Hailey’s eyes fluttered open and she twisted her face in confusion as the white ceiling of Rocco’s bedroom came into view.
That’s right. I’m in Rocco’s apartment. Hailey pulled herself up in bed and threw her arms over her head. She stretched until the muscles in her neck and shoulders popped. Hailey shook her limbs out and looked towards the window. The morning sunlight was pouring the window and spilling over onto Rocco’s side of the bed.
“Rocco?” She flipped the mess of blankets over on Rocco’s side of the bed and waited as if the six foot tall man had been hiding in the sheets. A blood curdling scream tore through the air and she tossed Rocco’s thick comforter off of her legs. She slid off of the bed and hurried into the livingroom.
Hailey threw one her hands against the wall to steady herself and her other hand flew to her chest. She rested her palm over her pounding heart and said, “What the hell is going on?”
Becca sat upright on the couch. Tears streamed down her face and she whipped her head around the room. “Where the hell am I?! What the hell are you going to do to me?”
Hailey breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Becca, everything’s fine. You’re at Rocco’s-”
Rocco rushed out of the kitchen and ran towards the couch. “Hey, everything’s fine. Don’t freak out.”
He draped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest. Rocco set his hand on Becca’s hair, and dragged his hands down Becca’s tangled strands of hair. “Everything is fine, we got you out of the club.”
Becca raised her eyes towards Rocco’s face and said, “We’re not in the club?” She tossed a wary glance towards Hailey before turning her attention back to Rocco.
“Oh my God, you got me out of there?”
Rocco raised his eyebrows and shrugged, “Well, Hailey helped too-”
Becca wrapped her arms around Rocco’s neck and squeezed him. “Thank you so much, I thought that I was going to be there until I died.”
Hailey leaned against the wall and frowned. She’s all over him. After what felt like an eternity, Rocco and Becca separated and Rocco rose to his feet. He pointed to the kitchen behind him and said, “There’s some donuts and some other food in there for you.”
He rested his eyes on Hailey and said, “For both of you.”
Hailey nodded and moved towards the kitchen. There was a fresh, hot pot of coffee that sat on the counter. Hailey wrapped her fingers around the handle and watched the stream of coffee splash against a mug that she found in the cabinets above it.
She lifted the mug to her flushed face and welcomed the mental clarity that came with the flavors that rested on her tongue. Rocco stepped into the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe. He wore a tight fitting black t-shirt that highlighted all of the curves and bulges of his muscles. Hailey ran her eyes over the defined muscles that peeked out from underneath his short sleeves, and her eyes traveled upwards to connect with Rocco’s smoldering, dark eyes.
He smirked and asked, “How did you sleep?”
Hailey poured a bit more coffee into her cup and said, “I slept okay,” her gaze slid towards Becca in the next room. She could hear her clopping back and forth between the bedroom and the bathroom.
She’s probably thrilled to have a private shower. Hailey frowned. Great, she’s going to be showering around him too, an extra layer of temptation. Hailey pulled her lips into a tight smile and said, “I slept fine. I didn’t get the best wake up call this morning.”
Rocco chuckled and stepped into the kitchen. He placed his hand on top of her belly and kissed her on the forehead. “That’s alright, you’ve got plenty of time to rest while I’m at the club.”
Hailey narrowed her eyes and asked, “You’re going back to the club? What are you going to do about Meish?”
Rocco shrugged and said, “I’ll have to figure something out. Besides, it’s better to know what they’re up to before anything else happens.” He leaned out of the kitchen and said, “Becca? Let me know if you need anything.”
Becca’s muffled voice came from behind the bathroom door, “What?”
Rocco opened his mouth to repeat himself but moved into the living room instead. He walked towards the bathroom and cracked the door, “Let me know if you need anything.”
Hailey felt a small jolt of pain go through her fingers. She looked down and noticed that her fingers had been pressed so tightly against the handle of her mug that it had begun to ache. Hailey roughly set the mug down onto the counter and walked into the living room. Rocco’s head was in the space between the bathroom door and the door frame.
What if he sees her naked? What if he likes what he sees? Hailey averted her gaze as Rocco shut the door and moved into the living room. He grabbed his keys off of the sofa and said, “Alright, I’m going to go and check things out. You sit tight.”
