We were on a flight by nightfall, landing in Florida before heading our separate ways. After we wished each other luck and made plans to meet up, I headed toward Roxy.

Chapter 10.

It had been weeks since Blue and the rest of the club disappeared in federal custody. Wild rumors had started shortly after their arrest. There were murmurs that Rebel had been placed in witness protection and was feeding information to the Feds about the club. The timing made sense, so many of the old ladies and the left-behind prospect believed that s.h.i.t as gospel.

I was exhausted, barely able to stay awake as I drove home from my shift. Business at the club had plummeted after the arrests. Either the clientele was behind bars or people were too scared to come around, thinking they were being watched or that the club was bugged. It didn't seem worth showing up for fifty dollars in tips after dancing my a.s.s off and letting men paw me like I was a s.e.x toy. I was sick of it, ready to leave the life behind, but that would require relocating. What if Blue came looking for me, though, and I wasn't here? I couldn't leave until I knew where he was or how to contact him.

Walking into my kitchen, I tossed my purse on the table, not bothering to look at my phone. What was the point? My phone had been silent since he'd vanished. It didn't stop me from keeping it within hearing distance. I'd hurl myself off a bridge if I missed his call.

As I sauntered through the living room, a hand suddenly grabbed my wrist. I screamed b.l.o.o.d.y murder, flailing my hands as I tried to hit whoever was holding me in their grip. My heart was pounding so quickly that I thought it would explode. The blood coursed through my body, causing my temples to throb and my body to shake.

"Stop!" he snapped, grabbing my other wrist and holding me captive.

I couldn't see his face as I shrieked, hoping someone would hear me. Then my instincts kicked in and I fell to the floor, deciding I wouldn't make it easy. I'd use any means necessary to survive and not be raped by the slimeball.

"f.u.c.k you!" I yelled, now using my feet as weapons.

"Stop," he said again, trying to capture my legs with no success.

I kept kicking, pushing myself backward and toward the coffee table in the living room, as I searched for something to strike the intruder with.

"Roxy, stop fighting me!" the man hollered as he captured my ankle.

Instantly, I froze. I knew that voice. Maybe my brain was processing it wrong, the blood flowing through my ears helping mask the voice and making my fantasy come to life. I was likely hearing s.h.i.t.

"Get off me, f.u.c.ker!" I screamed, kicking him in the b.a.l.l.s.

As he bent over, cupping himself, I took the opportunity to reach back and open the drawer. As my fingers felt the cold steel of my gun, he pulled my feet, yanking me away.

"No!" I cried out, tears flooding my eyes.

"Roxy, it's me, Blue," he said, his voice strangled from pain. His hand released my leg before the light in the living room switched on, illuminating his face and giving me a view of my Blue.

I covered my mouth, shocked and a little horrified that I could have killed him. "How?" I mumbled from behind my fingers. My eyes were wide, slowly filling with tears as I drank him in.

"Rox," he whispered, kneeling down on the floor and wrapping me in his arms.

"How?" I asked again, unable to form any other words. I could barely process that he was inside my house after not having heard from him in two weeks.

"I had to come for you." He cradled my cheeks in his hands, placing kisses across my forehead before capturing my mouth.

"How?" I repeated in a garbled voice, his lips impairing my ability to speak.

He drifted backward and stared at me. "It's a long story, baby. I had to see you."

Before I could respond, he kissed me again, pulling me into his arms. At this point, I didn't give a f.u.c.k how he was here. All that mattered was that he was here in front of me and I was in his arms. His words, I had to come for you, echoed in my head as our tongues danced together, the longing we both felt clearly conveyed without words.

Had he escaped from jail? My heart was still pounding roughly in my chest, but now I felt paranoid as I thought about the cops busting through the door. f.u.c.k. I couldn't have him ripped from my life again.

Breaking the kiss, he sat down on the floor and hauled me into his lap. "We have to talk, angel."

"Talk. You have my full attention after once again making me think someone was here to murder me." I laughed, rubbing my nose against his. "Wait," I said, backing up enough to see his entire face. "Did you break out of jail? Are they looking for you, Blue?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "No one is looking for me."

