Rock Chick 03 Redemption (30 page)

My body went stil .

“Stun guns?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she answered, as if they were accessories akin to a handbag or a belt.

“Bodyguard?” I stayed on target.

She laughed. “Just saying, you’re covered. See you at eight thirty. Wear something warm and gym shoes. Gotta be prepared to run. Later.”

“Run?” I said into the dead phone.

I sat there a second and then flipped the phone shut and slid it on the bar.

Hank was watching me.

I put the loaded chip into my mouth.

I chewed.

My eyes widened and I think I had a mini-culinary-orgasm.

After I swal owed, I breathed. “This stuff is
great
,” then I dipped in another chip.

Hank’s hand caught my wrist with the chip halfway to my mouth, my mouth al the way open to receive the chip. My eyes moved to him.

“Stun guns? Bodyguards?” he asked.

I closed my mouth and told him what Al y told me.

He let go of my wrist and sat back. His elbow went to the bar and his hand went to take a swipe at his forehead.

“Christ,” he muttered.

I ate my chip and ignored him. Then I ate another one.

He looked at me. “You wouldn’t feel like going back to Sweet Agreeable Roxie for a while, going to the station with me tonight, hanging out while I work?” That sounded about as fun as sitting in the control room.

I wasn’t al -fired sure about this haunted house business but I wasn’t going to hang out watching my nails grow at the station while Hank worked.

I shook my head.

“Fuck,” he said.

“We need to go back to your place,” I told him. “I have to change clothes. Which reminds me, I need to cal Vance.” Hank did a slow blink. “Why do you need to cal Vance?”

“He bought me some clothes and some Keds. Al y mentioned I need to wear gym shoes and the only ones I own are the ones Vance bought me. I need to pay him back.”

“I’l pay him back,” Hank answered immediately.

I dipped another chip. “No, I’l pay him back. Do you have him programmed into your phone?”

I put the chip into my mouth and held out my hand for his phone.

“You aren’t cal in’ Vance,” he said, taking his own chip.

“Why not?”

He chewed and swal owed. “Because you aren’t.” I stared at him, thinking I was beginning to get angry.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t like the idea of you talkin’ to Vance.” Okay, I was definitely beginning to get angry. “Why not?” I repeated.

“Vance is a player and he’s playin’ you.”

It was my turn to blink. “I don’t think so,” I said.

“He is.”

“He is not.”

“For Christ’s sake, Roxie,” he said and I could tel he was beginning to get angry too.

“Don’t ‘for Christ’s sake’ me, Hank Nightingale. Vance is not playing me.”

“What was happening at Lincoln’s then?”

“Lincoln’s?”

“When he was holdin’ your hand.”

Oh.

That.

“We were having a moment.”

Hank’s control slipped and his eyes went hard.

I watched, scared and fascinated at the same time.

“And when he was touchin’ your ear?” he asked.

Mmm, there was that too.

“We were having
another
moment,” I answered.

Hank’s control slipped more and his entire face went hard. Then he looked to the bartender as he slid off the barstool

“Watch this,” he ordered the bartender, motioning with his head to our stuff on the bar. My purse and phone were sitting there as was our food.

The bartender looked at the gun and badge on Hank’s belt and nodded.

Then Hank grabbed my hand and pul ed me off the barstool.

“Hey!” I snapped but he dragged me out, around the corner and down the side of the building. Al the while I tried to pul free. Al the while I failed.

Then he pushed me up against the side of the building and I saw I was wrong about Hank’s control slipping. One look at him and I realized Hank’s control was
gone
.

Any smart girl would have kept her mouth shut. I was not a smart girl. It was an established fact, especial y recently, that I was an idiot.

“I cannot believe you just dragged me out of the restaurant,” I hissed.

Hank got close. “Remember when I told you that you bein’ my woman meant I protected you and kept you safe?”

“Yes,” I was stil hissing.

“Wel , this time, that comes in the form of me tel in’ you what to do and what you’re
not
gonna do is talk to, or see, Vance again.”

