#NYGirl (Midwest Boys Series Book 4) Page 11

My brow arches. “Unless you’re the one doing all the yielding.”

  Kai sighs and runs his fingers through his hair, causing some of the pieces to fall forward, “You wouldn’t be, Oak. I promise you, while you finish up school, I will take as many trips to New York as I can. When you graduate, we can see where things land.”

  “So every couple of months, we’ll be in the same place, figuring out who needs to be where. Long-distance relationships don’t always work out, Kai,” I point out.

  “Saylor and Ci did. Lux and Silas are right now. It can be done, Oaklynn. It’s all about what you put into it. And this isn’t winning or losing. If we’re together that should be all that matters,” he argues back.

  I feel my hands start to shake, so I pull them in and hide them under the table. His idea sounds good in theory, but I’m still scared to give up all power and blindly follow him here. New York has been my home since I was little. I’m safe there. It’s what I know and where I’m comfortable. While living where I do, people have never been shot in front of me or buildings haven’t exploded. I’ve never been worried about a serial killer or a lackey for a crime family chasing me through the forest, until I came here. I’m already taking a huge risk by associating with Rogue, and I don’t know if I can give up my safety net too. Kai would be more devastated if I tried it and then wanted to leave later.

  “Maybe we just see how things go then. There isn’t a huge rush to get back into a relationship until we discuss more about how things look.”

  Kai leans back in the booth and his eyes narrow. “Are you fucking kidding me? What is so great about staying in New York? Your brother is working and lives halfway around the world and your dad is close to retirement. Do you think your parents want to stay in New York full-time when they retire? No. I heard your mom tell my mom she hopes that they can live somewhere warm for half the year.”

  “I can work once I graduate, and I have an apartment,” I hiss back, hating that he knows personal information about my parents that I don’t.

  “You can work anywhere with your degree. I happen to know a company in need of a surveillance photographer.” Kai shrugs. “And your apartment...that lease could disappear as fast as it was created.”

  “You wouldn’t.” I feel the anger burning bright in my chest, the heat crawling its way up to my cheeks.

  Kai folds his arms over his chest and smirks. Ugh, I hate that stupid smirk and hate that I feel like I’m being backed into a corner. I can’t do this again. “I will do anything I need to. I’m not giving up on us again. So tell me, Oak, one more time, what is it about New York that you just can’t leave to be here with me?”

  My eye straight-up twitches. It’s right on the edge of my tongue to say, but I realize how it will sound. The silence at our table is deafening. I also know that Kai can wait me out; he is the master at letting me think my way through everything, all the while he’s devising his own strategies. “Safety.”

  I know the minute I say it, it was the wrong thing to say. Kai’s face turns to stone and the mask I see him use, while in Rogue-mode, slides into place. I can’t even get out the words for an apology before Kai is up and out of his seat, grabbing my arm and dragging me behind him. He tosses a few bills on the table and rushes us out the door.

  “What are you doing?” I ask, my voice pitched, as we get a few stares on our way out. We never even ordered food.

  Kai doesn’t speak; instead, he leads me away from my vehicle and to his car. Kai opens the passenger door and helps me in before getting in himself. “Where are we going?” Kai doesn’t answer me. He drives us out of town a few miles, and when we pull off onto a different road, my heart starts hammering in my chest. I know where we are, and I don’t want to be here. Memories of the past are too painful here.

  Kai parks right up to the sand and gets out. I have no other option. My fingers feel like ice as I grab the door handle and open it. The minute I’m out, Kai rounds on me, ready to do battle.

  “I would never hurt you. I promise on my life, Oaklynn, that you will never be hurt by me or that anything from the past will touch you while in Rogue. The whole purpose of us taking over is to implement what we’ve learned and to do it right. I won’t keep secrets from you, and I swear you will never feel unsafe when you are with me,” he pleads, and I feel the same shaky, scared feeling I had four years ago.

  “It doesn’t feel that simple,” I try to explain but fail. The more he keeps blocking all my worries, the less and less clear my original point is.

  “I talked to Ci and Si. After we’ve implemented all our new ideas and we’re stable, there is a chance we can look at expanding. If that time comes and you want to go back East, I’ll go with you.”

  My head snaps up, my blue eyes caught in his brown ones. “You would do that?”

  “Yes,” Kai sighs, his arms dropping to his sides, “just admit you love me too, and put us out of our fucking misery.”

  “I do. I love you. I never stopped, even when I wanted to. Even when I thought the pain would never go away, I still loved you,” I tell him honestly, with no hesitation. Tears start to stream down my cheeks.

  “I love you, Oaklynn. I never stopped either,” Kai tells me, moving in and winding his arms around my back, pulling my body close to his. I go willingly, standing on my tiptoes to bring my face closer to his. Kai assaults my mouth, his kiss brutal, demanding and urgent. I kiss him back just as hard, my arms going around his neck, trying to get as close to him as humanely possible. Kai’s hands skate down my sides, massaging circles into my hips, his fingers flexing and grabbing, while he holds me to him. Our mouths move desperately, each of us trying to steal the other’s air.

