Authors: Andria Large
She
makes a strangled noise and I know she's trying not to cry. "I don't
know," she finally sobs.
I
move her so that I can sit up against the headboard, then gather her up and put
her in my lap. I hold her as she falls completely apart. Her face is tucked into
the side of my neck and she's clutching my shirt as she bawls her eyes out. Oh
god, it hurts my heart to hear her cry like this, but I know that she needs it.
I let my own tears just roll down my face. I'm not a crier but after such a
traumatic event, I think I deserve to let some tears go.
I
rock her slowly and rub her back, letting her cry for as long as she needs.
After fifteen minutes, she finally quiets and she slowly gets heavier until she
finally goes slack - she's fallen asleep. I kiss her forehead and gently lay
her down on the bed. My shoulder is soaked, so I pull my shirt off, wipe her
eyes and nose, and then toss the shirt on the floor. I lie down next to her and
wrap my arms around her, pulling her back against my front. I tuck my face into
the back of her neck and take a deep breath. We're alive. We're safe. That's
all that matters.
~Nicole~
I
wake with a gasp. My eyes dart around the darkened room as I try to figure out
where I am. I slowly remember that I'm at Beau and Lizette's. Then the rest of
the day hits me and I groan. I roll over and realize that I'm alone. I know Ace
was here because he held me while I fell apart then fell asleep on him. I
wonder if he got any sleep. I stretch, being careful not to stretch my neck too
much. It doesn't even feel right to turn my head from side to side; I can feel
the stitches pull under the bandage and it freaks me out. I get out of bed and
quietly open the door, needing to find the bathroom before coming into contact
with anyone. I quickly make my way down the hall to the bathroom and close
myself in. I turn on the light then have to squint against the brightness of
it. I have no idea what time it is, but it sounds pretty quiet in the rest of
the condo.
I
go to the sink and wash the smudged makeup off my face. I stare into the mirror
after drying off my face, gingerly touching the bandage that is taped to my
neck. The skin around the bandage is starting to bruise. I swallow hard and try
not to think about how close I came to dying. I make my way out into the main
living area of the condo and into the great room/kitchen combo. The lights are
on and it seems like everyone and their mother are sitting in the living room,
talking softly. Every member of Renegade is here, including a few bodyguards - Dennis
and another guy that I've never met. Luckily, Ace spots me first. He gets up
and comes over to me.
I'm
met with a tender kiss. "Hey, baby, did you sleep good?" he asks with
a soft smile.
I
nod. "I did, actually. Did you sleep at all?"
I
already know the answer just by how ragged he looks. His hair is a mess and his
normally bright eyes are dull and have dark circles under them. He looks
absolutely exhausted.
"Maybe
an hour." He sighs heavily, shaking his head.
I
frown and brush the backs of my fingers over his stubbled jaw. "Bad
dreams?" I whisper.
He
swallows hard and gives me a curt nod. He takes my hand that's on his face and
kisses my palm before turning and leading me into the living room. Everyone is
up out of their seats and giving me hugs and kisses. Dennis introduces me to
the guy standing next to him.
"Nicole,
this is my roommate and best friend, Tucker," he says to me, then turns
his head to talk to Tucker. "Tucker, this is Nicole," he says.
I
tilt my head in curiosity as I notice that Tucker watches Dennis' mouth when he
talks. Tucker turns toward me with a bright smile and holds out his hand.
"Hi, nice to meet you," he says.
I
shake his hand. "You, too."
"Wish
we could have met under better circumstances," he says sincerely.
I
nod in agreement. Tucker is a really good-looking guy with his dark mass of
wavy hair and his shockingly crystal blue eyes. He has a naturally cocky yet
sexy grin and is built like you wouldn't believe. He's wearing a black wife
beater and gray sweatpants and his biceps are probably about the size of my
head. Well, maybe not that big, but close.
"I
see the look on your face and if you're wondering, yes, I am deaf and I was
reading Dennis' lips," he says with a good-natured smile.
I
blush. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to be rude."
"Please,
it's fine, don't worry about it," he says dismissively.
I
nod and go back over to Ace, who pulls me down onto his lap. Everyone starts
talking again but I don't really listen to any of it. I lay my head on Ace's
shoulder and lace my fingers with his. Ace is running his fingers from his
other hand up and down my arm. It's very soothing actually. All of the talking
is interrupted by a knock on the front door. Everyone kinda frowns because
everyone is here and we have no idea who could possibly be at the door. Beau
gets up and answers it.
"Where
the fuck is Nicole?" I hear Raelynn's voice say.
Ace
and I glance at each other before I jump up and start for the door. My little
blonde bombshell of a friend shoves Beau aside and storms into the condo with
Sebastian on her heels.
"Oh
my god, Rae, what are you doing here? How did you even know where I was?"
I ask in confusion.
"Bitch,
I'm a detective. You don't think I have connections? What the fuck is going on
and when were you going to call me?" she shrieks.
"Raelynn,
relax, she's been through a lot today," Ace says as he comes up and puts
his arm around my shoulders.
"Fuck
you, Ace! Don't tell me to relax! My best friend almost dies and I can't get a
fucking phone call?" she shouts furiously.
