talking as I drag my tired body toward the living room.
“I met her at a party. She had a flat tire when I was leaving, and I stopped to help. One thing led to another and we ended up in an arrangement.
“It wasn’t anything serious. I had been planning to end it early,” I say, blowing out a breath as I sit and run a hand through my hair.
Roni sits in the accent chair farthest away from me. I tighten my lips in frustration. I had thought we were getting somewhere in the last few weeks. Roni had been allowing her guard to come down slowly.
I continue. “That’s when she told me she was pregnant. I was shocked to say the least, but I stepped up to help her. We started to really get to know each other—”
“Because as her Dom you weren’t interested in knowing her,” Roni interjects.
I fix my gaze on her, knowing what she’s implying. “Baby, our relationship will be nothing like what I had with her. I want you as more than a Sub. That means, I’m interested in knowing everything you want to share with me.
“But yes, with Missy, we only had an arrangement between us. I didn’t want to know much about her. Not that I haven’t gotten to know my Subs in the past. Missy was different. I never felt like she enjoyed the life. It was more like she was pretending to please me.” I shrug.
“Yeah, okay, whatever. What happened to the baby?”
“A few months went by and things were interesting. One night she started a fight and I was so frustrated and confused. Like, I still can’t tell you what the fuck the fight was about. I left, the next morning she called me to say she lost the baby. Since then I’ve been nothing but guilty.
“Missy latched onto that like a weapon and then the suicide threats and attempts started.” I pause and run my hand through my hair again. “So much stopped adding up. No, so much never added up. In hindsight, I don’t know what to believe. My gut tells me she’s been playing me from the beginning.”
“Then she means nothing to you,” Roni says coldly.
“No.” She nods and stands. “Where are you going?”
“Home.”
I stand. “Stay.”
“No, we’re officially friends, nothing more. We shouldn’t be involved anyway; I work for you. Besides, something has gotten in our way every time we’ve tried.
“Now I have that psycho running up on me, trying to make me catch a case. Handle her. If you don’t, I will,” she fumes.
“Roni.”
“Goodnight, John,” she calls over her shoulder.
I drop back down on the couch and cover my face with my arms, too tired to chase after her. I know how stubborn she is, it wouldn’t make a different if I did. Honestly, I’m still trying to process what the hell happened.
“Fuck,” I roar as the sound of the muscle car she’s driving growls it’s way off my property, the tires squealing.
Chapter 47
We Have a Hit
Roni
Six months later…
“What’s up, Kiddo?” I sing as I walk into Torque’s room.
I look around and frown. This place is a mess. Torque isn’t the neatest kid, but this is insane even for him.
I’ve been out of town on a mission with John. Braxton and Ryan were supposed to hang with the kid to keep him out of trouble. Yeah, I know he’s not a baby, but at nineteen he can be a bit reckless.
He charges into things headfirst. He’s too smart for his own good, which leads to him thinking he knows it all. It’s a gift and a curse. He makes mistakes because he thinks too much, too fast.
He looks up from his laptop and his blonde locks are in his eyes. With a bright smile, he stands and wraps me in a hug. Damn, this kid has really grown up. He’s handsome and so tall now.
He’s going to be breaking hearts all over the world and I’ll be there to hem those heifers up if they even think of breaking his sweet little heart. However, in this moment, he needs to get his sticky ass in the shower and clean this damn room.
“Dude, what the hell? When was the last time you washed your ass? What’s going on? This room smells like a sack of balls,” I grumble.
He takes a step back, rubbing the back of his neck as he blushes. He gives me a sheepish smile. “I’ve had a few days off. I’ve been working on something.