26. Chapter 26
Chapter 26
L una
Roman stood at the closet door with his hands on his hips as I dressed. “It isn’t safe for you to go to campus. You can get the lecture notes from a classmate.”
We’d had a nice evening with Alexa, Ezra, and Kilian out on the back patio last night. We grilled, drank wine, and talked most of the evening. But I’d been tired and a little tipsy by the time our guests left, and Roman had tucked me in at ten last night. It had been a nice day yesterday, but I’d gotten behind with my homework, finals were coming up, and I felt the pressure this morning.
“I need to go to class. A couple of my professors count class participation as part of the grade, and I can’t afford to let my scores drop.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “Your professors can go fuck themselves.”
My eyes narrowed and I folded my arms. “I’m going. Milo said he’d wait outside each class for me, and Klim let me know the campus police are on alert. It’s stupid to think I’ll stay here and hide. I can’t afford not to graduate, and staying hidden would just be letting that bastard win.”
Roman’s jaw clenched, but I didn’t back down. Law school was my ticket to gainful employment and financial freedom, and I craved the familiarity of it. It was also a variable I could control.
He scowled and pointed his finger. “You don’t leave Milo’s side except to sit in class. And if you need to pee, you do it with him standing outside the bathroom.”
I nodded and unfolded my arms. “Okay. I’m not stupid, and I don’t have a death wish. I just want to graduate.”
“Fuuck me. And I just want to push you back onto the bed, pull your skirt up, and spank you until you’re a drenched, crying mess again. Then shove my cock into your heat and stay there all day.”
“You have a very sadistic and vivid imagination.” My sore pussy clenched as if searching for his hard length, and my tender ass reminded me I was still recovering from one of Roman’s enthusiastic spankings.
“With you, my sadistic, filthy mind has no bounds.”
I stifled a moan and held up my hands as if warding him off. “I need some recovery time, and my bottom is already sore thanks to you.”
He grinned and grabbed my arms, pulling me into him. Then he slid his hands down and grabbed my ass cheeks, squeezing hard enough for me to hiss out a breath.
“I have a meeting this morning, or I’d already be balls’ deep inside you.”
“Then lucky me,” I deadpanned. He chuckled, kissed me again, and headed out the door. I had to change my panties before leaving for school.
Colleen, one of my classmates, heard what had happened in the parking garage and asked me about it after class. My elbow still felt tender, but I’d removed the wrap and used makeup to cover the bruise on my jaw. From her furtive looks, it hadn’t been very effective.
“Holy shit!” Colleen gasped. She’d just glimpsed the ring on my finger. “Did you get engaged over the weekend too? You’ve been busy!”
A few other students heard her exclaim and came over, Jared among them. “She didn’t just get engaged, she got fucking married ,” he snickered bitterly.
“What? Luna, I didn’t even know you were dating anyone,” Colleen exclaimed.
I stared at Jared coldly but answered her. “It was a little sudden, but I think my being attacked made him decide he couldn’t live without me.”
“More like his dick couldn’t live without you,” Jared muttered under his breath.
Someone sucked in a sharp breath, and I heard whispers around us. Before I could tell him to fuck right off, Colleen turned on him. “For once in your life, shut your trap and quit being such an asshole.”
“Excellent advice. And if you don’t, I’ll do it for you.” I heard a calm, deep voice say behind me. I turned and saw Roman standing next to Milo. “You must be Jared, the unpleasant rash Luna mentioned she couldn’t get rid of. Although I do have to thank you for being there the other day.”
Jared narrowed his eyes, then swallowed as Roman stared coldly back at him. Jared turned to me and shook his head. “Be careful, Luna.”
As he walked off, the silence sat awkwardly for a moment, and a hint of guilt slid through me. I hadn’t meant to hurt him, and he had saved me from Lionel. Shaking off the guilt, I introduced Colleen and a couple of other classmates to Roman. When they left a few minutes later, Milo took off as well.
