Cocky (13 page)

Chapter Twenty Four

Still lying on the ground and coughing as she gasped for breath, Chelsea watched as Jimmy staggered to his feet and ran off into the darkness. She couldn’t believe he was just running away and she turned her head to follow him. Some part of her was screaming to get up and follow him, but the rest of her was in too much pain.

“Are you all right?” Blue asked as he knelt down in the grass beside her.

“Yes, go get him,” Chelsea begged, but Jimmy was already out of sight.

“No, I can’t leave you alone. We have to get you inside.”

“I’m fine!” Chelsea shouted. “He could lead us to Jamie,” her voice hitched. They had been so close to answers, but now the answer had run off into the night.

“Come on,” Blue whispered. He helped Chelsea up and then in one smooth motion he put his arm under her knees and lifted her up.

The ground fell away beneath her and Chelsea put her arms around Blue holding tightly to him as he brought her inside. “I’m fine,” she said as he finally sat her on the couch. “Really, I just had the wind knocked out of me.” Her hands were shaking a little bit and she struggled to keep them still. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he answered as he smoothed the hair on her head.

She couldn’t help but lean into his touch and then she rested her head against his chest. Blue sat back on the couch and Chelsea nestled in beside him. Slowly her heart slowed down and her nerves calmed down and her hands stopped shaking. She focused on Blue’s strong hand as it caressed up and down her back.

It felt good to be touched by him. It felt right. It felt safe. She had known Blue DeMarco for so long, but she had never known him like this. He had been her protector for all these years and now she had finally seen him in action. Chelsea hated to admit it, but everyone was right; Blue was good. Jimmy was currently their best fighter and Blue had knocked him out in under a minute. She didn’t agree, but she finally understood why Terrance wanted him back in the pits so desperately. But Blue didn’t want to go; he hated fighting. He had only done it to protect her.

Chelsea looked up at Blue and he looked down at her. She sat up and leaned towards him and kissed him deeply and slowly. His lips were soft and the scruff on his face was rough and Chelsea had never wanted anyone more.

They kissed gently, Chelsea opening her lips and letting Blue’s tongue slip into her mouth where it mingled with hers. His hand came up her arm and then wrapped around her waist as he pulled her against him. He kissed her, letting his tongue explore her mouth as his hand held her tight against him.

She brought her hands up and ran them through Blue’s hair and then brought them down to his neck and she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. Finally, they broke apart but only so Blue could lightly kiss her neck. Chelsea shuddered as his soft lips and the scruff from his face caressed the sensitive skin of her neck. The sensation of all of those things was overwhelming and she couldn’t help but moan in pleasure as Blue made his way down her skin. At the nape of the neck, the most sensitive spot, Blue snaked his tongue out and ran it down before he gently bit down. Chelsea cried out his name and she had to pull away from him. She pulled his face up to hers and kissed him again, this time sucking and biting on his lower lip.

His hand came to rest on her breast and he massaged it gently, grabbing it and releasing, stroking it. Chelsea could barely feel him through the fabric of her shirt and her bra and she wished she was wearing neither. Unbidden, her body pushed against his. She wanted his hands all over her. She never wanted him to stop.

Then goose bumps erupted over Chelsea as his hand snuck up her shirt, and caressed her belly before moving up and caressing her breast, letting his fingers slip down underneath her bra. She arched her back against him when she felt his finger graze her nipple. He knew what he was doing and Chelsea’s body couldn’t help but respond. 

He tugged at the hem of her shirt and she sat up so he could lift it over her shoulders. She felt the cool air hit her skin and she felt his hands go around her back. With one quick motion he undid the snaps of her bra and she gasped as the fabric slid off.

Blue was kissing her neck and Chelsea was crying out in pleasure, moaning and grabbing his hair. Gently he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down until she was laying flat on her back on the couch. She looked up at him, but he was looking at her chest as he took her bra in one hand and pulled it off her arms exposing her bare breasts to the world.