Hailey nodded and watched him walk through the door. She locked the door behind him and hovered in front of the door for a moment. She turned around just as the bathroom door opened.
Becca stepped out of the bathroom wearing one of the oversized t-shirts that Rocco had left out for her. Her long, blonde hair hung around her shoulders in thin, stringy strands. She smiled, and her eyes lit up for the first time in a long time. “Morning! I can’t believe that Rocco busted me out of there.”
Hailey smiled as Becca lowered her eyes to the ground and said, “That’s really great, you know? We’re really lucky.”
She’s going to fall for him just like she fell for Derek, except that this time, she’s going to be taking more than a boyfriend away from me. Hailey wrapped her arms around her stomach and said, “I’m glad that you’re feeling better. I need to get some fresh air.” She ignored Hailey’s curious gaze as she moved towards the balcony.
It wasn’t particularly impressive, a small space outside with enough room to store a small table and a chair or two. She pried the sliding door open and roughly let it slide back into place as she stepped outside. People moved along the sidewalk below her. A girl with a thick portfolio tucked under her arm hurried past a group of people.
Hailey stepped into a puddle that hadn’t quite dried up from the night before. It must have rained last night. Hailey stared out into the street and watched as cars eased into parking lots, and people hopped out to begin their daily routines.
My life probably could have been that normal before Rocco took me away. We might have been able to have a normal life eventually, too.
Hailey twisted her neck and peered through the glass door behind her. Becca had flopped down onto the living room floor and folded her legs. She rubbed a towel against the back of her scalp, and twisted her hair into a braid.
But there’s no way that it can be normal now.
***
Rocco’s hands slipped from around the throttle of his bike as he pulled up outside of the Chasing Spirits Motorcycle Club. He narrowed his eyes and peered through the glass doors that led into the lobby. Clyde must have been out on errands, his desk was abandoned but the lights were left on.
He looked over his shoulder and the sidewalks were completely empty. Within twenty minutes or so, Rocco expected to hear the engines of several motorcycles as they moved down the street. Rocco slid his hands into his pockets and strolled into the alley beside the building. He walked around and pushed the back door open.
The club was silent as he moved throughout the building. His shoes made more noise squeaking against the floors as he stepped into the lobby. Rocco crept up to Meish’s office and hovered in front of the door. He curled his fingers into a fist and held it up to the door.
“Rocco?”
Rocco whipped his head around and his eyes connected with Clyde. Clyde curiously eyed him before walking around to his desk. He sat back in his chair and pulled it in towards his desk. Clyde gestured towards the back hallway and said, “Did you come in through the back?”
Rocco nodded and said, “Yeah, I thought I saw some kids messing around back there, and when I realized they were just cutting through to get back to class, I came in through the back.”
“Oh, gotcha.” Clyde pecked at his keyboard and Rocco peered at his computer screen. What is he looking at? He watched as Clyde opened up his email like business as usual, and Rocco frowned.
Clyde seems pretty normal. Rocco spared one last glance towards Clyde before walking up to Meish’s door. At first, all that could be heard were the sound of Meish’s fingers mashing into the keyboard. Rocco turned around and started to leave until Meish’s voice came out from underneath the door.
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on here, but we can’t just have half of our bargaining pieces running off in the middle of the night. I don’t care how much partying went down last night. You need to find out where she is or we’re all going down. Also, look around Rocco’s neighborhood, too. He’s been getting a little sappy lately, I think that all of this baby business with his Old Lady is turning him a little soft.”
Rocco shook his head and moved away from the door. So, that’s how it is? Send a few goons to come and check me out? Rocco reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. He raised a hand towards Clyde and waved goodbye, “I’ll be back later. I’ve got something to take care of across town.”
Without looking up from his monitor, Clyde nodded and said, “Alright, take it easy.”
Rocco hurried through the front doors and without running, speeded towards his bike. He hopped on and twisted the key in the ignition. Clyde might not know anything because it might be in Meish’s best interest to keep him in the dark. But, I can’t risk letting them be discovered. Rocco peeled off down the street, and zipped through cars that waited in traffic.
The low rumble of a motorcycle engine roared in the distance. “Shit.”
Rocco narrowed his eyes and doubled his speed.