Trapped (Bullied Book 4) (Bullied Series) Vera Hollins (best large ereader txt) 📖

“Really, really?”

He chuckled. “Mhmm.”

“Yes!” I pumped my fist in the air and planted a loud kiss on his lips. “Yes, yes, yes!” He laughed as I peppered his face with kisses. “We’re both going to New York!”

“Yep. I mean, I don’t know if law is my thing since I’ve never cared about anything, but I have to start with something. Maybe it will turn out that I like it.”

I licked my lips as I conjured up an image of Blake dressed in a suit in a courtroom. “Mmm, you would be a sexy litigator.”

He cocked his eyebrow. “Who told you I was going to be a litigator? Maybe I’m going to be a prosecutor and put motherfucking bastards behind bars.”

“Even better. You’re going to punish all those murderers and look sexy while you do it.” My smile dropped at the sudden reminder of his ties to the gang. “But wait…what about the gang?”

He grew serious. “That’s another thing I wanted to tell you. I talked to T last night.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You did?”

“Yes. I talked to him about leaving the gang.”

My heart kicked against my ribs. “Will they jump you out?”

His lips curled at one corner. “Not really.”

At first, I thought I’d heard him wrong. “No? But how? Why?”

He gazed softly at me. “Remember the scar underneath my tattoo?”

The round spot that looked like a bullet scar. “Yes.”

“I got it when someone tried to kill T a while ago. I was standing next to him when it happened, so I reacted out of instinct and shielded him, taking the bullet for him.”

I gaped at him. “You took a bullet for him?”

He half-smiled. “Crazy, right? I still don’t know why I did it. Maybe that was me trying to end my miserable life, or maybe I was actually trying to protect him. Either way, he owed me, and he said if I ever wanted out, he would let me go. A life for a life. But I didn’t want out because life there helped me keep my mind off my problems and deal with anxiety. But more importantly, it allowed me to dig deeper for Bobby Q and his guys.” He gazed at the dark sky that was now decorated with a few stars. “When Hayden wanted out, I went to T and told him to let Hayden leave instead of me. But he didn’t want to hear it, said it didn’t work that way. I couldn’t help Hayden.”

My heart ached. He was ready to do anything for the people he cared about. Emma. Hayden. Me.

“But in the end, it turned out to be a good thing,” I told him, and he looked at me. “Because Hayden survived, and you can get out without consequences.”

“Right. So, now I’m officially out of the gang. I’m free.”

Yes, yes, yes! I began bouncing up and down on the hood, laughing like a maniac. He didn’t have to risk his life. He was free.

“YES!” I smacked my hands together. “We have to celebrate this!”

“Definitely.” He smiled and placed his hand on my waist, his gaze full of adoration. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Not more than you.”

“No, you’re the most amazing. The sweetest, most caring, most addictive…” His lips brushed my cheek softly. “You gave me your heart and helped me when I needed help the most, no questions asked. I’ll never forget that moment in the school basement when you helped me with my panic attack.” He cradled my head with his hands. “Maybe that’s what made me fall in love with you.” His voice dropped to a whisper.

I sucked in a breath, my eyes dropping to his lips before he kissed me, tasting me slowly. My whole being was filled with love for him that increased every day. Each day, he gave me a new reason to be happy, and I could finally fully understand Sarah’s words from her birthday party.

Love is resilient. It can be born on ground filled with hatred and negativity and still survive. It can change a person, and seeing Blake finally allowing himself to heal and be happy, I understood that love isn’t just about the entrapment. It isn’t just about the unwanted feelings that keep you in a place you want to escape from. It can also be about healing and second chances. It can be about a door into a new world that allows us to grow and come out stronger than ever.

In the midst of all-consuming negativity, our hearts had managed to find their way to each other. We’d managed to find a shelter from all the pain and nurture our love, and now we were free to love each other with no bounds to keep us shackled.

His eyes were almost as dark as the sky above when he drew away to look at me. His hands roamed up and down my arms languidly. “So, if I’m really that amazing, what do I get for it?”

I put my finger on my lips, pretending to think. “Hm. A dozen kisses?”

His eyes twinkled with amusement. “And?”

I tipped my chin down. “And? Let’s see…sex?”

He chuckled and ran his finger over my lower lip. “Tons of it, yes. And?”

I chuckled in disbelief. “You want more?”

He grinned. “Absolutely.”

“I’ll let you beat me at Monopoly again.”

“I won that fair and square, but sure, I’d love to win again. So? What else?”

My smile was enormous. “Okay, I get it. You want me to sing for you.”

His smoldering gaze made me so warm. “Bingo.”

My heart began to pound in my chest. My performance anxiety came to the surface, but I’d promised I would sing for him today, and I wanted to see awe in his eyes as I played my new song for him.

I slid off the hood and opened the rear door to retrieve my new guitar from the back seat. “Promise you won’t laugh.” I sat back down next to him, holding the guitar in my hands.

He cocked his head to the side. “Like I laughed the first two times