Inferno - Chelle Bliss by Chelle Bliss

“You deserve worse,” I tell him, nudging him with my boot as he rolls around on the floor like a fish out of water.

“The sheriff,” Mammoth calls out in warning. “Three cars.”

I turn around, instantly grabbing Opal around the waist and holding her tightly in my arms. “I’m sorry,” I tell her as she tips her head back to stare up at me.

“Thank you,” she breathes. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t shown up.”

“Mammoth would’ve handled him. We got you, baby.”

She melts into me, pressing her cheek against my chest. “I can’t believe he showed up here and he’s been tracking me. It’s just so…so… Gah. I don’t even know what it is.”

“It’s scary as fuck,” I mutter into her hair. “But it won’t happen again. He’s behind you and will never bother you again. I’ll make sure of that, Opal.”

“What’s going on?” the first officer asks as he walks through the door, hand on his holstered gun.

Mammoth makes his way across the waiting room, holding the tracker in his hand. Opal and I stay glued together as Mammoth goes over what he found on Opal’s car and where exactly he found it.

“Ma’am, do you have any idea who would’ve planted that on your car?”

Opal barely peels her body away from mine to give her attention to the law enforcement officer. “Him,” she says, jutting her chin out toward Jeff. “He’s my ex-boyfriend. He showed up here today out of the blue, and I couldn’t figure out how he found me until the mechanic showed us the device.”

“He didn’t have consent to place the device on your vehicle?” the officer asks her, ignoring Jeff as he lies on the floor, moaning in pain.

Fucking baby.

“No. I didn’t give him consent, and I didn’t know it was on there.”

“He’s been verbally abusive to her.” I add to the conversation because I want them to understand exactly what kind of garbage they’re dealing with.

“We see this more and more,” the guy tells us as his backup bends over, lifting Jeff off the floor. “We’ll need to take the device into evidence and have you come down to the station to file a complaint. Are you feeling up to it?”

“He hit me,” Jeff says, one side of his face already turning a beautiful shade of purple. “Arrest him.”

“Zip it,” the officer tells Jeff. “You’re the only one going to jail today, buddy. Save your breath.”

“This is bullshit,” Jeff seethes, struggling with the guys as they place him in handcuffs.

“We can either do this the easy way or the hard way.”

Jeff grunts his displeasure at the entire situation, but no one pays him any attention or gives two shits which way they put him in handcuffs.

“Does she need to go to the station immediately?” I ask the officer.

“Take your time. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Processing and such will take a few hours.”

I give the guy a chin lift.

“I’ll need to take that,” one of the guys says to Mammoth, holding out a tiny plastic bag for the tracking device.

“Figured as much.”

“We’ll need a statement from you too.”

“You got it.”

“Out you go,” the officer says, hauling Jeff out the door as he yells at the top of his lungs about what a crock of shit the entire thing is.

I slide my hands up to Opal’s arms. “You okay?”

She peers up at me and lets her body lean into mine. “I am now,” she breathes against my shirt. “I am now.”





8





OPAL





“Babe, feet,” Stone says as soon as we sit down on my couch. He pats his lap with both hands and stares at me. “You’ve had a long day.”

I blink and take a moment to let his words and actions wash over me. “What?” I ask, because no matter how many seconds I take to process what’s happening, I can’t quite believe the reality.

“You deserve a little relaxation. Give me your feet. I’ll rub the tension out of you.”

I want to tell him that something else could be rubbed that’s an even better stress-reliever, but I keep that thought to myself.

I raise my eyebrows, genuinely surprised by the kindness he’s shown me over and over again. “Are you messing with me?”

“No.” He pats his thighs again, drawing my gaze to his crotch.

I do my best to look away before he notices, but damn if I didn’t get a good look at the outline of his dick. And as far as I can tell, the man is big everywhere. I lean back slowly, sliding across the couch until my feet are near him. He does the rest, closing his thick fingers around my foot, pulling me toward him.

“Close your eyes.”

He’s bossy, but honestly, I don’t even mind. I’m used to bossy people in my life, but usually it’s not to my benefit.

I press the back of my head into the pillow, willing my eyes to stay open. I stare down the length of my body, soaking in his appearance from the side.

His features are sharp and unique. Dark brown hair with a slight curl to the longer pieces. Clearly, he needs a haircut, but he’s still handsome with the messy strands. His dark-green eyes remind me of the Pacific Northwest with its tall pine trees and moody rain. His lips are full, totally made for kissing as far as I can tell without testing my theory personally.