Redemption Road (Roughneck #3) (8 page)

Chapter 14

It was the same routine for the next 3 days. I would come home each day to an empty house, Kash would make his way to my bedroom, but I woke up alone. I shouldn’t let it bother me, though. Adults did this kind of thing all the time, right? Friends with benefits wasn’t that uncommon. But each morning, when I woke up in bed alone, I felt a little sad. I was getting way too attached to that man.

But day four was a different story. As I pulled into the driveway, his car was there. I was a little surprised. But, I walked inside with a smile on my face, trying to look as casual as possible.

“Hey, you,” Kash said, as I walked in the front door, and he kissed me quickly on the lips before walking right past me.

“Uh, hey,” I said, a little stunned.

“Wanna go to dinner?” he asked from the kitchen, as he pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. Was he asking me out on a date?

“Mackenzie?” Kash said when I didn’t answer.

“Sure, just let me change,” I said, still shocked.

“Get that pretty little ass in gear then,” he said with a smile as he slapped me on the bottom, and walked into his room.

Well, ok then. I walked to my room and changed into a pair of skinny jeans and knee high boots. I paired it with an off-the-shoulder top that still covered my boobs, but flattered my body. I touched up my makeup and curled the ends of my hair. Maybe it wasn’t an official date -I wasn’t even sure-but I wanted to look nice. But in the back of my mind, I was praying that Jake wouldn’t pay a surprise visit. It had been pretty quiet the past few days, other than a few hang up calls at work, but that was easy compared to his usual rants. But I pushed the worry away because Jake never really caused trouble when other people were around. He liked to catch me alone.

I gave myself one last look in the mirror before I walked out of my bedroom. Kash was sitting on the couch, looking hot as hell. He was wearing a fitted long sleeve grey shirt and loose jeans, with his black boots. His hair was his usual perfect mess, and with a little stubble on his face. He. Was. Gorgeous.

“Damn,” he said as I walked out of the room, and he ran his eyes up and down my body. I couldn’t help but smile.

“I was getting a little pissy waiting, because I’m fucking starving, but looking like that, sweetie, it was worth the wait. Son of a bitch,” he said as he stood, and walked towards me.

“Thanks, I think,” I said, and gave him a grin.

“I bet you smell just as good,” he said as he stood against me, and put his nose against my neck.

“Fuck yeah,” he said. But then I realized I forgot to put perfume on.

“I’m not wearing perfume, Kash,” I said with a giggle.

“It’s just fucking you,” he said, as he nipped my neck. I put my arms around his waist and held on tight.

“This is nice,” I whispered, wishing I hadn’t sounded so vulnerable out loud.

“Is it?” he asked as he looked into my eyes, brushed my cheek with his hand, and then kissed my forehead.

“Yeah,” I admitted, as I closed my eyes.

“We need to go though, sweetie, I really am starving,” he said with a smile, and squeezed my ass.

“Ok.”

“My car or yours?” I asked, as we walked outside.

“Are you really asking me that question?” he laughed. I shook my head and headed to the passenger side of his car.

As soon as we pulled onto the highway, I saw blue and red lights flashing behind us. I looked at Kash.

“Mother fucker,” he mumbled, as he pulled his car onto the shoulder.

“You weren’t even speeding were you?” I asked.

“Nah,” he said as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, and rolled his window down.

When the officer walked up to the window, I couldn’t help but give him a dirty look; it was the same jerk from the police station that wouldn’t help me. Douche. Stupid small town.

“License and registration,” he demanded, as he looked inside the car. He made eye contact with me and then shook his head with a cocky smile. Kash handed him both, and the officer stared at his license.

“Kash Bennett,” he said, and stared down at the license.

“That would be me,” Kash said sarcastically.

“Don’t move,” he said as he patted the door of Kash’s car, and walked back to his patrol car.

“He’s a prick,” I whispered.

“Looks that way,” Kash said.

“Trust me, he is,” I said.

“You know him?” Kash asked.

“No, but I’ll explain later,” I said, as the officer walked back up to the window, putting his cell phone in his pocket.

The cop walked back up to the driver’s side window and poked his head inside.

“Do I smell marijuana?” he asked.

“What?” Kash said, and started to laugh.

“It’s not a joke, boy, get out of the car,” he said, and opened the driver’s door.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Kash said, he was pissed.

The cop grabbed Kash by the back of the shirt and shoved him against the hood of the car. Tears filled my eyes as I threw the passenger’s side door open.

“What are you doing? Stop!” I yelled at the officer.

“Ma’am, you need to get your ass back in the car, unless you want to spend the night in jail,” he said as he stared at me, while still holding Kash down.

“Mackenzie, get in the car,” Kash said, he was seething with anger.

“I’d do what your boyfriend says,
Mackenzie,”
he said with that disgusting grin that I wanted to slap off of his face.

I got back in the car and slammed the door, but rolled my window down so I could hear what was going on.

“You sure you don’t have any drugs in the car, Mr. Bennett?” he asked.

“What the fuck, man, no, I don’t do drugs,” Kash said.

“You don’t do drugs, but you don’t mind doing married women, do ya?” He laughed as he grabbed Kash by the back of the shirt and pulled him upright.

