17. Lila

17

LILA

I woke up with a jolt, exhausted enough to have to think about where I was. I lifted my head off Mike's chest and pushed myself up, massaging the crick in my neck.

While it was nice to be tangled up in each other, the futon wasn't big enough for two people to sleep on. As I swung my legs over the side, I spotted the dip on one side of the mattress and had to laugh.

I'd never had sex with anyone passionately enough to break a bed, even if this was just a futon. It was vigorous enough to both damage furniture and knock me out into a mostly dreamless sleep.

The tiny clock next to Mike's bed read four a.m., too early to be up thinking about all I had to do in the light of day. I was relieved that Jake wasn't going to fire me, but I wasn't sure how Kathy and Terry would react when I spoke to them later today.

I liked them both a lot and loved living in their house. I didn't think they'd ask me to leave, but if Ted or whoever had done this to my car moved on to my apartment, they might feel like they had no choice.

I let my head drop back, a humorless laugh falling from my lips.

How was I back here again? I'd been as careful as I could be without joining witness protection, even hiding my address from my own parents, and yet I still might've been found.

I was so tired of running and hiding.

If it were just me to consider, as frightened as I still was, I was fed up enough to be tempted to contact Ted and tell him to do his worst to me and get it over with.

Mike grunted in his sleep as he stirred under the sheet. The soft red light from the alarm clock illuminated his model-quality cheekbones and sharp jaw. I eased closer, smiling when I spotted his long lashes as his eyes fluttered in sleep.

His hair stuck to his forehead, the longer strands on the top matted from sleep. I pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and rested my forehead against his temple.

Sacrificing only myself wasn't possible. I couldn't tell Mike to just not travel to see me anymore like I'd done with my friend Justin after Ted had threatened to hurt him.

Mike might be a trained cop, but the rage and desperation Ted had shown those last few months would make him dangerous to anyone. He was unhinged enough not to give a shit about boundaries or any kind of self-preservation as he continued to come after me.

Mike was so sure he could protect me, but he was the one I was the most worried about.

"It's too dark to be morning," Mike grumbled, looping his arm around me to pull me into his chest.

"It's very early morning. We still have an hour or two before we have to get up."

"Perfect," he said, his voice scratchy with sleep as he slipped his hand under the covers and cupped my bare ass.

"Easy there. I think we broke your bed."

His head jerked up, squinting at the far end of the mattress and the crooked angle.

"Ha, I think we did."

"A lot of wear and tear, I suppose," I said, settling onto the pillow.

"What do you mean?" Mike asked, turning his head to me.

"You lay your most likely over-six-foot body of muscle on it every night, and when you have guests, the bar holding the mattress can only take so much."

"First of all, I'm six two, so good guess. The only real wear and tear this futon has ever seen is me fucking you hard enough into the mattress last night to make it half collapse."

Even with only the soft gray light filtering in through the window, I shivered from the carnal blaze in Mike's eyes.

"And the only female guests —which is what I think you're alluding to—I've had in this apartment are you and my sister. And she's always slept on an air mattress here, never the futon."

"Seriously? You've never brought anyone home with you?"

Mike's expression was blank as he shook his head. I grimaced, hating that I might've gone too far.

"Sorry, it's none of my business. I'll go half with you on a new?—"

"I don't bring women home," he said, shaking his head. "It's been a while, but usually I go to them, not bring them here. I was always careful not to get too attached or get anyone's hopes up."

"I didn't take you for a heartbreaker, Mikey," I joked, but I didn't get even a hint of a smile back.

"As a rule, I only had dates, not girlfriends or anything serious beyond a few repeats. Which meant no sleepovers at my apartment or any promises I knew I couldn't keep."

"I don't believe you." I shook my head and crossed my legs under me. "That's not the Mike I know."

"You're right." He breathed out a long exhale and nodded. "It's not the Mike you know. I'm very different with you. Which freaked me out at first, if I'm honest."

He shot me a bashful grin.

"I'm not saying I was a jerk to everyone else, but I have issues with letting people in. Comes with having a front seat to your parents' shitty marriage and even shittier divorce."

"I've never felt that from you. Even when we first met, you were sweet and helpful and so open. After only a couple of weeks, I felt like I knew you better than people I'd known for years."

"That's because you're the first one I wanted to know me. I couldn't keep you at the usual distance because I didn't want to. I guess that's how it was so easy with women I dated." He shrugged. "None of them were you."

"Mike," I said, breathless, as his words knocked the wind out of me. "That may be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."

"It's the truth. You can ask my cousin or any of my friends. I saw Amber at the garage yesterday, and she was shocked I had a girlfriend since I've never done those." He smiled as he fell back onto the pillow, crooking a finger at me. "Until now."

I laughed before I registered what he'd said.

"Did she see my car?"

"I don't think she saw what was on it. I told her you were caught in the crossfire of the vandalism rampage in our neighborhood. I think unless anything else happens, we just tell who needs to know."

