Chapter Twenty-Seven

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

She'd already become familiar with the contours of Charge's strong frame from when she'd nursed him back to health. She knew every scar, the shape of his strong ass, and the way the thick, bristly hairs on his lower stomach tapered into a narrow trail leading to his cock. She knew what that looked like, too. And now she knew how good he felt inside her, how his voice dropped two octaves when he came, and how he didn't mind one little bit when she rode him like a fuck-horse. After all, she had fresh wounds on her chest, and he outweighed her by a hundred pounds.

Not that she thought he'd complain if she never let him be on top. He'd seemed to enjoy gripping her hips with his strong hands, rocking his hard shaft into her as she came.

After they were done, he brought her a glass of water and stretched out beside her on his bed.

She snuggled up to his broad chest, listening to his fierce heartbeat. "This was long overdue." They'd come close dozens of times, but he'd never once made a move. "How come you never tried to have sex with me before?" she asked.

"I don't know. I guess I didn't want to complicate your already complicated life."

"Ah. Thank you for saving me," she said jokingly. "Because that incredible sex definitely made things harder ."

"Ha ha. So, did I convince you?" he asked.

"You mean, did your big dick make me believe your heart belongs to me?" She laughed and swung her feet to the floor. She winced from the tenderness in her chest. "No."

He pushed himself up on his elbows. "Do you need me to show you again? Give me ten minutes."

She smiled. "As much as I'd love that," her eyes drifted down to his penis, "because that is a very fine piece of equipment, I have somewhere to be."

He frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Like I said, I have somewhere to be." She went to the bathroom and started the shower.

Charge was right behind her. "Justine, what is this?"

"This? This is me accepting reality and taking control of my own life."

"And?"

"And I can't stay dead any more than you can quit leading suite forty-five so we can run off together."

"So you're punishing me for not leaving things unfinished with the Heroin King?"

She pushed herself up onto her toes and kissed his beautiful, plump lips. "I am making a choice to not waste my life, hiding away in some tiny, winter village when I could use whatever time I get on this earth to change things. I'm going back to Elonzo."

"Emily."

"Justine," she corrected.

He grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing? They think you're dead, and they won't make that mistake twice. If you leave here, it's over for you. You're in until you're dead."

"Charge, you may find this hard to believe, but I love you. I think I have from the beginning, because while I was wrong about you never hurting me, I always knew you would do whatever it took to protect me. And you have. So now, you must trust that I'll do the same. I'll always be looking out for you; even if my gun is pointed directly at your chest, you'll know what I'm really thinking. And when I kiss my new husband on the lips at our wedding, know I'll be imagining you."

"You can't be serious. You're going to marry him? How will you explain where you've been?"

She shrugged. "I'll tell him the truth. You shot me and made it look like I died. I woke up half dead, and you pumped me for information while telling me how much you loved me. I'll tell him that you didn't mean it, and I knew because when you kissed me, I could feel how little you cared. I'll tell him that I don't trust you and never will, so now, I'm making a choice to play the game, and I'm taking the best position I can get."

He stared at her.

"Don't worry, I'll leave out the part where we fucked and you could hardly look at me after. Almost like the guilt was too much." She stepped into the shower.

"Justine, that's not true. I care about you."

"I know. Just like I know that's as close to love as a man like you can get. Not because you don't want to, but because you've been in this for too long—like you said. But I do love you, Charge. I really do. And this is where our path together ends. Just know, I'm not like you. I'm not like Elonzo either. I actually care about what happens to everyone around me, especially all the people caught up in this sick, dirty business. That's why I'm going to change things." I'm in it to win.

"He won't trust you if you just show up out of thin air. He'll think you're setting him up."

She tipped her head to one side. "Then help me convince him, Charge."

***

"Justine? Where is Charge?" Justine lay tied to the bed in the cabin, hungry, thirsty, and in agony.

"Elonzo?" she muttered. "How did you find me?"

"Where is Charge?" he demanded.

"I-I don't know."

"Why is there so much blood in the living room?" he asked.

She blinked, trying to focus. She'd been without water or food for three days. The mattress beneath her was a rancid cesspool.

"I stabbed him," she whimpered. "He's been holding me prisoner and pointing his gun in my face, playing roulette with me. I got hold of a knife. I stabbed him, and then he tied me up again. He was bleeding badly when he left." There was blood all over the side of the bed and her sheets. The trail led out to an enormous puddle in the living room.

"Do you know where he went?" Elonzo asked.

She shook her head. "No, but I got him pretty good in the stomach."

It had taken over a month to collect the blood from Charge, enough to make it look like he'd been mortally wounded. If Elonzo's men decided to test the crimson puddles, they would conclude it all belonged to Charge. They'd know because he'd left a sample of his DNA under the couch. One of his guns in a briefcase along with some cash. If they decided not to confirm it, they'd still be left speculating about his fate.

"I thought—I thought you were dead," Elonzo said, brushing her hair from her face.

"Me too. But you were right about Charge. He's crazy. He said if he couldn't have me, no one else could. He said he was coming for you and wouldn't miss next time." She drew a shaky breath while Elonzo untied her. "How did you even find me?"

"Hunter Collins. He was tracking Charge for me and found the cabin. Apparently, the deed is in your name."

"Mine?" So that was what Charge had meant before he'd left. He'd said he would make it look like she'd been hidden in the last place they'd look.

Elonzo shrugged. "He hid you in prison under your legal name. Now he hid you in your own cabin. Smart. Such a shame he's a dead man."

"Promise me if he's not dead already, that you'll let me see him one last time. He needs to look down the barrel of my gun, like he made me do with him."

"We both know you're not a killer, Justine."

"But I could be. I really could be after this," she sobbed.