Roman reached over to take my backpack and slid his other hand behind my neck, pulling me to him.
Having him here at the school felt almost surreal and a little jarring–like two distinctly separate parts of my world were colliding. His presence both soothed and agitated me.
He gave me a thorough kiss, then pulled back and brushed a strand of hair off my shoulder. “Hello, Sweetness. You ready to go?” He smirked as if knowing he’d thrown me off.
My eyebrow went up. “If you’re done pissing on my leg and marking your territory.” He barked out a laugh and leaned in to kiss me again. The man had very talented lips.
Roman drove me to the offices on Tuesday morning. As we walked past Brenna, she watched me without expression until she saw the collar on my neck and the ring on my finger. Then her eyes widened, and her face seemed to pale. I expected a snide remark or a jealous, hateful look, but she seemed anxious. I mentally shrugged. Maybe she didn’t know how I really got the fist-sized bruise on my jaw and thought Roman had given it to me.
As finals approached, we fell into a routine. Milo took me to class and became my shadow around campus when I was there, and then Roman took me with him to the offices on the other weekdays. In the evenings, we’d usually cook and eat dinner together, then find a new room or surface in Roman’s house to copulate on. He seemed to like his back patio the best, and he’d installed silk ties to one of the loungers.
Sometimes, we’d eat dinner with the Spades or have the partners over to the house. One evening when Roman had to work later than usual, I caught myself moping and realized with an unpleasant start that I liked having him here, and I missed him when he wasn’t around.
I studied myself in the full-length mirror that morning as I got ready for the day, finding a few new bruises and bite marks on my body. Roman came up behind me and ran his hand down my waist over the smudges there.
“Do they hurt?”
“No. My pussy and nipples always seem to be tender though.”
He grinned. “Good. That will remind you of me during the day.” He cupped both my breasts and ran his thumbs across my peaks, and I arched into him. “I’m a deviant asshole because I love seeing my marks on you. Tell me if I do something that scares you or you don’t like.”
Worry and shadows clouded his eyes, but I slid my palms around his neck and pulled his face to mine. “I must be fucked up too, because I like seeing my marks on you.” I let go and walked around to his back, studying the scratches I’d left there last night. “Do these hurt?” I asked softly, trailing my fingers over them.
He turned and gathered me in his arms. “No, and I love making you lose your shit enough that you mark me without realizing it.” I rubbed against him, then pulled his face down to mine as he slid his hand down to test my wetness. We got a late start that morning.
Alexa and I studied for finals together on my favorite floor in the law library, and Milo sat at the table next to us. A few hours later, she sighed, stretched, and cracked her neck.
I pulled my headphones off. “Are you quitting for the day?”
“No, I just need a break. My brain stopped absorbing after reviewing my civil procedure notes.”
I grimaced. “Is Garrick still teaching it?”
“Yeah, and his voice is so monotone, it’s like he’s trying to bore us to death. I’m going to stretch my legs and grab a smoothie at the student center. Do you want anything?”
“No, I’m good. I’ll just have some of yours.”
She grinned. “You can have as much as you want, but fair warning. I’m getting the green smoothie.”
I grimaced. “Never mind, I think I still have some Red Hots in my backpack. Do you want me to go with you?”
Waving her hand, she stood. “No, I’ll be fine.”
She walked out, and I put my headphones back on. About twenty minutes later, my phone vibrated in my backpack. I was still working through a practice question and ignored it–until my phone buzzed a second time.
I pulled it out and saw a text from Alexa.
Alexa: Hello, Ms. Fowler, we have your friend. If you want to keep her alive, lose your bodyguard and go to the corner of Cottage Grove and Maryland Parkway. You have four minutes.
It took me a second to read and then re-read the text, and realize it had been sent from Alexa’s phone, but it wasn’t her. Primal fear and dread flooded me, and I blanked for a split second. But Alexa couldn’t afford for me to lose my shit now. I texted back.
Luna: I need proof.
