I’ll have to enquire about this at a more appropriate time.
Rock squeezes his throat closed and mocks in a deep voice that sounds just like Nox, “Street rules or nothin’.”
Nox’s face turns a nice shade of maroon as Rock cuts off his air.
And it’s freaking me out.
Rock doesn’t look like he’ll let up anytime soon. Just then, Nox reaches into his pocket and pulls out his weapon. He shoves it into Rocks mouth and pushes his jaw up to hold it in. Rock’s eyes widen and we hear him yelling through gritted teeth. We can’t make out the words though, being that he’s temporarily gagged.
Not another second passes before Rock releases Nox and gags, then dry heaves. Spitting out the weapon, he coughs and gags again. “You dirty, dirty fucker. A fucking sock? A sweaty sock?” Gagging at a steady pace, he wipes at his tongue.
Nox coughs and laughs at the same time. Rubbing his neck with his palm, he wheezes, “Street rules, bitch. I win.”
While the guys pant and heave on the floor of the workout room, Boo silently motions for me to come with her.
She leads me to the kitchen and when we enter, we look at each other and release the laughter we’ve been holding back from what we just witnessed. Wiping away tears of mirth, we start lunch.
“What do you feel like today?”
Opening the fridge, I search for something I haven’t had in a while. “I don’t know. I want something different today. Like an old favorite.”
Boo’s eyes widen. “Peanut butter and jelly?”
Oh, yum!
I feign disinterest. “Depends. What kind of jelly we got?”
Please say grape! Please say grape!
Spinning on her heel, she turns to the pantry and peers inside. “Hmmm. We have strawberry.”
Bummer.
“And grape.”
SCORE!
“Put me down for two with grape jelly, me thinks.”
She nods in agreement. “Me too.” Looking around the kitchen, she utters, “This’ll only take a minute to get ready. You wanna let the guys know?”
“Sure.”
I walk up the stairs and my calves ache and burn with every stiff step I take. A workout with Nox is hell, but I see my body changing. My muscle definition has started to show and I like it. When I reach the final step, I mentally pat myself on the back for not crawling.
Seeing Rock in the hall, I yell out, “PB and J for lunch. Boo says to come down asap.”
At hearing PB and J, he shakes his butt suggestively as if doing a touchdown victory dance, and I chuckle. No one ever accused Rock of being shy.
Shaking my head at his craziness, I walk past him when I hear, “You know, I haven’t seen him this happy in…well, ever.”
Turning, Rock leans on the wall wearing a sweet smile, “And I’ve never seen you glow like you do these days. So I’m gonna say this is a good thing. You won’t get trouble from me, but Boo…she worries. So don’t give her too much shit for trying to be sane, okay?”
Always looking out for his woman. I love that.
Nodding, I tell him, “I know, Rock. And I get why she’s wanting us to be cautious, but honestly, I’ve been cautious my whole life, and right now I just want to be with Nox.”
Seeming to like my answer, his eyes crinkle, then he turns and walks down the stairs.
I make my way into our bedroom and see clothes tossed onto the chair by the bathroom. I call out, “Nox?”
The shower turns on and he calls back, “In here.”
I walk into the open bathroom and freeze. I freeze because Nox is showering. He is showering naked. And I can see his pee-pee.
This is the first time I’ve seen his special ferret , and it’s got my brain frazzled.
Standing under the spray of the water, he runs his hands over his face to wipe the water off, opens his eyes, and sees me standing there. He asks, “You need something, princess?
But all my brain is interested in is staring openly at his junk.
He tries again. “Baby, what’s up?”
This snaps me out of it. Sort of. But not really. Swallowing hard, my eyes drift down past his stomach again and I murmur, “Boo asked me to tell you that lunch will be ready in a few.”
Soaping up and washing himself, he replies, “What’re we having?”
“Penis butter and jelly .”
Holy shit!
Slapping a hand to my forehead, I cringe. “Peanut butter and jelly.”
I see him smirk, but he doesn’t say a thing.
Smart man.
“Sounds good. Gimme a sec,” he says.
And I’m good with waiting. The view is spectacular.
Still eyeing his long, thick semi-erect penis, I ask distractedly, “What do you want to dick?”
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
“What do you want to drink?” I quickly add.
Body shaking with silent laughter, he can’t hide his amusement. “A coke will do.”
Oh dear Lord, his dick is getting bigger! It’s inflating like a balloon.
How on earth does it fit?
My eyes widen at the show I’m getting. I feel like I should be in biology class or something.
I repeat his order. “Sure, babe. One cock. I mean cock. I mean coke!”
Flushing bright red, I exit the bathroom in a rush to the sound of Nox’s laughter.
Gettin’ real tired of your shit, Nox!
***
Nox
You know what’s beautiful?
Lily.
I watch her get ready for bed, and the sight of her is heart stopping. But my mind wanders.
Mechanically undressing, I walk into the bathroom and splash ice-cold water onto my face. I shouldn’t do it. Really, I shouldn’t. But something pushes me.
I don’t like secrets.
I watch her closely. My mind tries to capture her. An image that I can take with me when this is all over.
Looking at Lily is like looking into a flame. There’s a glow surrounding her, and it burns so bright that it hurts to look at her for a long while.
But that while?
It’s worth the hurt.
Dressed in a black tank and panties, she smiles up at me and try as I fucking might, I can’t return it. I can’t return it because I’ve got to do something really shitty right now. Something that will change her, yet again.
Climbing into bed, I sit facing her. Her face searches mine before I see worry seep into her eyes.
I have to tell her.
It’s time.
“Lily, there’s something I have to tell you…”
Chapter Sixteen
The calm before the storm
Lily
Nox telling me that Jamie Harrison organized the hit was a breaking point for me.
Jamie.
The brother of my heart. My friend and comrade in stupidity.
Once the tears start, I can’t stop them. I cry for a long time. Such a long time that Nox has to get up, bring me some water, and change our bed sheets, which are covered in tears.
They just won’t stop.
Betrayal.
That’s what I feel. Complete and utter betrayal.
Through my tears, I ask, “Is there any chance you got it wrong?”
Nox shakes his head, wiping away my tears. “I’m sorry, baby. No. His apartment had everything we needed to rule out anyone else. We found the laptop the emails were sent from. In the search history, we found internet searches for websites linked to kidnapping and extortion.” His jaw steels. “There was a wall in his bedroom that was filled with pictures of you, Lily. Hundreds of pictures. And what’s worse is that one of those pictures was taken the day I came to get you.”
My stomach lurches. I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it.
It has to be a mistake. Jamie wouldn’t do this to me. He and Jett are my friends! We lived in the same house for almost a year, for Christ’s sake. He taught me how to swear in Gaeilge (Irish Gaelic) and even went as far as to take me places that my dad wouldn’t let me by playing the ‘she’ll be fine with me’ card.
My tears come harder knowing his friendship was all an act.
Betrayed and deceived, I don’t know how I’ll ever get past this.