Chapter 3
Kate
Tristan and Tony Hunter didn’t even look up at me as I moved between the tables on my walk to the one they sat at in the back of the dark club. It was still light outside, but you wouldn’t have known it. The place was dark, lit only by the pink and purple flashing lights aimed over the stage.
It stank as well. Sweat. Stale alcohol. And under that, there was the stench of sex mixed with the overpowering floral perfumes the dancers were clearly dousing themselves in.
The only thing that could get rid of the stink of the place was a thorough cleaning. Something I doubted had happened in a very long time by the state of the floors.
Although, even the deepest of cleans would be unlikely to rid the filth that seemed to pervade the very air. Maybe it would have been better if the place burnt down. They would definitely make more money if they burned it down and collected the insurance money. It was a dive and an empty one at that.
“Excuse me?” Coming to a halt, I curled my fingers around the chair nearest me. I didn’t want them to see how much I was shaking and I needed the stability to hold my nerve. Neither of them even turned their faces towards me. Their eyes were glued to the tits of the girl swinging off the pole on a small stage. And she was a girl. One look at her and I knew she was too young. College-age at best. At worst? I hoped like hell she wasn’t still in school.
I swallowed hard. She had to be legal, right? She didn’t look much older than Conner, and he was just a kid. A tall overgrown kid, but a kid, nevertheless
“Excuse me,” I said again, my voice slightly louder this time, “could I talk to you?”
The one furthest away from me scowled in my direction, clearly irritated by my interruption. His eyes raked over me. “Look, love,” the twang of his accent was thick, “you’re pretty and all, but you”re too old to work here.” He went back to staring at the half-naked girl.
My fingers flexed on the cracked, fake leather chair. He thought I was there for a job. It was comical. Even if I was desperate, I wouldn’t work in a place like that. The girls who did would have had more luck on street corners.
“Now, now, Tony.” The younger of the Hunter brothers swivelled in his chair. Tristan. His eyes lingered on all the parts of my body that I didn’t want him noticing, let alone staring at. “Let the lady talk. You never know, she might bring in a new clientele.”
Heat crept up my cheeks. I fought back the urge to shudder.
It wasn’t that they were hideous to look at. In fact, they were fairly handsome men. No, what was off-putting was the very air around them. Their auras. They oozed violence and cruelty.
“I’m not here about a job,” I snapped before he could say anything else. “I’m here to ask you to leave my ward alone.”
I blew out a breath. There I had said it. Sure, it had come out rushed and a little fearful, but I had said what I needed to.
“And who is your ward?”
“Conner—”
Tristan threw up his hand, silencing me. Again, his eyes flickered across my body. And this time, he did take his time about it. “I see.” The tip of his tongue appeared between his lips. “Well, that’s something we can talk about for sure.” He stood up. His tongue was still playing across his lips like they tasted of something delicious. “Follow me. Let’s discuss this somewhere more private.”
At his side, his brother started to laugh, but he didn’t even glance up as Tristan led me away.
He was being reasonable. Something I never expected. All the stories I had heard about the brothers made them seem like monsters. But Tristan was being…
The thought scattered when he shut the office door behind me. Trapping me between the peeling wood laminate and his body, his arms caged me in.
“So, let’s discuss.”
There was something sour about his breath. Not rancid, not quite, but it was a strange mix of aromas. All fighting for dominance. He smelt like his club; my stomach roiled.
“Conner is a good kid.” Swallowing hard, I tried not to think too hard about the arms on either side of my head. “He didn’t mean to…” Fuck, why was this so hard? “Um, look, if we could sit down and talk about this, I am sure we can come up with a payment plan for any money you are missing.”
“You wouldn’t be able to afford it, love. You don’t make that much money. I doubt the dead squaddie”s pension would be enough to even—”
I saw red. Gathering my strength, I pushed at his chest. My sudden attack made him stumble back a few steps before he righted himself.
“He was a marine, and he was a million times more of a man than you are. Smacking around little boys,” I snapped with disgust.