  My back hits the door of the car and I groan into Kai’s mouth. Excitement and lust pour through my veins. It’s been too long since I’ve been kissed by Kai, loved by the man who loves me. The next thing I know, the car door is open and he gets in the driver’s seat, before pulling me in on top of him. The door closes, and soon, the windows are fogged and dewy. My fingers slide the buttons out of Kai’s shirt until it’s hanging open at his sides. His hands mold around my breasts, palming them through my dress. I rock against him, causing a friction that is driving us both wild, until my core aches, and I’m so wet, I can feel it between my thighs.

  I break away from the intensity of the kiss, and my eyes meet his. His cheeks are flushed, his lips are swollen, and it’s the most delicious sight I’ve ever seen. Kai grabs me by the jaw. “I love you so fucking much.”

  “I love you too, Kai,” I assure him, rocking my body into his, my fingers tightening in the material on his shoulders.

  Kai’s hand dips below the skirt of my dress, and suddenly, I feel his fingers hook around my underwear, tugging them to the side. He pushes a finger inside my heat. I clench around him, wanting more, but loving what this feeling does to me. I need him badly, want him desperately.

  Kai holds my gaze as he positions me over his cock, and lines up, pushing in slowly, stretching and rubbing against my inner walls. I need a second to breathe, feeling completely full, before I start moving up and down on my own. Kai holds my gaze as he slowly drives into me, building my orgasm and torturing me at the same time.

  “I need you, Kai, please,” I beg, and watch as some of his self-control snaps. His hands grip my hips, his fingers digging in so tightly I know I’ll have bruises tomorrow, while he thrusts up into me like a madman. His lips devour mine, biting, scraping, until I can’t breathe. My head falls back, and he drags his mouth down my neck to my shoulder where he bites lightly. My body tightens in response and he moans against my skin.

  “Fuck, baby.”

  My body locks up at his words. “I love you,” I cry out again. My legs shake, and my vision becomes spotty, while he fucks me through my orgasm. My palms hit the roof of the car, bracing, while he pumps harder and faster, wringing out every last spasm in my body before he tenses up, his mouth parting, my name on his lips while he chases his own release.

 
Kai slumps down in the seat and my body buckles over his. I can feel the strength of his heartbeat under my ear and I burrow my head further in, breathing in his skin and the scent that is uniquely him. I know I can be happy here in Minnesota. It will be an adjustment, and I will need to familiarize myself more with Rogue, but I can do it. My friends are here. My family is already immersed in the life. My home and my life is where Kai is, and I never want to be away from him again.

  Kai

  6 months later…

  I’m fucking going to be late. Our first official Rogue meeting, with everyone in attendance, and of course, I’m going to be late. When Ciaran asked me to stop and pick up the celebratory coffees, Lux’s choice since it’s her celebration, I agreed. I like a good party, I like boosting team morale, and we were finally all together.

  Lux finished up her enlistment and flew in from California a week ago. We gave her and Silas their time, but now it was up. We have work to do.

  Oaklynn finished her last semester and then I flew her ass back to Minnesota the next day. I was able to easily terminate her contract at the apartment complex, and she was already looking for jobs here, as a side hustle to the surveillance photos she will be doing for Rogue. I didn’t let her out of my sight or my bed for the first week. Knowing she was coming back after our night at the lake, I bought a house because, why not. Give me some more time and money and I’ll be buying a ring for her as well. I’m taking notes from Ci and locking her down while I can. After four years apart, I know there is no one else for me and there never will be. Time and distance didn’t matter to us. I knew she was it the moment I heard her voice.

  Deciding to cut some time, I turn off onto one of the gravel roads, behind a neighboring farm, and kick the speed down to 90. I can’t be late. A cloud of dust forms beneath my tires and gravel pings against my windshield, which I can barely hear over Eminem and Lil Wayne’s “Drop the World.” My high beams dance over the rows of corn, suddenly catching a glint of metal. The reflection flashes in my eye and I slam my brakes down, a dark frame disappearing into the rows of corn.

  I leap out of my car and run toward where I saw the person disappear. Ignoring the biting cold air, I glance around at the ground where the person was standing. The grass is covered in a dark red, wet substance that looks like blood. I see flashes of red against the corn stalks, as if someone brushed against it. My training kicks in and I dive into the corn, running to keep up with the snapping noise I hear in the distance. Thankfully, there is a moon tonight, which is somewhat helpful. I keep running until all I hear is silence. My eyes close, paying attention to the detail of the quietness. I can hear their shallow breathing. I blindly turn to my left and swing my arm into the corn. My fist connects with muscle, and soon, we’re grappling. He’s wearing a mask, and I fight to grab it while trying to dominate over his posture. I fake right and step left, my foot landing on something large, and I stumble away. At the last minute, my hand reaches out and grabs a fistful of ski mask.

