. Yes, I have somehow, in all the chaos, found a way to fall head over heels in love with Drexel Crews. Too bad I don’t have the first clue what to do about it.
My mom, yeah, what an example she was. If you love a man, you do whatever he wants—that was her life. Rex doesn’t allow me to be like that even if I tried. He wants me to be happy, to feel safe, and to find myself.
I am watching him from his kitchen window when he looks up and sees me. With a two finger wave, he smiles and goes back to his conversation. A second later, his head pops in from the back door.
“You good, Lux?” he asks, the phone still to his ear.
I smile at him and think about his question. I know he is worried because my mom keeps calling and melting down on the phone with me about how messed up her life is. I have also started receiving hang up calls as of two days ago. Strangely enough, with everything going on, I am good.
I am good because of the man in front of me.
“Better than good, Rex. I’m sorry I distracted you from your call.”
“Never apologize, Lux. You’ll always be the best distraction I could ever have.” He gives me a wink before going back to his conversation and pacing the patio.
A few minutes later, I am resting on his well-worn, brown, faux-suede couch when he comes inside.
“Lux, got some good news.”
“Okay, I could use some of that,” I reply as he sits beside me, pulls my feet into his lap, and begins massaging them, something I will say he does quite often, and I am not complaining about at all.
“The governor has relocated. He has decided to retire in Aruba, and his house is on the market.”
I look at Rex with the unspoken questions dancing in my mind and eyes.
“Can’t involve the cops, sweetheart. They will want to understand the tie to Chad. That means you being put on blast and your time with Higgins, as well. It’s like opening Pandora’s Box. We need him to disappear, not bring more attention to you and your past.”
“It just doesn’t seem fair that he gets by with murder—okay, hiring a killer.”
“Trust me, Lux. Simply trust me. He’s going away. You’re safe. He’s a selfish bastard, but he won’t bring harm to you. It’s not right, but he did take care of you in his own way. He did protect you from Chad, even if it was more to protect himself.”
“I don’t know if I can do that. If he admitted it, why don’t we go to the police and have him arrested? That’s what law-abiding citizens do—let the justice system do its job. That is what our tax dollars are for,” I reply, purposely snarky.
“Is that what you think? Don’t kid yourself, sweetheart. Your tax dollars are there to fatten the wallets of the politicians like your dear, old dad, not to protect and provide justice.” He stops massaging my feet and tosses them off his lap.
“Low blow, Rex.”
He stands up and cages me in. “Right now, I don’t give a fuck how low I have to go to get you to wake the hell up. I’m busting my ass to make sure you don’t join Stillwell in a box in the ground. I’m busting my ass to keep your past tucked away in the past where it belongs. I’m busting my ass to show you a different side to life. I’m busting my fuckin’ ass to show you what we could have together, all while some sick fuck watches from his car. I’m busting my ass to let myself believe this is real, and you aren’t going to walk away when this is all said and done to be with someone more in your class. Lux, I’m busting my ass, and all you can do is question what the fuck I’m doin’, when I’m doin’ it all for you.”
“Rex,” I whisper as he pushes off and storms out the back door.
Slipping on ballet flats, I follow him outside. When I make it to the garage in the back, I stop as I see a fully restored black Ford Mustang beside a black motorcycle that is in pieces.
He goes to the small fridge in the back corner and grabs a beer without ever turning to look at me, only pops the top off his beer and drinks.
“Rex, I’m sorry.”
“It’s…whatever, Caroline. Go back inside,” he responds, keeping his back to me. I never thought him not calling me Lux would hurt, but it does. More than that, it kills.
Walking over, I reach out and run my hand up his back. He tenses, but doesn’t move to look at me.
“Rex, I’m not used to thinking outside the box. I’m not going to the cops about John. It’s all been so much information at once. Normal people don’t bully criminals into escaping or making them disappear. Normal people call the cops. I’m not used to the world where you can dish out your own punishments.”
“Walk away, Caroline,” he warns, still upset with me.
He is not going to push me away when it is finally registering with me what he said inside.
He doesn’t want me to walk away. He wants to believe in what we have.
