The Bravest Hero (A Curvy Girls Club Novel Book 2) Read online

  Yet, still I bother.

  Devon dragged her upstairs to his bedroom. Royal tried to glance in every direction to get a feel for his space. She’d waited months to come over and get to know him a little better.

  “Hey, did you bring any condoms. I’m out.” Devon said as he stripped out of his clothes.

  That was another thing he refused to contribute to. The condom fund. If Royal didn’t have any, he’d spend half the night trying to convince her to raw dog it. She’d say no and then he’d spend the other half trying to convince her to give him a blowjob.

  It’s not like she had to worry about getting pregnant since she was on the pill. But since he refused to commit, she had no idea what holes he was dunking his dipstick in. She wasn’t taking any chances.

  Yet, I’m still letting him get between my legs, Royal internally rolled her eyes as she dug out a condom from her wallet. She tossed him the square and pulled off her shorts and oversized sweatshirt. She slid back onto the bed and laid back against the pillows like a tasty, milk chocolate morsel.

  Devon opened the packet and rolled the condom over his average penis that had a slightly crooked bend to the right. Then he proceeded to crawl in between her legs and rub his latex covered tip over Royal’s slightly damp cleft. Not nearly enough lubrication to slide in with any sort of ease. Royal closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. Not from ecstasy. More along the lines of trying not to snap at him.

  “Come on, baby. Open up for me,” Devon panted.

  “Why don’t you go down? That would help.” Royal suggested, always hopeful.

  “Nah, babe. You take forever to get off and I’m tired. It’s been a long day.” Devon pulled out one of his many excuses.

  Royal was beginning to develop a complex.

  Do I smell? Do I taste funny? What the fuck do I have to do to get a little tongue action, dude?

  Royal reached for her jacket. She’d fucked Devon enough to have the forethought to bring the necessary products. She pulled out a tiny bottle of lube and handed it to him.

  “One bottle of lube, coming right up!” She said with fake cheer. “The lazy man’s miracle fix.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see if you call me lazy after I beat this pussy up,” Devon bragged.

  Royal tried her best not to bust out laughing in his face. He dribbled a little lube over her slit and then tossed the bottle to the side. He stroked the head of his penis against her opening and then slid home. Royal admitted that it felt nice. But nice was as far as it ever got. He never got her to the finish line.

  Devon gripped her hips and slammed into her a few times, groaned, and then collapsed on top of her. Royal let out a soft sigh of resignation. He rolled off of her and disposed of the condom in the little wastebasket under the nightstand.

  Royal was about to seriously soul search why she still dealt with him, when he did what he always did. The thing that made her keep her mouth shut. Every. Damn. Time.

  He cuddled her.

  Cuddled her like she was someone special to him.

  He held her. Stroked her skin softly. Planted kisses on any exposed skin he could find. Rubbed his nose against her spine and breathed her in as they drifted off to sleep. As a genuine lover would do.

  Royal lived for those moments. Affection from men didn’t come her way often. She was that girl. The ‘friend zone’ girl. She was always in it. Could never get out of it. She tried to be sexy. She tried to be standoffish. She even tried to be a little rude, which was so far from her actual personality. No matter what she did, though, she was always nothing more than a friend.

  The guys she was friends with never saw her as anything more than the girl they got advice from on how to get another girl. The models that she photographed, never gave her a passing glance. The straight ones, anyway.

  To them, Royal was just…Royal. Cool, hip chick who’s fun to hang out with. To grab a beer with. The men who ever actually found themselves attracted to her, quickly pulled her from the ‘friend zone’ and placed her directly into the ‘friends with benefits’ zone.

  Personally, Royal thought that she was a perfect candidate for a loving relationship in the eyes of a man. She was fun, not much for nagging, loved sex, wanted her space and willing to give him his. Especially because she liked her time with the girls, so she’d gladly give him his time with the boys. Perfect!