  “Holy shit,” I gape from the ground, “Reed?”

  My eyes glance down. On the grass is a body, the chest exposed and the beginning carvings of a warning message are etched in the person’s skin. “No way.”

  “He’s a bad person,” Reed answers, his stare locked on his victim, “they all were.”

  “It was you?” I manage to get out, even with my body in shock. I quickly jump to my feet. “But how? Does Matt know?”

  “He figured it out,” Reed shrugs, “I wasn’t exactly hiding, but it was easier this way.”

  “Is this why you left? Fuck. The whole time this was you?”

  Reed gives me a bored look and his dead eyes convey very little judgment. “You need to go back. I have work to do.” He glances back to his victim and I look again too.

  “I don’t recognize him.”

  “You wouldn’t,” Reed answers quickly, “he asked Oaklynn out on her last day of school.”

  “Reed…”

  “He has a history of alleged sexual assault on five different college campuses,” Reed explains, and I grimace. “I sent the file to Matt. I did the digging and it was all true. He wasn’t convicted because his father is rich and has bought each school a new wing.”

  This piece of shit was on the same campus as Oaklynn. Breathing her air. He was a monster, a predator, and I can’t find it in myself to care that he’s dead. My gaze runs over Reed, wondering exactly how he got this job and what it means if Matt knows. Before I can ask, I hear a car honk close by us. With one more glance at Reed, I take off in the direction I came, before someone decides to report my vehicle.

  I manage to make it to Rogue Auto Repair, late, but with lukewarm coffee. My mind is so discombobulated with Reed’s bomb that I hardly pay attention to what Lux and Saylor are showing us. I’m completely zoned out when I hear Ciaran repeat my name.

  He’s watching me, concerned, and I can’t even make a sentence. “Reed.”

  “What about him?” Silas asks, his brow raised and a smile on his lips.

  “I saw him run into the cornfield. I followed him and there was a body on the ground. His chest was all carved up.” I manage to get the story out. I hear a few gasps, but it’s mostly quiet.

  “We have to tell Matt.” Silas jumps up, but I shoot my hand out, stopping him.

  “Reed said Matt knows already. Is this what he meant when he said he was handling things? Is Reed just our personal cleaner?”

  Ciaran’s hands are folded in front of his face, his head bowed. Lux, Saylor and Oaklynn are stunned. Saylor keeps her gaze focused on Ci.

  “If Matt knew then he had a reason. We can ask him, or we can just keep doing what we’re doing. Reed is on our side. He doesn’t pose a threat to us. If anything, he’s taking out the threat before it reaches us,” Ciaran finally says. He glances at all of us, and I nod at him.

  “If Matt knew, then I vote we just let it be,” Silas announces, and I nod again in agreement. All the girls murmur the same, and soon, it’s unanimous.

  I turn to Ciaran, and look him over, sitting in his chair at the head of the table. We’re finally here. All of us, exactly as it should be. I wink at Oaklynn and she blows me a little kiss. Yeah, this is exactly how things should be.

  “What’s next, boss?”

  The End

  Readers Choice Bonus Scenes!

  The Hearts Series

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  Hearts and Bruises

  Chapter One

  August

  Twelve cities. Twelve different states. Twelve new schools in over roughly four years. My dad didn’t think much about packing us up and moving across country. He w
as constantly chasing the dream job, a new opportunity, escaping a relationship that went south, or just if the wind blew in the right direction... I’d come home, and our belongings were packed in the trunk of the small SUV.

  After the seventh move, I gave up trying to make friends, unpacking my belongings or even trying in school. Many counselors told me to remember my dad was grieving and going through a hard time. Bull. All of it’s bull. He felt guilty. He may not have been the one to put the pills in her hand but his affairs added to the reasons she chose to take all seventy-five of those pills at once. So, every time his conscience reared its ugly face… we moved.

  I laid my head against the glass window. The Southern California sun beat through the tint warming my face. This was the first move to California. I was already missing the steadiness of the small Texas town we left. The scenery here was better though. I was a bigger fan of palm trees than the brush and plain Texas Ash. I sighed.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go with me tonight, Nora?” my dad asked, glancing at me from the driver’s seat. “Ander’s daughter Mikayla is only a year older than you. She knows the school and what teachers you may have.” He sounded hopeful that this information would change my mind. We moved again when my dad’s long-time friend from college asked him to be part of his new company. Of course my dad jumped at the opportunity to start fresh. It also gave him the opportunity to break off his strained relationship with his secretary. Ander’s wife had invited us over to dinner with their family since we were arriving in town this evening. I knew Dad was looking forward to catching up with Anders, but after being crammed in the car during a long drive, I just wanted to stretch my body and explore the new home. The twinge in my neck had moved past annoying to very uncomfortable.

  “I need to unpack,” I told him. We both knew it was a lie though. I’d unpack the bedding and a few sets of clothes, but the rest of my stuff would sit in boxes until we moved again.