Obsessive Cravings (Wicked Cravings Book 1)

Chapter 20

The soft lights in Greyson’s kitchen were calming as I waited for my tea to brew. I wished he’d stayed and ignored the call. There was something he wanted to tell me. I could see it in his eyes when he told me he’d be back soon. A shadow passed over the back window and my nerves heightened. I backed away, hoping it was just an animal. I was on edge, and every noise and movement made me jumpy. Seeing Clint earlier had left me unsure and shaken. I was debating calling Mason and giving up my attempt at independence from him just so he could protect me again. Not that I thought Greyson wouldn’t try. He was strong and capable, with plenty of security. But he didn’t run in the same world as Clint Randall or my brother.

The front door opened, and I turned, expecting to see Greyson, but a burly blonde man entered, bringing his finger to his mouth. Instinctively, I screamed, stumbling back. He shook his head, drawing a gun from his jacket, and I remembered Greyson’s security team was outside the house. I would have calmed some, but for the worry in the man’s eyes.

“Riley, I work for Greyson. There’s someone in the house. I need you to?—”

He didn’t finish, his eyes going blank as a gun went off and his brains splattered across the wall. Another scream tore from me, and I backed into the counter. Fear seized me so that I couldn’t move.

“Did you miss me, baby?” Clint’s eyes were beady like an animal’s as he slipped his gun in his jacket. “You’ve been a busy girl, fucking your way into Greyson Tides’ bed. I didn’t see that one coming. Not only will you bring me Brinks, but I’ll break Tides with him. Two for one.”

He walked closer, and my instincts kicked in. I eyed the stairs. He was blocking the front door, and the sliding doors were too far from where I stood. The stairs were close, and I dashed for them, but Clint grabbed my ankle. I hit the bottom stair hard, crying out from the impact. Pain shot through my arm that had taken the force of the fall. Ignoring it, I kicked my foot, connecting with Clint’s jaw, and heard him grumble as I scrambled up the stairs.

“You can’t run from me, baby. I’m gonna ruin you for Tides and send your body to him after I lure your brother here and kill him.”

I didn’t understand why he was talking about Greyson like he knew him, putting him in the same context as Mason, but I didn’t have time to contemplate it. Slamming the bedroom door behind me, I fumbled with the lock and backed up, looking for anything I could use as a weapon. I was too far up and only then did I realize how dumb I’d been to corner myself here. I needed to call Mason, to tell him Clint was here. To have him save me. I grabbed my cell phone, remembering that Mason couldn’t track it. I could have called Greyson, but he didn’t know how dangerous Clint was, and I didn’t want him hurt. Mason would find me and rescue me again. It never occurred to me that he was too far away and there was no way he could make it there in time. Tucking my new phone down my shirt, I rummaged through my bag and found my other phone. As I waited for it to power up, Clint’s fists pounded on the door, making me jump. My heart was racing, my entire body shaking so hard I could barely hold the phone.

“Come out and play, Riley. I miss the feel of those lips around my cock, baby. I’m gonna fuck you so hard you’ll beg me to stop until I cover your body with my cum.” My stomach turned, his words making me sick. He’d always been foul-mouthed and vulgar with his comments about sex. At the time, I’d found it sexy because it opposed everything Mason would have wanted me to like in a man. Clint had offered me an outlet to rebel, and I’d taken it without ever seeing the risk. “I want Mason to know that I had you again before I execute him. Maybe I’ll take a picture and send it to Tides. Fuck, that sounds perfect.”

His vile suggestion reminded me of all the times I’d let him touch me, enjoying it and believing he loved me. He’d always been a brutal lover, taking me hard and fast, never caring to satisfy me unless it was something he wanted. So I didn’t doubt that he’d do just what he was threatening before he killed me. I stared at the phone impatiently, waiting for it to load. I was running on adrenaline, my eyes searching the room for anything to defend myself with. Grabbing the lamp, I yanked the cord from the wall, the table falling over with the force. The phone powered, and I quickly put the tracker on, then called Mason just as Clint started kicking the door in.

“Ri—”

“Mason, he’s here?—”

The door shattered, and I hastily stuffed the phone in the back of my pants, praying Clint wouldn’t find it. He was threatening to fuck me, so there was a high probability he would. I didn’t know what I was thinking, taking the time to call Mason, but hearing his voice strengthened me. He may have sheltered me, but I was his sister. I may have been nine years younger, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t observed him all that time. Maybe I missed the signs that should have told me he was involved in more than real estate, but I observed the way he carried himself and the way he and Tyson would box in the backyard. The two of them had been my world.

