Truck Stop Tempest: A Dark, Friends To Lovers Romance

Book 3: Truck Stop

by Krissy Daniels

Genres: Contemporary Romance; Erotic & Steamy Romance; Small-town Romance; Friends to lovers

Synopsis

My stay in Whisper Springs was supposed to be temporary. A slight detour on my flight to freedom.
Then Tito Moretti stormed into town.
He was everything I wished I could be. Everything I'd been taught to fear.
Confident. Fearsome. Untouchable.

I wasn't supposed to make friends. I never meant to fall in love.
When Tito learned the truth, would he break me,
Or help me break free?

****

Tuuli Holt was off limits
Young. Naïve. Pure.
I had no right wanting the blue-eyed bunny. 
But damn, that little beast stormed into my life, and scattered my demons.

She had her share of secrets, but they were nothing compared to my sins.
Tuuli said my past didn't matter.
I wanted to believe her, but when my crimes were exposed, would she bolt?

I should've stayed away, set her free.
We could never work.
Church girls didn't fall in love with executioners.

Release date: April 10, 2018

Print pages: 278

Sample

PROLOGUE

 

Tuuli

15 years ago

 

"Stop, JoJo! I'm not supposed to come here." I dug my toes into the loose dirt, but my brother only jerked my arm harder, dragging me along the driveway toward the scary house. "Ow!" I cried, trying to pull away.

He stopped walking and squeezed my wrist. "Shut your fucking trap."

My brother said the F-word a lot. I didn't know what the F-word meant, but my mom said it was bad. "You're not supposed to say that word."

He stared at the cabin. Spit. Then started walking again, pulling me behind. "I'm a guy. I can say whatever the hell I want. You're a girl. Girls keep their mouths shut." 

He sounded just like our dad when he said that.

Sometimes I didn't like being a girl. I had a lot of things I wanted to say, but my dad always spanked me if I talked when I wasn't supposed to, and he would spank me, for sure, if he saw me at his secret house. "I don't like it here," I yelled, squeezing my eyes closed, hoping he wouldn't hit me.

JoJo stopped, took a deep breath, and made a fist.

Uh oh.

"Shut. Up." He turned around and grabbed my arms, shaking me hard. "Anyone hears you, we're fucked. Got it?"

I smashed my lips together and didn't yell again, even when JoJo squeezed my hand too hard, and pulled me behind a tree, and pushed on my shoulders until I sat on the dirty ground. 

"Now, stay here and don't make a sound."

I looked around and started to cry. There were big trees everywhere. I didn't like the woods. Erik, the boy who lived next door to us, said there were monsters in the woods that liked to eat little girls. He always told me I had to obey him or he would drag me into the forest and leave me there for the monsters. 

JoJo kicked the tree and said more bad words. Then he sat on his knees in front of me. "Stop crying. Do you want Dad or Erik to see you?"

I shook my head no. My brother was scary. But not as scary as Erik. Erik liked to make people scared. He liked to make me cry. He liked to make me do a lot of things.  

My brother pulled a chocolate bar out of his pocket and dropped it in my lap. "Here. Don't move. Don't make a sound. I'll come get you when I'm done."

"Where are you going?" I whispered, but JoJo just walked away. 

I looked at the candy. My stomach made a loud noise. My dad never let me have candy. He said candy made girls fat, and girls needed to stay small if they wanted to keep boys happy. On my birthday, Mom always gave me candy bars. She said girls couldn’t get fat or spanked on their birthdays. I wished it was my birthday, then Mom would be home, and my brother wouldn't have to babysit me, and I wouldn't have to hide behind a tree in the woods.

It wasn't my birthday, and I didn't want to get spanked, so I threw the chocolate as hard as I could. Maybe the monsters would eat it, and then they wouldn't want to eat me.

I waited, just like JoJo said. I kept my eyes closed the whole time because I didn't want to see any monsters in the trees. I kept them closed until I heard a girl singing. She had a pretty voice, and she was singing about rainbows. I liked rainbows. Sometimes, I colored them for my mom, and she would hang them on the refrigerator.

I wanted to see who was singing. I opened my eyes, peeked around the tree, then snuck behind the cabin and stood on my tippy-toes to look through the window. On the TV, there was a girl singing to her dog. She had a pretty dress, and piggy tails just like me, except her hair was dark and my hair was white. 

