Perfectly Protected (Addicted To You, Book Three) Read online

  “Do I look like a fucking cop, you idiot?”

  “I don’t know—”

  Fuck this, I thought. I’m not doing twenty questions. I pushed the door as hard as I could, knocking the person behind it backwards, and then made my way inside.

  The house was dark, with just a couple of lamps on, and since there was no real electricity inside, they must have had some way of pirating it or using generators. Who knew junkies were so creative?

  I supposed that they were always creative when it came to getting high.

  There were mattresses strewn about, some old furniture, and people scattered around the rooms, huddled like survivors in some futuristic end of the world scenario.

  The smell was disgusting.

  Lindsay recoiled as she took in the scene. “How are we going to find him in here?”

  “We just look for him.”

  I led her through the house, and as we passed people, I looked closely to see if anyone resembled Gil. In the dim light of the house, it was difficult to distinguish people, but after a little while, I was pretty certain he wasn’t anywhere on the first floor.

  “Are you sure he’s even here?”

  “No, I’m not sure. But we need to check upstairs.”

  So, up we went, like some kind of horror movie. Lindsay stuck close behind me.

  When we got up there, it was just a narrow hallway and a few rooms with the doors shut.

  The first one I tried seemed to be the bathroom, although there was no light so I had to judge from the smell and the tiny bit of light coming through the window. It was empty, apparently.

  “That’s disgusting,” she said. “They’re using the bathroom but the plumbing doesn’t work. There’s no running water.”

  “Come on, let’s keep going.”

  Lindsay had her hand over her mouth and her eyes were wide and horrified.

  I went to the next room and opened the door. There were some people inside doing God only knew what. They were naked, that much was certain. It could have been any arrangement, man on woman, man on man. I didn’t stick around to find out.

  We moved on. I glanced over at Lindsay. “I told you not to come, Lindsay.”

  “I’m fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

  The opened the next door, and there was a big guy standing in my way with his arms crossed. It was a larger bedroom, probably the master bedroom originally. It was empty of furniture, except for a mattress and some blankets. It had the most lighting so far, with a couple of large battery powered lamps that bathed the room in an almost other-worldly white glow.

  There were like eight or ten people either shooting up or nodding off inside.

  Needles were everywhere. I could actually smell the blood.

  “You got business here?” the big guy asked me in a deep, threatening voice.

  “Yeah,” I said. Suddenly, I spotted a familiar person lying across the room. It was hard to tell, but I was almost certain it was Gil. “I need to get in there and see about my friend.”

  “No, man. This room is for people who want to get their fix on. It isn’t for good Samaritans.”

  “Just fuck off and let me in.”

  Now another guy emerged from the shadows. He was shorter, with tattoos and piercings everywhere. “Who’s this?”

  The big guy looked over his shoulder. “Someone trying to be a white knight.”

  “You best leave before we throw you down the stairs and break your fucking neck, man. You and your girlfriend get up out of here.”

  I was still trying to make sure that it was Gilbert laid out in the corner. He hadn’t moved a muscle and I was starting to think the worst.

  “Just let me in, I’m not here for any trouble,” I said calmly.

  “Yeah? Well we are here for trouble,” the smaller guy said, and pulled up his shirt to reveal a gun stuffed in his waistband.

  “Okay, okay,” I muttered.

  “Now get the fuck out of here,” the big guy said, and pushed me in the chest.

  Without warning, I grabbed him by the wrist and elbow and used his momentum to throw him face first into the door jam. His nose was crushed on impact. Then I jumped forward, before the smaller guy could think to grab his gun. He’d been too busy watching his friend get jacked up, and I used that time to my advantage.

  I threw a hard kick to his stomach and followed it up with two clean punches to his chin. He went down in a heap, completely unconscious before he hit the floor.

  I looked around. “Anyone else want to catch a beating?” I yelled.

  Nobody so much as looked at me.

  I quickly went to the corner and saw that it really was Gilbert lying there. He was mostly unconscious, a needle in his arm. I pulled it out and threw it to the side in disgust.

  “Gilbert!” I yelled. “Gil, you awake?”

  His eyes were rolled into the back of his head and my first thought was that he was already gone. OD’d. Dead in a fucking crack house.

  Then, the next thing I knew, Lindsay was kneeling down beside me, checking Gilbert’s vitals. “He’s got a pulse,” she told me. “It’s weak but he’s alive.”

  “Thank fucking God,” I said.

  “We need to call an ambulance.”

  “Hell, no. If we do that, the cops come and he’ll be right back to prison. Come on, help me lift him.”

  “Justin—”

  “Help me, Lindsay. Please.” I grabbed him under the armpits, and Lindsay did her best to help as I dragged him to his feet.

  In the corner, the two guys I beat up were starting to stir. The big dude was holding his broken nose and moaning.

  The little tattooed guy was sitting up, dazed, not knowing how he’d gotten there.

  As we passed by, I looked down at them. “Stay the fuck where you are or I’ll finish the job.”

  Gilbert was coming to, now, and his legs were starting to move, helping me carry him.

  “How the heck are we going to get him downstairs?” Lindsay asked.

  “Gilbert, you need to help me get you downstairs,” I said into his ear. “Can you try and walk, brother?”

  He turned his head and looked at me, his eyes heavy-lidded and his pupils rolling in their sockets. “I think I’m in Disney Land.”

  “No, you’re in a crack house and you almost died,” I told him.

  “You the man, JB,” he whispered, smiling. “I love you, man.”

  “Come on. Walk. Walk.”

  Slowly, we maneuvered down the stairs, going one at a time. Every so often I looked up, waiting for someone to appear at the landing and start shooting at us. But it never happened.

