36. Holden
Pike, the hacker, tells us he needs at least a day with the phone to do a deep dive. He wants us to come back tomorrow to pick it up.
Rosie has been solemn and barely said a word since the conversation we had in the car. Telling her that I believe her father could have been behind her kidnapping was probably a shit move, but I felt like there was no other choice. If we’re being searched for by the entire nation, she has to understand why we can’t go waltzing into her father’s home.
“Are you hungry?”
She shrugs, looking out the window at the passing signs lit up with fast-food logos. My stomach is growling, so I know hers must be too. We haven’t eaten since breakfast, and it’s nearly seven p.m.
She had mentioned sushi before, which I don’t like. I pull up a location on my phone for it and hit the Call button.
“What kind of sushi do you like?”
She rolls her head toward me. “Do they have a shrimp tempura roll with jalape?o and extra eel sauce?”
Eel sauce?
I repeat the order to the woman on the phone, asking her for two of them since I have no clue what else they would have.
“Add two orders of chicken fried rice and cream cheese wontons,” Rosie whispers.
I add the items to the order. Once we pull into the restaurant, I ask Rosie to stay in the car in case someone might recognize us together.
When I go in, I keep my sunglasses and cowboy hat on. I have to wait another ten minutes for the food. Once I get back in the car, Rosie is sniffling and wiping at her nose. Her cheeks are flushed and damp with tears.
“What’s the matter? Are you okay?”
She nods, reaching for the takeout bag. “Thanks for getting sushi.”
I wish I could physically strangle her father for causing her so much distress. If he was truly behind the kidnappings, I probably will.
We don’t speak as I drive us to another nice hotel. I don’t expect anything from her tonight physically, but the thought of being in another room alone with her makes my heart rate quicken.
Once the front desk clerk checks us into the vintage, restored downtown hotel, we walk to the elevator. Rosie is silent, arms folded across her chest and avoiding eye contact with me.
She locks herself in the bathroom as soon as we get into the room. I asked for two beds, thinking she might prefer it. She didn’t comment on it or request a king size.
After raiding the minibar for whiskey, I collapse on the wingback chair in the corner of the room. Cash’s number flashes across my phone. I swipe over the green icon to answer it.
“Finally alone?” I drawl.
“Fuck, brother. We’re in some deep shit. They got a warrant to search the house. Detective tore apart your room, and they found a pair of Rosie’s panties.”
I close my eyes, resting my head back on the chair. “What else?”
“Her mother is in the hospital for severe malnutrition, and the aunt hasn’t left her side. Dolly is a wreck. The sheriff told us that for now, he’s not arresting any of us, but if they don’t hear from you or her soon, that could change. They’ve named you as the number one suspect … armed and dangerous. Turn on the news.”
I grab the remote and flip on the TV. The first station that pops up is a national news channel. My face is plastered next to Rosie’s. I turn up the volume.
I clench my fists as Mayor Dixon’s voice booms over the speakers as he appears in a slick blue suit with a solemn expression.
“My daughter is strong. She’s a smart girl. She is most likely still alive and potentially looking for an escape from the monster who killed my brother. If anyone sees her out in public, alone or with a companion, please don’t hesitate to assist her in escaping and call the local authorities immediately. Holden Redford is a dangerous criminal who should be kept off the streets to keep all of our young women and wives safe.”
My mugshot is blown up to fill the screen, as well as additional pictures of me in a cowboy hat and with and without facial hair. I think back over the interaction we had with the clerk at the front desk. He seemed indifferent to us, not paying much attention to either my or Rosie’s face.
“What’s Warner saying?”
Cash sighs. “He’s right here. I gave him a cigar in exchange for an evening of mutual wallowing.”
“You’re a wanted man now, Holden,” Warner says over the speaker. “At some point, you’ll need to bring her in. The news just broke today, so it would be logical for any man to need time to get shit together before showing up at the police station. Pike has the phone, and right now, he’s our best bet for finding out who’s behind this shitstorm. Once we know that, we can make a plan for tomorrow.” He hesitates, the line going silent. “Right now, there’s no warrant for your arrest. You’re just a suspect. The one fuckup they made with making this shit national news is that now we have a lot of witnesses. They can’t arrest you without a warrant. They can only detain you for questioning.”
I close my eyes, tipping the rest of the amber liquid over my lips and letting it burn down my throat.
I have two priorities right now.
The primary one is to keep Rosie Dixon safe from whatever monster actually ordered her kidnapping.
The second is to stay the fuck out of prison. I’ll be useless in keeping her safe if I’m behind bars.
“I’ll make contact when I have the phone tomorrow.”
I hang up the call, rubbing my eyes. The door to the bathroom clicks open. I look up to see Rosie wrapped in a towel. She steps over to where I set the bags down. I stand, making my way to the bathroom and resisting the urge to touch her.
“You done in here?”
She nods as she digs through her duffel, not looking at me. I pause at the door, wishing I could pull her into my arms and whisper into her ear that I am going to get us out of this mess. I want to tell her that we will move past this, that I’ll die before anyone ever hurts her, physically or emotionally, ever again.
But in this moment, the invisible barrier between us is insurmountable. She has a right to feel every drop of betrayal and resentment toward me. I’m at the center of the problem. I killed a man. I’m the one with a criminal record. I’m the one who won’t let her go home to see her family.