Then I heard crying. 

I ran to the other window.

Erik was on the couch, watching the girl sing on the TV. His face was red and wet, and he didn't have any clothes on. He had big black marks on his arms and tummy. 

I didn't like Erik, but he looked like he was hurt and sad. I didn't like when people were sad. Maybe if I was nice to Erik, he would be nice to me. I knocked on the window and his eyes got big and round. He wiped his face, and then he didn't look sad anymore. He looked scary and mad. 

A door slammed, and Erik pulled his knees up high, then hugged his legs. He didn't look at me anymore.

My dad walked into the room. He was singing like the girl, but he didn't sound pretty. I never heard my dad sing before. He didn't have a shirt, and his tummy was big and jiggly. He probably ate a lot of candy bars.

Dad sat on the couch and watched the girl. Then he put his arm around Erik and pointed to the TV. He laughed about something, and then he laid down and made Erik lay down, too. Erik tried to move away, but my dad hugged him and made him stay still. 

My dad never hugged me. He never hugged JoJo either. Why did he like Erik better? Erik was the meanest boy ever, and I wished he lived far away.

"What the fuck are you doing, brat?" JoJo grabbed my piggy tail and pulled hard until I moved away from the window.

I closed my mouth tight because he looked really mad. Boys were not nice, but they really weren't nice when they were mad. I wanted to ask what song that girl was singing. I wanted to ask why Dad and Erik were watching TV, but I didn't because my brother's face was all red and scrunchy. 

He didn't talk to me all the way home. He didn't hold my arm, either. I was glad because my arm still hurt from before. 

The next day, Erik found me in my room, under the bed. Every time he came to play with JoJo, I tried to hide. He always found me. I needed to get better at hiding.

Erik told my mom we were going outside to play, but we didn't play. He made me go to my dad's secret house. He made me watch the movie with the girl and the rainbow song. He scared me when the lion came on, and he told me I looked like the witch, the bad one, not the good one. 

After that day, he made me go to the scary house a lot when my mom and dad were at work and JoJo was with his friends. Sometimes he hit me. Sometimes he yelled at me. Sometimes he made me sit on his lap. Most of the time, he made me lay down, and he laid next to me and wouldn't let me move until the movie was over. Sometimes, he hugged me. His hugs were not nice. They hurt, and sometimes I couldn't breathe. 

He always sang the rainbow song very loud. "Somewhere over the rainbow…" 

He always made me walk home alone, through the woods. 

I was happy when Mom told me we were moving far away. I asked her if there was a secret house where we were going, and she just looked at me funny. 

I was happy that we were moving until JoJo told me Erik and his mom and dad were coming, too.

I didn't like rainbows anymore.

 

#

Tito

15 months ago

 

Smoke billowed through the large space, seeping through the vents and down the stairwell, choking precious oxygen from the room. I fought unsuccessfully against my binds, thankful that I'd been thrown to the floor where I could still pull a small amount of clean air into my lungs.

Above my head, through aged floorboards and beams, came loud crashes, and screeching, the walls and windows releasing one last battle cry before succumbing to the flames.

Screams haunted me from the far corner of the basement, those of a dead man begging for mercy. Voltolini's lawyer was their first target, and despite having lived the life longer than I'd been breathing, Mark Norton crumpled after a measly five minutes under the cut of Rafael Turner's blade, spilling secrets not even I had been privy to.

He'd yet to give up the one thing Turner wanted, Aida's location, not because he was a strong man, but because he'd been denied the vital details of her whereabouts. He did, however, spill a scarier truth, one that could bring Voltolini to his knees, and ruin a family. A truth I would most likely die for hearing.

That was if I survived the fire.  
Footsteps pounded around me. 

A gruff voice yelled, "Time’s up, Turner."

Rafael responded, "Who started the fucking fire?"

"Wasn't us, boss."

Rafael spit profanities. Fist hit flesh. A body fell inches from my head. 

"The house is coming down around us. We go now."

"Not until I know where they've hidden Aida," Turner argued.

Dumb fuck.

"Won't fucking matter if we're dead. We go now. We go now!"