  All she needed was one man to finally see it. See her.

  Perhaps, the one snuggling up to me right now.

  Royal sighed before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. Wrapped up in the secure arms of a man who had her wrapped up in the middle of an insecure relationship.

  Chapter Four

  “Are you fucking kidding me?!?!” A loud screech jarred Royal awake.

  “Shit! Kate!” Devon shot up.

  He grasped the sheet and ripped it away from Royal as he tried to cover himself.

  Royal’s heart jumped in her throat. Adrenaline was strumming through her veins. But she was disoriented and had no idea what the hell was going on.

  “What? What is it?” Royal asked as her eyes tried to focus.

  “What is it?!” The screechy voice asked. “Bitch, don’t you mean who is it?”

  Royal blinked several times and her eyes finally focused. A pretty woman who looked like Kelly Kapowski, as in Saved by the Bell’s Kelly Kapowski, stood at the foot of the bed.

  “Uh…uh…Kate, it’s nothing,” Devon stammered.

  “Nothing?! There’s a naked whore in your bed!”

  “Excuse me?” Royal jerked back.

  “Did you hire a stripper, Devon? Is this how you decided to end your bachelor party? With a fucking stripper that I asked you not to get in the first place because I know you don’t have any self-control.”

  “Your card game was actually a bachelor party?” Royal growled as everything started to click together. “And I am not a fucking stripper.”

  “Then who the fuck are you?”

  Devon had completely checked out of the conversation. Royal looked over at him and all he could do was open and close his mouth. He looked like a big mouth bass.

  “I’m one of his photographers at the magazine. And apparently his side piece for the last couple of months.”

  “MONTHS?!?! Months, Devon?!?!” Her screech had reached a dog howling level. “You’ve been fucking around on me for months! And with a fat chick?!”

  Royal jumped out of the bed, naked as the day she was born ready to stomp a hole in the woman. Devon finally came out of his stupor and blocked his fiancée from Royal’s fists.

  “Fuck you. You, prissy bitch! This ‘fat chick’ must be giving him something he ain’t getting from you.” Royal shouted as she pressed against Devon’s hands as he held her back.

  “Well, guess who has the ring, honey?” Kate held up her left hand with the giant sparkling rock on it.

  “At what cost, sweetheart? So, you’re going to marry someone who fucks around on you. Smart.”

  “Royal, I need you to leave,” Devon said.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice, you worthless prick.” Royal turned and grabbed her clothes.

  She quickly pulled them on as she strode down the hall to the stairs. She heard them shouting at each other from his bedroom. Royal pulled on her combat boots, ripped the door open and slammed it shut so hard the glass shook and threatened to shatter. She stomped down the front steps and ran to her car. She could still hear them screaming at each other as she got into her Jeep.

  Royal swiped at the tears that began to streak down her cheeks.

  “Fuck men.”

  Her engine rumbled loudly in the quiet pre-dawn morning. Her tires squealed down the street as she beat a hasty retreat.

  Chapter Five

  After being sent to Sonoma County for a week to help out with the wildfires there, and then the three-hour bus ride back to the station, I’m almost tempted to sleep here. My body is wrecked. But I’m ready to take a long shower. To rinse away the charred earth
that may never fully come off, and then hit the rack for at least twenty-four hours in my own bed, surrounded by quiet instead of the sounds of my firehouse. I don’t have a shift for another seventy-two hours, and no photoshoots for another week. I plan to use that free time to sleep.

  Ainsley will just have to wait to see me when I can function properly. She’ll probably be so buried in wedding stuff she won’t even notice.

  I shove my helmet over my head, tighten the strap under my chin, and start the engine. My hog purrs like a kitten and I take off down the road. I’d love to feel the wind against my face, but I’ve seen far too many accidents and have seen the damage that can be done without something protecting your head.