“No.” I am not walking away, no matter how hard he pushes.
“Listen to yourself. Normal people don’t do this; they don’t do that. Caroline, normal people don’t allow a man to force orgasms on them for money. But, hey, if putting me down makes you sleep better at night, then by all means, tell me what normal people do all night long.”
“Fuck you, Drexel Crews!” I yell.
He turns, and before I can move, he has my face in his hands, and his lips crash down on mine. Our teeth collide painfully as I reach up and pull him closer to me. He tastes of beer and cigarettes.
Anger, frustration, desire, and compassion all run through me. Love and hate, two of the most powerful emotions, dance between us as we both paw at each other in a battle of wills.
As he pulls away, biting my bottom lip, I grip his neck firmly to keep him from pulling completely away.
“I’m not going anywhere, Rex. Not today, not tomorrow, not six months from now. I trust you, so now trust me when I say we have something to believe in. Don’t throw words at me you can’t take back.”
His head drops to my neck, sucking harshly, as his hands come around and cup my ass. Wrapping my hands around his neck, I lift up onto him, wrapping my legs around him. Then he walks us over to the car and rests me against the trunk as he kisses me. My tongue moves against the ball of his piercing, relishing in the smooth feeling. I could kiss him for a lifetime and never get enough.
It isn’t long before he slows our kiss and then gently pulls away, adding a soft kiss to the tip of my nose. “I’m an ass.”
“You got that right,” I confirm, smiling at him.
“I need you to trust me. Governor Comer going to Aruba is the best thing for all parties involved.”
“I’m trying to learn an entirely new way to look at things, so be patient with me. Everything in my life has been turned upside down over the last few months. The only thing constant for me is the Hellions and you.” I trail kisses along his jaw.
“You could do better than me and this life, Lux.”
“What is better, Rex? Money? You have that. Maybe not millions, but you don’t struggle. Cars? I’m sitting on a pretty nice ride right now. House? Your house is the only place I have ever felt like home in my entire life. You could use a new couch, but your house is safe and comforting.
“What is better, Rex? A snake in a suit who will try to force me to give up my body or the man in denim and leather who will lay back and let me do with him as I wish because he’s that damn good?
“What is better? A liar, a thief, a manipulator … or a man who keeps it real even when it hurts? A man who would lay down his life for his woman, his brothers, or his club? A man who learns from his mistakes and will do anything not to make the same one twice?” I challenge him.
“Tell me, Rex, what is better? From where I sit, you are everything that is better in my life.”
“Lux, I don’t have the first clue what I’m doin’ in a relationship.”
I smile at him, wanting him, needing him. As much as I want to give into lust and desire, however, a thought hits me. An escape we both could use together.
“Neither do I. Looks like we can make our own path.” Leaning up, I whisper in his ear, “Take me for a ride, Rex. Be free with me tonight on the open road, just me, you, moonlight, and the miles beneath us.”
~Rex~
“Fuck.”
I don’t know what to say to her. Nothing has ever meant more to me than having Lux on the back of my bike with me. Is this safe, though?
We spent the day making sure Governor John Comer settles his affairs here so he will make his flight in the morning for his new life in Aruba. After sorting through everything we do know, John Comer is not behind the stalking of Lux.
I wanted to put a bullet in his head for the trouble and the pain he has caused my woman; but at the end of the day, Roundman held me back because he knew I wouldn’t forgive myself for killing her dad. If she finds a way to forgive him and wants to have a relationship with him, I don’t want to be the one who takes that away from her. Now, should he find his end comes sooner rather than later due to some shady business deals that occur in Aruba that is not my problem. If he steps out of line, our affiliates there will handle him, and no one will be any wiser.
“Not sure it’s safe to have you out in the open, Lux,” I tell her honestly.
“With you, I’m safe. We have both been distracted by all that surrounds me. For just a little while, let’s just be us together. Give this to me—give this to us.”
I scoop her off the car and lead her to the house.
“Rex,” she pleads, making me laugh.
“Boots, Lux, you can’t ride in those shoes.” I point at her small slipper looking shoes. “Plus, the bike that runs is in this garage.” I point to the attached garage off the kitchen. My back shop is for my Eleanor and the bike I am still repairing from my accident a while back.
