Page 9 of Rodeo (Marked Skulls MC 2)
I felt safe with Rodeo around, but I didn’t know how to communicate it to him. I waited in the living room while he took a shower, thinking of things I could say to him. It was too soon to say anything, I’d only just met him that morning. The truth was that I didn’t know him at all.
All I could gather was that he was a busy man and he led an independent life. It didn’t matter what Lila told me at the bar, it would be ridiculous for me to want anything more from him. The very fact that he had fixed the door, safely seen me back home and said that he was going to keep an eye on my apartment—should have been enough.
But I was still scared. I was afraid of what was going to happen to me when he left.
Rodeo appeared back in my living room a few minutes later. He had showered and changed back into the clothes he was wearing. His long sandy blond hair was damp, as was his beard; and I felt that urge to run my fingers through it again.
He knew how to make me feel good. I had seen his cock now, and just having it in my mouth wasn’t enough. My pussy throbbed and ached with the need to have him inside me. I wanted to know what he looked like with his shirt off, how his muscles moved when he drove into me. I wanted to trace the shape of every tattoo on his chest and neck.
He ran his fingers through his damp hair before he tied it up into a ponytail again.
“Thanks for the shower,” he said, as he started putting his leather jacket back on. Why was it, that the very kind of man I should have stayed away from, was so irresistible to me? What was it about Rodeo that had made me strip off my clothes within minutes of meeting him? Why had I lured him into having sex with me again?
My cheeks flushed, I was embarrassed of my behavior.
“It’s the least I can do,” I said to him and stood up from my couch. I could sense that he was getting ready to leave and my heart was sinking. I didn’t want him to go, but he had a life out there and I didn’t want to stand in the way of that.
“You know how to use the locks now?” he asked, walking over to the door and I nodded my head.
“Yes, thank you,” I replied.
“You should be staying indoors as much as possible. Do you have anywhere to be tonight?” Rodeo asked, as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“I have a late night shift at Mac’s Diner, but that’s only a five minute walk from here,” I told him and he nodded his head.
“I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I guess you have to do what you have to do. You have to move on with your life. I’m going to keep an eye on this place, maybe I’ll ask some of my brothers to do drive-bys through the night. Just don’t open the door for anybody you don’t know, but you probably know that already,” he continued and I smiled at him gratefully.
“Thank you, Rodeo, that is very nice of you,” I said. He looked like he was going to say something to that, but he didn’t. He nodded his head and then picked his tools up from the floor.
“Take care of yourself, Jordan,” he said at the door.
“I’m a big girl,” I replied, forcing myself to laugh a little. Rodeo wasn’t smiling, he understood the seriousness of the situation. But there was only so much he could do. I didn’t want to disrupt his life.
“You have my phone number now, I’ve written it down on a piece of paper in your bathroom. You can call me whenever you need to,” he said and with that, he was out of the door.
I gulped as I watched him leave. After he had shut the door behind him, I walked over and pulled the locks. Through the peephole, I saw him walking down the stairs; taking it two at a time as he descended. I waited and watched till the last second, till I couldn’t see him anymore.
Then I whipped around and eyed my apartment. It was deathly quiet in here now. With Rodeo gone, it seemed frightfully alone. More alone than it had seemed before I met him.
I rushed into the bathroom and saw the phone number he’d left for me on the counter. I stuffed that into my purse in the bedroom and then sat down on my bed.
How had I got myself into so much trouble? All of this could have been avoided if only I hadn’t been standing at the window in the morning. If I hadn’t woken up that early to study!
When was I going to study? I had an important test coming up in two weeks and I hadn’t even started studying for it. If I didn’t pass this one, I would have to repeat several classes; I would lose so much time!
I couldn’t get that nagging feeling out of my head that none of this would matter if the Hell’s Drifters got to me first. If they broke into my house and killed me, none of this would make sense.
I was jittery again. I wished Rodeo was here to take me into his arms and hold me while I cried. I wished he was here to calm me down. I hadn’t realized how deeply I would miss him till he was actually gone.
Now, I had no other choice but to move on with my life. That would have to start with me getting ready for my shift.
***
I was walking to the diner later, and the whole time; I felt like I was being watched. It was only a five minute walk from my apartment, but I took hurried steps and my eyes kept darting around to see if anybody was looking at me.
The streets were busy enough and well lit, so technically, I didn’t have much to worry about but I couldn’t stop thinking that I was being followed.
At times, I stopped in my tracks and looked back. There were people there of course, but they were all just minding their own business and they walked past me. When I turned and started walking again, I thought I could hear footsteps directly behind me, I thought I was going to be dragged into a dark alleyway.
I hurried into the diner and the place was full and bustling with people. I put on my apron and got ready to start my shift. There were several familiar faces at the booths—the regulars, but every unknown face that walked in through the doors gave me a jolt.
I couldn’t stop eyeing all the customers, I couldn’t stop imagining that they were all looking at me.
“You look a little jumpy today, girl,” Flora, one of the other waitresses at the diner, had come up to me while I was clearing a table. I whipped around to her, and she saw the gobsmacked expression on my face and started laughing.
“Exactly what I’m
talking about! What’s gotten into you, hun?” she asked, following me back to the kitchens where I dumped all the plates and cutlery.
“Nothing. I’m just tired I guess,” I told Flora as I wiped my hands on the apron.
“Take a break, come out with me. I’m going for a smoke,” Flora said, pulling her packet of cigarettes out of the pocket of her apron. I looked around the kitchen, sighed and then followed Flora out through the back door into the alleyway.
The moment we stepped out, I knew it was a bad idea. Being alone in a dark place was just the kind of situation I wanted to avoid. Flora lit her cigarette and I took in a lungful of the cool night air. I could hardly stop tapping my feet. Flora was watching me as she took puffs of her cigarette, and there was an amused expression on her face.
“Robbed a bank or something?” she asked, when I looked over my shoulder. We were alone right now but that could change in a matter of seconds.
“I’m just tired,” I said again and she crossed her brows.
“No, this isn’t just being tired…something’s going on. You know you can talk to me, right?” she said and I bit down on my lip. Flora and I had been working at this diner together for two years. We weren’t exactly the best of friends, but we had each other’s backs at work. She loved complaining about the latest asshole she was sleeping with, and I was a good listener.
At this point in my life, I didn’t have anybody other than Flora who I could realistically talk to.
“You know the shooting that happened this morning?” I said and Flora took a drag of her cigarette.
“Oh Shit! That happened outside your apartment, right?” she said and I hushed her, my eyes darting around us again.
“What’s going on? Why are you hushing me?” she asked and I stepped closer to her.
“I saw it happen. It was a guy on a bike, he belongs to some MC called Hell’s Drifters,” I told her and Flora stepped away from me with a jerk.
“Why the hell would you tell me that, Jordan? I don’t need to know that! I don’t need that kind of information!” she gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth. Flora was talking in a hushed voice too now.
