12. Rory #2
I expect him to move his arm now that he’s given me a half hug of comfort, but he holds me tight.
And I can admit I like it too much and melt into his hold.
His suit is soft under my hands, but the muscle underneath is hard, and he smells sweet, like ice cream.
What would it be like to be the center of this powerful man’s world?
“I don’t have many friends,” he admits with a sigh. “In my line of work, it can be hard to figure if people are sucking up to me because I’m the boss.”
“That’s kinda sad.”
“I’m used to it, and I have Mal, my daughter, and my mom. They keep me grounded.”
I try not to let the hurt my own family caused me show on my face, but he catches it anyway. He’s always watching me so intently with his sharp blue eyes.
“Has Brendan been pushing you too hard? If you’re not ready to go out alone, don’t let him pressure you.”
“No, it’s not Brendan.” I sigh, not really wanting to tell this story. “My dad has a problem with my life choices, and my mom sided with him. So Brendan and I said fuck them and we moved here.”
“I’m sorry that they hurt you.” The way that he grits his teeth and stares at the corner has me worried.
“Are you okay?” I touch his arm, and his gaze snaps to me. I think about pulling my arm away, but he places a big warm hand on top of mine.
“I hate the idea of anyone hurting you,” he growls out, and there’s a twitch in my pants. That’s odd but not unwelcome.
“That’s sweet.”
“I haven’t been called sweet in a long time.”
“You’ve been sweet to me.” I smile up at him.
Lex runs a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair, and he looks like he might say more, but then Laolao comes back with our food.
“Thank you. This looks amazing as always,” Lex praises.
“Of course. Come visit more often.” She sets the plates down and gives my cheek a hard pinch. “You eat up, you’re too skinny.” And then she’s waddling away.
“I like her,” I say.
“I tried to hire her as my personal chef, but she said no.”
“Bummer, cause if this is as good as it smells then you need to ask her again.”
He lifts the lids with a flourish of steam, and then he plates up food.
“I’m going to put a little of everything so you can try it.” Is he putting this together for me? That’s sweet, and I practically swoon when he puts a big scoop of fried rice right in the middle.
“Thank you,” I say when he puts it down, and I take a big bite of the shrimp fried rice. The flavor explodes on my tongue, and I moan. “OMG, you need to ask her again and offer more money.”
He smiles and takes a bite of his own food.
“Alexander Hart,” a low voice says as we step outside. Lex shoves me behind him, and another man steps in front of Lex as if to protect him.
“You must be mistaken,” the newcomer practically growls.
“Nope, I’ve seen him fight before. That fancy suit can’t hide the beast he truly is.”
“What do you want?” Lex asks, and his voice is like pure ice water.
“Boss was just curious.” He shrugs, gets into a car with a few other guys, and drives away.
Both Lex and this big guy who Lex clearly knows relax a little, but they’re still on edge.
“Who was that?” I ask, but I’m ignored.
“That was bold,” the newcomer grumbles as the fancy car Lex is always in screeches to a stop in front of us.
Lex looks around warily and leads me to his car.
“My car,” I say.
“I’ll send Tag back for it later, but right now, I’d like you with me.”
Tag?
Who’s Tag?
“What’s going on?” I ask when Lex all but shoves me into the car. He looks around and then climbs in next to me while the guy I’m guessing is Tag takes the passenger seat.
“Nothing, baby.” He buckles me in and pulls me close. His body is tense, and his head keeps darting around, but it feels nice and I’m so full, so I relax into his warm chest.
Maybe I should move away cause he’s straight, and I’m the one who’s going to get hurt.
But god, he smells so good. Like sweet cream or warm milk.
I nuzzle further into him, looking for more of his scent.
One of his strong hands cards through the hair at my nape, and he slowly relaxes, like holding me is helping him feel better.
“Your haircut looks nice.”
“You noticed?”
“Of course.”
“Most guys don’t. They’re too interested in how my ass looks.” He growls, and I chuckle. “Well, I do have a nice ass.”
“It does fill out your jeans nicely.” I laugh at how clinical he sounds. “What?” He teases. “I’ve never complimented a man’s ass before.”
“We’ll work on it.”
We’re quiet for a few minutes just watching as the city flies by the window.
“Sir. We have a tail,” Bill says.
A tail?
“Fuck. Are you sure?”
“Three cars back,” Tag confirms.
“Wait, we’re being followed!” I squeak when I figure out WTF they were talking about. “What’s going on?”
“Since the restaurant,” Bill adds.
There’s a loud pop, and the window splinters behind us. I cover my ears and duck down.
“Shit.” Tag turns and pulls out a gun.
“Why do you have a gun?” I turn back to Lex who’s also drawing a gun. “Wait! Why do you have a gun?”
“I’ll explain later, rabbit, but right now, I need you to hold on tight and keep your head down.”
I nod frantically, pull myself into my hoodie, and sink down below the window.
“Sir?” Bill asks.
“Try to lose them, but nothing too dangerous. I won’t let Rory get hurt.”
“Of course, sir.”
Suddenly, the car jerks to the right and we’re flying down the off ramp. I don’t even want to think about how many lanes of traffic we just crossed.
“Shit, they made it off in time,” Tag curses.
I hear a few cars honking as we speed up again and I think get back on the freeway.
“Damn, they’re good,” Tag praises, and Lex growls. Another pop hits the window, and I whimper.
“Shh, it’s okay, baby. I’ll protect you. I promise,” he whispers, and I want to believe him.
“It’s no good. There’s too much traffic,” Tag says, and then he opens fire out the window.
This can’t be happening.
This isn’t real.
Maybe this whole night was a dream and now I’m getting to the nightmare part.
I just need to wake up.
Wake up, Rory.
Wake up!
“Hold on,” Bill says, and then the car is fishtailing into an underground parking garage. We dip low and speed back up a ramp.
“I’m going to puke,” I say, and that gets Lex’s attention.
He rubs gentle circles on my back and shouts, “Bill.” The car slams to a stop. I open the door, and Lex tries to block me.
“It’s not safe.”
So I don’t get out, I just puke next to the car.
Lex continues to rub my back and whisper soothing words.
When I’m done, I spit a few times, and Lex hands me a bottle of water. I rinse and spit again before shutting the door.
Lex pulls me into his arms, and he pats a damp cloth on my neck and forehead. It feels nice.
“You okay, rabbit?” Tag asks, and it’s weird to hear anyone but Lex call me rabbit.
“Rory,” Lex growls at Tag.
“Fine, you okay, Rory?”
I shake my head and move away from Lex so I can put my head between my knees.
“Do you need to throw up again?” I shake my head, and I want to tell Lex to take me home, but my voice isn’t working right now. Stupid voice. “What do you need, rabbit?”
I hold up my hand in a stop gesture and then lower them, hoping he gets that I need a minute to recover. “It’s okay, just relax and catch your breath.”
Perfect, except that gives me time to think.
What the fuck was that about?
Those men were shooting at us, and the glass didn’t shatter, which means that it’s bulletproof. Who the fuck has a bullet-proof car besides the president and the Pope?
The answer is like a punch to the gut.
The mob.
Well, that breaks me out of my non-vocal state, and I jump out of the car. Lex calls after me, and all of them men get out with me.
They’re clearly trying to get me back in the car, but…
I put my hands on my knees and try to breathe.
Did I just go on a date with a mob boss? Cause clearly Lex is the big boss.