The Last Love Song (A BWWM BDSM Romance) (22 page)

He twisted me around and forced me to face him from my position at his lap. "See, Z? You will love me again. I told you I would make you."

"You also told me you wouldn't hurt me anymore."

"Just stop pissing me off and I will. I can be nice." He leaned down and kissed me. The contact was all at once familiar and vile. I screwed up my face and held my breath and waited for it to be over.

The he licked my lips, and my nose, and my chin. I reached the end of my rope. That was all the indignity I could make myself tolerate. Twisting, thrashing, I screamed, "Get the fuck off me!" I grabbed the hands that held my scalp and tried to pry them away.

My side window broke in an explosion of glass. "Let her go, you piece of shit."

Vaughn! How in the hell-?

Camden's goons rushed from the limo and dragged Vaughn out of my sight. A scream tore from my throat.

They were going to beat him. They might even kill him - I didn't know what these guys were capable of. I knew Camden wouldn't hold back, not when he was this far gone. I kicked and tried to get away but he held me tight.

"Lexi, don't fucking do this," I said, "This is just business, this isn't supposed to be life or death!"

"Camden," she said hesitantly. Heavy thuds and grunts reached our ears from outside, but it was impossible to tell what was happening. "Camden, maybe this is going a little too far."

He squeezed my hair again. "I told you I would go as far as it takes!" I clawed at him, but he was too much stronger than me. He had my wrists trapped in one hand in an instant, like it was nothing.

Then, I heard something in the distance. Sirens. My heart leapt. Help was on the way!

"Drive!" Camden shouted. The engine started. He shouted again, "Go! Now!"

The limo lurched forward as the driver pulled around, making the turn out of the parking lot. The sirens were still off in the distance.
Oh, God, they're not going to get here in time, Camden's going to take me God-knows-where, and Vaughn...

I kicked against the far door with all my might, heaving my weight against Camden and throwing him off balance. He grunted as I threw my head back into his gut. The grip on my wrists loosened and I wrenched them away.

Fueled by terror and adrenaline, I raised an elbow and slammed it down hard, right in his crotch.

He barely made a sound. All the air escaped him in one harsh whoosh and he recoiled, curling in on himself. I rolled to the floor.

"Stupid bitch," I snarled at Lexi. I pushed myself onto my knees and I slapped her, hard. She held her cheek in shock but made no move to fight back. "I warned you about him."

"What the fuck?" the driver shouted at us, glaring through the rearview mirror.
We're still in the parking lot
. It had all happened so fast. He hadn't even completed his turn.
Time to bail.
Unthinkingly, I pulled myself up to the broken window and climbed through. He swerved wildly but I held on. Sharp shards of glass dug into my side as I pulled myself out, tearing my dress and my skin, but I didn't care. I just had to escape.

I nearly screamed again when Vaughn himself ran at the car and pulled his way through the broken front seat window. Had he even seen me? He was throwing himself inside just as I was getting the hell out!

Well, I wasn't waiting. If he'd taken on those two henchmen and survived, he could certainly handle Camden.

I kicked at the hand that held my ankle, but I suspected he let go more because of Vaughn than my stiletto. Bracing myself for impact, I hauled myself out the rest of the way and flung myself to the ground.

Time slowed. Or at least it seemed to. I just knew that I had enough time to think,
"Why didn't I just open the door,"
before I hit the asphalt.

My shoulder hit first. Then the rest of me, one impact after another, rattling my teeth, jarring my bones. I rolled over and over for so long that I feared I would never stop. I left bits of skin and dress behind.

I didn't realize I was still until I'd stared at the sky for a good long moment. It was nearly dark out, now. How long had I been away? Would people at the party realize? What the hell was all that noise?

The sirens! The police had arrived, finally. I sat up with a groan, every piece of me aching.
Be thankful that you
can
sit up.

I spotted the limo. The police had blocked it in, but it was stuck, anyway - driven head-on into a tree.

A man was striding toward me. Tall, muscular, familiar. The red and blue police lights reflected off his head. “Vaughn!” I laughed out loud.

"Are you out of your mind?" he asked, dropping to a crouch in front of me. "Crazy woman, why did you go out the window?" He cupped my face and gave my eyes an examining look. "Are you hurt? Did you hit your head?"

I pushed his hands down. "I'm fine. Mostly." I had some serious road rash on my arms and legs that was already beginning to sting.

Heaving a sigh of relief, he wrapped his arms around me and clutched me to his chest. "You found me," I said, my voice muffled by his shirt. "What made you come back?" I still couldn't believe he was there. I was touching him, breathing him in, but it felt like a dream.

"I heard your song in the car this morning," he said, "On the radio. I heard that line. 'Love will let you let go.'" He shivered. "I felt so bad for leaving and it just kind of hit me. I want that. And I want you. I'm sorry that I walked out."

My heart swelled with his admission. I didn't trust my voice so I just clung to him tighter.

