Page 62 of Vapor

“Oh, Vapor.”

I bring my lips to his, trying to kiss the heartbreak and pain away. He takes over, pressing his mouth to mine, parting my lips with his tongue, and caressing me from the inside out. I melt into the sheets, surrendering to his promise of a new life. Of freedom. I have no doubt he’s going to protect me.

A frantic knock sounds on the door. It cracks open and Bones pops his head in.“Sorry, Pres. But we’ve got a fucking problem.”

“What?” Vapor releases me and sits.

“Her father.” Bones nods at me.“He’s downstairs. And he’s fucking pissed.”

Every muscle in my body tenses. My heartbeat thumps through my ears so loudly I can barely hear them speaking. I feel like I’m listening to them from far away or that my head’s being held under swamp water. I can’t breathe.

“Shit. You didn’t say anything, did you?” Vapor jumps up and pulls on his clothes in record time.

“Fuck no. I’m not a dumbshit.”

I struggle against a wave of terror. If my father finds out I’m here, he’s going to kill me. I wouldn’t have even considered that a possibility before what happened last night. But now? Now I don’t know what he’s capable of. What will he do to the club if he finds out they’re hiding me from him?

“What about the sluts? Did any of them say anything about Blue being here?” Vapor asks.

“No. He’d be even more unhinged if he actually knew she was here.”

“I’ll deal with it. Hold him off for a second.” Vapor turns to me.“Babe, stay here. Don’t come out of this room for any reason. Okay?”

I shake my head up and down, but my tongue refuses to move. My eyes are huge as I watch him close the door, leaving me alone.

Scrambling off the bed, I tiptoe to the window which overhangs the front porch. Carefully sliding it open, I listen for the sound of my father’s furious voice. And what I hear terrifies me.

Chapter 15: Vapor

Standing on the front porch, I face off with Blue’s father. This fucker doesn’t know how close I am to beating his face to a fucking pulp. I can’t let on that I know he hit Blue last night because then he’d realize I saw her at some point. To protect her, I’ve got to keep my shit together and not give in to the blinding rage building inside me.

“I don’t know why you think your daughter is hiding in my clubhouse, but she’s not here,” I say firmly.

“But you know who she is,” LeBlanc says.

“Of course. The whole city knows she’s marrying Justin Broussard. I met with him last week with a business proposition. We were in his club, and she was singing. Mr. Broussard introduced us.”

“And again, at his gala event.”

“Yes.” I try to remember exactly what Blue told me, so I don’t contradict her story.“She looked like she could use a friend.”

“I highly doubt your intentions are friendly.” LeBlanc sniffs.“Why did you give her your number?”

“How do you know I did?” I lean my shoulder casually against one of the porch’s support beams.

“It was in her phone.”

“Why were you going through her contact list?” I ask, intentionally sugarcoating my tone. I shouldn’t be poking the bear, but I can’t help myself. What a fucking prick.

“It’s my job to know who my daughter is consorting with. Why did you give her your number?”

“We haven’t consorted.”Not yet, at least.That’s definitely something I’d love to do with her, but I’m not going to be the one to pop her cherry unless she’s ready. And I’m not sure I’m prepared for the implications of what it will take for her to be willing to have sex for the first time. That’s a whole can of worms I’m not about to open, especially not right now.

“Why?” he demands.

“Like I said, she needed a friend.” I shrug.

“Have you spoken to her?”

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