"But how?" I asked, my jaw dropping in shock.

Touching my chin, he pushed my jaw closed, kissing my lips as he gripped my a.s.s.

"Rox, do you love me?" he asked, staring at me.

"You're kind of scaring me, Blue." I chewed my bottom lip, my eyebrows turning downward as I tried to figure out what the h.e.l.l was going on.

"Don't be scared. It's simple. Do. You. Love. Me?" His ice-blue eyes cut me deeply. I could see behind them the same war I had seen in him the last time we were together.

My voice was shaky as I spoke. "Yes."

My stomach started to hurt, the adrenaline from being scared to death wearing off. Blue looked so d.a.m.n serious that I knew something heavy was about to happen.

"You need to listen to me and understand everything I'm saying. Can you do that?" His voice was strong and stern. There was no smile playing on his lips and no smug smirk-only a serious look, his lips set in a thin line.

"I'm listening." I reached up, stroking his cheek and still not believing that he was really here, that I was sitting in his lap.

"Do you love me enough to leave this life?" he asked, motioning around my apartment with his hand. "To leave all this behind?"

I started to giggle. He had to be joking. I didn't live in a palace with servants. I was a stripper, living in an apartment with mediocre furniture at best. I didn't have a family to worry about. No parents to keep me here. Blue was my constant, and he had grown into my beacon of happiness over the last couple of months.

"I'm serious, Roxanne."

"Ooh, you're breaking out my proper name. You must be serious." I tried to stifle my laughter, but it was hopeless.

"Rox," he barked, shaking me slightly in his grip. "I mean it. Can you walk away from this town and your life and never look back? There's no turning back once you walk out that door." His eyes darted around my face as he stared at me.

"Are you in witness protection or something?" I blurted out as soon as the thought popped in my mind.

"No, angel. I'm not in witness protection."

"Then why can't I come back?"

"It's too dangerous. Too risky for me, and it will be for you too if you come with me."

My mouth hung open again. Had I heard him right? I shook my head, trying to rid myself of my mental fog.

"You want me to come with you?"

"Roxanne. I love you. I've loved you for a long time. There's no one but you in my heart. I couldn't move on without you." He nestled his face against my neck, inhaling my perfume. Moaning lightly, licking my flesh. "I wanted to run away with you for a long time, but I couldn't. My duty held me back. It stopped me from making you mine. I knew I couldn't have you. I had to wait to claim you for myself."

Reaching up, I grabbed his hair, fisting it between my fingers. "Blue, it's always been you."

"I tried to walk away. I spent days trying to tell myself to leave you alone, but I couldn't. You're it for me, Roxy. Please say you'll come with me and never look back."

My heart sped up, hammering in my chest as his words sank in. "You want me to be your old lady?" I asked as my chest nudged his with each rapid breath.

Moving his face from my neck, he grabbed my face and brought my eyes to his, capturing my full attention. "I'm not a biker. I just want you to be mine and only mine."

My heart felt like it would burst. My nose tingled as tears filled my eyes, blurring my vision.

"Do you mean that?"

"Roxy, I mean it. I was nothing before you came into my life. You kept me sane during the most trying time in my life. I wouldn't have survived if it weren't for your love."

I silently took in everything he'd just professed. It was everything I'd wanted to hear, yet it scared me to death. He was talking some heavy s.h.i.t, and I tried to process it all. Maybe he'd skipped bail and he wanted to leave the country before his court date.

"Are we moving to a new country?"

"No." He shook his head, the corner of his mouth twitching as he fought a smile.

"Then how? I just don't understand how you're here and want me to leave with you. Will we have to be on the run our entire life?" I paused and placed my hand over his mouth. "Even if you say we have to move for the rest of our lives, I'll follow you. I told you that I loved you, and I don't love easily, Blue."

A giant smile spread across his face, so ma.s.sive that it almost kissed his eyes. "Roxy, we won't have to be on the run. It's not like that."

"Um, okay. I need a minute, baby." I covered my eyes, slowly rubbing them and trying to wrap my head around his words. I was more confused than ever. Then something he'd said in the beginning came crashing into my thoughts.