  As if I summoned some bad karma, a car full of drunk assholes nearly run me off the road as I get on Central Freeway. Instead of leaving well enough alone and just speeding off, I decide to flip up my visor and pull up next to them because I’m tired and in a foul fucking mood.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I shout across the wind.

  “Fuck you, asshole!” The passenger gives me the finger.

  The driver sticks his hand out of the other window and gives me the finger as well. Just as we come up on the junction to I-80 and hit the curve there, the driver swerves just enough to purposely clip my front tire.

  It’s enough.

  The feeling of weightlessness hits me. It feels like I’m flying through the air for an eternity and for only a split second all at once.

  I don’t know what I hit first, second, or third. But my body sounds like it shatters. And what pieces don’t shatter, rip. But I can’t really feel it yet.

  Adrenaline.

  It’s pumping hard. It’s protecting me from what’s to come. And come, I know it will. Because I can’t move once I finally come to a stop. Not really. I mean, I can roll my head to the side and I can move my left leg. I can move well enough to know that my spine is miraculously unharmed. But not well enough to know that several things are broken. And once the adrenaline wears off, I will briefly wish I couldn’t feel anything from the neck down.

  The ringing in my ears is starting to subside. I hear a car door slam and footsteps quickly coming towards me.

  “Oh God…Oh…okay.” A raspy feminine voice says breathlessly above me.

  I blink and try to focus. I can make out brown skin and a flash of something colorful. Maybe it’s her hair. I’m not sure. Nothing makes sense.

  “You’re okay. You’re okay.” She reassures me. Or maybe herself. “Can you talk?”

  I open my mouth but nothing comes out. It must be the shock because my throat hasn’t been damaged.

  “That’s okay. I called 911. They’re on their way.” She pauses. “Umm…maybe if you blink once for ‘no’ and twice for ‘yes’ that will help. Can you do that?” She asks gently.

  I blink twice.

  “Okay, rad!”

  A moment passes and I feel the adrenaline waning and the edges of something horrible emerging. I’m scared.

  “Can you feel my hand?” She asks.

  I do feel slight pressure and pain, so I blink twice.

  “Good. That’s great! Now, can you move your fingers at all?”

  I try to squeeze with the hand I know she’s holding. Pain shoots up my arm and I blink rapidly to clear the tears that sting my eyes.

  “Oh! You moved your thumb! I know it probably hurts, but you’re doing so good.”

  I let out a slow breath. The adrenaline has almost completely worn off. The pain is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. My entire body feels like it’s on fire. And my heart is pounding in my right leg. And with every beat it feels like my leg is expanding like a balloon. I’m just waiting for it to pop. The pain there makes the pain everywhere else seem minimal.

  I feel a tear roll down my temple. The helmet is starting to feel like it’s closing in on me. My breathing is starting to become erratic. I think I’m about to have a panic attack.

  “C-Can’t…br-breathe.” I roll my head from side to side. “Hel…met.”

  “Okay. Are you sure? Because I always thought that was bad. TV and movies always say never to move someone after a bad accident. Especially their heads.”

  I blink twice.

  “P-Please.” I manage to get out.

  “Alright.”

  I feel the helmet sliding from my head a moment later. The cool morning air hits my face and I at least can breathe.

  “I’ll be right back. I have a blanket in the back of my Jeep. This ground is too hard to lay your head on.”

  She disappears for a moment. I have nothing to focus on but the pain. My whole body starts to shake uncontrollably. I want it to stop. I want everything to stop.

  “I’m here! I’m here.” She says slightly winded.

  I think she places the blanket under my head, but I honestly can’t tell. Everything hurts so damn bad someone could stab me and I wouldn’t know it.

  I vaguely feel her hands stroking my face. She says positive things to me softly.

  “You’re so brave. You’re doing great. Help will be here any minute…”

  From the time of the accident to the time the fire department shows up could’ve only been five minutes or it could’ve been an hour. The pain leaves me with no sense of time. Every passing second is hell and feels like an eternity.

