Chapter 5

5

RONAN

I only meant to stop for a night, but three days later, I’m making Roxie tea in the kitchen while she checks last night’s guest out of the Airbnb.

There’s no fucking way I’m leaving without her. My brother laughed at me when I called to tell him the delay, but said that he’d been handling business for an entire year since I was arrested and that another few days was hardly going to be an issue. Before we hung up, he made me promise to introduce to him the girl who managed to capture me in just a day. I miss my brother and can’t wait to finally be home again, but I know deep in my very bones that nowhere will feel like home again unless Roxie is with me.

I’m stirring the sugar into her tea because my girl likes things sweet when she pads into the kitchen on slippered feet. Immediately, all my attention hones in on her. Nothing else exists when Roxie’s near. Nothing else matters.

I slide her mug across the counter, and she smiles at me with sparkling eyes.

“He’s gone,” she says, meaning the other guest, as she leans against the counter and wraps her hands around the warm mug.

“Good,” I answer, smirking at her. “I much prefer being alone with you.”

She giggles. “The feeling’s mutual.” Something crosses her expression, and she frowns, shifting on her feet. “I suppose I’ll be checking you out of here soon, too.”

“Only if you’re checking out with me,” I tell her quickly.

Her eyes snap back to mine. “You’re serious. Is that … I mean … could I really leave with you?”

I step closer to her, my arm sliding around her waist possessively. “You’re mine, sunflower,” I remind her. “Nothing and no one could force me away from you now.”

She melts against me, exhaling heavily. “I want that,” she says softly. “Take me away from here, Ronan.”

“Go pack then, Roxie.”

She pulls away with a grin that quickly falls. “Most of my stuff is still at my parents’ house,” she admits, pulling a face that tells me just how much she hates the idea of going near her father.

But there’s no way in hell I’ll let that pathetic pastor wreck my plans.

“Then we’ll go get it,” I decide, showing Roxie just how much I mean it. “Get whatever you need from here, and we’ll go get the rest of it on the way.”

“Now?” Roxie asks, her voice somewhere between shocked and excited.

“Now,” I agree, smirking as she scampers away to grab whatever stuff she has here.

Minutes later, we’re in my car. Roxie gives me directions to her parents’ house, just around the corner, but when I pull up outside, she makes no move to get out of the car.

“Look at me, sunflower,” I demand, and she does, nervousness written all over her gorgeous face. I reach across the center console and squeeze her thigh. “I won’t let anyone take your life away from you. Whatever he says, he can’t control you anymore. I swear to you, Roxie, I’ll make sure you get every fucking thing you ever want in life, you hear me?”

In answer, Roxie shuffles to face me, leaning over to kiss me deeply before pulling away and giving me a sharp nod. “I’m ready.”

I slide out of the car and walk around, opening her door for her. When she gets out, I take her hand, wanting her to remember she’s not alone anymore.

Roxie knocks on the door, and seconds later, a familiar face opens it.

“Dad,” Roxie greets, voice strained.

“Ah, Roxie, perfect timing!” her father announces, completely ignoring my entire existence as he plasters a fake ass smile on his wrinkled face.

“What? Why?” Roxie asks, as confused as I am about what the fuck he’s on about.

“Come in, come in.” Her father ushers her in, glaring at me when I refuse to drop her hand and barge in behind her. I offer him a smile in return, and he looks away, making me grin wider.

Other voices ring through the air as the front door closes behind us, and suspicion curls in my gut. I tighten my hold on Roxie, keeping her close.

“Dad, who?—”

“Roxie, you remember Abe, don’t you?” the pastor cuts in as we turn the corner to what’s clearly the living room. A man rises from the sofa, and I analyze him. He’s nearly as tall as me and muscular, but I bet my ass he’s never been in a fight before. He has that gym boy look, the kind who likes to brag about how much they bench but probably can’t throw a punch without breaking their own thumb.

I scoff, not bothering to hide my distaste. Roxie shuffles closer to me, and I wrap my arm around her shoulder, holding Abe’s gaze.

So this is the asshole her father wants to marry her off to like she’s some possession that can be traded for connections.

“I’ve been so excited to see you properly again, Roxie,” Abe says, his gaze flicking between my girl and me. There’s uncertainty in his dark eyes that he does a shit job of hiding.

I step in front of Roxie, hiding her from view. “Don’t fucking look at her,” I snap, making Abe’s eyes widen comically. I’m too angry to find any amusement in it, though.

“Uh, who are you?” he stutters, looking at Roxie’s father as if that pathetic fucker can do anything to protect him from me.