"I'm
sorry, Rae, I didn't even call my mom yet." I sigh.
"Oh,
don't I know it. She's been calling me nonstop trying to find out what’s going
on because you're not answering your phone," she snaps.
I
frown. "I don't even know where my phone is."
"You
still could have called your mother; she's worried sick about you, and so am I.
That's why I'm here - I have been dying to find out if you are even still alive
or not because every report on the news is different."
"I'm
sorry," I say again.
It's
then that Raelynn really looks at me. Her eyes zero in on the bandage on my
neck and her eyes well up.
"Oh
my god, your neck," she squeaks before pressing her fingers to her mouth.
I
go to her and give her a hug. She clings to me and starts apologizing for her
outburst. I brush it off, knowing that she is just worried and upset. As I'm
hugging Rae, I hear Sebastian say to Ace, "I'd like a word with you in
private." Oh great, here we go, Sebastian is probably going to give Ace
shit about the whole cheating thing.
Dennis
stands and moves toward Ace and Sebastian. “I’m not comfortable with that. Who
are you?” Dennis asks Sebastian warily.
“I’m
Sebastian Beck, Nicole and my wife Raelynn as best friends,” he says, holding
out his hand to Dennis.
“It’s
cool Dennis, they are friends,” Ace assures him.
Dennis
shakes Sebastian’s hand. “I’m Dennis Parrish, Ace’s bodyguard until Alex gets
better.”
“Nice
to meet you, my man,” Sebastian replies.
“You,
too,” Dennis murmurs.
Ace
gives Dennis a clap on the shoulder before he leads Sebastian down the hall and
into the guest room where we are staying, shutting the door behind them. After
Raelynn calms down, I introduce her to everyone and wait for Ace and Sebastian
to come back.
~Ace~
I
shut the door behind us and wait for Sebastian to rail into me. I'm ninety
percent sure that he's going to hit me, so I'm shocked when he sits down on the
end of the bed and laces his fingers together, placing them in his lap. I blink
curiously at him and wonder what he wants to talk to me about.
"I
heard about what happened at Nicole's parents’ house with her father," he
says.
I
hum in acknowledgement. "Yeah, that was pretty bad.
I really felt horrible for Nikki," I
say.
"Fuck
her dad man, you don't need his approval. All you need is mine and you got it,
so don't worry about it," he says seriously.
I
bark out a laugh. "You are one cocky sonofabitch, you know that?"
Sebastian
grins. "Yes, I do."
I
chuckle. "I thought you were gonna rail on me about the whole cheating
debacle."
"Yeah,
well, I was, but Rae and I had a cheating misunderstanding early in our relationship,
so I can commiserate." He sighs.
"Thanks,
man," I say sincerely.
Sebastian
nods. "So are you planning on marrying Nikki?"
I
smirk. "No beating around the bush for you, huh? Just throwing out the big
guns."
Sebastian
snickers. "Always, my friend."
I
shake my head and roll my eyes at him. This guy is nuts.
"Well?"
"I
haven't asked her yet, but I was planning on marrying her when we make our stop
in Las Vegas.
Just elope. We all
know having a regular wedding will never work with her father being the way he
is;
it would only hurt Nicole, so I
thought this would be better."
"You
just gonna spring it on her when you get to Las Vegas? Like "Hey, baby,
while we're here, let’s get married?" he asks.
I
laugh. "Yeah, kinda. You think that's stupid?"
Sebastian
shakes his head. "No, I think it's awesome. And Nicole is definitely the
kind of woman that you can do something like that with."
"You
don't think she'll say no, do you?" I ask hesitantly.
"Man,
not with the way she talks to Rae about you. You are her world. There is no way
in hell that she's going to say no," Sebastian assures me.
I
blow out the breath I didn't even realize I was holding. "Okay,
good."
"I
only have one request," Sebastian says.
"What's
that?"
"You
at least have to have Rae and me there. She is going to need her best friend,"
he says.
I
nod. "You are absolutely right. I'll fly you guys out; you can come to the
concert, too."
Sebastian
throws his arms up and whoops. "Yes! It's been my dream in life to see one
of your concerts! Oh my gawd!" he says in his valley girl voice.
I
shake my head. "Fucking dick," I mutter but can't help the smile that
spreads across my face. "Come on; let’s get back out there before they
think we're fighting."
"Like
O.M.G.
You mean I get to meet the
rest of Renegade? Like, I'm gonna fucking die!"
I
open the door and walk out, unable to stop my laughter as I head down the hall
with the big goofy ass blonde monster of a man on my heels talking like a
teenage girl. I would love to know where Raelynn found this freak. After I
introduce Sebastian to everyone, he turns to me.
"So
where
is
Alex anyway?" he asks.
"Still
in the hospital." I frown.
"Damn,
maybe I can visit him tomorrow before we head back to Philly," Sebastian
says.
"I'm
sure he'd like that," I say with a small grateful smile.
"Do
you two have a place to stay tonight?" Lizette asks Raelynn.
"No,
we were going to get a hotel room," she says.
"Don't
waste your money, we have another room you two can stay in," she says.