Free Redemption Road (Roughneck #3) by Nicole Hart Page A

buddy to protect you.
    Me: Please stop. I don’t want anything to do with you. Just leave me alone. It’s over. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that.
    Jake: Because it’s not your choice.
    Me: IT IS!!! I don’t want you! I don’t need you anymore! I don’t love you! I hate you actually!
    I hit send before I could even change my mind. I’m sure it would just piss him off more, but I was sick of him. I was sick of being scared. I was sick of not speaking my mind and letting other people run my life.
    Jake: Cunt.
    Fuck him, I thought as I poured myself my third glass of wine. I wasn’t much of a drinker, especially alone, but I really needed to calm my nerves. Plus, I was hoping it would help me sleep. The only way he would stop calling is if I changed my number, so that was exactly my plan for tomorrow after work. My only option was to make it impossible for him to get to me. So I would take every step necessary to do just that.
    My phone started to ring as I was climbing in bed. Three glasses of wine was definitely my limit tonight; I was about to fall asleep, and didn’t really want to answer. Especially if it was Jake. But my heart did a little flip when I saw HIS name on the screen.
    “Hello,” I said through a smile, trying to stifle my buzz giggle.
    “Hey,” Kash said. He sounded sleepy. And sexy. So sexy.
    “Hey,” I said with an exhale, as I crawled in bed.
    “You ok?” he asked.
    “Yep,” I said with my eyes closed. I was so sleepy.
    “The alarm set?” he asked.
    “Yes, sir,” I replied with a giggle.
    “You been drinking sweetie?” he asked.
    “Little bit,” I mumbled.
    He started to laugh and I felt a tingle between my thighs.
    “Your laugh is sexy,” I said without even thinking. My eyes popped open.  Oh, my God. Did I really just say that?
    “Everything about you is sexy,” he said without a hint of laughter.
    I didn’t even know how to respond, so I just sat there in silence.
    “So, anyway, I was just checking on you. I wanted to make sure the alarm was all set up. Get some sleep, ok?” he said.
    “Ok,” I whispered.
    “Fuck,” I heard him mumble. It was so quiet. If the house hadn’t been silent, I wouldn’t have heard it at all.
    “Goodnight, Kash,” I said quietly.
    I heard him exhale loudly before he replied.
    “Night,” he said, and then he hung up.
    God, his voice. It was so sexy. Everything about him screamed sex appeal. From his piercing eyes, to those full lips. To that tattoo…damn, that tattoo. My hand found its way inside my panties when I thought about him.  I wanted him to touch me so bad, it made me ache. And I knew I had to get rid of that ache or I would never sleep. So, thoughts of Kash helped me along, and I did what needed to be done.
     
    The next morning when my alarm went off, I realized I had slept through the entire night. I don’t know if it was the wine or the alarm, but I was so thankful for the rest. I got ready for work and headed out the door, once I turned off the alarm.
    Son of a bitch. You’ve got to be kidding me!
     
    Whore. Cunt. Bitch. Slut.
    All the horrible names Jake liked to call me were written in some sort of red polish all over my car windows. I looked around for some sign of him, but of course I didn’t see anything. This was getting ridiculous. So I called the office and left a message for Dr. Weston, letting him know I would be a little late, as I ran into the house and grabbed cleaning supplies and towels. I took pictures with my phone of all the disgusting words on my car before I cleaned them off. I wasn’t driving down the road with that stuff written on there.
    I headed straight to the police station to see what I could do. I walked through those glass doors trying to force my feet to keep moving. I couldn’t believe it had finally come down to this. But I couldn’t handle this anymore. It was too much. Luckily, this was such a small town, not much ever happened, so the room was virtually