What the hell was he talking about?

“I’m just going to search your car real quick, make sure there’s no drugs in there. That ok with you, Kash? Otherwise, I can call the dogs to come out and check for me,” he said.

“Whatever, man, go for it,” Kash said. His jaws were flinching and he was close to losing it, there was no doubt about it.

The dirty cop opened the driver’s side door and started shuffling things around. I doubt he was really looking for anything. He opened the middle console and started throwing everything into the driver’s side floor board. He reached over to the glove compartment and opened it. He took everything out and threw it into my lap. My eyes were full of tears and my body was shaking, I was so pissed off. I could see Kash glaring at him. This was horrible.

“You sure know how to pick ‘em, don’t you?” he said with a laugh, and then raised up and slammed the door.

“I’m gonna let you go this time, since I’m such a nice guy,” he said as he grinned at Kash, who just stared at him.

“Go on, get your ass out of here. But keep in mind, I got my eyes on you, boy,” he said as he threw Kash’s driver’s license and insurance on the ground, and walked back to his patrol car. Kash picked them both up off the ground and then opened the driver’s side door. He saw all of his stuff scattered everywhere and I noticed the veins in his neck throbbing.

“Are you ok?” I asked, but he didn’t answer me. He picked up all of his things out of the floor board and threw them in the back seat. He sat down in the driver’s seat and ran his hands over his face quickly, and then turned to look at me. His eyes scanned to my lap and I realized everything from the glove compartment was still sitting there.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine, Kash,” I said. I was more worried about him.

Kash grabbed all of the papers out of my lap and threw them in the backseat with the rest of the stuff. Then he reached over and grabbed the sides of my face with his hands and kissed me hard, his lips shaking with anger.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated.

“Don’t, Kash. He was a dick,” I said, my eyes still filled with tears that were refusing to fall.

Kash pulled away from me and started the car. I listened to the tires squeal as he sped back onto the highway. He didn’t speak. His knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel too hard and his jaws were still flinching. I wanted to ask Kash what that was all about. I remembered our conversation the other morning, and I really wanted to ask. But it wasn’t my business.

“Are you ok?” I asked again.

“I’m fine,” he said quietly, but didn’t look in my direction.

We drove on in silence for another few minutes, but my curiosity was getting the best of me.

“Can we just talk about what happened back there?” I said as I rubbed my hand on the back of his neck, and started to massage it gently, hoping to ease some of the tension away.

He let out a long exhale, and I wasn’t sure he was going to respond.

“I told you I wasn’t proud of some of the things I’ve done,” he said, but still didn’t look at me.

“Me neither,” I said quietly, but he just smirked.

“Mackenzie,” he said, but then stopped and pulled into a warehouse parking lot.

I took in my surroundings, waiting for what would happen next. Kash put the car in park and adjusted his body to face me. He ran his hand over his mouth and scratched the stubble on the side of his face.

“No, sweetie, you don’t understand. The shit you’ve been through wasn’t your fault. Everything I’ve done is my own doing,” he said as he stared at me, his eyes full of anger and regret. I could see it. The cop’s words rang through my ears, and Kash knew I heard what he said to him, but I wouldn’t dare tell him what that bastard said to me. I didn’t respond, I just listened.

“I’m fucking impulsive, and I don’t think shit through. I’ve caused trouble and messed a lot of shit up. I’m not proud of it. But for most of my life, I didn’t care what people thought. I did what I wanted to do. So, please, don’t compare the hand you were dealt to the life I chose,” he said as he bit the inside of his cheek, and ran the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip. I wanted to reach into his lap and kiss him more than I wanted my next breath, right now. So that’s exactly what I did. I leapt across the console and placed myself on his lap, pressed between him and the steering wheel.

“Nobody’s perfect, Kash,” I said as I ran my hands through his hair, and then pressed my lips to his.

“Mackenzie, please. You don’t understand. You’re too good for someone like me. You’re damn near perfect, and I would just fuck it up. It’s what I do.” he said.

“I think you are better than you give yourself credit for,” I said, as I rubbed the back of his neck.

“Trust me, I’m not,” he said with a laugh, but then his smile faded quickly.

“Well, then, maybe we quit focusing on your past.” I didn’t like the way he looked at himself. He was good. I knew he was, I had seen it.

“Your past always catches up with you,” he said. “I think that was just proven.”

“The guy was a dick; fuck him,” I said with a grin.

“That dirty mouth your starting to get is gonna get you in trouble, sweetie,” he said, as he grabbed my ass.

“Here’s hoping,” I said, and leaned in and gave him another kiss. As I pressed his lips to mine, I heard his stomach growl, and we both started to laugh.

“I told you I was fucking starving,” he said. So I climbed back into the passenger’s seat.

“Let’s go get you food, then,” I said, as I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze before I started to pull away. But, he stopped me, and intertwined our fingers and kept them on the console between us. I wanted to grin like a little girl, but I tried my best to keep it to myself.

Chapter 15

Kash was getting ready to head back to work; his hitch, he called it. I wasn’t really liking this whole leaving half the time thing. I knew it was a life that Sam and Lainey had adjusted to, but I didn’t like it one bit.

