Pressing me back against the wall, he buried his hands into my hair, his body grinding against mine. Our tongues clashed hungrily, kissing the anger and despair from one another, as our hands groped for flesh, desperately peeling clothes away from skin.
This was what I felt for this man. Despite coming from different walks of life, me with my protect and serve and him with his eat or get eaten mentality, I felt something that was uncontrollable. He devoured me. Risking my life in the very place that could save his seemed the least I could do if I wanted to stay by his side.
Lifting me up into his arms, I clamped my legs around his waist, and he entered me, pinning my body against the wall. He thrust hard, over and over, and all that was left was pleasure.
Pleasure and a promise. We were in this together.
Chapter 12
Charlotte
I glanced at the text on my phone and smiled.
Rebeclass="underline" You coming to see me win tonight, Sweet Lips?
I’d put his name into my contacts after leaving his place the day before. We’d decided it might be a good idea to have a day or two apart before whatever this thing was devoured us whole, but it seemed Rebel couldn’t help himself. I’d never shacked up with a man so fast in my entire life, but nothing had ever compared to the bang with which we began. It was dive in the deep end head first or nothing.
Unlocking my phone, I tapped in a reply. Sure thing, hot stuff.
Going back to The Underground was a risk, I knew that, and it took walking on the wild side to a whole new level. I wasn’t just having a romp with a sexy fighter, I was dealing with the devil for daring to conceal who I was. They all did it, though. Fighters took on pseudonyms, nobody gave out last names…and everyone kept tight-lipped on what was going on in that warehouse and where they’d come from. I was no different, except for the fact I was the one person who wouldn’t be welcome.
A cop was a cop no matter what you dressed her up as.
I found myself daydreaming all day at work, my alertness off-kilter to my usual performance. I’d been stuck on an armed robbery out in the suburbs. It was an old case that had yet to be closed and I was sure Hunter had put me onto it to punish me for my unsanctioned snooping around The Underground. Man, if only he knew. I’d spent the whole afternoon canvassing witnesses that had already been canvassed weeks ago, or at least I’d tried to. I did end up getting some solid leads that I thought were worth looking into, so it’d suck to be Hunter when I cracked it.
When my shift came to an end, I hightailed it home to get changed and made it to The Underground with minutes to spare until Rebel went in for his fight.
I found him waiting by the cage entrance, shaking out his muscles, looking every inch the pure specimen he was. When he caught sight of me, his lips curved into a shit-eating grin. He stepped into me, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. Hard.
“Hey,” he murmured against my lips.
“Hey.”
“You miss me or somethin’?”
Smiling, I replied, “I can still feel you.”
Rebel’s eyes widened slightly, his hands tightening around my waist. “Fuckin’ good.”
“I expect you to win, you know.”
“It’s a sure thing, Sweet Lips.”
“We’ll celebrate later.” I wiggled my eyebrows up and down.
Like a typical man, Rebel’s eyes widened at the suggestion of sex.
“Against the wall, in the shower, on my knees—”
He placed a hand over my mouth and laughed. “Stop it, Charlie, or I’ll skip the fight all together and have you right here. Do you want an audience? Because I sure as fuck don’t want to share you with anyone.”
Wrapping my hand around his wrist, I tugged, freeing my lips. “Then you better win good.”
“Record time.”
Letting me go, he backed away as his name was called. The cage door closed, and he blew me a cheeky kiss. I could feel the jealous eyes on me, but I didn’t give a shit. It was just me and him, and I didn’t like to admit it, but I was in so deep I wasn’t sure I was getting out. If this fucked up, I would never be the same again. What man could compete with Kane ‘Rebel’ Sturgess? None.
Fuck, we were like one of those annoying loved up couples. It was all new and fresh, and we couldn’t keep our hands off one another. I’d used to look at people like that and throw up. Yeah, I’d been jealous, but I got it now. The rest of the world ceased to exist when you felt like that.
The crowd jostled around me as the fight began, and I was pushed backward. Turning, I threaded my way out of the throng and rounded the back of the bleachers. I’d never sat up there before, but it would afford me an uninterrupted view of the fight. Glancing toward the fighter only area, I stilled.
The entry was unattended, and suddenly, my cop sense flared into life.
Looking around, I noticed nobody was watching, all eyes were plastered on the cage. This was my chance if I was willing to take it. Everyone was otherwise occupied watching the fight and wouldn’t notice if I slipped into the office. I’d have to be quick about it.
Not wanting to draw any unwanted attention to myself, I wandered forward. Stepping into the hall, I began walking fast, my boots thudding against the concrete floor.
“Hey!”
I froze, my heart skipping a beat or ten, and I turned slowly, plastering a fake smile on my face.
“Hey,” I said, waving to the security guard.
“You’re Rebel’s new girl?” he asked, looking me up and down.
“Charlie,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes at him.
“What are you doing out here?”
“What do you think?” Imply sexy thoughts.
His eyes widened slightly, and after a moment, a sly smile appeared on his lips. “Okay, go straight back and wait in the change rooms.”
I flashed him my best smile and backed away. “You got it.” Idiot.
Disappearing into the empty change room, I waited a moment before peering back around the corner. The security guard was walking back to his post after having waited to make sure I did as I was told. He moved through the door and back to his post.
The hallway was empty, and I had a chance to get into the office. Pacing back down the hall toward the security guard, I knew I might not get another chance. It was now or never.
An image of Rebel flashed in my mind, and I shook my head. I had to keep my eye on the prize.
Trying the door to the office, I found it unlocked, and I slipped inside, closing it softly behind me. I was alone, the room dark, and I took out my phone to light the way. There was a desk in the middle of the room, the surface littered with papers, and toward the back, there was a huge safe and a filing cabinet. It was pretty bare other than those things, and I wondered if this was it, the entirety of their operation, but experience told me it wasn’t. Not by a long shot.
There was no hope of me cracking the combination to the safe, so I decided to have a flip through the filing cabinet to see what I could find. Any evidence I collected would be useless, but not if I handed it in anonymously. Opening the top drawer, I began thumbing through the files. How was I going to take credit for it, though? Hand it into myself? I’d have to be careful how I went about that and cover my tracks.
The sound of the door opening behind me made me still, and instantly, I knew I’d been made. Fuck. I’d been stupid. So fucking stupid.
The light flicked on, and the sound of a low growl echoed from behind. Closing the filing cabinet, I turned on my heel, my hands in the air. My gaze collided with a man I’d never seen before. A hard looking guy, stocky with a shaved head and an air of danger that was all too familiar.