Chapter Twenty-two
Luca
Exiting the plane, Weeks waits in the car with it idling.
Every nerve ending is on fire. No one knows where Rowan is.
She left her phone at the gym, along with her purse.
Only her wallet and keys are gone. This has forced me to make the decision that every vehicle we have will have a goddamn tracker on it.
“No word. I have the crew at Hard Knocks keeping an eye out; they’re supposed to call as soon as she walks in,” Weeks informs me. “I’m sorry, man,” he says before taking off like a bat out of hell.
“Shit,” Thomas groans from the back seat as he slides on the leather. “Give a fucking heads up.”
Thomas was supposed to stay in Las Vegas, but once we heard Rowan was gone, he jumped on the plane with me. It was the longest two hours of my life. I prayed the entire time. Praying for her to return unharmed. Fuck, praying and offering my soul in replace of hers.
I look to Weeks, whose knuckles are turning white from squeezing the steering wheel so hard.
“It’s not your fault. I should have known.
And Weeks, she’s a grown ass woman.” I bite out the last few words.
I’m no longer scared for her, but now I’m pissed.
Pissed that she has gone and done something stupid.
She knows all she has to do is ask me, and I’ll burn the fucking world for her, but no, she thinks she needs to do everything on her own.
My ears are on fire, my blood pressure is raised, and my thoughts are going a thousand miles a minute.
Weeks flies through the forest, the wheels screeching with each curve. I say nothing, but watch the trees blur by, while Thomas is in the back praying repeatedly to let us arrive safely.
She couldn’t have picked a better day to be a lunatic. Biding her time, waiting until I was out of state. I sit there shaking my head, having an inner war with myself.
Once the town comes into view, my legs shake with nerves as Weeks gets us through the streets, pissing people off, but they’re the last of our worries.
Screeching to a halt in front of Hard Knocks, the car isn’t even in park when I jump out, slamming the door, barreling into the gym.
My eyes scan the room but come up empty.
I stand there, lost, when Thomas comes up from behind me. “Come on, let's go sit in the office.” He ushers me into the private room.
Sitting behind my desk, I open the camera footage and watch as she patiently waits for Weeks to become busy before she sees her chance, taking it without a second thought.
I slam the laptop screen, cutting off the image of her exiting the gym.
I force myself to turn and face the wall because I don’t want them to see the tears in my eyes.
“What is she thinking?” I question the room, not needing them to answer it.
With no other thoughts, I get up so fast that my office chair flies back into the desk with a loud thud as I yank my shirt off before heading onto the floor, needing the boxing bag.
I don’t think, just hit with unwrapped hands.
I keep going, not stopping. I’m zoned in on the bag and the pain shooting up my hands when a hand touches my slick back, and I know instantly who it is.
My arms fall to my waist, utterly tired and beaten up, as I slowly turn around.
Standing in front of me is a swollen-eyed Rowan.
Her eyebrows knitted together. When she opens her mouth, I raise my hand, and she jumps back, which pisses me off even more.
“I don’t want to hear anything from you.
Not right now. And why the fuck did you jump back?
I’d never put my hands on you.” I spit the words like venom at her as she inches back away from me, my eyes never leave her face. I want to see her wrecked like I was.
“You scared me.” I walk past her, leaving her standing in the middle of the gym. The need to get away from her is heavy; my anger won’t subside.
The office door opens, interrupting me as I put my shirt back on, and Rowan stands there like a puppy with its tail between its legs.
She knows what she did, but does she really care?
She is upset and sad because she was caught.
My anger is boiling, and I don’t like that.
I don’t want to be angry at her, but what the hell am I supposed to do?
She’s everything to me. My beginning and end.
My here and forever. There was nothing before Rowan, and there won’t be anything after.
She’s it. How doesn’t she understand that?
“I’m sorry,” comes out softly from her lips.
Squinting at her, I question, “Sorry for what, Rowan? What did you do? What was so important you had to go missing for hours?”
She stands there, just looking at me, not saying a word.
I nod my head. “I was worried sick about you.”
“I’m sorry.” That is all she can say. Nothing else, nothing more.
“I bet you are,” I toss at her before moving past her, out into the gym, leaving her there to worry her own self. She’s only sorry because she was caught.
Thomas and Weeks are both standing at the front.