The police swarmed around us, barking questions, but I barely heard them. Somewhere beyond, back toward the limo, Camden was cursing to the skies and shouting my name.

"They're arresting him," Vaughn said, "You're safe, now, honey."

Safe enough. Safe with you.
I pressed my face against his neck. We’d have to move soon, the police were swarming the lot, but all I wanted to do was savor his presence.
He came back. He saved me
. I was more determined than ever - I was never letting this man go.

Questions. So many questions. Giving a statement to the police was nothing like giving an interview.

It was nearly sunup by the time Vaughn and I were on our way back to the hotel. Gavin, our driver, and the other bodyguard were all okay - they and Pauline met us at the police station. They were the ones who had alerted the police that I'd been kidnapped. But it was thanks to Vaughn's intuition that I'd been found.

"The assistant, Lexi, she was pretty nasty when she turned me away from the party," he said. "Then when I spotted her leaving... well, it set off some alarm bells in my head. Right at the same time, I overheard the security team freaking out about Zenaida disappearing. My gut told me to follow Lexi. I wasn't parked anywhere near her, I almost lost her before I even started the chase." He shrugged like it was no big deal. "But I got lucky."

Lexi and the rest of Camden's men were arrested as well. There would be hearing and trials and all the madness of the press that went along with it, but for the moment, the nightmare was over.

Even the paparazzi outside the hotel was a welcome sight when we pulled up. Vaughn tensed next to me.

I squeezed his hand. "You're a hero. You saved me. That's all they're going talk about. That's all they'll remember for a long time."

He didn't look too sure about it, but he stuck to my side as we pushed our way through and into the lobby. I stopped only to say to the cameras, "We're all alive and well and unharmed. We ask that you give us our privacy while we sleep this shit off." I topped it with a wink.

"Do you want me to stay?" Vaughn asked at my door. The others had broken off to their owns rooms and were probably snoring already.

I frowned at the question. "That doesn't sound like the Vaughn I know."

He placed his hand on the door behind me, his arm heavy over my shoulder. "Get out your key. I'm staying."

I melted.

We slept that night entwined in each other arms like familiar lovers; like puzzle pieces, born to fit together. My body was too exhausted to do much else, though I wanted to. I wasn't feeling especially sexy with the thick pads of gauze covering the worst of my scrapes, either.
Be grateful they're just scrapes
, I'd thought, looking down at myself in my nightshirt.
It could have been so much worse
.

Vaughn, too, suffered only minor injuries that could have been far more serious. Luckily for the both of us the man knew how to fight.

“It won’t happen again,” he said, his breath brushing through my hair. I nuzzled against his neck.

“What won’t?”

“I won’t walk out on you like that.”

“At the bar?” I wasn’t even thinking about that anymore.

“Yes.” He shuddered. “Almost losing you like that… I don’t deserve this. But I can’t walk away again. I can’t.”

“Stop,” I said. His confession gripped my heart - it ached for him. He was a good man, no matter what he thought of himself. I ran my hand along his side - where his shirt hid his scar, earned during his deployment. “You did your penance long ago. And now you’ve saved me. You deserve everything you want and more.” I felt him take a breath to protest, but I stopped him, pulling his hands to my lips, kissing them, squeezing them. “One day you’ll believe me.”

His voice sounded different when he spoke - it held something like wonder. “I think you might be right.”

The bruises on his knuckles were kind of a turn-on. I'd examined them while we laid in bed together, slowly dozing off. They were a reminder of his strength, his power, and how far he'd go to protect me. I kissed each one of them before finally closing my eyes, wishing that I had the energy to do more than just kiss him.

The morning, however, found us both revived. There was a lot to talk about. But breakfast was a first priority.

"Room service," I said, pointing at the bedside table as I wiped the sleep from my eyes. I checked my phone while he read the menu - it looked like Pauline had been blowing it up all morning. Sighing heavily, I called her.

"Girl!" she said. "We've all been beside ourselves. Such a relief that you're okay. Oh my God, that Lexi, that bitch-"

"Pauline!" I shouted. "Seriously. Calm the fuck down. What's the emergency?"

"The show tonight," she said, sounding ragged and tired. "We can reschedule it for the end of the tour. I just didn't want to make the call without talking to you, first."

"The show must go on!" I said dramatically. "Nothing's going to fuck up this tour, Pauline."

"Are you sure? You took quite a tumble and you're pretty banged up."

I
was
sore. And I'd have to wear some of the alternate costumes to cover up the scrapes that were too ugly to cover with creative makeup.

But I didn't want to let down my fans. And I didn't want to give in to the chaos that Camden always brought into my life. The show would go on. "I'll tone down my parts in the big dance numbers, but I can do it," I said. I looked back at Vaughn - he'd picked up the hotel phone and was ordering enough food to feed an army. He was in an undershirt and boxers, and though his back was to me, he looked absolutely delicious. "Tell hair and makeup I'll be late."