I didn’t want to ask for proof of life. No need to give these fuckers any bad ideas. Less than ten seconds later, a photo of Alexa in the back seat of a vehicle came in. She had a bloody lip and looked furious, but she was alive and seemed relatively unharmed. If there was anyone who wouldn’t lose their head even after getting kidnapped, it was Alexa.
I quickly dug through my backpack and pulled out a few things, stuffing my license and a credit card into my back pocket, and my flashlight into the back waistband of my jeans.
Then I stood and ran. It would take too long to persuade Milo, and I was pretty sure I could outrun him.
I heard Milo shout, his chair screeching as he stood. “What the fuck?” He yelled.
“They have Alexa! Corner of Cottage Grove and Maryland,” I yelled over my shoulder.
“Luna! Stop right now!” he bellowed.
I plunged headfirst down the stairs, taking them two or three at a time. Milo pounded after me, but he was twice my age. “Luna, fucking stop! You’re going to get yourself killed!”
My mind raced and my lungs burned as I dashed out of the library, barely missing a couple lingering in the doorway. People turned and stared at me running through the courtyard as Milo pursued me. So many thoughts and feelings raced through my mind, regret and self-disgust among them for not anticipating something like this. So stupid! I pumped my legs faster.
“Do you need help?” a tall woman standing with two others on the auditorium steps called after me.
“Yes! Call campus police!”
The lady tried running with me, but she wore high heels. “Where are you going?”
“Corner of Cottage Grove and Maryland. Tell them it’s Luna Cross!”
She stopped, and I hoped like hell she’d make the call. I didn’t take time to slow down or look back. My little ballet flats stayed on my feet, but I could feel every hard slap on the pavement as I sprinted down the wide sidewalk.
I slid my phone into my back pocket as I ran, and untucked my shirt. Scanning the area, I approached the arterial road going past the school. Maryland Parkway was a six-lane street that cut through the working part of downtown Las Vegas. It went through North Las Vegas, down past the University, and connected with the airport. I wondered what the kidnappers’ plans were.
The metal tracker on my collar thumped rhythmically against the hollow of my throat as I ran, and my gasping breath seemed so loud. I hoped Milo had notified Roman, but I knew the clock was ticking. I’d dragged Alexa into danger, and now time was running out.
The intersection came into view, and I slowed my pace, gazing around frantically as I drew near. Feet slapped on the pavement behind me, and I glanced back to see Milo maybe twenty-five or thirty feet behind me. Then I heard a series of short honks and turned to see an oversized black SUV pull up to the curb in front of me. I held up my hands to show they were empty, and the back door swung open.
“Luna, God damn it! Stop!” Milo yelled as I dove into the back seat. A large man with a ruddy complexion and bad teeth held the door open, and when my torso was inside, he tried to shut it but my legs were still in the way. I knelt on his lap, grinding my knee in his groin, and grabbed the back of the front driver's seat. Then I brought up the flashlight taser Fenn had given me and simultaneously pressed the switch, shoving the taser into the driver’s neck.
The man underneath me punched my side and tried to shove me off, but the damage was done. The SUV had started to speed up when I tased the driver, but now the vehicle swerved toward the curb and jumped up onto the sidewalk, coming to a rolling stop.
Alexa sat in the back passenger seat behind the driver, and she pivoted around, brought her legs in front of her, and kicked the man underneath me in the face and chest. He wasn’t buckled in, and he had to grab the door frame to keep from falling out. Milo came running up to the side of the vehicle, saw the man’s hand holding onto the frame, and tried to drag him out. I heard faraway shouts and what sounded like sirens in the distance.
The man yelled, and another smaller man sitting in the front passenger seat pulled his gun up and swiveled toward Milo. Alexa screamed at Milo to duck as I moved my arm over and pushed the end of the flashlight taser into the other man’s shoulder just as his gun went off. But I moved a fraction of a second too slow, and I watched in terror as blood blossomed on Milo’s shirt.