  Eventually, we reached the first floor and got Gilbert outside.

  The fresh air hit me and I took a deep, grateful breath.

  Gilbert still couldn’t fully walk on his own. He was too high and he kept nodding off. “He’s heavy, like dead weight,” I groaned, continuing to pull him along, step by painful step.

  Lindsay was still doing her best to help.

  I looked over at her. “Thanks,” I said. “I’m glad you were here with me.”

  She didn’t reply.

  After another block, Gilbert started coming to his senses a little bit more. He staggered some, so I still had to hold him steady every once in awhile.

  “Where are we going?” he asked, as we made our way back towards the train station.

  “I’m taking you to my apartment.”

  He looked at Lindsay. “Hey, cutie.”

  “Hey,” Lindsay said, looking away.

  “Shut up, Gil. That’s a good friend of mine.”

  He laughed. “She’s nice. She’s got kind eyes.”

  I glanced down at his pants. “You fucking pissed yourself, man. Jesus.”

  “Sorry. I’m disgusting. Don’t you think I know it?”

  “Let’s just get you home, Gilbert. I’m glad you’re alive. That’s all.”

  The three of us kept walking.

  Lindsay didn’t say much,
but I didn’t expect her to. She’d just been through something totally crazy and she’d probably gotten scared half to death. As we sat on the train going home, I looked at my knuckles. They were busted up from hitting those guys.

  I hoped I hadn’t broken a knuckle on top of everything.

  Gilbert nodded off on the train, but every once in a while he’d look at me and smile, then thank me for coming to get him.

  “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” I told him.

  “You’re my angel,” he said one time.

  Lindsay looked at me kind of strangely after that.

  And then we got off the train and were able to get a cab home. It was late, and I was exhausted by the time we got to my apartment. I felt like I’d been out for years.

  But one thing I knew was that I was glad Lindsay was there with me. I wanted to tell her that I needed her. I wanted to say so many things that I couldn’t say. More than anything I wanted to kiss her.

  But instead, I just opened the apartment door and helped Gilbert inside.

  LINDSAY

  I stood by the doorway as Justin led Gilbert over to the couch in the living room.

  Once Gilbert was settled in, Justin grabbed a blanket off a chair and covered him. There was something almost tender about the way he did it, and I wondered how a gesture so soft could come from someone I’d just seen be so violent.

  My heart was beating fast, and adrenaline was still coursing through my veins.

  The stuff I’d seen tonight was….it was crazy, and I was rattled. There were at least five different things that could have gotten us arrested. Or hurt. Or even worse.

  I knew in my heart there was no way I could see him any more. It could only lead to bad things.

  He was right when he said that I shouldn’t have gone with him to find Gilbert. It was every bit as bad as he’d warned me it would be.

  “Hey,” Justin said, walking back over to me. “Thanks for helping me get him home.”

  “No problem.” There was a small scratch near his collarbone, but other than that, he didn’t look hurt. I marveled at how that was possible. “Um, so I should probably go home myself.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Probably. Let me call you a cab.”

  “No,” I said. “I can take the T.”

  “Not at night. Let me get you a cab.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  But neither one of us moved.

  Then, finally, he took a step toward me, his eyes searching mine as if trying to understand what this was. I tried to take a step back, but there was nowhere to go. The door was right behind me.

  He pushed his body up against me. “Lindsay,” he breathed, tracing my jaw with his finger. “Stay.”

  “I can’t.” It was taking every ounce of my self-control to say no. All I wanted was to fall asleep with him, the way we’d done last night. I could remember the way his arms felt around me, how safe I’d felt this morning. But how could I really be safe with someone like him?

  “Please.” His voice was soft, and I could see in his eyes how bad he wanted me to stay. For the first time, he looked vulnerable, like his tough attitude was just a cover up for something else. “I need you to stay.”

  I went to shake my head no, but I found myself nodding.

  He grabbed my hand and led me to his room.

  We fell onto his bed, and I inhaled the familiar scent of his fabric softener. He took off his shirt and tossed it onto the floor, and I took my hoodie off, then crawled under the covers in my tank top and jeans.

  He pulled me close, and we laid there in the dark, facing each other, but not saying anything. After a minute, my eyes started to adjust to the darkness, and I could make out the strong outline of his jaw and the jagged edge of the stitches over his eye, which, miraculously, had stayed intact even during the insanity of the night.

  “You okay?” he whispered.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you sure?” His eyes were locked on mine. “I need to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “Your heart is beating fast.” He reached his hand out and put it on my chest.

  I did the same to him. “So is yours.”

  “It’s because you’re here,” he said.

  I reached down and traced the cross tattoo on his bicep. His skin was warm.

  “I’m sorry I scared you tonight,” he said.

  “I wasn’t scared.”

  “Liar.”

  “I feel better now.”

  “I would never let anyone hurt you,” he said. “I hope you know that.”

  He was pushed up against me now, our legs tangled together, our lips just inches apart. I could feel his chest against mine. He reached out and put his finger on my lips, sliding it down and over my collarbone. “You’re safe with me. Always.”

  And in that moment, I believed him. I couldn’t understand why. Nothing about the night had been remotely safe. But now, here, lying in bed with him in the dark, the soft summer breeze blowing through the window, I believed him.

  Except, I wasn’t really safe.

  Because now I knew that no matter what happened, no matter how much insanity and trouble he was sure to bring into my life, there was no way I was going to be able to stay away from him.

  END OF BOOK 3

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  Table of Contents

  END OF BOOK 3

  Table of Contents

  END OF BOOK 3