I held the lamp out like a baseball bat, ready to hit Clint with it.

“That’s cute, Riley. Do you really think you can fight me? Sheltered, na?ve Riley Brinks. How did you end up in the bed of the most notorious mob boss in the territories? Too blind to notice your brother’s lies, and you turn around and fall for another man’s?”

His words threw me off guard, and he seized the opportunity, rushing me as I swung the lamp too late. He caught it and pushed me to the bed, his large body encasing mine. I fought, scratching at him, but he pulled me up by my hair, his laugh vicious and cruel. My fist connected with his chin, but the move only stopped his laugh, his mouth tightening in irritation. He raised his hand, smacking me so hard my lip split, and blood filled my mouth.

Yanking me toward him, he sneered. “You’re a stupid whore. I’m gonna have fun breaking your heart again. I want to see you wilt when I tell you more truths, because watching you break that way is almost as good as watching you come.”

He smacked me again and the blood that had pooled in my mouth splattered across the bed. I pushed at him to get away, but he was too strong and my adrenaline had fled, leaving me exhausted.

Pulling his gun out, he held it to my temple, saying, “Stop fighting or I’ll kill you now and fuck your dead body over Tides’ bed. He can explain to your brother why the blood and cum soaked body of his sister is in his bed. That should start a nice territory war. It’s a tempting thought, but I need to break you more. I’m supposed to send you back to my boss. See, at first, he planned to sell your sexy little body to whoever offered him the most money, but now he’s particularly interested in meeting the whore who seduced Greyson Tides. But I’m going to have some fun with you first and if I kill you while I do, I’ll just blame it on that fucker Tides. Walk, or I shoot, and Tides has no chance to save you with his lies.”

He pushed me forward, grabbing my wrists and forcing me out of the room. My mind was trying to make sense of his words, of the idea that Greyson was somehow involved in the same things my brother was. It didn”t make sense, but Clint talked about him as if he knew him, as if everyone knew him. It couldn’t be. Just like none of this could be happening. Maybe I’d slipped on the stairs and knocked myself out. Maybe I’d wake up in Greyson’s bed with a concussion and find him sitting beside me, waiting worriedly for me to wake.

Clint shoved me into his car and drove off, his wheels screeching on the snowy pavement. My heart was thudding, and I wanted to cry. I didn’t know how to escape this time. I’d only escaped last time because Mason had saved me. But he wasn’t here. He wouldn’t save me.

“You are amazing, Riley. How, after all the sobbing and whining you did when I told you the truth about your brother, did you fall for Greyson Tides? He’s an old man, baby. You had my cock, and that’s what you turn to?”

“Fuck you, Clint. He’s not old, and his cock is bigger than yours.”

“Maybe you just have a type. Is that what it is?” he continued. “A bad guy thing? Are you looking for your brother in every dick you suck?”

I grabbed the wheel and jerked it, sending the car spinning on the ice. Clint was swearing as he tried to gain control. I fumbled for my seatbelt, trying to buckle it, but we slid, gaining speed and careening into a jewelry store, glass splattering everywhere as the tail of the car took the store display out. The car halted with a force that knocked the wind from me, and my head hit the dashboard. Stars clouded my vision, pain shooting through my head. It took me a minute to lift it and look over at Clint. He was holding his nose, which was gushing blood.

“You bitch, you broke my nose,” he growled.

I tried to get out of the car, but the crash had jammed my door. The window had shattered with the impact, and I crawled out, hope blooming that I might just have a chance. Clint’s grasp on my ankle shattered that hope, but I fought, kicking at him until he released me. I hoisted myself further until I was out, wobbling when my feet touched the ground. My head pounded, my vision blurring before it focused. Forcing myself to run, I could hear Clint curse at me as he freed himself from the car. My phone had fallen from my pants in my rush, but I still had my other one and I pulled it out, trying to figure out where I was. There was only one person left to call. I hit Greyson’s number.

“You can’t run, Riley! You can never escape me!”

Greyson answered on the first ring. “Riley!”

“Help me. He’s going to kill me.”

“Fuck. I’m on my way.”

I skidded to a stop as I rounded a corner, a snowbank in front of me. He’d driven me to the far side of town where the older businesses were. The nightlife was on the other end. This part of town closed down at sunset. There was no one to help me, no one to hear me scream.

“Riley!” Greyson yelled into the phone.

