“Finish that sentence and I’ll stab you in your sleep.” She glares at me before plopping down to sit next to Levi.
Laughing at that face of hers, I nod my head. “Fair enough.”
Fuck, it feels far too right to lift my arm and place it over Allie’s shoulder with Levi between us.
Everything in the world just seems so right, so good right now, I smile and watch the show. Levi is so fucking infectious with his enthusiasm, I get caught up in it.
A loud pounding on my front door yanks me out of it though, followed by Hammy shouting out to Steve about something.
Well, fuck, looks like it’s time to go to work.
Chapter Twelve
Allie
Stuck on the couch with Coy and Levi, I try my best to be interested in Levi’s show for him.
But my mind won’t stop racing and my emotions are all over the place.
When I woke up this morning, I was so mad I could have spit fire. But now… Now I don’t know how I feel.
I want to stay angry at Coy, I do. But the bastard is making it incredibly hard for me.
There are so many reasons to be angry with him. He put us through hell yesterday, and last night…
Oh god, last night.
I can’t even think about it without my stomach clenching.
And yet I can’t hate him.
No, after what he said in the kitchen about the accident, then what he said in the bedroom about protecting us, I can’t fucking hate him.
I think I even feel a little guilty, guilty for something I know I haven’t done, and it’s confusing as hell.
His words keep replaying like a broken record over and over in my head.
I was there the whole time you were in a coma.
You were my fucking Allie Cat and you left me.
You’re mine, Allie. I took claim on you a long time ago. You tell me you don’t remember me, but you will.”
I don’t know what to make of it all. It’s fucking confusing as hell.
I’m still not willing to believe I’m the girl he’s been talking about. Why would I believe a stranger over my parents? Especially a stranger who fucking kidnapped me and is keeping me and my child hostage.
So why do I feel guilt?
And why does a little part of me want to be Coy’s Allie? Why does a part of me want to be his?
I just don’t fucking know.
But the one thing I do know is that Coy is crazy, and if I’m not careful, he’s going to make me crazy too.
Coy and Levi both start laughing over something that’s happening in the show, and for the hundredth time since we all sat down, Coy’s hand squeezes around my shoulder.
My skin instantly warms and tingles.
I try to shrug his hand off, but it only seems to encourage him to squeeze tighter. Giving up, I force a smile as Levi peeks up at me even though Coy’s touch is driving me a little insane.
If Coy would just stop touching me, if he’d just stop looking at me like he wants to devour me and give me a little room to breathe, I could get my head screwed on straight.
Because right now, on top of the tangled mess in my brain, I swear I feel like I’ve stepped into the Twilight Zone.
This whole thing is wrong on so many levels.
I was kidnapped, I’m being held against my will, and the guy who did it all is sitting next to my son, laughing it up like this whole situation is completely normal.
He’s so sure I’m his Allie, so confident I’m the girl from his past, he even has Levi calling him Dad, for Christ’s sake.
If my entire body didn’t hurt and feel like one big damn bruise, I’d wonder if this was even real.
How the hell did we get from Miami to here?
If I had even the slightest inkling this was going to happen, I would have kept on driving. I wouldn’t have stopped until we hit the west coast, and I probably would have kept on driving even from there.
Kentucky is only meant to be a layover. A place to lay low for a few months until the heat dies down. Robert is working on a way to get us safely out of the country, but if I can’t figure out a way to get away from Coy, we might be stuck here.
I have to find a way to get in contact with Robert.
Coy’s hand squeezes my shoulder a little tighter, almost like he can read my mind, and again my first instinct is to try and shrug him off.
I don’t want to be stuck here… I don’t.
No matter how strong he weaves this spell he’s trying to put me under, I’ll get us out of this.
And soon.
I have to because something is telling me things are only going to get even worse. The longer we stay here, the more likely it is things are going to get even more fucked up.
Mikhail could show up at any minute.
Hell, Coy’s Allie could show up.
What then?
Someone bangs on the front door, and after the thought I just had, I nearly jump out of my skin.
I shoot a glance over at Coy and he seems completely unconcerned. A little disappointed and irritated, but not concerned.
“Well, looks like it’s time for me to go to work, son,” he says to Levi and reluctantly slides his arm off my shoulders.
“Aww,” Levi pouts up at him, and seeing his disappointment makes me feel a little sick.
Coy ruffles Levi’s hair affectionately before he gets to his feet. “I won’t be gone too long, I still gotta find out what happens to those droids.”
Levi seems to perk up at that.
Coy chuckles and gives his hair another ruffle. “Take care of your momma for me.”
Levi glances at me and then grins. “I will!”
Coy grins right back at him. “That’s my boy.”
Then he turns his attention to me.
His eyes fill with so much emotion I find myself shrinking back into the couch, seeking space to ease the intensity between us.
He reaches for me and his fingers start to dig into my hair before he must think better of it.
Sliding his fingers out my hair, he brushes them gently against my unbruised cheek and growls softly, “I’ll be back. Get some rest, you need it.”
Despite my determination not to let him get to me, a little shiver runs through me as he turns away from me, and I curse my stupid body as I watch him walk up to the front door.
I’m so flustered with myself, I stare at his back without seeing what it says on the black vest he’s wearing until he pulls open the door.
Then the words seem to just jump out at me like they’re demanding not to be ignored.
Royal Bastards MC
Why didn’t I notice that before?
The name doesn’t really mean anything to me, I don’t know anything about biker gangs, but there’s something about it…
Something…
Fuck.
I don’t know what it is, but the words are making me feel a little irritated.
“Hey, boss man,” a familiar voice says, and then the blond guy from Walmart walks through the door.
I find myself getting to my feet in alarm before I even realize I’m doing it. Then I remember what Coy said earlier.
I’ve got brothers comin’ over to keep your narrow ass safe.
Dammit.
“Poster Boy,” Coy grunts and nods his head at him before he has to make room for the next guy who walks through the door.
“Pres,” the next guy says with a tone of respect as he bobs his head, and my ears perk up.