After stepping under the warm water, I let out a moan as it spreads over my aching body. The physical stress oozing from my tense muscles nearly brings me to my knees with the small feeling of relief. I don’t bother turning when I hear the door to the bathroom click open, assuming she forgot something in the room. I open my eyes when the door to the shower slides over and the air turns cold.
She’s naked, fully bared to me. Her heavy breasts and smooth, perfect skin are as tempting as ever. My dick hardens as she looks up at me with those unforgettable blue-green eyes and drops down to her knees on the wet tiles. Without uttering a word, she wraps her hand around my growing erection.
I almost stop her. I almost pull her up and tuck her into my chest for a hug, murmuring sweet nothings in her ear.
But I don’t because I fucking need this. I need the soft wetness of her tongue as she tastes the underside of my dick. I need the vibration of her humming mouth over me as I tighten the grip on her hair and thrust my hips forward into her.
She gargles, making a choking sound. I pull back, looking down at her. She takes a steadying breath before wrapping her lips around me again.
“You can take it, angel.”
She nods as she sucks on me again. My eyes roll back in my head, a desperate, whimpering moan escaping my lips. She’s inexperienced, unsure of how to please me but trying nonetheless. I have to watch her, to see her pretty pink lips around my cock.
My eyes take her in, her lashes wet from the water as she sucks on me, pulling back and moving back in again. I grab her hand, placing it on the base of my dick. She squeezes, blinking up at me.
“That’s right, angel; squeeze it while you suck on me. You look so fucking angelic with my cock in your throat, baby. A fucking perfect angel.”
She moans around me, the vibrations short-circuiting my brain. I slam my hand against the cold wall of the shower, bracing myself as cum shoots out of me and into her mouth. She startles, pulling back and choking. I let go of her hair, the sticky white semen dripping down over the tips of her breasts.
She spits down the drain, coughing again. I cup her cheek, tipping her chin up to meet my gaze.
“You did good, angel.” I cradle her face in my hand, reaching my other one down to pull her up by her elbow.
Her eyes are rimmed red from choking. I spin her around and grab each of her wrists to place them on the tiles. She’s petite, so I have to bend my knees to get in the right position to reach her soft folds. I circle the top of her clit slowly before pushing my longer middle finger into her. She gasps, bracing herself against the tiles as I finger-fuck her. She pushes her ass back against my hand, wanting more.
“You need more, baby? Tell me what you need.”
She exhales, whimpering desperately, “I need all of it. Whatever you can give me.”
My teeth latch on to her earlobe. “What do you need? Say it.”
She pants, turning her face toward mine with hooded eyes. “I need you to fuck me.”
I let out a low growl, grabbing the base of my erection and positioning myself between her cheeks from behind. She bends forward, arching her slender back. I have to squat down to find the right spot before plunging deep inside her pussy. She yelps at the motion, nearly falling.
“I’ve got you.” I cup the front of her smooth stomach, bracing her against the front of my hips.
I thrust into her softness over and over again, relishing in her body and the way she’s being molded to me, to my hard length. Before I finish, I pull out and spin her around. I reach down under her ass and thighs, lifting her easily up against the cold tiles. Her mouth drops open in ecstasy when I enter her again, thrusting hard into her.
“I want you to come on my cock.”
She nods, eyes opening as she gazes into mine, pure need, desire, and a level of awe in their depths. I feel her inner walls tighten around me before she gasps, panting and moaning as the waves of her orgasm roll over her, her pale skin flushing pink.
“Good girl,” I praise her.
Three more thrusts into her are all it takes for me to find my release. I pull out of her, finishing on the tiles with her limp body crushed to my wet-slicked skin. I realize with a jolt that I don’t ever want another man to ever touch her like this, to ever even see her naked. A monsoon of overprotective, possessive need fills me.
She bows her head forward, resting it on my shoulder. We pant for oxygen together, my face pressed to her shoulder. I plant a kiss to her skin before slowly lowering her feet down to the mosaic.
I grab the bar of soap from the niche in the tile, lathering it up in my hands before running it over her body. I start at her shoulders before moving down to her hips, between her legs, and down to her feet. She stands still, watching me as I clean my cum from her body. I quickly lather myself with soap and rinse off. She watches with hooded eyes, still not speaking to me.
The thought that maybe she’s in shock occurs to me, and I experience a brief moment of internal panic. She seems disconnected from herself, like she’s not fully here mentally. I turn off the water and reach for a clean towel, drying her off completely and wrapping her up before getting another towel from the rack.
She steps out of the bathroom as I dry off. I quickly brush my teeth before joining her in the room. She took a T-shirt from my bag, the only clean one left. We desperately need to do laundry somewhere.
I slide on a pair of gym shorts I’ve slept in once before pouring her a glass of wine. She takes it, blinking up at the news station that’s covering an earthquake that happened in Indonesia earlier today. I hand her the remote before dialing for room service. A woman answers the phone in a cheerful tone.
“Ah, yes, ma’am, I was wondering if y’all have laundry service here.”
“Well, yes, sir, we do. We can pick it up now and return first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Perfect. It’ll be outside the door—room 618.”
“You got it.”
I hang up the phone before gathering up all the rest of our clothes, shoving them into a bag and setting them outside the door. Rosie sips on her wine while staring blankly at a Friends rerun on the TV.
“You need anything?” I ask her.
She shakes her head, leaning it down on my shoulder. I grab her hand, interlacing our fingers before drifting off into a much-needed deep sleep.