Chapter Twenty-Six
A Solid Shoulder
Kennedy
I shifted, and my back came into contact with something cool and stiff. My arms suddenly felt chilled and I drifted to consciousness rubbing them and staring out over a watery surface.
I groaned, and something on the hood twisted around to face me. I sucked in a breath that stopped short of a scream when I heard Roy ask, “You awake back there?”
In an instant I became aware of everything.
The distance between the car and the land on the other side of the water. The soft swish of its current sounded like a roar, until the symphony of crickets and a nearby frog drowned it out. Leaves shimmied in the breeze, making a sound that was shiver-worthy all by itself.
“Where are we?” I murmured, sitting up a bit.
He waved, a big inviting swoop, “On the river. The view is gorgeous.”
I absently reached for the doorhandle. About the time that I got a grip on it and managed to open it he called out, “Grab that lunch my mom packed, I’m starving.”
The light inside of the car seemed blinding, even if I knew it wasn’t all that bright. I scooted aside and searched around the seat. It was empty, but my foot bumped into something.
There on the floorboard was a brown paper sack. It reminded me of my grade school years, when my mother used to pack my lunch.
“What is this?”
The thin paper held the promise something hard inside, but I was too concerned with getting answers, to investigate. I thrust the bag at him and bugged my eyes.
“My mom said you needed this, to keep from shock or whatever.”
“Shock…” My gaze dropped to the thermos he held out.
I twisted at the lid, but didn’t take my eyes off him.
“Where are we?” I repeated.
“The river, near Menard.”
I’d heard of Menard, but I didn’t know where in the hell it was.
“Why are we here?” I stressed, just as the smell of citrus hit me.
I sniffed at the thermos and cautiously sipped at the orange juice inside.
Penny hadn’t worried after shock, she was making sure my sugar didn’t drop. It wasn’t a bad idea, plus the stuff was still relatively cold.
I twisted the lid back on, set the thermos on the hood of the car and prepared to interrogate him further.
Before I could pose another question, he held out a sandwich.
I raised my hand to deny it, but he insisted, silently thrusting it in my direction.
If it got the answers out of him quicker, I decided I was happy to oblige.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked, ripping it out of his hand.
He slowly shifted a shoulder in a half-assed shrug, “You agreed.”
I searched my mind, and then his face for some indication of what he was on about, before blurting out, “To what?”
He paused, a bit of a mischievous grin taking hold before he cockily responded, “Being my ol’ lady.”
My facial muscles flatlined and so did my tone, “I ain’t never been that drunk a day in my life.”
He bleated with laughter, despite being the victim of my brutal honesty.
“You’re great, you know that.”
“I’ve been told.” I sniffed, staring out at the water.
“You agreed to start over with me, to walk away from that noise and let the Saints smooth out their shit the way they always do.”
Those four words flipped and twisted in my mind, paralyzing my tongue though a question screamed in my mind, demanding vocalization.
The acid in my tone when it finally escaped me likely concealed any notion of just how nice that idea might have been if the timing were different.
“Do they always go around plotting to stab one another in the back, to wipe out their family and force them out of the club in ruin?”
He shifted off the hood but never made any effort to come near me. Instead, he took a few steps toward the bank, shoved his hands in his pockets and exhaled heavily.
“That’s the breath of a man holding too many secrets to ever live a life outside of their world.”
He turned, an odd little clip of laughter coming from him before he demanded, “Do you really think I am so enchanted by a future of shared showers and indictment seasons, that I wouldn’t burn it all to the ground for a chance with you?”
It was my turn to laugh, and I did so. Deeply.
“You Crowe fuckers are all full of shit, you really are.” I shook my head, “I didn’t fall for King’s fake charm, and I’m not here for yours, either.”
“Kiss me,” he offered, stepping into my space.
All the humor was sucked out of me at once. It was the first time in my life one of his kind had suggested such a thing and I hadn’t laughed in his face.
“Why the hell would I do that?” I asked, suddenly unable to raise my voice beyond a conspiring tone.
“You don’t know the difference between kissing someone who means it, and brushing lips with something that should have been a hard swerve? Anyone can lie to your face, but a kiss…”
I started to look away, but his finger pressed against the underside of my chin and led me back. I didn’t really believe he’d do it. I thought for sure he’d stop short, but then his lips were on mine, and I was kissing him back like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Which one of us kisses like we could kill you in the next breath?” he whispered, and a shiver ran through me as I finally comprehended just what that encounter on the dock had been.
King was toying with me, like some predatory animal would with its prey.
Would he have really fucked me, and then…?
What?
Snuffed the life out of me?
I was speechless, but the emotional toll of his lesson must have played out on my face.
“You’re safe. You’ve always been safe with me.”
I leaned into him, for the warmth, and for relief from the sudden crippling wave of vulnerability that coursed through me. Each wave of it made me shiver harder than the last until I held onto his waist, surrendered my forehead to his chest and tried to make sense of it all.
“Because I’m a woman, or because I’m someone you love?” I asked, without lifting my head.
His hand swam up and down the length of my spine and he crushed a kiss to the top of my head that made me melt inside.
“I’ve been in love with you since I was a boy, I just never knew how to tell you without risking my life. You are Forty’s daughter, you know?”
“Oh, I know.” I grinned, finally pulling away enough to look up at him. “I wish you would have taken me with you to see him.”
“I know.” He sighed, trailing his fingers along my hairline and pushing a few strands away from my face.
“You really want me to believe you’ve been a secret admirer since what… before you went to college?”
“I could have stayed there. Shit was stable. I had work. I came back to see…”
“See what?”
When he didn’t answer or blink, I felt my cheeks warm.
“You’ve got impeccable timing,” I teased, though my tone didn’t really carry the lightheartedness I was aiming for.
“You’re telling me.” He laughed, “I came back to save you from this stagnant hellhole, and I will, one way or another… I just didn’t realize I’d be exchanging places with you in the process.”
“I thought you said everything was fine?” I sobered slightly.
“It is supposing you don’t put me in a cell when it’s all over.”
“Guess you better do some convincing kissing before then.”
He snorted, grabbed my hand and led me toward the water.
“This shit will all be over soon,” He assured me, his tone quiet and sincere.
“I hope so.” I sighed, while fighting the urge to take my phone out and text.
I wanted to trust him, it felt good to rest my head on a solid shoulder. There was no denying that much, but I couldn’t put all my cards on the table.
Not even for him, the guy who had chosen me over his own family when the swamp of betrayal had gotten deep.
I had to think of myself before anyone.