Ro didn’t know what to do, so he did as he was asked. He prepared their bags and put their clothes in them, he even Googled what to pack in a go bag. He looked at Dee who was making their coffee since she seemed confused and overwhelmed with everything that was going on. Ro gave her small kisses every now and then, assuring her that everything would be okay. It took him a few more minutes before he called his boss, Gage, and told him what had happened to Rockford.


    “We’re fine, Gage. I’m just keeping my promise. Rockford told us to call you and take a few days off. He said you’d know what to do. He had called in a favor to his friend. The previous owner of Babes?”


    Gage had known about the newest addition to their rtionship with Rockford, thanks to his wife Bree who is a very good friend of Dee.


    “Good… good, everything will be okay then. I’ll call Max and tell him about Rockford’s arrest. Someone will be there for you in a couple of hours, maybe even less. They will keep you and Dee safe. I will make sure of it, or my lovely wife is going to divorce me.” His words were meant as a joke, but his tone was serious, and Ro let out a frustrated sigh. He was barely holding on, but he needed to be strong for Dee. At least until someonees to help them.


    There was a sense of belonging when you worked at Babes. Everyone knows everyone and barely anything is left private especially when the girls keep their friendship tight.


    Gage ended their call, telling him he needed to make a call. Ro was back to packing their bag and checking in on Dee who was now making snacks for both of them. Maybe she needed to busy her mind with some meaningless tasks, and Ro was just d that she was keeping herself sane rather than breaking down on him. Because if it happened, Ro wouldn’t know what to do. He would most likely…


    His chain of thoughts was interrupted by a knock on their door. This time, both Dee and Ro freeze and look at each other. “I… I’ll get the door.”Ro broke the silence between them.


    “Evening, Max sent me. I’m Ivan. Have you prepared your bags?”


    “Max?” Dee asked, her voice wasced with hesitation and my emotional state was not far from her. It has been a crazy couple of days and she had it worse than me.


    “Um… yeah, Boss said Gage called him earlier. Rockford is okay. He will join you guys shortly.”


    “Will you wait here? Please take a seat while I call someone.” Ro tried to hide his nervousness as he shoved his shaky hands into his pockets and moved to get their bags.All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Ivan sighed and took his seat, mumbling something about how he hated babysitting jobs. Ro ignored the guy and moved into the kitchen where he tried to call Rockford but connected to his voicemail. Then he called Gage and the man said that he knew of Ivan. He gave Ro his description down to his annoyed scowl making Ro trust that he was who he said he was.


    Dee was keeping everything to herself when Ro helped her with her bags. She looked damn tired, still, Ro kept her close though it seems like she was about ready to jump the nk. Ro was obviously not. There was a fire in him to fight for his man, and be there for Dee at the same time. The realization hit him and he was quick to give Ivan their bags while he helped Dee with getting ready to leave.


    They left the apartment not long after. They got into Ivan’s car after Dee. Ro would consider the man attractive if he didn’t have that scowl on his face. At first, he thought that it was because of them, but as they arrived at their destination and they met his colleagues the man didn’t even smile.


    “Stay here, I’m just going to get the keys and our supplies. It’ste I’d rather wey low than do midnight grocery shopping.” He informed them when he was back from talking to his friends. Ro rested back in his seat when the guy left him with Dee in the car. She was wide awake but hadn’t said anything the whole hour’s drive and Ro did not like it. It was not like Dee to stay quiet. She’s the only woman Ro knows that would always talk when she’s nervous and with the current situation, Dee should be babbling and annoying the fuck out of this Ivan dude.


    “Dee… Denise, talk to me, baby?”


    “Are we going to be okay? I really don’t want to die. Do you think Rockford will be okay? Will he go to prison? Will the stalker guy keep on following me?” It was like unplugging the sink. Her questions came pouring out of her mouth and Ro thanked himself silently for opting to sit next to Dee on the back passenger seat.