  The moments of darkness when I black out are cherished. I want to stay. But when I’m coherent, it’s her that keeps me calm. Right now, she is my center. The thing that steadies me. Without her, I’m not so sure I’d make it. Those moments of darkness feel too good and I’m afraid my body will want to stay for good. I don’t think anyone would miss me anyway if I did. Her voice brings me back. Her voice keeps me here. But I’m feeling so weak. So tired.

  “Stay with me, sweetie. I’m here. I won’t leave you.”

  Flashing red lights and sirens flicker in and out of my consciousness. Everything unfolds in short bursts. Darkness. Voices. Darkness. Bright lights. Darkness. I feel my body being lifted.

  “Can I go with him?” My angel asks.

  I blink twice.

  “No, ma’am. You have to give a statement to the police, and then move your vehicle. It can’t stay here.” The voice says as it gets fainter.

  They must be loading me into the ambulance.

  No, she has to come. I need her! I scream inside my head.

  I blink several times but no one pays attention.

  My heart rate spikes and then just as quickly drops. Everything goes blissfully black.

  Chapter Six

  “He’s lost too much blood! He’s going into shock,” the paramedic inside the ambulance shouted as the other slammed the back doors closed.

  Royal’s trembling hands clamped over her mouth. The last thing she saw through the back windows before her eyes filled with tears and the ambulance sped off, was the medic doing chest compressions on the injured man.

  “Ma’am?” A voice spoke gently.

  Royal turned and through her tears stood a lady cop looking at her with a face filled with empathy. Her caring face was all it took for Royal to finally break.

  A sob ripped from her throat and she bent forward. Now that he was gone, she had no strength left to hold herself up. She’d used it to keep him calm.

  Someone she didn’t know from Adam. A stranger. And yet the thought of him dying damn near broke her.

  A heavy rough blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. As if she was the one who’d been hurt.

  “I-I’m fine. I wasn’t hurt.”

  “I know. But you are shaking.” The cop said softly. “I’m officer Davis. What’s your name?”

  “R-Royal King.”

  “That’s a cool ass name, Miss King.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Look, Royal. Can I call you Royal?”

  Royal could only nod.

  “What you did took a lot of strength. You may have even saved him.”

  “But…but it didn’t look like it. Th
-They were doing CPR on him.”

  “These guys know what they’re doing. I’m sure he’ll be fine. But listen,” Officer Davis rested a comforting hand on Royal’s shoulder. “Even if he isn’t…”

  Royal choked and sputtered at the thought.

  “…You were there for him in his last moments. He wasn’t alone. That means something. You hear me?”

  Royal nodded.

  “I’d like to take your statement now, if that’s okay?”

  “Y-Yeah, I’m good.”

  “Great. Did you see the accident happen? What do you remember?”

  Royal blinked and then gasped, “I remember their plates!”

  “Fantastic!”

  ~~~

  Royal walked into her place about an hour later, dropped her keys and wallet on the kitchen table, and collapsed on one of the chairs. She had no clue how long she sat there, but she did watch the sun rise through the old floor to ceiling warehouse windows.

  Images of the accident flashed through her mind on a constant loop, reliving it until she was ready to scream.

  “I can’t do this,” Royal said to herself.

  She picked up her phone and pulled up the CGC group chat.

  Royal:

  Girls, I need you.

  It was all she needed to text before the most important people in her life showed up for her like they always did.

  Kennedy:

  We’ll be there.

  Mia:

  Whatever you need.

  Payton:

  I’ll pick you girls up in Bradyn’s SUV and we’ll be there in 30 minutes.

  Royal got up, but only had enough energy to wrap her throw blanket around her and flop on the couch. She wrapped herself up like a human burrito. Maybe if she held herself tightly, she wouldn’t splinter into a million pieces.

  The girls knew the code to get into her building. The whir of her elevator dragged her out of a horrific dream where nothing she did could stop the man from dying.