“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” She smiles and takes off down through the house to my room where she has taken up more than half my closet. Funny thing, I don’t mind. It isn’t all her shit, either. I don’t know what one person needs with so many clothes. She didn’t pay for most of them. I guess she feels bad tossing them out. I don’t know, and I don’t give a fuck as long as she is safe and happy.
In a matter of minutes, we are rolling down the road, heading for wide open spaces. Catawba is a small town about an hour from Charlotte, give or take based on traffic. Towns like Hickory and Newton are quaint places to pass through.
We drive on, Lux relaxing into me, the feel of the machine beneath us as we silently hug the road and each other. My left hand rests on her thigh in a way that is comforting, a reminder that she is with me.
Heading south, we’re passing through Shelby, North Carolina, when the skies open up, and the rain pours down. When we pull under an underpass to let the worst of the storm pass by, I hold Lux tightly in my arms as she shakes from getting drenched. The storm moves quickly, and then we get back on the road. Not wanting her to stay wet, I make the decision to drive to Charlotte and back to her apartment to get a change of clothes for her.
The commute from my place to her job every day has added to her hours, so we have only moved what she needed. It was a lot, but not everything. She should be able to put on some dry clothes, and then we can make our way back to my place.
We pull up, and I turn off my bike. Lux climbs off hesitantly.
“What are we doin’ here?”
“Figure you would like to get dry. Go inside, get changed, then we’ll drive the rest of the way home.”
“Always so considerate, Rex.” She beams up at me.
I smile back arrogantly. “Nah, sweetheart. You’re all wet, and if you’re wet, it’s my job to get you naked and take care of you.”
Her mouth drops open at my innuendo.
“What’s it goin’ be? How did you put it? Fingers, face, or cock, I believe. Well, Rex, I think your fingers could definitely handle my predicament of being wet, you know.” She hangs her helmet on my handlebars, and with a level of sass I have never seen from her before, she sashays over to the sidewalk.
“Be careful what you wish for, sweetheart,” I whisper in her ear as I catch up to her and wrap my arms around her from behind.
“I’m pretty sure I can handle anything you give me, Rex.”
I kiss her neck as we make our way to her door. After unlocking it, we are all over each other as we stumble through. I can’t focus beyond her right now. I should, but I can’t. She consumes me.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, pulling me out the moment. I suck on her bottom lip before pulling away to look at my phone. She takes me by the hand to lead me to her bedroom as I read the text on my screen from Boomer.
Blue sedan back. Four doors from ur place. Want me to move in?
Yes.
I send my reply and give my attention back to Lux as she comes to a complete stop at her bedroom door. There, on her comforter, lies a black leather, open cup bra with ‘D-ring’ collar, like something I would see in a bondage porn or something.
“Higgins,” she whispers. “It’s Alvin Higgins. He’s been here.”
“Fuck,” I roar before pulling her back to my chest and kissing the top of her head. “Stand here, sweetheart. Don’t move.”
I reach to my ankle and pull my knife as I check her room, closet, and bathroom. As I suspected, he is long gone. I should have scouted before we came in here. I got too caught up in the moment and let my guard slip. She was in my arms, and he still got to her. Leaning over the bed, I pick up the note he laid beside the bra.
Looking forward to seeing you in this once again, Angel.
Over my dead body, bastard. Game fucking on. This is going too far.
“Get dry clothes on, and let’s go,” I order as I take a picture of the note and send it to Roundman with details of what we came into and who is behind it.
“Do I even want to see that note?” Lux asks.
Rather than answer, I give her a stare.
“Okay, I’ll get changed, and you can take me home.”
Long gone are any thoughts of laying her down in this bed. Long gone are my desires to be balls deep in her. Adrenaline and anger fuel me as my need to get her home then get to the cabin Boomer will have the fucker in the sedan secured at.
I hope with everything inside of me that it is Alvin Higgins. I want a piece of him. I want to make him pay for the shame he has caused Lux. I want to make him hurt for the way she has hurt for years, thinking back on his manipulation.
Vengeance will be mine.