The End Zone (Atlanta Lightning 2)

“That’s all you can do, I guess. Especially until he finds out what’s going to happen, but…would you follow him, if he moved? You’d be alone, and he’d travel, and…” And it would be similar to how I’d lived with Bobby, a lifestyle I didn’t want anymore. Not that Darren would be gone as much as Bobby, but I’d be in a new city without friends while he had his career.

At least in Atlanta I’d have West.

“I know.”

“Take care of yourself, okay? I’m worried about you.”

“You don’t have to be.” We talked for a little while longer before ending the call.

When I went upstairs, Darren was just waking up. I had a habit of getting up early, which worked when it came to talking with Bobby because of the time difference. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

He yawned, stretched, then groaned. “I hate having my arm in this fucking thing. It’s gonna drive me crazy. Sorry. Morning, Angel.”

I waggled my eyebrows. “I wasn’t very angel-ish last night.” I straddled him, and Darren grinned. “I was a bad, bad boy.”

“Just the way I like you.” He pulled me down and took my mouth. I immediately got hard from the feel of him and the memories of him fucking me the night before. He’d blown me for a while first, and then I’d ridden him again, this time coming with his cock inside me. We’d had sex a few times so far, and each one was even more mind-blowing than the last.

“Mmm.” I kissed his neck. “Don’t get me going. We need to start getting ready so we can meet West at the center.”

“Me get you going? You’re the one who climbed on top of me, talking about being all naughty and shit—not that I’m complaining.” I moved to climb off him, but Darren wrapped an arm around me, holding me close. “I wish it was always this easy…the way it is when it’s just us.”

His words made my heart ache. “I know. Me too.” I kissed him again. “Come on. Being at the center is the next best thing. Plus, we have to be home in time to watch the game tonight.”

The Lightning had an away game. Conners, their backup quarterback, was finding his way. He wasn’t Darren Edwards, and the team didn’t have the same groove, but though they’d lost once since Darren got hurt, they’d also managed to pull out a win.

I wrapped his arm before we got into the shower, and then I helped him dress in a T-shirt and Lightning sweats, while I grabbed jeans and a polo. I’d had to do some shopping because I hadn’t brought enough clothes or toiletries to stay as long as I had. Luckily, I had an acquaintance who could check on my apartment.

It was chilly out, but neither of us minded. We took the BMW, not the Aston, to avoid drawing too much attention, and before I knew it, we’d arrived at the center. Every once in a while, someone somewhere would point us out or take photos, but luckily, we hadn’t been hounded too much by the media. Mia took the brunt of that, getting calls numerous times a day from people wanting interviews.

Darren was still working out plans for the camp he wanted to run over the summer, and I was helping him with the nonprofit part. He’d likely have to hire some people, and he wanted people from all around the country to be able to apply, and then they’d take a certain number every June for two weeks. That created housing problems too and all sorts of other issues I didn’t think he’d considered when he’d first come up with the idea.

West had cleaned out some office space for us, so Darren and I went there to work.

A few hours later, he said, “I’m gonna stretch my legs for a minute. You want something to drink?”

“Yeah, baby. Sure. Thanks.”

He chuckled.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just cute how lost in your work you get. Bombs could go off around you, and you wouldn’t tear your eyes away from the computer.”

That’s how it was when I was passionate about something, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt that way while working on cases. “I heard you.”

“You better.” He winked and disappeared.

It took another half hour before I was able to drag myself away from research for the camp, and I realized Darren hadn’t come back.

I got up to go and find him, which was probably silly. So he’d gotten sidetracked. Darren was a grown man. He didn’t need me to check on him all the time.

Random people were coming and going like always at the center, and when I ran into West, I asked him, “Have you seen Dare?”

He shook his head. “No, I haven’t.”

Philip was walking by and said, “He’s in the art room. A young man came in. He looks about fifteen or so—big kid, though, stocky. I’ve never seen him here before. He was just hanging around, keeping to himself, but then he saw Darren. It was obvious that’s who he was looking for, but he was a little nervous to say anything. I got Darren’s attention so he could go talk to him.”