He leaned over and slowly kissed the sensitive space between her breasts. Chelsea closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of his mouth and his tongue and the rough stubble of his skin. He kissed his way to her right breast and kissed her nipple, stroking it with his tongue. She sighed out in pleasure and then his other hand began to massage her left breast and tease her nipple.

“Oh, Blue,” she whispered as she buried her hands in his hair and pulled him close. Chelsea began to writhe underneath him. She wanted him. She was aching for him. He was so tender and gentle but not shy or clumsy. His tongue and hands were working perfectly together to drive Chelsea crazy. She had never wanted anything as much as she wanted Blue at that moment.

Chelsea’s hands reached down and began to tug and pull at his shirt until it came off him and she threw it to the side. He smiled at her and came up before crushing his mouth against hers as she raked her nails up and down his back. He was pressed against her and she could feel his erection on her hip as he pushed it against her.

His bare skin was pressed against Chelsea’s and she could feel Blue’s warmth as it spread to her. He was still kissing her as she felt his hands unbutton and then unzip her jeans. He pulled himself away from her and he sat back on his knees and began to slide her jeans off her. He pulled them past her hips and over her knees until they were past her ankles and she was wearing nothing but a pair of black panties.

He began kissing Chelsea again, his tongue sliding into her mouth and over her lips. He slipped his hands down underneath her panties and she shuddered as he began to stroke her. His touch was light and teasing and she wanted more. Finally, his fingers slipped between her folds and she gasped out in pleasure as they stroked inside of her.

She writhed against Blue’s fingers as he drew long strokes up and down rubbing over her clit in gentle, slow strokes. Each time he passed over it she couldn’t help but moan out in pleasure and she wanted him to go faster and harder. She ran her hands up and over his strong arms, feeling the thick muscles under his skin as they held him up over her.

“I want you,” he whispered into her ear as he kissed her neck.

“Yes,” she said back as she pulled him to her for a deep kiss.

His hands were gripping her shoulders and she was raking her fingernails up and down his back. He was kissing down her neck and over her breasts and his fingers were still moving inside of her and there were so many sensations going on at once that she wasn’t sure she could take any more.

“Let’s go to the bedroom,” she said to him, breaking the kiss to meet his eyes.

He nodded wordlessly and he stood up and he gave her a hand.

She didn’t bother turning on the light. Once inside she turned around and reached for Blue’s belt, undoing it quickly as they kissed and then she unbuttoned his jeans. He pushed them down until he was in nothing but his boxers. There was a considerable bulge in the front and she lightly traced her fingers over it and then it was his turn to moan.

Blue led her back to the bed and knelt between her knees and his hands pulled at her panties until she tilted her hips up and he was able to slide them off her.

“Are you ready for me?” Blue asked as he hovered over her, his hands on either side of her head as he leaning down to kiss her.

She stroked his arm and nodded as she looked into his eyes. He sat back up and she saw hip unwrap a condom and roll it over himself. She brought her knees up and reached down for him. She felt his penis between her hands and guided him into her. She gasped at first as his member pushed into her, stretching her inner walls to what felt like their limit. He went slowly and inch by inch he entered her until he couldn’t go any farther.

He began to move in and out of her. She could feel every inch of him as he plunged into her and then pulled out. She ran her hands up and over his chest and around his neck and he leaned down to kiss her and she kissed him back, their kiss went deep and it only broke when Blue moaned her name. Then she felt his fingers begin to stroke her again. She gasped and arched her back and moaned his name.

His fingers were matching the rhythm of his thrusts and she moaned loudly as she felt her pleasure build up inside of her. She was close to finishing and she wanted more of him. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her.

“Blue, yes, that feels so good. Don’t stop.” She moaned as he continued to work his fingers inside of her and thrust deeper and deeper. She could feel the tipping point coming, her skin tingling, and she couldn’t control herself. Her body was pushing and writhing against his as she struggled to get the release she so desperately needed.

His fingers were focused on her clit rubbing gentle circles inside of her as his member thrust in and out.