"Yeah," I agreed, cringing when I thought of leaving the bar that night and getting spooked by walking to my car in the dark. Amber had glared at me as if I'd grown a second head until Mike came to meet me. If she'd seen what was scraped into my car door, she had to be a little suspicious.

Which I had to expect in a small town. People would see things and assume. But as Mike had said, nosy and suspicious were good if we needed extra eyes on what could be going on.

The humiliation that came along with it all would be hard to get used to, even in the name of safety.

Mike reached over the mattress to grab his phone, his body going rigid at whatever was on the screen.

"What? Did they match the prints?" I asked, grabbing his arm in a panic.

"No." He shook his head, still focused on the screen. "My mother texted me last night. She's here."

"Here? Doesn't she live in California?"

"She does," Mike said, throwing the phone onto the bed and scrubbing a hand down his face. "She said she wanted to surprise me, but when she comes unannounced, it's her way of making sure I can't say no to seeing her. I'm going to have to have dinner with her tonight, so I won't be able to see you until later."

"What do you do when she comes in?" I squeezed his hand until he looked at me.

"We have dinner at this restaurant she likes in Glens Falls because she'll never step foot in Kelly Lakes if she can help it."

He fell back on the bed, shutting his eyes as he pressed the back of his hand to his forehead.

"She'll fall all over me for the first half hour, then start in about my father, my stepmother, how I threw my life away becoming a cop, and then I'll come home and drink the beer left in my fridge until I fall asleep."

I sat up, fury shooting up my spine at the defeated look on his face. I guessed I wasn't the only one with subpar parents, but I wasn't sure if being neglected was better than emotionally abused.

"You don't want to bring me with you?" I asked, sifting my fingers through his hair.

"I don't, no. And please don't think it's because I don't want her to meet you. It's that I don't want you to meet her. Especially when she'd find out you work for my father and then go after you as much as me. I care about you too much to put you through that."

"Well, I care about you too much to make you go through that alone." I sat up on my knees, lifting my leg until I straddled his waist. "Maybe I could be like a buffer between you."

"You wouldn't." He shook his head, running his hands up and down my thighs. "You'd be a target, and I'd hate that."

"But I hate thinking of you as a target. And if she comes at me, I have enough Philly in me not to just shrink away." I bent down to take his face in my hands. "Was this why, when you first got to your father's house the other night, you looked upset?"

He closed his eyes and nodded.

"She had just called me, pushing me to come to see her. As usual." He let out a long sigh.

"Well then, instead of a buffer, think of me as a distraction. She'll be so busy staring me down, she'll forget to give you a hard time."

His glorious chest heaved up and down as he squinted at me.

"You'd really want to come with me?"

"Of course. I don't want you to go through that alone."

I settled on top of him, smoothing his hair back before roping my arms around his neck.

"You have my back—" I gave him a long, lingering peck, smiling into the kiss when his body rolled under mine "—and I have yours. You're safe with me."

He cracked a wide grin before he cupped my neck and took my mouth in a ravenous kiss. I was already soaked as I writhed on top of him, rubbing my core over where his erection tented the sheets.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're fucking incredible?"

He flipped me over onto my back, the futon under us protesting as we dropped another inch with a loud creak. I burst out laughing as Mike's chest rumbled against mine.

"I guess I'm staying at your apartment until I can buy a new bed. I'll need to before my sister stays here again and wants to know why my bed is so lopsided." He kissed the tip of my nose. "Your fault. I wouldn't be such an animal if you weren't so fucking hot."

He ran his lips down my neck before dropping his head to my chest.

"I've got you, sweetheart," I whispered, cinching my arms around him as I pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

We fell back asleep and woke up just as Mike had to get ready for work. I raced home to shower and change in enough time for him to be able to drop me off on his way to the station.

We'd leave right from Russo's Contracting to meet Mike's mother for dinner. I was certain I'd hate her on sight after what he'd told me, but I'd have to find it in me to keep cool and be there for Mike like he'd always been there for me.

I hoped I could be there for him without getting into a brawl with his mother, but I would in a heartbeat if it came down to it.

"I'm sorry I can't walk you to the door," Mike said after he gave me a quick but dirty-enough-to-make-my-head-spin kiss. "I have exactly fifteen minutes before I clock in."

"It's okay. I can get to the door safely. I see your father and one of his workers inside. I'm fine." I climbed out of the cab and blew him a kiss. "Have a good day, Officer Russo."

I jogged to the front door and noticed Mike's truck reflected in the glass.

"Go," I told him, pointing to the end of the street.

"I have a minute to enjoy the view." He pressed a kiss to his index and middle finger before he drove off.

The high of a new relationship was always nice, but I never remembered it this high—or so wonderful that after I soaked up all the adoration in Mike's eyes, I could almost forget how much someone else hated me.

It was good and bad, since a flighty head could give way to stupid mistakes I couldn't afford.