Clint tackled me, sending the phone flying from my hand. I screamed as he shoved my face into the snow. Terror as sharp as a knife whipped through me and I struggled to breathe. Flailing wildly, I tried to free myself. When I was close to blacking out, Clint let me go, climbing off me and dragging me by my arm to my phone.

Picking it up, he calmly said, “Greyson Tides.”

I could hear Greyson on the other end. He’d stopped yelling, his voice terse and cold, but I couldn’t make out his words.

“What does it take to break a man like you, Tides? Maybe I’ll watch as you find her pretty face bloodied and wearing my cum. Should I send a piece of her to her brother? Maybe carve my initials in her delicate skin so he knows who fucked her last?”

I could hear Greyson now. The calm in his voice had disappeared.

Clint snapped my body back, pinning me against his chest. “What do you think, baby? You wanna take my cock once more? Should I let old Greyson listen?”

I whimpered, trying to stand as my legs gave out.

“Say goodbye to him, Riley.”

He put the phone to my ear. “Grey?—”

“Riley, I’m almost there. Get away if you can. I promise you he won’t hurt you anymore and I will let you watch as I fucking gut him.”

“Enough of that dirty talk, Tides. I’ll be sure to let you hear her take her last breath. Oh, and Tides, your brother sends his love.”

He threw the phone and yanked me close to him, holding the gun to my head. “Let’s have a talk before your old man gets here. I want to watch your face as I destroy you more, you pathetic bitch.”

“I hate you. I hope Mason hunts you down and kills you.”

“Mason? Not Greyson? Huh, their names rhyme. You have a brother fetish, baby?”

I spit a mouthful of blood at him, and he backhanded me. Wiping his face, he yanked me back up. His eyes were dark, and I wondered if he’d just kill me then.

“Let’s talk about your old man and how na?ve you are. Greyson Tides, the most notorious of all the bosses. Your brother thought he’d step into Greyson’s territory, but Tides isn’t someone to fuck with, and he’s been at this a lot longer. And with that move, they became enemies. What do you think happened when the pretty little sister of Mason Brinks moved to Greyson’s city?”

I tried backing away, not wanting to hear anymore, a painful burning building in my chest.

“Well, Tides plays a slow game, baby. He lured you into his trap, and you fell head first, as usual. You’re so easy to play. You’d think you would have learned from me, but you went and did it again.”

“No, he didn’t. That can’t be. He loves me.”

“Love? Tides? Oh baby, Tides loves nothing but power. You were the prey in his hunt.” My fight left me, those words slamming into me like a vicious storm. They were the exact words Greyson had said to me. That I was his prey. “Did you know the perv even had a camera installed in your apartment? He watched you through the apartment next door. I saw him leave one night and broke in. Nice set-up and a fantastic view of your room, your bed, your body. Fuck, I wish I’d been that clever. But then again, you willingly spread your legs for me right away.”

I didn’t know what to say. Everything Clint had said left me in shock and my mind was filling in all the blanks, confirming it was the truth. The way Greyson had snuck into my apartment, leaving me gifts, knowing when I was asleep. Pain more intense than my wounds stabbed at my heart.

“That’s it, Riley. I love watching you break.”

A car screeched into the lot, and Clint turned me, using me as a shield, my back pinned to his chest, his gun to my head.

Greyson stepped out of the car, powerful and beautiful. No fear lined his face, only a lethal hardness that sat in his blue eyes.

“Drop the gun, Randall.”

“Oh, but Tides, Riley and I have been catching up, haven’t we, baby?”

“You fucking call her baby again and I’ll slit your throat just enough for you to feel every ounce of pain I give the rest of your body.”

“I was calling her baby long before your cock was pounding into her.”

Greyson growled, a sound that usually would have had me soaked, but I wasn’t sure how to feel now. I had a gun to my head and a dagger in my heart.

“Do you want to finish filling her in on how you were using her to get to Brinks? Or should I continue?”

Greyson’s face dropped, confirming everything Clint had said.

“Ah, Tides. Time to destroy you completely. Because she hates you now. She knows the truth and she’ll die hating you, not loving you like you wanted. Too bad I’ll be the one taking Brinks down and?—”

What happened next was so fast, I wasn’t sure how it had happened. Greyson pulled his gun so quickly that Clint hadn’t even finished his last word before the shot went off, hitting him between the eyes. He fell back as I recoiled from the sound. Greyson ran toward me, but I stumbled away. He stopped, his eyes so wounded it hurt me even more.

I stood across from him with Clint dead at my feet, unsure of my next move and feeling like my life had fractured so severely that I might never piece it back together this time.