A deafening boom shook the foundation. Embers and shards of wood rained down. More footsteps. A boot caught me in the rib before a heavy body fell, cracking my ribs. The men surrounding me coughed and sputtered before heaving their fallen brother from the ground.

"What about Voltolini?" someone shouted. 

"Let him burn," was the reply. "Let them all burn."

I fought to free my hands from the binds at my back. Fighting was useless. 

"You win!" I shouted into the darkness, surrendering to my nemesis, my only worthy adversary, the Grim Reaper herself. "You win," I rasped, ready for rest. Ready for peace.

Over the years, Death and I had shared a morbid courtship, dancing around in a twisted game of cat and mouse. Year after year, hit after hit, she would follow me into the dark shadows and offer a nibble of her sweet sanctuary, only to slink away, smiling, after I offered another soul in exchange for my own. 

In my world, it was kill or be killed. I'd never been ready to die, and lucky me, there had always been someone ready, although never willing, to take my place. Death wasn't biased. A soul was a soul, regardless of race, religion, or guilt.

As the old home above me crumbled, the acrid burn of paint and treated wood, old furniture, and flesh seared my nostrils. I choked on the metallic tang of blood and strained to see across the room through the sting in my eyes. I wondered if Lady Death was pleased that, for the first time, I had no alternative soul to offer.

Voltolini's enemies would escape. I would not. I had led the Marcovic Cartel to the safe house. I deserved to die. 

And so, I closed my eyes, conceding. Tapping out. My only request, that Death draw out my final moments, allow me to feel and suffer every agonizing detail of my final breaths, to hurt until my black heart thumped a final beat.

Lady Death heard me. The ceiling tore open, dropping heavy chunks of fire on my head. Death heard me. And she was more than happy to oblige my wishes.

All was going according to plan until someone tugged at my feet.

From across the room, a thick, hoarse voice commanded, "Get him out of here." 

More tugging. A hand lay across my chest. Heavy breaths blew in my ear. "Protect Aida, son. Take care of my princess. Then make them pay." 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

Tuuli

 

"And may the Lord bless you and keep you…" 

I closed my eyes and absorbed Pastor Davies' benediction, letting the words wash over me, pretending, for the short reprieve, that I was clean and worthy of hearing them. 

As the shuffle of feet and rustle of coats and mumbled goodbyes and have a good weeks and join us for lunch, closed around me, I hooked my purse strap over my shoulder, shrugged my arms into my sweater, and maneuvered through the congregation toward the door, stealing one last glance at the stained-glass image of Jesus before making my getaway. 

I jogged down the cement steps and hurried to the corner, hoping to catch the early bus and make it to The Truck Stop in time to have a bite before my shift started. My stomach rumbled at the prospect of a real meal.

Rifling through my handbag in search of my bus pass, I continued along the uneven sidewalk and cursed myself for not keeping the damn thing in my pocket.

"Ah, there you are." I snatched my card and looked up seconds before slamming into the figure standing before me. 

Dear Sweet Mother of Mercy. My limbs locked, my insides sputtering and crackling like water dropped into a hot pan of oil.

Dark, turbulent eyes glowered down at me through the cover of his cloak. Out of habit, my gaze dropped to the ground. I hated that I still had that reaction around men. Pathetic and weak.

No more, I reminded myself, forcing my attention upward, over the scary body parked mere inches from mine.

I took in every detail, from his well-worn shoes to the running pants that clung to his thick thighs, to his signature dark sweatshirt. Tito, or Grim—as in The Grim Reaper—as I often referred to him in the safety of my private thoughts, once again had his hood pulled low over his head, hence the nickname. His chest rose and fell, sweat dripped from his half-hidden face, and puffs of white air blew from his lips with each exhale, reminding me how cold it was outside. 

I shivered, as I often did in his presence, and pulled my sweater tighter around my middle. 

"Hey, Tito." I forced a smile. "Going for a run?"

He didn't answer. He rarely did when I spoke to him unless reciting his lunch or dinner order. Instead, he glanced over my shoulder, then back to me, offering a nod in the building's direction. "You one of those Jesus freaks?" 

Shame slammed my chest. I was a freak, but not the kind he referenced.

"Oh, God no," I said, folding, as I often did under the weight of peer pressure, or any pressure for that matter. 

