Chapter 5

Ijerk awake, gasping for air as my neck tightens. "It's okay, Bambi, you're safe." A light comes on, and it floods the inside of the car. I hold my throat, trying to catch my breath. "Shit."

Angus pulls the car to the side of the road and stops.

"Look at me." His hands cup my face and his dark eyes stare into mine. "I've got you. You're safe. Tell me you're with me."

"I'm with you." I sniff and his warm hand lets go of me.

I want to pull him back, but then I hear the sound of the seatbelt releasing and Angus pulls me across the SUV and into his lap. I melt into him as he wraps his big arms around me so I feel safe. I shouldn"t because I don't know this man. I know that he saved me, and that has to mean something. Not to mention this pull I've felt to him from the very first moment I saw him.

I breathe deep, feeling a lot better. "I'm sorry. I think it was a bad dream."

"You don't have to be sorry."

I take another deep breath and lift my head from his chest. He smells so good that I wish I could stay here until we get to wherever we're going.

"You okay to buckle back up?" he asks, and I nod.

He helps me back in my seat and buckles me up. After that, he turns off the light and pulls back onto the highway. I look out the window, but it's so dark that I can't see anything.

"I can't believe I fell asleep."

"You crashed. That happens sometimes after an adrenaline spike, but you must have needed the rest."

I nod again, sinking back into my seat. "Where are we?"

"California."

"How long was I asleep?"

"A little over six hours. Are you hungry?"

"I'm okay."

"That"s not what I asked, babe."

"I'm fine. I don't want to be a bother."

"The last thing you are is a bother. I can promise you that." I feel myself smile and look out the window to hide my blush. I'm not sure he could even see it in the dark car. "We'll stop and get food before we get to the cabin. Are you allergic to anything? Anything I need to know so I can keep you safe?"

"Strawberries. They make my whole face swell up."

"No strawberries then." He steals a glance over at me. "Anything else?"

"My brother will probably try to find me." I feel like I should mention that.

"What do you mean ‘probably'?"

I shrug, not sure if Jero will put in the effort or not. "He might have to get out of town himself." I wrap my arms around my middle and feel a chill. Angus must notice because he turns on the heat.

"If you're cold, you tell me. If you're hungry, you tell me. If you have to go to the bathroom…"

"I tell you," I finish, and he nods.

"Yes, and don't say you don't want to be a bother." I bite the inside of my lip so I don't say it. "Are you going to tell me about your brother?"

"Are you going to tell me about your fiancée?" I put my hand over my mouth. "I'm sorry. You've done a lot for me, and that was rude."

"No fiancée," he says, staring at the road ahead.

"Did you break up?"

"I've never been engaged." His hands grip the steering wheel tighter.

"But—"

"There was a mix-up. I wasn"t the bachelor you were booked for, but I took the dance once I saw you standing there." I look away from him and smile down at my hands.

"I always thought it was weird that men went to strip clubs before they got married." I shrug. "I know people say it's not cheating, but it feels a little like it is."

"What we did the other night would have been cheating. That said, you were my first and only stripper." My stomach flutters as he says these sweet things to me.

"You were my first client. I was so nervous." I'm still shocked I went through with it. I guess you do what you have to do when you don't have any other choice.

"You were perfect, I can tell you that much. I wanted to keep you all to myself." He says it with a teasing tone, but that's kind of what he did.

"Why were you at my apartment?"

"I've been wondering when you were going to ask that." The car starts to slow down as he takes an exit ramp. "I had to see you again, so I pulled some strings and found you. I gotta say, babe, that place doesn"t look safe. You're fresh meat to the wolves roaming around that building."

"Most of them leave me alone because of my brother. They're scared of him or something."

"But he might be going on the run?" he asks, and I nod.

"I took the job with the agency because he needed the money. He's in deep with some loan shark, so I didn"t have much of a choice. Jero is really the only person I have."

"Your brother sent you into an agency for call girls and strippers? Less than twenty-four hours and you're already attacked." I flinch because he's right. Angus pulls into the parking lot of a grocery store. "I shouldn't have fucking said that." He runs a hand down his face. "I keep seeing you in my mind after I kicked in that door and it's got me on edge."

"It's okay."

He shakes his head. "It's not okay, and I'm sorry."

"Thanks." I feel shy when he looks at me, and I have to look away.

"Lock the door when I get out. I'm going to grab us some food since we're almost there."

He leans down and grabs his phone off the floor. He gave it to me earlier, and it must have fallen out of my hand when I was asleep. He gives it back to me, and I hold it tight in my grip.

"I'll be right back. Stay put." He brings his hand up and rubs his thumb on my jaw. I tilt my head into his touch, but then he's gone.

I hit the locks after he closes his door, and I watch him jog inside. Then I stare at his phone, debating calling my brother. Angus was right. It's my brother who got me in this situation, and I don't want to think what might have happened if Angus hadn't shown up. Really, that's twice he's saved me in the same amount of days. I decided not to call him and put the phone in my lap. Even if I do, I should talk to Angus first.

I jump and let out a small scream of surprise when the phone starts to ring. "It's just a phone, Bambi," I tell myself.

When I turn it over to see who it is, my thumb accidentally slides across the screen and I answer it by mistake. The name Mom is on the screen, and I don't know what to do. I can't hang up on his mom, but I also can't talk to her.

"Angus, I can hear you breathing."

I lift the phone to my ear. "Hi," is all I can manage to say.

"A girl just answered Angus's phone," his mom says in a really loud whisper.

"I'm sure she can hear you, honey."

"Oh, right. Hello, sweetheart, I'm Ruby. What's your name?" I sit there. "Hello? Sweetheart?"

I pull the phone from my ear and hang up. Why did I do that? I drop my head back and groan as the phone starts to ring again.

I watch Angus come out of the store with a bunch of bags. I unlock the door so he can put them in the back before he hops into the driver's seat. The phone starts ringing again, and I hold it up.

"It's your mom. I kinda hung up on her. I got scared."

"You got scared of my mom?" He laughs and takes it from me. "What, did she try to get you to agree to five grandkids or something?"

"What!"

Angus laughs and answers while I bury my face in my hands.

Are we there yet?