    “Dee, baby, breathe… I’m here. We will get through this together. Gage knows these guys and we know Gage, he’s the most responsible person we know. Hell, Gage has been Bree’s husband for years now. He already confessed that she would divorce him if anything happened to you.” Thatst words finally get Dee to give him a little smile. Ro felt instantly better. At least there was still something that he could fix and keeping Dee grounded might just be the perfect distraction for Ro.


    Ivan was back in less than twenty minutester with big bags of supplies. Earlier, when the man pulled over in the spacious driveway of the huge mansion, Ro wasn’t expecting the grounds to be littered with men with guns casually walking and talking like it was their normal. He assumed that the mansion was the mob boss’s ce. He didn’t get to think much when Ivan mmed shut the back door after putting the bags away.


    Ro kept his arm around Dee’s shoulder as she melted into him. Her tension was gradually fading as once again they were back on the road. Ivan didn’t say anything, he didn’t talk about where they were going and Ro was too nervous to ask. So he decided to keep Dee calm, rubbing his hand on her back and resting her head on his chest.


    When Ivan parked the car into the garage and then turned off the engine, they were nketed by darkness that made Dee clutched onto the front of Ro’s shirt. Her boyfriend kissed the top of her head, trying to soothe her. “Shh… were safe, we are better here with Ivan rather than staying at the apartment by ourselves. Okay?”


    Secondster, they got out of the car and into the house through the side door connected to the garage. It was a big vi nestled in the busy tourist mountain destination. “Um… I thought we were going to go somewhere lowkey?” Ro couldn’t help himself to ask Ivan because honestly, he was not feeling safe staying near people. Ro would tire himself by wondering each time he saw strangers looking at him. And in this touristy destination, everyone is a stranger.


    “The boss wants us to hide in the open and in this sweet tourist trap town, those bikers will stick out like a sore thumb,” Ivan exined with a slight twitch on his lip as if he was genuinely fond of his boss’s smart thinking. Ro raised his eyebrow when he was sure he saw the slight hint of a smile on Ivan’s face.


    “The master in through the hall, the Vi is cleared you can go ahead and rest. We have rms on every single window and entrance…” Ivan led the way to the said master bedroom, he even showed us the panic room hidden inside the walk-in closet.


    “I’m going to leave you to rest. There is nothing scheduled for both of you tomorrow, so you can rx and wake upte or whatever. You have the full use of the kitchen that we passed through earlier and I will be staying in the guest bedroom near the living room. Knock once if you don’t want any surprises. I sleep with a gun on missions.” There was a seriousness in his voice. The man was stating facts and didn’t want to surprise them.


    Ro nodded and locked the door after Ivan. Dee was already unpacking their things, though Ro was not sure that she should. The truth was, he didn’t know what to do in this situation, this was not what his parents thought him growing up. Ro was a happy kid with the perfect set of parents who taught him nothing but love and the peaceful, wonderful world they were living in.


    One hourter, Ro wrapped his arm around Dee after she finally rxed and fell into a deep medicated sleep. Yes, after they arrived Ro noticed that Dee was not better, so he asked for some sleeping pills and Ivan gave him a couple from one of the kitchen cabs. The one where it looked like they had various supplies from the local pharmacy. Then he heard Ivan mumbling something about needing them for emergencies. Ro’s mind quickly switched to the line of work those people were in so he just nodded and thanked him for the pills before heading back to their room.


    With Dee safely in his arms, Ro was finally able to close his eyes, after quietly sending a little wish to Rockford hoping that he was going to be just fine. At least the police have him and he wasn’t abducted and shoved into the damp basement without supplies for days. Ro shook his head when the thought of his ugly past came creeping from the back of his mind. The man sighed, pulling Dee closer, telling himself that he was safe and that nothing would happen to them, not with Ivan guarding them along with the Vi’s top-notch rm system and panic room.


    It seemed that whatever Ro convinced himself didn’t work because he woke up screaming hourster and Ivan burst into their room with guns in hand and Dee was screaming and crying after tumbling onto the floor.


    Fuck! Ro cursed finally admitting himself that he was absolutely not fine.