He shoved his hands in his front pockets, leaning back on his heels. "I saw you come out of the church."

A nervous laugh escaped my lips. "Not everyone who goes to church is a Jesus freak."

His eyes darkened. Narrowed. Burned a hole right through me. "Whatever you say."

By some miracle, under the stifling weight of his scrutiny, I managed to squeak, "You don't go to church?"

Stupid, stupid question. 

"Rather be skinned alive." Such loathing in his voice.  

The heavy rumble of the bus reminded me of my tight schedule, shaking me from my Tito trance. I'd have to run for it. The Sunday driver waited for no one. 

"Been nice talking to you, but I gotta go." I took off at a sprint, breasts bouncing beneath my stretched-out bra, hair falling out of my meticulously pinned bun, and my purse beating viciously at my back. 

I was a mere ten feet from my ride when my bag's strap snapped, spilling its guts and my hope for a meal all over the muddy ground. 

"No," I screeched, skidding to a stop and gasping for air as the bus rolled away without me. "No. No. No." I squatted to retrieve my things, plucked them from the newly thawed earth, and shoved them, muck and all, back into my thrift store handbag. 

Tucking the pink leather traitor under my arm, I headed the same direction I'd just come and maneuvered through the slow flowing stream of churchgoers spilled onto the sidewalk. If I kept a brisk pace and didn't die of frostbite, I could still make it to work on time. 

Already a couple of blocks ahead, Tito continued to gain distance, his large, dark form growing smaller by the second. My insides warmed at the sight. What I wouldn't give to own such a powerful air of self-confidence, such a fearsome presence. What I wouldn't give for a taste of power, to instill fear rather than drown in it.

I wondered briefly, and shamefully, as I often did, how a man, more specifically Tito, would feel if he were to hold me, his thick muscles pressed against my small curves. How would he taste if I stole a kiss? Too often, I thought about his lips—whether they would be soft and gentle, or hard and forceful. I often thought about his other body parts as well, even though the little voice in my head reminded me it was wrong to have any thoughts about a man like Tito Moretti. 

I hated that little voice.   

 

#

Tito

 

That little voice. That pink, pouty mouth. Those wide, terrified, baby blues. Fuck. The girl was a damn child. A churchgoing child, no less, and, for reasons beyond my understanding, I couldn't flush her out of my head, no matter how hard I hit the bag, or how many miles of road I tore up. 

My morbid attraction to her wasn't sexual, not exclusively anyway. No. Tuuli's allure was soul-deep. Maybe the draw came from her eyes. She was young, late teens, I guessed, but her gaze, when I was careless enough to hold it for more than a blink, hid wisdom that was neither earned nor bestowed. I suspected that Tuuli's erudition had been forced upon her, evident by the slump of her shoulders and the forced confidence she tried so hard to pull off. 

Perhaps the unholy attraction was simply one broken soul recognizing another. 

Maybe our mutual afflictions were the reason she haunted me. 

Most likely, I was insane. 

Didn't matter. Tuuli was a no-go. Forbidden. A big, flashing neon sign: Danger. No Trespassing. Keep Out. And so, I pushed forward, focused on the punch of my shoes against the wet ground, inhaling for four beats, exhaling for four. In. One, two, three, four. Out. One, two, three, four. In. One, two, three…continuing until I was nothing but movement, and sweat, and breathing. Until my mind numbed, the screams dimmed, and thoughts of an innocent, blue-eyed beauty faded to nothing. 

I ran across town, past The Stop, and halfway up the hill toward home before the unmistakable squeal of brakes set my nerves on rapid fire.  

Don't turn around. Don't turn around. Leave her be. 

"Fuck!" Pulled by an invisible force, I came to a halt, and turned, hoping to catch sight, just one glimpse, of my dangerous little obsession. 

Tuuli didn't step off the number twenty-seven bus like she did every Sunday. The double doors swung open, paused for a beat, then slammed shut, and the vehicle pulled back into traffic. 

I stood like a dumbass, wishing I'd waited by the church to make sure Tuuli had caught her ride. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit." I sprinted to the top of the hill, busted through the door to my basement apartment, and snagged my keys off the counter. When I folded into my Mustang, I cranked the stereo to an ear-splitting level and retraced my path home, hoping she had followed the same route. 