Throwing back his head, Tristan laughed. The smash of his knuckles against my cheek was so sudden and so unexpected that my head cracked painfully against the door. Stars burst into life before my eyes. They were still going off when his hand closed around my throat.
“Now see, I was being all polite, and you had to spoil it. Why did you have to do that?” Stepping into my space, he rubbed his nose against my cheek, inhaling deeply. “Are you missing your big, strong marine, Kate?”
I felt myself pale at his use of my name, and his laughter grew louder.
“Oh, I know who you are, Kate Morgan, or do you go by your maiden name now?” He didn’t let me answer. I wasn’t even sure I could have. It was hard enough to breathe with his fingers flexing over my windpipe. “And I have just what you need to help you get over your loss.”
The hand on my cheek slipped down until his fingers brushed against the swell of my breasts and lower.
“Get off me, don’t—”
His hand clamped over my mouth, muffling my yell as he pawed at my breast. There was no finesse about it. He wasn’t doing it for my pleasure, but for his own.
“A woman like you…” he licked a long line up my cheek and I gagged, “needs a man’s hands on her to keep her in line. You miss it. You need it.” Loosening my breast, he shoved his hand between my legs, pulling my skirt so he could rub against my panties.
Vomit filled my mouth. I gagged and swallowed it down. Fear gripped me, paralysing me. What kind of moron was I for walking in there and thinking a man with his reputation could be reasonable? There wasn’t a reasonable bone in his body. The stories were true; they were monsters.
“You miss a man touching your pussy, don’t you?” One thick, slightly clammy finger jammed into the side of my panties and he thrust it inside my body. “You need a big, long cock to fill you up.”
The fear that had paralysed me disappeared like it had never been there to begin with. My mind was suddenly full of crystal clear awareness. Yes, I’d been foolish to go there alone, but that didn’t mean I had to let this happen without a fight. That wasn’t who I was, who I’d ever been.
I bit down on the hand clamped over my mouth. Blood from his finger spurted against my tongue and I had a second to send up a silent prayer that he didn’t have some disease before his balled fist slammed into my face.
“Fucking bitch!”
Like a crazed beast, he let fly with his fists, rocking my head back and forth until my vision was almost all red. I wasn’t sure if I was going blind or if there was blood dripping into my eyes.
Eventually, the beating slowed. Not that it really mattered to me. My body was just one big hurt. Bone deep pain radiated through me.
I blinked up at him. I was on the floor by his feet, although I couldn’t remember falling.
“Please, I—” I spat the blood from my mouth and grunted as he aimed a kick at my ribs. No amount of curling up on myself would protect me from the agony that ripped through me.
“Don’t care what you want, Kate Morgan.” He dragged me up by my hair and tipped my head back at an angle that cracked my neck painfully. “Your boy belongs to me.”
His spittle hit my face. I didn’t bother wiping it off. My hands were too busy clutching at his. It felt like he was about to rip my scalp off. It was a slight pain compared to the others he’d inflicted, but it was the one I was concentrating on.
“Please!” I fought against his grip. I would rip my own hair out at the root if it meant that I could get away. All I needed was a second, and I could make a run for it. “Please,” I sobbed the word, unable to find any other.
He stilled. And somehow, it felt more threatening than anything he had done up to that point. “Would you do anything for him?”
I nodded.
“That’s good. It shows loyalty to your family. Loyalty is good. I admire loyalty and because I like you,” he stepped away and sucked his finger into his mouth, his eyes closing momentarily, “I’m going to give you a choice. Either Conner pays the debt, or you do.”
I couldn’t even swallow. I didn’t need to ask what he meant. His meaning was clear.
“Think about it, sweetheart.” Again, he stepped closer, rubbing the wet digit against my lip. I winced in pain. “I’ll expect an answer soon though, so don’t think about it for too long.” The tip of his tongue flicked against my ear. “By the way, Kate.” He chuckled. “Your cunt tastes amazing.”