Page 24 of Loch
I couldn’t move, no matter how hard my brain was willing my body to. I felt the hot trail of tears down my cheeks. He let go of her neck and stalked towards me. My eyes glued to his as he got closer. My breath caught in my chest and I could feel my heart pounding hard. I snapped out of it too late. I tried to turn and run, but his hands were on my shoulders, pushing me up against the wall. My head flew back and I let out a yelp as it made contact with the wall behind me.
“You are mine, now,” he whispered in my ear. “I did this for us, Reagan.” His breath was hot and sticky on my neck.
I tried to shake him off, but he was too strong. He wrapped his hand around my neck and pushed me harder into the wall. Then his fist reared back and I closed my eyes to the oncoming blows. Three hard hits to the face and white spots dotted the darkness behind my lids.
“Ever since I saw you I knew I was going to have you.” He licked up my neck and I felt the bile rise up my throat.
Something in my brain clicked as I felt his free hand reach for my pants. I struggled with all my might. My arms and legs flailed wildly and finally my knee made contact between his legs. He wavered enough for me to punch him in the throat, and then he dropped me. I ran. I ran without looking back. Thankful that I still had my purse slung over my body.
The same images played on a loop over and over again every time I closed my eyes. I wondered if I would ever be free from the nightmare, but deep down I knew I would never be.
Tuesday I woke up exhausted and dragging. Coffee didn’t help. When it came time to get ready for work, I could barely peel myself off of the couch. After a lengthy shower, I was able to pull myself together enough to get dressed. I was in for a long night and hoped it wouldn’t be busy.
I was tired. I was tired of being tired. I hated the feeling that my life was out of control. I hated the notion that I was weak in any way. I had a sensation deep inside that Lance was going to come after me. And I knew it was only a matter of time before everything came crashing down.
I shoved my feet in my boots. Taking a deep breath, I prepared for the walk to the bar. I was still holding strong that I wasn’t going to drive that new car Nate bought me. It wasn’t a long walk, but I knew it would seem like it. I was half tempted to give in and take that fucking new car. But I was too stubborn to let myself break down and do it. I pulled open the front door and in my dazed state almost missed it as I headed down the stairs.
There in the driveway was my old car. The one that had gotten me through so much. It was much cleaner than the last time I saw it. I ran over to it, feeling suddenly energized. I threw my body on the hood, arms spread wide like I was hugging the damn thing. I may have giggled a little, too. I looked up and noticed a scrap of white fabric tied to the antenna. It waved in the wind calling a truce to this stupid thing. It looked like an old cut up cotton shirt. I smiled wider. It was cute and it made me warm on the inside. I knew I had to forgive him and move on. I hopped in and happily drove to the bar, excited to see Nate.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Loch
I sat there at the end of the bar, fidgeting nervously with some paperwork in front of me. I was trying to go over expense reports for the bar, but the more I looked at them the less my mind took in. Reagan was due there any minute. I’d left her car for her to find and I hoped it would end this feud we had going on. I longed to hear her voice. And not the clipped tones and short answers I’d been getting. I wanted to see her bright smile directed towards me again.
The door jerked open and the sunlight spilled into the dim bar. She walked in with purpose and the dust from the lot whirled around her as she stepped inside. In a second, her eyes found mine. Our gaze never broke as she walked up to me. She tossed her keys and phone onto the bar top. And for a second, I thought her lips were going to crash into mine. I turned towards her, opening my body up willingly. To my disappointment, she stopped with not even an inch between our lips. I didn’t look away from her eyes, but I saw her pull her bottom lip into her mouth, wet it, then slowly release it. My breath caught at the sight. I could tell she was nervous and trying her best to hide it. She was fucking sexy and she wasn’t even trying to be. I resisted the urge to pull her into me and claim her with everything I had in me. Because, fuck, Reagan had gotten to me.
“You’re forgiven.” Her breath was warm across my lips. She smirked, then barely brushed her lips on the corner of my mouth. I groaned internally. The intentionally misplaced peck wasn’t enough. And now I wanted to feel those soft lips molded against mine more than ever. She stepped back, still smirking, and I wondered if she could tell how much of a mess I was on the inside. I blinked as she turned around and headed behind the bar.
I should have been pissed at her words. I was forgiven?! Who the hell did she think she was? No one talked to me like that. I was only trying to do something nice. Who knew it was going to blow up in my face that big? Everyone except me, apparently. But it still didn’t stop me from wanting to take care of her. However, I just couldn’t find it in me to be pissed at her. I was about to say something when my phone started to ring in my pocket.
“Yeah?” I answered after seeing it was Bocca.
“Need you to come to the clubhouse, brother.” His tone was serious. I knew he was still looking into Reagan’s roommate and her boyfriend. He hadn’t been able to find much, and both the girls were still considered missing. I hadn’t said anything to Reagan about any of it. I had a feeling that she would be raging mad if she knew I was going behind her back looking into her. What choice did I have? She wasn’t giving me anything.
“On my way,” I replied low, then dropped the call as I stood up.
Reagan looked up at me, her face a little sad when she noticed I was leaving. Part of me smiled on the inside. Most of the time she tried to hide how she felt about me. But then there were those rare moments when she let her guard down, and it was the best of times.
“Gotta head to the clubhouse for a bit. I’ll be back.” She gave me an acknowledging chin lift before I left.
I liked that she didn’t typically ask a lot of questions. I also liked it when she did hit something I wasn’t going to talk about, she dropped it. No doubt in the back of my mind that she would make the perfect old lady. But I wasn’t ready to even entertain any kind of thoughts like that. Or so I kept trying to convince myself.
I made my way through the clubhouse with hurried steps, not looking at anyone as I went through the hall to Bocca’s room. I didn’t want to be stopped. I was on a mission. I felt like time was closing in on me and I needed answers. Things with the club were off. Things with Reagan were off. The heaviness of having no control was starting to crush me. And that was something I couldn’t handle.
“What’s goin’ on?” I barked as I stepped into Bocca’s open door. He motioned for me to close the door. I checked the hall to make sure no one was hanging around before I shut it.
“The roommate’s car was seen in Dallas three days ago, at that gentlemen’s club Reagan used to work at.” He shoved a grainy picture at me that looked like it had been taken from cheap security footage. The car was empty, but it the license plate was clear as day. I guessed it was taken from the parking lot of the club. “I tried to tap into the footage on the inside but it seems there aren’t any cameras in the club. It seems to be a very exclusive place. I would bet a lot of people that pay good money to not have their face photographed going there.”
“So, could it be the roommate? She could’ve taken off?” I knew it couldn’t be that simple and easy. Bocca gave me a look letting me know it was most likely not that. “Where is the boyfriend?”
“That’s the thing.” He let out a long breath. “I don’t know. I can’t find him. There is no trail on any of his information. He hasn’t so much as used his credit card or phone since the day they went. The stories on their disappearance have stopped. It seems they were quick to have died out. Don’t even think the police are looking into it anymore.”
“Find him.” A death warning was in my tone. He gave me a knowing nod as I tried to stop my body from shaking with rage. I hated that I was letting it get to me. I knew he was damn good at that shit and was beyond sure that he was doing everything he could.
“What about the ride? Need your head there, man.”
“Yeah. Fuck!” I closed my eyes and took a calming breath through my nose. “I’m good. I’m gonna talk to Cal. Thinkin’ I should leave Brand here to keep an eye on her, take you. She won’t think twice if he stays behind. God knows, I don’t want to do anything else to piss her off.” He nodded, the corners of his mouth briefly twitched like he was holding back his amusement.