Thirteen minutes later, I found her, walking with a spring in her step, bright red cheeks, and no fucking coat. When I rolled to a stop, she walked right past. I honked. Her spine stiffened, and she continued, hurrying her pace. 

I sped to the intersection and performed a U-turn, pulling alongside her again, this time with my dark window rolled down. "Get in the car."

When Tuuli's frightened gaze morphed into one of relief, topped off with a sweet smile, I damn near gripped my chest, shocked by the unusual rhythm knocking behind my ribcage. 

"Hey, Tito," she said, teeth chattering. "Sorry. Didn't know that was you. What are you doing here?"

"It's freezing. Get in."

"Oh. I'm okay. Thanks, though." Her pace slowed, but only a little.

"I'm here to give you a ride. Get in."

She stopped. "Why?"

Jesus effin' Christ. Young. Naive. Definitely someone to steer clear of.

"Slade said you didn't get off the bus. She asked me to come and get you." The lie left my lips with such ease, I even believed it. "So. Here I am. It's cold. Get in."

As she scurried to the passenger side, I dialed up the heater, despite the sweaty mess underneath my workout gear.

The girl slid in, hooked her belt, and sat, stiff as a board, arms curled around her purse, broken leather strap twisted through her fingers. Without looking my way, she mumbled, "Thank you." 

It was impossible to ignore the tremble in her arms.

"No coat?" I asked, gritting my teeth.

"Left it at a friend's house," she said. "She's supposed to bring it by later today."

Seems I wasn't the only one weaving stories. I ate lunch at The Stop every day. Sometimes dinner, too. I'd yet to see one of Tuuli's buddies come through. She'd never talked about friends, or family for that matter. 

I took the long way around town, hoping to eradicate her shivers before dropping her at work. Tuuli didn't seem to notice. Her eyes stayed glued to the road, her bag close to her chest, and her lips pinched tight. Worked for me. I wasn't much for talking. Then again, I'd never been one to run to the aid of a girl I hardly knew, but there I sat, the reluctant hero, and fuck me, but I wanted to hear more of that soft, sweet voice. "So, Tuuli is an interesting name. Is that German?"

Her gaze sliced toward me, never connecting eye-to-eye, then shifted back to the road. "It's Nordic. At least, according to Google." 

"That would explain the blonde hair, blue eyes."   

Tuuli wiggled in her seat, then cleared her throat. "Why does Aida call you Tits?"

I huffed. No one had ever asked me that question. Out of fear, most likely. "Nickname Aida gave me when we were kids. In grade school, I paid a girl to show me her rack. Aida found out, gave me a fat lip. Told her I couldn't help it…I was a tit man. The name stuck."

"So, you're from New York, too." A statement, not a question.

"Born and raised."

The timid little creature turned to look at me. "What brought you to Whisper Springs?"

Death and destruction. Murder and revenge.

"Needed a change." Damn, she'd turned the tables. I'd meant to be the one asking questions. "You grow up here?"

Her moment of bravery faded and she dropped her head, knotting her fingers. "No. Born in Arkansas. Dad moved us to Idaho when I was five." 

She was hiding something. Not very well, and it sure as hell wasn't any of my business, but it bothered me nonetheless. Didn't like that it bothered me. Didn't like that I wanted to keep driving and talking. Fucking hated how I wanted to coax the truth out of her. Her life was none of my business. So, with equal parts relief and disappointment, I pulled into the parking lot of The Stop.

Tuuli's hand was on the door before I shifted the car to park.

"Thanks, Tito," she said over her shoulder as she pushed out of the car.  

I watched her dash to the back door of the diner. Stared long and hard at the empty passenger seat. I turned off the heater because my car's interior was fucking hot as Hades. After a bout of arguing with myself, I decided to head home rather than follow her inside. I needed lunch, but I needed a cold shower more. 

Tuuli Holt and her pretty little voice clung to my skin like a New York summer. Sticky, stifling, and unrelenting. Problem was, I wasn't sure a shower could wash her away. 

Not good. Not good at all.

 

#

Tuuli

 

"Oh, this is not good at all," The reflection glaring back at me was a grumpy, frumpy mess. 