I really didn’t want Kash to leave, especially since he had actually spent the entire night in my bed last night. Waking up next to him made me giddy, and I couldn’t pretend it didn’t. Plus, the morning sex was absolutely amazing, so that was a perk. But I knew I had to put my big girl panties on and deal with it.

“You gonna be ok while I’m gone?” Kash asked, as he sipped his coffee.

“I’ll be fine,” I said with a smile.

“Just make sure the alarm is set all the time, and keep your eyes open, ok?” he said, with a look of concern.

Jake had been pretty quiet lately; maybe he was finally getting the hint. I’m not sure why Kash seemed so worried.

“I gotta head out, though.”

“I need to get ready for work, anyway,” I said with a smile, as we both stood.

Kash gave me a quick kiss on the forehead, and then headed out the door. I felt a little shafted. What the hell was that? He spent last night in my bed, and we had sex an hour ago. I get a kiss on the forehead before he leaves for a week? Well, that sucked. Whatever. I wasn’t going to dwell on that little detail all day, I needed to get ready.

As soon as I walked into the clinic, the phone rang. I was the closest, so I went ahead and answered it.

“All alone again,” Jake said in a whisper. The evil tone in his voice gave me a chill up my spine. He really was crazy.

“Go to hell!” I said, and hung up the phone. I waited for it to ring again, but it didn’t.

Sam walked up to me and whispered close to my ear, “Is he still fucking with you?”

“I thought he was finally getting over it, but apparently not,” I said, rubbing the knot that suddenly formed in my neck.

“I hate him so much,” I said, as I looked at her.

“I know,” Sam said, as she gave me a pitiful smile as she walked back down the hallway to the door that led to the outside kennels.

I decided my only solution to getting through this day was to bury myself in my work. This software wasn’t complicated, so it wasn’t a hard task, but it was pretty tedious. The day went by quickly, and the office was closing before I even realized it was so late. Everyone was leaving, but I still had an extra hour.

“I have to head out early today, Mackenzie. I’ll just leave you a key to lock up if that’s ok?” he said. I immediately got nervous thinking about walking out by myself, especially after Jake’s call this morning. But I wasn’t going to let that show.

“Sure, no problem,” I said, as Dr. Weston handed me the key and the alarm code on a sticky note.

“Is everyone else gone?” I asked. Being in the back office all day kept me pretty isolated from everything else that went on.

“They’re headed out now. I’ll lock the door behind me,” he said.

“Ok, thanks,” I said.

When I heard the front door shut, I went to grab my cell phone for some music. Maybe that would give me comfort and keep my mind off what might be lurking outside.

When I turned my phone on, I realized I had a text from Kash.

Kash: I got you a taser, I threw it in your purse. Hope that’s ok.

He got me a taser. That surprised me, but I was also a little happy that he was so worried about me.

Me: You didn’t have to do that, I’m ok

He sent a text back immediately, which also surprised me.

Kash: Just keep it in your hand when ur leaving places.

Kash: Please.

Me: Ok, I will

Kash: Promise?

Me: Promis
e


Kash: I gotta get ready for the safety meeting, I’m on nights. I’ll check with you in the morning.

Me: Ok. Be careful

Kash: You too

I was a little shocked. He hadn’t called me one time during his last hitch, until he was on his way home. I couldn’t help but smile. Then I went back to the break room and grabbed my purse. It was huge, so I’m not surprised I didn’t notice the package in there. Sure enough, there was a new pink taser in a plastic wrapper. I got a pair of scissors and opened it. After I read the instructions, I hit the button and scared the shit out of myself. It was powerful. It also gave me a little peace. Kash really was a good guy, no matter what he thought of himself.

As I left work that evening, I had the taser gripped tightly in my hand. I walked as quickly as I could to my car, but a rustle in the bushes caught my attention. It’s probably just a stray cat or something, I tried to convince myself; that happened sometimes.  But when the wind picked up just a bit, I knew it was more than that. My nose caught a whiff of that particular smell that turned my stomach. It was a mixture of liquor and the cologne that I hated so much. He was here. I knew it; the standing hair on the back of my neck reassured me he was close. I kept walking, cussing to myself, because I was the last one to arrive at the clinic every day, so my car was parked at the far end of the lot. Damn it. My heart rate started to spike as my breathing quickened. My hands started to shake and my finger hit the trigger on the taser. The loud electric buzz scared the hell out of me, and I almost dropped it. The spark lit the path in front of me as I continued to speed walk to my car, and I noticed the rustling stopped. Luckily, I already had my keys in my other hand, so I unlocked my door and quickly got inside the car, locking the doors behind me. I sat the taser in the cup holder next to me, and started my car quickly. As I pulled out of the lot, I noticed Jake’s car parked at the home builder’s office in the field across from the clinic. I knew I hadn’t imagined it. At least I had some sort of protection now. I would use it on him in a heartbeat. Douchebag.

Now, my main objective would be to stay calm, try to gain some normalcy, and not jump at every little sound. I hated that Kash was gone. I hated that I depended on him, and that I felt safer when he was around. I hated Jake, period.