"Wait. You said you're not a biker?"

He shook his head as his eyes briefly looked away before returning to mine. "No. I never have been."

My eyebrows drew together again as I crinkled my nose. "But-"

"I can't tell you everything. You'll need to trust me. Do you trust and love me enough to come with me blindly? I promise to tell you the whole story."

"That's some scary s.h.i.t, baby."

With that, his entire body shook as he burst into laughter.

"Rox, you loved me when you thought I was a biker. They're bad news. Criminals, drug dealers, and murderers. But you still loved me. What could be worse?"

"Hmm," I muttered, pursing my lips as if in deep thought. "You have a point there." I joined in his laughter before quickly sobering. "I'll come with you. I told you I'd follow you anywhere. Life has been torture here without you. Work is slow and I'm sick of taking my clothes off for strangers. I'm getting too old for this s.h.i.t anyway. I want to start over and become something else-someone else."

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight against his chest. "I promise to spend every day of my life making you happy, Roxy. You won't regret it. I promise you that."

I felt all warm and gushy inside. Finally, when I'd thought all hope had been lost, I heard the words I had been waiting for since the day I'd realized I loved him.

"I know you will, Blue." I peppered his face with kisses. The possibilities were endless, and I felt truly joyful for the first time in my life. Seeing the world through new eyes and dreams, I knew I could make myself over and start fresh.

"Why are you still sitting here, then? Pack up what you can in a few suitcases and let's get the f.u.c.k out of here. I'll explain the rest to you later."

Here was the point where most women would say no and ask a million questions, but in all honesty, what the h.e.l.l did I have to lose? Nothing was holding me here. I had no roots in the area. I was just another lost soul making my way through life with no tether. I'd follow him to the gates of h.e.l.l if it meant a possible chance at happiness.

Hopping to my feet, I held out my hand and helped lift him from the floor. He drew me into his arms, placing his lips against mine and kissing me with pa.s.sion and adoration. I felt it down to my toes. Tingles racked my body as his hands wandered my exposed flesh.

Blue was back and I couldn't be happier.

We pa.s.sed road signs signaling our distance to Tampa and he kept saying, "We're almost there." But I could barely keep my eyes open as we drove down the dark roads headed for the west coast of Florida. I fought a valiant battle, forcing my eyes to stay open.

"Where are we going, exactly, Blue?" I asked, and his name came out in a yawn.

"To my home," he replied, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Hometown or home?" I tried to shake myself awake as I pushed myself up in the seat.

"My home. This is where I'm from and where I really live."

My head started to spin as I realized there was very little I knew about the man. "You have a home home?"

"Yes, and I'm taking you there. Are you sure about this, Roxy? There's no going back. I don't mean I'll take you prisoner or hold you captive, but if you go back, you'll be in danger."

Swallowing hard, I nodded. "I'm sure," I said before letting out a giant breath. "Tell me where."

"I live in a town called Palm Harbor. It's about twenty minutes north of Clearwater. My parents and siblings live nearby."

My eyes grew wide. Oh my G.o.d. What if they hated me? I mean, who says, "Hey, Ma. This is my girlfriend and she's a stripper," and have his mother embrace the person? f.u.c.k. My stomach began to knot and my palms grew sweaty.

"Parents?" I said, rubbing my hands against my jeans.

"Don't worry. They're going to love you."

I felt overwhelmed. He'd said "siblings." As in plural. I'd never spent much time meeting other people's family. I was the girl who lurked in the shadows, not the type you brought home to Mom.

"I don't know, Blue." I slumped down in the seat and stared out the window as we exited the freeway and headed toward the coast.

"Stop worrying. If I love you, they'll love you."

"What are you going to say? 'Hey, Mom. This is Roxy and she's a stripper'? I mean, come on. No one can welcome that into their son's life."

"You don't know my parents. Besides, you can be anyone you want. You're starting fresh."

"True," I said, turning to look at his profile, which was lit by the streetlights as we pa.s.sed them and they flickered off and on.

"I don't have to meet them just yet, do I?" I whispered.

"You can meet them when you're ready."