“Yes, yes,” she cried out as she felt her orgasm grow inside of her. She was getting closer; every movement was bringing her to that blessed relief. She was crying out his name and begging him for more and then with one last flick of his fingers she screamed out as her orgasm exploded around her. Fireworks were flooding through her veins as she rode her orgasm to its final gasping end. Blue was still above her and he kissed her and then he pushed into her even harder and he groaned her name as she felt him finish inside of her.

For a moment he rested on top of her as they both gasped for air. Chelsea ran her fingers through his hair and sighed his name. Finally, Blue pulled himself up and out of her and collapsed next to her.

Chapter Twenty Five

Chelsea woke from a deep slumber. It felt like climbing out of a cave. Hand over foot she pulled herself from sleep to waking and opened her eyes. The room around was bathed in muted blues and reds and whites from the towels and blankets Blue had hung to cover the windows. Still half asleep, she stretched out her muscles.

She felt a painful ache in her arm and glanced down to see a ring of bruises on her pale arm. They were the imprints Jimmy’s fingers had left when he had tried to take her. She shuddered as she thought about where she would be right now if Blue hadn’t saved her. Had the same thing happened to Jamie? Had she been pulled from safety so roughly?

Chelsea turned over in bed, expecting Blue to be lying there next to her, but she was met with disappointment. Blue was gone. His side of the bed was empty and cold and Chelsea couldn’t help but frown. And then she heard soft music playing. It had a quiet country lilt to it, a guitar and a man singing, nothing more, nothing less. Then the smell of toast of bacon wafted toward her and she sat up in bed.

She ran her hands through her messy hair as she pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. She walked out of the bedroom and padded into the kitchen. In the bright morning sunlight, Blue was standing by the stove nudging at bacon that was frying in the pan.

“Good morning,” she said kissing him lightly on the cheek before pouring herself a nice cup of coffee. “This is an excellent way to wake up,” Chelsea sat down at the table and watched him cook.

“You were out when I woke up this morning, I thought I’d let you sleep,” Blue said.

He put two fried eggs, three strips of bacon and buttered toast on plates for himself and Chelsea and then sat down. The food looked and smelled delicious and Chelsea couldn’t even wait for it to cool down before digging in. She never ate like this in LA. In California it was all detox teas and chia seeds and very little actual eating.

It was perfect, but the horrible thoughts she had been forced to endure still haunted her. The fight was tomorrow. Hopefully she could get Jamie back and then she could get out of this town and never, ever come back. No more fighting pits, no more mobsters. Chelsea never even wanted to hear the word Snowbird again. She looked over at Blue who was eating quickly and glancing at his phone.

She wanted to ask him how he was. She wanted to talk about the millions of things that were left in the air between them. But Blue was not the kind of guy who was big on talking.

“You know I would never leach off of you, right?” Blue asked. His question came from nowhere, but Chelsea guessed that his father’s words from the other day had made more of an impact that either had suspected.

“I know,” Chelsea said and she meant it; she knew that Blue would never take advantage of her or use her in any way.

“I’ve had that happen to me. My whole childhood my dad was constantly reminding me that nothing was free. Once I started winning the fights he started charging me for rent and utilities and food. He back charged me, too. I started off with a debt of twenty-thousand dollars. It was, in his words, an estimate on how much he had spent raising me. And no matter how many fights I won or how hard I worked the number never really went anywhere. He would even charge me the gas it took to get to the fights. When I walked out at eighteen I had a bill with him totaling about thirteen thousand dollars.”

“I’m so sorry,” Chelsea said. “Parents aren’t supposed to profit from their children.”

“But I know what it’s like to have someone live off you. I would never do that to you, Chelsea. I’m not looking for a hand out; I can take care of myself.” He glanced up at her as he said this and Chelsea had to fight to hold back tears.

“I know, Blue. And you need to know that when it comes to your dad I don’t ever believe a word that comes out of his mouth. Always and forever I’m on your side. His words don’t mean anything to me and they never will. It’s just these complications with my record contract and I can work through those. You just need to give me some time.”