Thanks to Tito and his lead foot, I had fifteen minutes to spare before my shift started, enough time to grab a quick bite. I did not, however, have time to fix my hair. But really, when it came down to the nitty-gritty, a full belly trumped vanity by a gazillion points. So, instead of primping, I pulled my tangled mane into a low ponytail and called it good. 

A wave of nausea washed over me. I folded, pressed my forehead against the cold sink, and waited for the hunger pang to pass before making my way to the kitchen.

"Hi, Charlie." 

"S'up Toodaloo?"

Toodaloo. Charlie had given me a nickname my first day on the job. I'd never had a nickname, aside from Brat. A term used too often and too enthusiastically by my brother and his friends over the years. I refused to acknowledge the moniker as any sort of endearment. Coming from Charlie, though? I couldn't help but feel accepted, and somehow special. 

I was about to ask for eggs when he pushed a bowl of soup my way. "I need your opinion. I might add this to the menu. It's kale, with Portuguese sausage. Aida's recipe." 

I cozied up to the cutting board and stirred the spoon through the gold broth with long shreds of green lettuce, perfect tiny potato and carrot cubes, shiny cuts of onions, and bite-sized hunks of some type of skinny sausage. The beautiful concoction smelled cozy, like a warm house on a cold winter day, inviting you to come inside and stay for a while.

I don't remember much after the first bite, except for Charlie pushing torn pieces of bread my way, and then offering a second helping. I scraped the last piece of potato from the bottom of my bowl and sucked it between my lips. When I looked up, Charlie and Slade stood side by side, both with arms crossed, heads tilted, and brows pinched tight. 

"So?" Charlie chuckled, his belly bouncing beneath his white coat. "You like it, then?" 

Slade's always cheerful face twisted in concern. "You okay, Tuuli?" 

"Fine. Why?" I brushed bread crumbs off my mouth and carried my dishes to the sink.

"No reason," Slade answered with a smirk. "Never mind."

"Well?" Charlie asked as I made my way past him. "What's the verdict? Yea or nay?" 

I retied my apron strings tighter around my waist, to help hold up my pants, and pretended to debate the quality of his creation. "It beats Chicken ‘n' Stars, gives Ramen a run for its money. I'm gonna go with a yea." 

"Hmmm," he hummed, shooting me a wink. "I'll dump this batch, tweak the ingredients, and see what I can come up with."

"No," I waved my hand in a desperate plea. "Don't toss it. It's perfect. I lied, okay. I lied. It's the best soup I've ever had in my life. The best meal I've eaten in forever. Don't tweak it. For the love of God, don't change a thing."

"That's what I thought." The Truck Stop's famed chef turned his back and got busy with the fryer. "Get to work, Toodaloo. Got a full house out there."

With a sated stomach and more energy than I'd had all week, I headed to the dining room. Sundays were my favorite days to work. The after-church crowd was always pleasant, although skimpy with gratuities. I didn't mind. As much as I needed the cash, agreeable customers always made for a better day than good tips. 

The afternoon passed in a whirlwind of burgers, coffee refills, screaming kids, and chatty geriatrics. I hardly had time to notice that Tito hadn't shown up for lunch or dinner. In my few spare moments of peace, I couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't shown up because of me.

I thought about him too much, silly waste of time that it was. I wasn't even a blip on Tito's radar. The man was scary hot, and untouchable as far as I could tell. I'd known him for months, served him lunch and dinner a gazillion times, and I'd never heard him speak more than one or two sentences to anyone other than Aida.

Our conversation earlier was the longest exchange we had ever shared, and I soaked up his attention like a love-starved puppy. Foolish, sure. In hindsight, it was obvious that he was only being polite, seeing as we had been stuck together in his car. Which reminded me…

I found Slade and Tango in the office. With one hand on Slade's lower back, the other hand tangled in her hair, Tango hummed a tune I didn't recognize and rocked Slade in a slow, gentle circle.

A jealous ache rolled through my chest.

Good Lord, they were beautiful. Always dancing. Always touching. 

Tango bent for a kiss. I cleared my throat.

Slade turned her cheek to greet me. "Hey, girlie. What's up?" The woman glowed twenty-four-seven. But in Tango's arms, I could swear she was part angel, incandescent and blinding.