“I’m hers,” I snarl, glaring Abe down.

“Roxie, don’t be ridiculous—” the pastor tries to say, but I talk over him.

“Let’s get one thing fucking clear,” I say, pointing a finger at Abe. “No matter what deal you’ve struck with her father, Roxie will never be yours.”

Abe shakes his head. “I’ll be a good husband to her,” he starts to say, but I lose any patience I’ve managed to cling to up to now.

I surge forward, grab Abe by his shirt, and yank him back through the front door, taking him outside. In my periphery, I see Roxie step in front of her father, stopping him from following me.

I slam Abe against the side of the house, grinning in satisfaction when he makes an oof noise as the air leaves his lungs.

“What the fuck man? Get off me!” Abe yells, shoving me away.

He’s strong, I’ll give him that, but I’m stronger. If there’s one thing prison did for me, it’s make me fitter than I’ve ever been. He throws a shit punch that I easily dodge before raising my fist to pop him in the jaw. He reels, and I pin him back against the house, holding him still by pressing my weight against him.

“Stay the fuck away from my girl if you want to live to see another day,” I threaten, my face so close to his I can see sweat beading on his brow.

“Stay out of it,” Abe counters, struggling in my grip. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“That’s where you’re mistaken,” I growl. “She has nothing to do with you. She’s not a fucking pawn you can trade for. She deserves far better than this shitty town and her shitty father and some pathetic, shitty husband.”

“What—”

“Here’s what you’re going to do, Abe ,” I instruct, my voice as hard as my grip on him. “You’re going to walk your ass back in that house, tell her father the deal’s off and you’ve changed your mind, then walk back out. And if I ever see you around my girl again, I won’t be nearly as kind as I have been today.”

There’s a bruise already forming on his jaw as proof of my kindness, and I hope it hurts like a motherfucker. I want to hit him again, to make him suffer for what he’s done, but I want to get back to my girl more.

Abe sputters, not giving me a proper response.

“Do we have a deal, Abe, or do I need to show you what will happen if you disobey?” I ask, and he pales, realizing just how serious I am.

“Okay,” he breathes, nodding vigorously. “Fuck, okay.”

I drop him, and he stumbles on his feet before righting himself. He rushes inside, and I follow on his heels, ready to grab him again if he does anything but what I’ve told him to.

In the living room, Roxie’s father is seething, and she looks furious, but before the old asshole can get a word out, Abe starts to talk.

“I’ve changed my mind,” he declares, and the pastor’s jaw drops open. “The deal’s off. I’m sorry.”

Abe spares a glance at me before turning and practically sprinting out of the house, leaving the pastor gaping at him. His head swings in my direction, fury and disbelief written all over his expression.

“What have you done?!” he seethes.

I shrug, raising a brow at him. “I did nothing,” I lie. “Good old Abe just changed his mind. Deal fell through. What a shame.” Sarcasm drips from my words, and though the pastor looks ready to ask God to smite me, there’s fuck all he can do about what just happened.

“Go pack, sunflower,” I whisper to Roxie, squeezing her hand in silent reassurance.

“Roxie, come back here!” her father demands as Roxie rushes out of the room and up the stairs to gather her stuff.

“She doesn’t answer to you, not anymore,” I tell him.

He sneers at me. “And I suppose she answers to you now, is that it? You just ruined her future!”

I shake my head, utterly unfazed by this man’s bullshit. “Roxie answers to no one but herself,” I tell him. “Unlike you and the husband you’d give her away to, I don’t want her trapped and silent. I’m not out to control her. No, I want to help free her. From this town, from your decisions about her future, from the life she’s spent years caged in and miserable.”

Her father’s breaths come in heaves, and he’s shaking with anger.

I hear footsteps on the stairs, and a glance over my shoulder shows that Roxie has paused in the doorway, hastily packed bags hanging over her arms.

“You’ve ruined my daughter,” the pastor shouts, spit flying from his mouth.

I laugh in his face, reveling in his ridiculousness. “Unlike you, I don’t want Roxie to be anything but exactly who she is,” I answer, staring him down. “I hope for her sake that you can look past your selfishness and the petty attitude of this town to support her like she deserves. But until then, you won’t set sight on her again.”

I turn my back on him, an insult in and of itself, grab my girl’s bags, and walk out with her by my side, not bothering to look back.

Throwing the bags in the back of the car, I help Roxie into the passenger seat. As I round the car to slide behind the wheel, I catch sight of her father in the front doorway of the house, disbelief and sadness mixing with his rage.

He watches us drive away, and in seconds, her father is nothing but a shadow in our rearview mirror.