Chelsea hadn’t been thinking about her record contract at all in the last few days. Her sister was missing and that was all she could think about. But, at the same time, Snowbird was so different from LA that it hadn’t been hard to forget about the life she had over there. But she knew her manager wasn’t going to go away and the longer Chelsea spent away, the worse it would get. She just needed to get Jamie and then get the hell out.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and she couldn’t help but jump. Her house didn’t feel safe anymore. Shadows loomed in the corners and the furnace in the basement rumbled and cracked and each noise sounded like the footfalls from an intruder.

“It’s just Paul,” Blue said standing up and walking over to the door. He checked the peephole, but still Chelsea could feel as fear pumped adrenaline through her veins.

Her heart was pounding and she was ready to jump out of her seat in a second if she needed to. Blue opened the door and, true to his word, it was just Paul who walked quickly into the house. He didn’t look like the Paul from high school anymore, though. He was wearing a well-made suit that fit easily over his large frame with a bright blue tie and a briefcase in one hand.

“Hey Chelsea, how you doing? I heard about last night,” Paul said as he sat down at the table with them.

“I’m all right,” Chelsea said with a nod. But the truth was, she only felt all right because Blue was with her. She didn’t know what she would do if he was suddenly gone.

“So, I went down to the police station and did some digging,” Paul said as he opened up a black file and began laying papers out on the table. “The only thing I had to go on was guys from Detroit and that wasn’t a lot. So I did a search on people who had been arrested in the last few years and had a Detroit address. There were nineteen men. Five of them were arrested for meth possessions, eight for petty theft, three for outstanding child support, and three for inciting violence. I think the last three are our best bets. But, I gotta warn you, these are low level guys. The bosses never get arrested for stuff like this.”

“We’ll take anything,” Chelsea said.

“First guy’s name is Mitch Reiser. He was arrested about two years ago for inciting violence; he did three months and then got out. The second guy was named Matthew Thomas, same charge, but he had a bunch of priors, so he got five years and is still serving them. The third guy was named Billy Rudd; this was his first offense and he just got probation. I think Mitch is our best bet. He’s living in a tenement house on the other side of town. No employment to speak of, but he’s riding around in a pretty decent car, so he’s got money coming in from somewhere.”

“So his bosses came here from Detroit and they brought him along?” Blue asked.

“A muscle to do all the dirty work,” Paul agreed with a nod. He looked between Chelsea and Blue and said, “I don’t feel good about telling you this. I don’t want you guys mixed up in whatever horror show the boys from Detroit have cooked up. If something is up, you need to go to the police. You don’t want to end up down the rabbit hole on this one. These are dangerous people who don’t mind hurting others.”

“Yeah,” Chelsea said. “We know.”

Paul looked between Blue and Chelsea, “You know, I always hoped the two of you would get together. I just never imagined it would be like this.”

“Neither did I,” Chelsea said, “but we’re doing the best we can.” She smiled up at Blue, but she couldn’t help but wonder what the rest of their lives would look like. The foundation of their relationship was the friendship they shared in high school; it had been sweet and innocent, but now it was tainted by something dark. The fighting pits, Jamie’s kidnapping, Chelsea’s own attack, they would forever be linked to this time with Blue. It was the beginning of their real relationship. She should have felt giddy and lightheaded and, most of all, joyously, overwhelmingly happy. But Terrance and his fights had ruined it. He had turned what should’ve been a happy time into something dark and twisted. They had spent the first days of their relationship not wrapped up in each other, but searching for her missing sister and following false leads to dead ends.

Every time Chelsea thought of Terrance her heart pounded and her blood boiled. She hated him. She had never hated anyone as much as she hated him. She wanted to hit him and shake him and ask him how he could so casually do all of these terrible things. If her mother did insist on marrying Terrance than Chelsea was done with her. As long as Colleen was with Terrance, Chelsea didn’t have a mother.