"Sorry for interrupting. I just wanted to thank you for sending Tito to pick me up today. My purse broke and spilled, so I missed my bus. I don't mind walking, but I'd neglected to bring a coat, and it was freezing this morning, and…"

I paused, noting the look of confusion on my boss's face. 

"Tito gave you a ride?" she asked, raising her brows and shooting Tango a quick glance. 

"Um. Yeah. He said you sent him because you didn't see me get off the bus."

"He did, huh?" Slade hid a crooked smile behind the guise of chewing her thumbnail. 

I nodded.

"That's weird. I didn't know you took the bus." She turned to Tango, who was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "Isn't that weird, honey?"

"Mmmhmm." Tango kissed the top of her head and offered me a nod.

Margie, our seasoned waitress, poked her head through the door. "Tuuli. A guy at table six is asking for you." She threw me a wink. "Handsome devil." 

My guts dropped and bounced around a bit. I didn't know anyone in town, aside from my coworkers. Which meant someone I did know had made a trip into Whisper Springs to see me, which could only mean bad news was headed my way. My brother was the only person from Rockypoint who knew I worked at The Stop. He'd disappeared over a month ago. 

I straightened my spine and said a quick prayer on my way to the dining room, asking God not to let it be my brother. Or any family member for that matter. 

Even though his back was turned, I recognized my visitor immediately, his tall, wide frame unmistakable. His confident carriage sent a shiver through me. Forecasting the shit storm of white teeth, painted smile, and perfect pale skin that was about to wreak havoc in Tuuliland, I steeled my spine and battened down the hatches of my fragile, newfound independence before forcing my legs to carry me forward. 

"Erik?" 

"Tuuli." Steely blue eyes, in all their ass-kissing glory, took me in before settling on my face. "You've lost weight. Didn't think that was possible." 

"Oh. Um." Taken aback by his insult, I floundered, dropping my gaze to the checkered tile. "How did you know I was here?" I asked his shoes. Nice shoes. Looked expensive. Shiny brown leather. Fancy thin laces.

Through my peripheral, I noticed his arms swing open. Before I could stop what was coming, he caught me in a stifling embrace, pressing me against an unforgiving chest and forcing me to inhale his expensive cologne.  

My feet left the ground. An oof left my lips. I dangled in one of his famous hugs. Except it wasn't a hug per se, but more a reminder that he was bigger and stronger, and more powerful than I would ever be. Erik's hugs were never about intimacy or emotion. Only control—or pretense, when others were around. 

When satisfied, he dropped me to my feet with an "Umpf." Not gentle. In fact, harder than necessary, another reminder that he could break me if he so desired.

He curled long fingers around my neck, and said, "I've come for my girl."

I jerked away. He pulled me right back, asserting his power with more aggression. His eyes would've been pretty if I didn't know what was hiding behind the congenial mask. 

"I've come for you, Tuuli. This charade is over; get your things."

He didn't own me. He didn't know anything about me or the promise my brother had made. I was never going back. Not alone. Not with him. Not ever. 

I cleared my throat, forced a lifetime of conditioning down deep where it couldn't control me, and I found my voice. "You don't understand."

 

#

Tito

 

I understood Tuuli had a life outside of work. I understood that her life did not and in no way should have involved me. I had no business giving two fucks. But when I stepped through the door of The Stop, the cowbell rattled, the cacophony of happy diners filled my ears, and my eyes fell on that young, forbidden angel, dangling in the arms of a large, clean-cut suit. What I couldn't fathom was why my face heated, or why my heart banged erratically, or why, for the love of all that was holy, I wanted to pound my chest like a damn gorilla and charge the pasty motherfucker who was holding the girl who wasn't mine. 

Fuck. My head was fucked. I pounded my temple once, hoping to rattle some of the shit loose. My usual table, hidden in the corner, was otherwise occupied, by said motherfucker, I assumed. So, I retreated to the opposite corner, parked my ass at a dirty table, and tried my damnedest not to watch the interaction between Tuuli and her friend. Intimate friend, judging by the way he held her. 

Busying myself with a menu, I tried, unsuccessfully, to keep my attention off the couple. Tuuli stared at the floor more than usual. She seemed two sizes smaller, two souls smaller next to the douche. 

The more I watched, the more I realized that she wasn't into the guy, and he, apparently, seemed to think he was her world. 

