There was nobody ahead, so I started walking. “Rex?” I called out, but no one answered. I moved slowly, looking into the shadows, but I felt completely alone. I walked into the clearing with the large rock and the benches, and climbed up to the highest point of the stone to get a better look around.
As I scanned the area, a figured stepped out from behind a tree back the way I had just come. I nearly jumped off the rock in fear.
“Hey, it’s me,” the person said.
“Rex?” I couldn’t be sure. The figure walked closer and slid a hood off his face.
“What’s up, spoiled girl?” Before I could stop myself, I jumped off the rock, and ran straight into him, wrapping my arms around his strong shoulders. I had no clue what was up with the weird cloak and dagger stuff, but relief at seeing him again spread through my body.
“Oh hey there,” he said, laughing. I felt him return my hug, and I breathed his scent in deeply. I realized how badly I had missed him, and how safe I suddenly felt. All of my anxiety and fear from the past few days disappeared as he hugged me and laughed. Finally, I pulled myself away and looked up at him.
“What’s with the sneaking around?”
His face softened. “I’m sorry. I have a good reason for that.”
“And what is it?”
That devilish grin returned. “First, this.”
He leaned in and kissed me deeply. His lips pressed against mine, and I melted into his embrace, returning his kiss. It hit me how badly I needed his touch, how much I had been thinking about him, and how much better he was in person than he was in my mind. There were so few people in the world that lived up to my expectations, let alone exceeded them. Rex improved on everything I imagined.
After a moment, he pulled away, though I could still feel his lips lingering against mine. “Did you miss me?” he asked with a cocky grin.
“Not at all,” I said, looking away, embarrassed. All of my worrying and insane stalking suddenly seemed trivial and childish.
“I know you went to Drake’s,” he said.
“Yeah, about that.”
“Listen, stay away from there. Things aren’t good with me and Michael right now. You need to stay far away from them.”
I nodded, looking up at him. His face was grim and hard, but his arms remained wrapped around my hips.
“Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine, I just need to lay low for a while. That’s why we’re meeting here, and why I didn’t come out right away. I had to make sure you weren’t followed.”
“Why would I be followed?”
“People have seen you and me together. And because you ran into Tadd the other night, you’re linked to me now. They’ll use you to get at me if they can, and I want to keep you safe.”
My heart started to hammer in my chest. I knew he was scary and involved with intense people, but I hadn’t been in any immediate danger until that moment.
“Rex, if something happened, we should go to the police.”
His face was like a stone. “No cops.”
“Seriously, Rex—”
He interrupted me. “No cops. We never let the cops handle our business. I’ll stand up and take care of it myself.”
I looked up at him for a few moments, and drank in his deep green eyes.
“Fine, no cops.”
His face softened. “I’m sorry you’re involved in this. We shouldn’t be seen together.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
“Darcy, you don’t get it. These people, they’ll hurt you.”
“You won’t let that happen.”
I felt his arms leave me as he took a few steps away, his back turned.
“How do you know that? You barely know me.” I could feel the tense anger radiating from his body.
I took a few steps closer. “You’re right. But I don’t want to stay away from you.”
“I’ve made mistakes, Darcy.”
That made me pause. What did he mean, mistakes?
“Are you using again?”
He turned back to me, his eyes fierce. “Fuck no, I’m not.”
“I’m sorry, Tadd said something, and you said you made mistakes. I was just asking.”
“Fuck what Tadd said. I’ve been clean and I’m staying clean.”
I took in his intense look and I believed him. “Then what do you mean, mistakes?”
“People get hurt around me.”
“I’m not afraid.”
“You should be.” He moved away and sat down on the rock. I climbed up and sat next to him.
“What happened, why are you hiding from Michael?”
He let out a sigh, his eyes looking out over the river.
“We had a job in New York. They were supposed to sell some cars to these Russian guys. I was along as muscle. The deal went south, and some shit went down. Michael thinks I had something to do with it, as revenge or something. I need to lay low until they figure out it wasn’t me.”