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“He’d kill me if I left you!”
“Then, we’ll go!”
“No, Cher… Dammit, don’t kick me again, woman!” he howled.
Their squabble washed-out as I ran full tilt for the man hovering like a demon in the darkness waiting to strike. Seeing me coming, he smiled then twisted and ran off into the night. Had she been alone at any time, Chad would have taken her. Obviously, he didn’t know who would die to keep her out of his clutches, but he would if I caught him. He was physically fit, as well. When I reached the boundary where the light and dark met, a running diesel engine assaulted my ears.
The unmistakable sound of an automobile door slamming ricocheted off the other cars. His truck was huge, so spotting it was no problem. I diverted to my right. His wheels begun spinning wildly in the dirt. Leaving his truck running in the middle of the designated driving path for the makeshift parking lot to execute a swift departure was ingenious.
He floored it as I got two lines of cars away. A dust storm kicked up. Wanting no parts of that, I broke speed. His squealing tires overrode the commotion of an active carnival. He had made a clean, quick getaway this time. Chad was no slouch in the creeper department. I’d plan accordingly for that next time.
Turning back, I double-timed it back to Cherise and Andre. He hadn’t left the duck shoot tent, guarding the side of it. She was nowhere to be found. Terrified for her safety, I ran faster.
“Where the fuck is she, Andre?” streaming out of my mouth raised a lot of brows. Parents covered their small kids’ ears. Right, the f-bomb in a family-friendly place was a no-no.
Andre sidestepped. Cherise came into glorious view. Head bowed, her back was pressed to the side of the tent. He had been guarding her. She was guarding the unicorn, more like strangling it. Reaching her, I took her shoulders in my hands.
“It’s okay, Cherise. He’s gone. I’m here.”
Andre wondered how the hell did Chad find us out loud. I had no clue, didn’t care at that moment. My woman was afraid. She lifted her head finally. There were angry tears in her eyes. No God, not those. I knew with absolute certainty that I had infuriated her more by running off than Chad had scared her by materializing like a ghost from the other side.
I angled her chin up. “Baby, it’s okay. I’m fine.”
“Take me home, Tobin,” expelled from her on a ‘brook no argument’ note. Shit. I had crossed her with the one thing she asked me not to do; run after Chad. Who knew how long it would take before she forgave me? Not willing to wait any amount of time, I wanted to beg for forgiveness right then and there, but we were attracting looky-loos. It wasn’t safe for her out in the open any longer, either. I’d have to continue the battle for her mercy at another locale.
“Let’s go, Cherise. Andre, you should come with us to meet Malaysia. She needs to know all the players of the game that Chad is a master at. Everyone needs to be filled in as we learn how he operates.”
Cherise padded between us. I had to endure pitying looks from Andre over her head. He was transmitting ‘sorry you got her and lost her all on the same day.’ No good at dating or girlfriends, I wasn’t surprised I had managed to lose her on the first date. As pissed as Cherise was, she allowed me to help her inside the truck. She sort of had no choice. The running board came up to her shins. I was sure she could have instituted another method to get in. She didn’t, which gave me high hopes for our immediate future.
So tiny, so susceptible to danger, I thought about her as I climbed into the truck on my side. Then, a unicorn horn spanked me in the forehead. Not so sure my assessment of her was right, I leaned away and raised my arm to impede the next blow. “What the hell, Cherise!”
The unicorn was pitched in the backseat. Cherise came flying out of hers at me next. I caught her by the waist. She straddled my lap, raining M and M-sized fists down on my
chest. Okay, maybe I hadn’t lost her. I sat quietly, letting her get it out of her system. When she was tired and breathing hard, I had to restrain my hands from tipping the sides of her mouth up, turning her scathing frown upside down. Then, she was on me again. Her mouth was a whirlwind, attacking mine with a vengeance. There was a lot of feistiness in this little package. By God, it would be mine.
We fought for dominance of the kiss, tongues dueling, then retreating to invade again. On their own accord, my hands glided up the back of her shirt to get better acquainted with the skin there. I massaged the length of her spine. She mewled against my mouth and grinded on my lap, stroking the monster already awakened in my pants. Heat from between her thighs scorched mine as she gyrated at a jerky rhythm. All notions of Andre were thrown away until he drove up beside us. We were two sitting ducks if that had been Chad doubling back to get her. That alone gave me the strength to pull away. Cherise inclined her forehead to mine. We both worked to catch our breath. I was faster.
“So, let me get this straight, Cherise. When I disobey, you’re going to whoop my ass, then kiss me, huh?”
“Yes, dammit! You can’t scare the hell out of me like that.” Good thing she wasn’t any bigger or stronger; I’d have some serious problems. She slid into her seat, buckling up. “Tobin, I get sick with worry about you when you run off after him like that.”
The last thing she should ever be was sick with worry because of something I had done. “Fine. I’ll make him come to me next time.”
“I’m not loving that either. But, I’ll take that over you running off on your own to face him who has God knows what waiting for you and me.” Like a running truck, he could easily turn into a weapon. She’d made a valid point.
I put our ride in gear. “You do know entering into an enemy’s territory is my specialty, right?”
She tipped her chin down and arched an eyebrow at me. “You do know that you’re human, and experts get caught slipping sometimes too, right?”
“Could you not counter all my statements with common sense, if you don’t mind?” I wisecracked on the way off the carnival’s grounds.
She lightly cracked me across the chest again. “Quit playing. I need you alive. I just found you again.”
“Again?” I pondered, more than eager to hear the story behind that but didn’t chase it.
She scrutinized the scenery rolling by via the windshield. “Yes, again. I wondered about you all these years, analyzing our first meeting in my spare time. I kept coming up with not sensing or feeling you as a threat, unlike the vibe I got from Shane. For some reason, I felt like you were trying to protect me, well us. Malaysia always felt you both were not good people, but I couldn’t see it after spending so many nights thinking about that encounter and the way you made me feel.”
That admission made my ears perk up with interest. “How did I make you feel?” I asked while monitoring the streets behind and before us.