I headed to Mary's Coffee Shop at the end of the day for an iced coffee. Jake had offered to walk with me, but it was only a block and it was still bright daylight. While I was more aware of my surroundings on the short walk than usual, I couldn't have an escort everywhere.

The adrenaline rush of the past two days had crashed and hit me hard. If I was going to be of any use to Mike during dinner with his mother, I needed something to wake me up.

"Everything okay, Lila? You seem tired." Mary eyed me as she poured the coffee into a plastic cup over ice.

I stifled a laugh, almost warmed by Mary's picking for gossip. It was odd to not only be unbothered by her usual scrutiny but wish she were my neighbor because of it.

If she'd ever caught sight of Ted lurking around my apartment, she'd notice every detail better than any doorbell camera, and I'd never have to worry about him again.

She lived across town, but her proximity to my office brought a weird but palpable comfort.

"Fine, just the end-of-day crash. Could you throw in an extra espresso shot before the cream?" I asked her on a yawn. "Please."

"I hear you. I just asked her for two."

Amber sat on one of the stools next to me as I waited for my coffee.

"Oh hey, Amber. I don't know about two. I need to wake up, not never sleep again."

"I have two finals tomorrow, so I'll be up for most of the night. What's wrong? Haven't been able to sleep?"

Amber studied my face as she slurped her coffee.

"Been a long couple of days. Listen, I'm actually glad you're here. I wanted to explain that night at the bar when you walked me out. You must have thought I was crazy."

"No, not at all. I've had a panic attack or two. They come out of nowhere. I was just concerned if you were okay to go home before Mike got there."

"I told you about my ex and how he wouldn't let go once we broke up. He'd…wait for me. After work, during nights out with my friends, or just watch me without approaching at all, but let me know later he'd been there."

I cringed when Amber searched my gaze with wide eyes. This would never be a story I'd feel good about telling.

"And he'd threaten my friends. It still can mess with me a little. Especially if I'm alone at night. Sorry you had to see that."

"So, he stalked you? That's awful. I had no idea, but it makes sense. Why Mike stuck so close to you at the festival and came to get you that night."

"Yes, and until then, he was the only one who'd seen me freak out. It's something I have to unlearn."

And that would be a whole lot easier if I could only stop having more reasons to panic.

"There you are."

I jumped when Mike came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have another hour?"

"I worked through lunch so I could leave early and head home to shower and change. Dad told me you were here. Mary, one more iced coffee, please."

"Hot date?" Amber asked, smiling as she looked between us.

"If only," Mike said with a groan. "We're having dinner with my mother tonight." Mike rested his chin on my shoulder as he spoke to Amber. "You know if I showed up in my uniform, it would set her off early."

"I do," Amber said with a slow nod, still looking between us. "When did she fly in?"

"Last night. I didn't see her text until this morning, and Lila graciously agreed to come with me to a very uncomfortable dinner before we went to work." Mike kissed my cheek. "Sorry in advance, sweetheart."

"Don't be sorry," I said, patting the top of his hand. "I haven't been outside of Kelly Lakes since I came here. I'm there for you and the adventure."

"Have fun, you two," Amber said as she climbed off the stool. "I have a long night ahead of me, and I guess you do too. Oh, sorry about your car." She cringed as she scooped her empty iced coffee off the counter. "The kids around here can be pretty mean."

"It's okay," I said, trying for a relaxed smile. "Thanks to Aaron, you can't even tell it was there."

"Still, reading whore across your car door had to be a little jarring. Hopefully the cops gave them hell for it."

Mike tensed behind me at the same time my stomach dropped.

"I hoped she didn't see what was scratched on the door," Mike said after she left. "I tried to block her view so she wouldn't see, but?—"

"It was scratched in deep with big letters. Hard to miss."

"Still, I wish she wouldn't have said it like that." Mike frowned as his gaze drifted to the door.

"It's fine. I just apologized for acting weird the night you came to get me. She may be putting two and two together, which you even said was a good thing, so people know to watch." I kissed his cheek. "All good. Does your mom know I'm coming?"

"I texted her that I was bringing my girlfriend, yes. So, I'm sure she's going to hit you with all kinds of questions."

"And that's fine, especially if it gives you a break." I slid my palm against his.

"I had a feeling about this," Mary said, setting the coffees on the counter and waving her finger between us. Her smile was wide and, to my surprise, genuine. "You make a nice couple."

"Thank you, Mary," Mike said, digging into his wallet and tossing a ten-dollar bill on the counter. "I think so too."

"I'm still getting used to hearing you call me your girlfriend," I said, raising a brow at Mike after we strolled out of the coffee shop.

He picked up my hand, lacing our fingers together as we headed back to the office.

"You're whatever you want to be called, as long as it means you're mine."

"I am," I said, stepping in front of him to wrap my arms around his neck. "And I'll fight whoever I need to for you."

He laughed, running his thumb along my bottom lip.

"Back at you. And don't you forget it."