Margie approached. "Hey, Tito." She wiped the red laminate with a bleach-soaked towel. "Ready to order?"

I nodded yes before asking, "What's up with Dolph Lundgren over there?"

Margie looked over her shoulder. "Not sure, sweetie. Never seen him before tonight. He came here looking for Tuuli." 

"She look happy to see him?" Not sure why I asked. Maybe I needed confirmation that I wasn't reading Tuuli's body language wrong.

"Well." Margie turned to assess the situation. "Now that you mention it, no. She looks like she wants to curl into a tiny ball and roll away."

"That's what I thought," I mumbled. 

Tuuli jerked free of the guy's grip and shook her head. He clamped his fingers back around her neck and pulled her closer.

Lady Death whispered in my ear, "I want that one."

I shoved off my chair and decimated the distance between us, reaching earshot in time to hear Tuuli say, "Get your hands off me. I'm never going home. And I'm not your girl."

I didn't give the guy time to respond. I hooked an arm around Tuuli's shoulder and pulled her against me, effectively freeing her from his hold. "Hey, Tuuli," I said, tapping her chin, forcing her to look at me. "Who's your friend?" I held her gaze, hoping like hell she understood my game. 

I hated the meek fucking expression on her face.

Tuuli stared at me, flushed, unspeaking, so I offered a hand to the dead man. "Tito Moretti. You are?"

The man's jaw hardened, his eyes narrowed, and his pale face reddened. After an excruciating pause, he shook my hand and said, "Erik Meyer." His gaze sliced to Tuuli, then back to me.

I held his hand past the point of polite, let Tuuli go, and nudged her toward the kitchen. "Charlie needs your help in the back. Said it was an emergency." I didn't watch her retreat. Instead, I dropped my friendly facade and sized the fucker up. 

A wicked smile spread across his face, revealing perfect white teeth. "Moretti? What is that, Italian?"

"What that is, is none of your fuckin' business," I warned, stepping even closer. 

He didn't shy away. Stupid move.

My skin ignited head to toe.  

Erik asked, "Is there a problem?"

The guy was too white, from his hair to his skin, and even his teeth. White, and clean. Too damn clean. Creepy as fuck, but in a pretty way.

"You laid your hands on my girl," I gritted through my clenched jaw. "You lay hands on her again, you'll be fishing your fingers outta the lake. Got me?"

Unfazed, Erik pulled his wallet out of his pocket, tossed a roll of bills on the table, and sauntered past me toward the door, but not before pausing to straighten his tie and say, "Don't know what game you're playing, but Tuuli is not your girl. She was mine before she was born."

Had we not been surrounded by clueless diners, I would've taken a swing, for shits and giggles. Instead, I hid my fisted hands in the pocket of my sweatshirt and watched the guy exit the building and stroll to his Mercedes SUV. He glanced my way before disappearing behind the tinted glass.

His vehicle was not the first clue that something wasn't kosher with the guy. It was the most glaring, though. Why the hell was a douche his age driving a Mercedes G-class modified with bulletproof glass?

I walked outside and watched the vehicle blend into the dark night, pissed that I hadn't caught his plate numbers.

"Thanks," Tuuli's soft voice cut through the hard vibes rattling my nerves. 

I didn't turn around. I didn't move because if I moved, I would've gone to her, and if I'd gone to her, I would've touched. Touching meant dirtying, and I didn't want to be the man that dirtied the sweet, churchgoing angel. 

I didn't turn around. "You need a ride home?" 

"Um. I have to finish my shift."

She didn't answer my question. 

Walk away, dumbfuck. Walk away.

"After your shift, do you need a ride home?" I asked again, unable to hide the agitation in my voice. 

"No, Tito," she huffed, mirroring my ire. "I don't need a ride home, but thank you, again. For everything." 

The cowbell rattled. She’d fled back inside. The sky darkened around me. I trekked up the hill, parked my ass at the kitchen table, and fired up my computer, dead set on finding a reason to take that Erik fucker down. Instead, I pictured Tuuli standing alone at the bus stop, or worse, sitting in the metal petri dish on wheels next to a drunk perv.

I grabbed my keys and drove back down to the diner.

Then I waited for Tuuli's goddamn shift to end.

Yeah. I was fucked.