Holy Mary, Mother of God.

I was no longer beginning to get angry. I was pissed the hel off.

“You
did not
just say that to me.”

“I sure the fuck did.”

“Take it back!” my voice was rising.

He got closer. One of his hands was at the bricks at the side of my head, the other one was at his hip, his chest was nearly against mine and his head was tilted to look down at me.

“Vance means something to me,” I told him.

Um… not the right thing to say.

“You barely know him,” he said.

“I barely know you,” I retorted angrily.

Strike two.
Definitely
not the right thing to say.

“I’ve had my cock inside you. I’d say you know me a fuck of a lot better than you know Vance.”

At that nasty comment, I put my hands to his abs and pushed hard. His body jerked but moved back into my space instantly.

“Don’t be coarse,” I clipped.

“Roxanne –”

“He rescued me from the sink! He took me to the hospital! He got me clothes when I had to get rid of the ones I was wearing because I couldn’t bear to keep them on a second longer. He got me a shower because I hadn’t had one in
days
.”

“Roxanne –”

“No, Hank –”

“Roxanne, be quiet.”

“No!”

His hand went from his hip to cup my jaw and his face dipped so close; it was al I could see. “Don’t you think I wanted to be the one to rescue you from that fucking sink?” he growled, his voice low and dangerous.

My stomach clenched as I realized what had brought on his anger.

I stared at him and final y kept my mouth shut.

“Do you have any fucking
clue
how hard it was to wait for Vance to cal in witness reports, every fuckin’ report worse than the one before? You runnin’ from a bathroom at a gas station, bloody, screamin’ and fightin’ to get away. Tied to a steering wheel. Eatin’ fuckin’ chips with your wrists bound.

Christ!
”

The last word was an explosion. I winced and jerked as if it had a physical impact on my body.

He pul ed back and took his hand away from my face but He pul ed back and took his hand away from my face but I grabbed it and tugged on it.

“Hank, listen to me,” he was looking at the wal over my shoulder, trying to regain control. When I said his name, his eyes moved to lock on mine and I felt a shiver run through me at the anger stil there.

I went on. “After he found me, I asked Vance to take me back to Chicago.”

At that, Hank’s eyes flared.

I shook my head and continued. “He wouldn’t do it. He said he wouldn’t do it because he respected you and you’d sent him after me. He said he wouldn’t do it because he didn’t want to make you show him how you’d react if he didn’t bring me back to you.”

I watched him work to get control, a muscle moved in his jaw. Al the while, he kept his beautiful eyes on me.

I felt the burning in my nostrils and took a deep breath to keep the tears at bay.

When I saw he had control, I whispered, “I’m glad it wasn’t you who found me. I couldn’t have… I wouldn’t have been able to live with it if you saw me that way.” At that, his arms slid around me.

“Fuck, Roxie,” he said over my head.

I put my arms around him and sucked back more tears.

I hated it. I hated it with everything I was, but I was so right. This Bil y business was going to be between Hank and me forever. I felt anger shoot through my body and if Bil y had walked up just then, I would have ripped his head off.

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fucking fair. I hated people who It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fucking fair. I hated people who whined about what wasn’t fair but if anything wasn’t fair, this sure the hel wasn’t.

A fair life would have brought Hank to me without anything between us.

I took a broken breath, the tears stil threatening. I closed my eyes and pressed my cheek against Hank’s shoulder and I prayed. I prayed for this al to be over soon so I could go, so I could pick up the pieces of my life.

I prayed for Hank too, so he could move on and find someone he deserved, someone strong and smart and good. Someone he could talk to about his day. Someone who made him grin. Someone who liked his dog. Someone who put mulberry-scented candles in his house. Someone who had powdered sugar in the cupboard and cream cheese in the fridge so she could make him better French toast than I’d made; the special kind with the sweetened cream cheese spread in the middle.

Someone who didn’t get shot at.

Someone who didn’t get kidnapped.

Someone who didn’t make him put his fist through a wal .

Someone who hadn’t spent nearly seven years of their life sleeping with a criminal.

