Page 53 of Redemption

Taking them in, they are dressed in cheap shirts and trousers with black dress shoes and slicked back hair. One is carrying a small holdall, and the other has his hands in his pockets as they stroll past.

Every one of us at the table is on high alert, primed and ready to act.

“Get the hell out of here.” I hear Rox say to Rick as the grip on my arm, which I hadn’t even noticed, loosens. “There’s a fire exit through the kitchen.”

“Fuck that! I’m not leaving you here,” I mutter through the side of my mouth.

“You are. Now move,” Rick orders, grabbing my hand and slowly rising from his seat. I rise alongside him, knowing I need to act natural and not draw attention to us. Seb and Jamie do the same.

Roxy pulls me in for a hug. “Don’t argue with me. Now, go, get out of here and do what you need to, but you come back, you hear me.” She squeezes me tight before releasing me.

“Rick, I’ll be in touch,” she says, before striding out of the cafe in the direction the two men went.

We move for the door to the kitchen as shouting begins out in the atrium, and Rick pulls me through the door as I try to turn back.

The kitchen staff hurry to get out of our way as we weave in and out.

“Where’s the fire exit?” Rick shouts to a nearby kitchen hand. He stumbles backwards, pointing just beyond a huge fridge as the sound of gunfire breaks out from behind us.

We burst through the door and round the side of the building as several police cars race into the car park, including an ARV.

My heart pounds in time with my feet on the ground as we run for the cars, reaching Rick’s a second before Seb and Jamie get to theirs. Gunfire sounds again as we get in, and I watch as people dash from the building in every direction.

I’m going to fucking throttle Roxy when I see her.

As we slip back onto the motorway, half a dozen police cars and an ambulance pass us on the other side. Turning in my seat I watch them as they speed down the slip road.

“Are you okay?”

“Am I okay? No, I’m not fucking okay. Nothing about any of this isokay, Rick!” I snap incredulously.

There’s a moment of silence as Rick changes lanes, then he pulls his phone from his pocket, dropping it into the hands-free holder.

“What do you need?” he asks, flicking his gaze to me briefly.

“What do I need?” I snort, rubbing my hands up and down my legs as adrenaline continues to surge through me. “There are a hundred things I need, and top of that list is some fucking answers.” I shuffle in my seat unable to settle. “Coming a close second is something to purge this fucking adrenaline. You fancy a fight, Rick?” I laugh.

In my job, spikes and surges of adrenaline are par for the course, but my job also provides ways to expel the excess. Running away from a fight is something I haven’t done for years, and this wired feeling with no outlet is making me itch beneath my skin.

“No fighting, but I can think of a few other ways to use up all that extra energy and adrenaline.”

I raise my brow at him and see his mischievous smirk. My eyes skim over his muscular arms as he grips the steering wheel, over his torso and to his thighs.

Rick catches me as my tongue swipes out, wetting my lips at the thought of what’s beneath his jeans, and I may have let out a small groan that has Rick shifting in his own seat.

I drop my head back to the seat, closing my eyes and muttering under my breath, to which Rick just laughs.

Whilst the thought of screwing Rick in the front seat of his car is hot as fuck, the logistics of it make it almost impossible and so not sexy. I’m also not entirely sure how much of his playful reply was just that or if we are even on the same wavelength.

Guess I’ll have to wait till we get to wherever we’re going and sort myself out.

Twenty-Nine

Rick

Four hours stuck in this car with Jess, who is practically thrumming with need and arousal, is enough to give me the most painful blue balls ever known to man.

Every shift in her seat, even when she was a-bloody-sleep, came with a groan that had my dick standing to attention.

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