“Let's get some drinks,” I tell them, knowing they’ll follow me outside.
There isn’t much around here, but there is a bar.
We walk a few blocks in silence, arriving at Thirsty.
We lumber in and nab a corner booth. I don’t talk to them but order a round of beer and some shots.
“Bring me whatever; I don’t care,” I tell the server.
She smiles at me and winks before turning away with her hips swaying.
I downcast my eyes while breaking open a few peanuts, tossing them in my mouth.
Weeks is the first one to break the silence. “Where was she?”
Raising my shoulders, I say, “The hell I know. She didn’t say.”
Weeks shakes his head as the server sets the drinks down. “Tequila.” She points to the shots.
“Keep them coming.” I pass her a fifty-dollar bill.
“Yes, sir.” Her words leak with provocation as I look her up and down, her tiny shorts barely covering her ass as she walks away from our table.
Thomas shakes his head. “Easy up there.” He shoots a look at me.
I hold up my hands. “I’m good.”
“Just because you’re pissed off now doesn’t mean to make a mistake you can’t come back from.” Thomas takes his shot, shaking his head.
Weeks sitting next to him, nods in agreement.
“I’m not a fucking idiot. I’m mad at her, not going to fuck a random hole to get back at her.”
Thomas slides me my shot. “Drink and shut the fuck up.”
I do…and keep doing until the room spins.
“I got this,” Thomas tells Weeks as he hands the server his credit card, I have to keep one eye closed for everything to stop spinning.
When the server comes back, she hands Thomas his receipt, but then scoots a piece of paper to me. Before I can reach it, Weeks grabs it and hands it back to her. “We’re good, baby doll.”
“Oh,” leaves her mouth, and it sounds too whiny for a woman of her age. I can’t help the laugh I let out.
“Get me back to my woman,” I tell them both, needing help with standing.
The walk back to Hard Knocks feels like it takes fucking forever.
“You shouldn’t have drunk so much, stupid,” Thomas berates me as he maneuvers me around a person walking toward us.
“Thanks, Dad,” I slur back at him.
The building is empty when we enter, even of Rowan. “Where is she?” I question them.
“Hell if I know, I was with you,” Weeks mutters as he walks around, turning off lights.
“I’m staying here.” I stumble over to the couch and fall onto the worn leather, letting out a groan.
The room automatically spins before I throw a leg over, making it touch the floor.
“They’re fucking liars; it doesn’t work.
” Whoever said it worked to make you stop spinning lied. I huff to myself. No one answers me.
“Mmm,” I moan out as a hand moves up and down my thigh, lightly touching my dick that’s now tenting my pants, waking it and me up at the same time.
Stretching out, pushing the armrest with my feet, it squeaks in protest, but I don’t give a shit; it can break for all I care.
As I open my eyes, they feel so heavy, but the gym is cloaked in darkness.
I see her silhouette above me and automatically open my arms to her.
“Come here,” I groggily tell her. In moments, she’s around the couch and in my arms, lying on top of my chest. Immediately, my arms wrap around her like a vise grip.
“Never do that to me again, Killer. Please,” I beg of her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers into the dark room; her breath cascades over my face, and I can smell alcohol on it.
“Where were you?” Maybe in the darkness she’ll feel more inclined to let herself be bare, to tell the truth.
“It’s not important.” She kisses my neck, her tongue leaving a wet trail down it, but I have to talk to her; I can’t let this fester.
“What you did today isn’t cool. Rowan, I had to up and leave a job, thank God it was already done, but when it comes to what I do, I can’t just leave.
I don’t have the pleasure of doing that when I’m in the field.
How the hell can I leave you again and put all my focus on my job?
That’s going to put my life at risk,” I let my words tumble out, because they need to be said.
Her weight shifts from me as she tries to get up, but I tighten my arms even tighter, not letting her move from her place. Her spot. She needs to hear the truth. Doing stupid shit like she did today puts me at risk.
“I’m now scared to leave you when I have that other job in a few weeks, Rowan.
How can I concentrate on what needs to be done when I’m worried about you and your safety?
Since you’re the one putting yourself at risk.
I don’t want to act like a crazy fucking person, but baby, please no more.
It’s dangerous for me to have my mind occupied somewhere else. ”
I feel her breathe deeply. “I was at his house.”