Charlie's POV
"I should probably get back to the restaurant" Brax groaned, getting out of my bed. Once again we had started fighting and ended up in bed. I guess I couldn't resist the tattooed surfer with his blue, green eyes, that always seemed to seduce me. Yeah" I mumbled, sitting up.
"Just promise me, you'll stay away from Hammer and his crew" He warned me, doing his shorts up and putting his shirt back on. "I can't have you in hospital again" he gently touched my bandaged arm from where I had been shot a few days earlier.
"Brax, I'm a cop. I can protect myself!" I said back, wrapping the sheet around my naked body and getting up.
"If anything happened to you Charlie, I'd...I don't know what I'd do" He placed his forehead against mine and looked into my icy blue eyes. He placed a strand of my dark chocolate hair behind my ear and kissed the tip of my nose.
"You should go...we shouldn't have done this" I pulled away.
"Just be careful" He put on his shoes before leaving.
"You too" I whispered.
Darryl Braxton was the leader of The River Boys; a notorious surfer gang from Mangrove River, who had moved into the bay and taken over the beach. Along with the beach, Darryl, or Brax as everyone called him, had taken over local pizza restaurant Angelo's. With me being a cop I knew how bad he was for me, but it just happened. He was so irresistible. At first it started out as just sex, but soon turned into something more, which then turned into another gang finding out and wanted Brax and the rest of the River Boys dead due to Police complications. Jake and Harmen Pirovic wanted me dead. Even if Jake was in gaol for illegal drug possession and dealing, he still wanted me dead. Fraternising with a River boy had gotten me in a lot of trouble, but nothing as dangerous as this.
Earlier that day
Brax's POV
We're closed!" I yelled out as a set of footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs of Angelo's. I looked up to find the smug look of Harmen Pirovic, or Hammer as he was known, staring at me as he walked into my restaurant. So how's your little girlfriend after my boys shot at her? Brax there to save the day I heard" He smiled.
"Don't you dare lay another hand on her" I went to lung towards him before he pushed me back down into my seat.
"Brax, this is how its going to work..." He leaned over towards me. "I'm going to buy out this dump you call a business and you and your brothers are going to leave town" Hammer tried to intimidate me.
"No, you listen to me. What's going to happen is, you and your gang are going to leave me and my boys alone and piss off!" I stood up, starting to get angry.
"And what about your girlfriend? You going to put her in danger anymore?" He grinned, knowing my weakest link. I just looked at him, not knowing what to say. "Leave town and this can all just go away...for both you and Charlie. Just think about it" He smacked my shoulder lightly before leaving. I sighed before pouring myself a stiff drink and sitting back down. Placing my head in my hands I tried to think of any other solution that would provide safety for Charlie and her friends and family. Maybe Hammer's way, was the only way. After Charlie got shot I couldn't bear her getting hurt again. I knew this way the right thing, but I had to see her again.
"Brax what are you doing here?" She groaned opening her door.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing" I nodded to her bandaged arm from where she had been shot.
"Checking up on me...I'm fine Brax, you can leave now" She went to close the door.
"Wait, Charlie..." I stopped her.
"No, Brax. I waited...I waited for you to change your ways, but you haven't. You're still lying to me and you're still digging your brother out of the mess he gets himself into" She practically yelled at me.
"I'm sorry Charlie, but they're my family. You'd do the exact same thing if you were in my position" I replied sternly.
"Just go" Her eyes looked watery.
"Trust me when I say this, you need to get out of town for a bit. Take Ruby away for a few weeks, please" I was practically begging her.
"I don't trust you Brax, that's what you need to understand. You've lied to me so many times in the past and I just can't trust you. Hammer and his gang may know about us, but I'm a cop and I can handle this! I don't need your help!" She continued yelling.
"If it wasn't for me you probably would have been dead right now" I stated as I pointed to her arm.
"And I said thank you. That guy had a lousy shot anyway" She spat at me. I couldn't help but laugh.
"Seriously Charlie, how long are we going to keep doing this?" I asked her seriously. "Hammer wants you and I both dead and you're just going to stand here doing nothing...I will not let him do anything to you" I cupped her cheeks in my hands and looked into her amazingly blue eyes.
"Brax..." She was determined not to succumb to the obvious tension between us. "We can't do this" She mumbled before I kissed her lips gently, as we made our way to her bedroom. I should probably get back to the restaurant" I groaned, getting out of Charlie's bed. It was hard to leave her, laying there so beautifully. I'd never had a connection like the one I had with her, with anyone before and to leave that behind and would just about kill me. She sat up and mumbled something.
"Just promise me, you'll stay away from Hammer and his crew" I warned her. I needed her safe, I needed her alive. "I can't have you in hospital again" I looked at her bandage and sighed.
"Brax, I'm a cop. I can protect myself!" She replied, getting up out of bed, covered her naked body in the process.
"If anything happened to you Charlie, I'd...I don't know what I'd do" I pressed my forehead against her's gently. She was so beautiful, I couldn't bear to leave her, but I had to, for her, for Ruby, for my brothers. I placed a lock of her dark wavy hair behind her ear before kissing the tip of her nose.
"You should go...we shouldn't have done this" She pulled away in regret. She looked disappointed, not only in herself, but in me.
"Just be careful." I told her before leaving. I got back to a deserted Angelo's and paced before pulling out my phone. I went down my contacts list before finding the number I needed. "Hammer...meet me at Angelo's. I have a proposition for you