Someone better than me.

Hank pul ed slightly away but kept his arms around me.

I looked up at him, pushed my prayers deep down, where he couldn’t see, and I smiled at him.

“Can I cal Vance now?” I asked.

“I’m payin’ him back,” Hank answered.

I sighed.

I sighed.

“Stubborn,” I grumbled, giving in.

A hint of a smile came into his eyes and he rested his forehead against mine. “Sunshine?” he cal ed.

“Yeah?”

“Whatever I saw you thinkin’ just now…”

Shit.

I hadn’t hidden it fast enough.

I held my breath.

“Get it out of your fuckin’ head.”

“Hank.”

“Promise me.”

“Hank!”

“Roxanne,” he used his authoritative voice.

“So. What? Now you’re gonna tel me what to think?” I asked, pul ing my head back and taking my hands from around him and putting them on my hips.

He shook his head.

“You just said –” I started.

“Okay, think whatever you want.”

“Wel , thank you,” I said, uppity.

He grinned.

His mouth came to mine. “But consider yourself warned.

Your mind wanders down that path again, I’l be forced to turn it to other things.”

Before I could respond, he showed me what he meant.

He kissed me, deep.

My brains scrambled and then I wasn’t thinking anything at al .

Hank took me to his place and I changed my shoes.

Then I rooted through his drawers and pul ed out a University of Colorado sweatshirt and I switched out of my lush cardigan into the sweatshirt.

“I’m confiscating this,” I told him when I walked into the kitchen.

His was leaning, hips against the counter, writing notes one-handed on a pad that was sitting on the counter to his right. He looked at me and then his eyes dropped to the sweatshirt, which was so big it was almost a dress.

Then they got lazy. “Come here,” he said low.

“No, we have to go. I’m gonna be late.”

“Come here,” he repeated.

“No! You have to get to work.”

“You can come here or…” he started.

I knew where this was going.

“Oh, al right,” I gave in.

I went to him.

He kissed me dizzy, it got heated, there was some groping and we went to Al y’s late.

* * * * *

“Yo Bitch!” Annette yel ed at me. “Yo dude!” she yel ed at

“Yo Bitch!” Annette yel ed at me. “Yo dude!” she yel ed at Hank.

Hank smiled at her.

She gawked at him, momentarily stunned by his smile and then turned to me and nodded her head slowly. “Nice,” she drawled.

I rol ed my eyes.

“Like the sweatshirt,” Al y said, leaning back and taking me in and then she introduced me to her boyfriend, Carl.

He was good-looking; tal , blond, blue-eyed and grinning at Hank. A knowing grin that made me feel slightly bothered but, weirdly, in a good way.

“We need to talk,” Hank said to him.

“I figured that,” Carl said back.

Hank leaned down and wrapped an arm around my waist sideways. I looked up at him and he gave me a light kiss. “Have fun,” he said against my mouth.

Then he and Carl walked out the front door.

“What’s that al about?” I asked, watching the closed door as if I had x-ray vision and could see through it.

“That’s Hank tel ing Carl he’l make him into an instant girl if anything happens to you,” Al y said.

“Good God,” I murmured.

“Don’t worry. Nothing’s gonna happen to you,” Indy said.

The door opened and Daisy arrived.

Or, I should say Daisy
arrived
.

She was wearing a skintight, faded denim jumpsuit; the crotch to bosom zipper unzipped to maximum cleavage potential, rhinestones adorning the outer sides of her legs, up her hips, waist, sides, and down the inside of the sleeves. She was wearing matching platform, high-heeled, faded denim boots, heavily encrusted with rhinestones. She had a pink chiffon scarf tied around her neck and her platinum blonde hair was teased out to peak volume.

“Yo Bitch!” Annette yel ed, completely oblivious to the fact that Daisy looked like she was about to step on stage in Vegas.

“Yo, Sugar,” Daisy replied.

“I thought I told you to wear gym shoes,” Al y said, peeved that her Haunted House instructions were not carried out to the letter.