CHAPTER EIGHT
Victoria
The club was in chaos. People were screaming and running everywhere, trying to escape the gunshots. One second, I'd been dancing between Az and Leighton; the next, I was on the floor looking at a dead body. Somehow, I managed not to scream as the men formed a protective barrier around me and pushed through the mob toward the back rooms.
My body trembled so violently that my teeth chattered, but I didn't stop moving. I couldn't even if I wanted to. Az firmly grasped my hand, ensuring I followed behind him. Joey was to my right, and Leighton was behind me. Without having to look, I knew that all three of them were carrying handguns and scanning the crowd for any immediate threats.
Another round of gunshots rang out, and a woman to my right stumbled back, blood blooming on her chest. A scream tore from my throat, and I surged forward instinctively. Az's grip on my hand tightened as I slammed into his broad back, and he glanced over his shoulder at me.
"Shit." He hissed, pulling me through the crowd faster.
I was still screaming when we broke free of the mob and stepped into the dimly lit hallway leading to the exit in the back of the club. It was eerily quiet in comparison, only my terrified screams echoing off the walls.
Leighton stepped in front of me, causing Az to drop my hand, and grabbed my face between his hands. "You need to breathe, ma petit démone . Can you do that for me?" His worried eyes flitted along my face.
My jaw snapped shut with a whimper, cutting off my screams.
"Good girl. We're going to get out of here alive. Just a few more yards to go and we're safe."
I nodded as he released me, returning to his position in the rear. Az grabbed my hand again, pulling me along behind him at a quickened pace. Pure adrenaline prevented my legs from buckling as we raced through the hallway and burst through the back door into the clear night. I gulped breaths of fresh air as if my life depended on it.
"Tiffany! Oh God, Tiffany!" I cried out, attempting to turn back as my panic ebbed enough for the realization that my friend wasn't with us.
"She's fine. She was with Rich and Craig." Joey assured me, grabbing my arm and dragging me back toward the car Az and I had arrived in.
The three men moved as a unit, all but carrying me to the car before Joey pushed me into the backseat and climbed in beside me. Leighton took the front passenger seat, and Az climbed behind the wheel before starting the engine and tearing out of the parking lot.
"What the fuck happened?" Az demanded. "How did guns get into the club?"
"Lucas is one of ours. The only way whoever the fuck that was would have made it as far as they did is if they knew that and took him out at the door before he could call for backup." Leighton replied.
I whimpered at the thought of another dead body, and Joey slid closer to me in the backseat. He wrapped one arm around me, pulling me snugly to his side while his free hand caressed my hair in an attempt to soothe me.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Az bellowed, slamming a fist against the steering wheel to punctuate each word. "It had to be another fucking setup."
His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, filled with rage, hate, and confusion that I didn't understand. I couldn't help sinking further into Joey's side under the weight of Az's stare. Something in his gaze told me that he blamed me for the attack.
"Fuck!" Leighton barked, causing Az to tear his eyes away. "I can't reach Rich or Craig." He turned in his seat to look at Joey. "Did you happen to recognize any of the fuck knuckles that thought a shootout on our turf was a good idea?"
"You said Tiffany was with them," I whimpered. "Oh God, what if–"
"They're fine." Joey cut me off, rubbing my back gently. "Rich and Craig know how to handle themselves. They wouldn't let anything happen to your friend."
"Stop worrying about the fucking Princess back there and answer the damned question." Az barked. "Did you recognize anyone?"
"No." Joey replied, shaking his head.
"What about you, Princess?" Az's gaze was back on me. "Did you see anyone you know?" He spat angrily, but his words had an undercurrent of pain.
Joey tensed beside me, turning to stare at me as well. I stared back at Az in the mirror for several seconds as realization slowly clicked into place in my panicked mind.
"Why the fuck would I know any of the attackers, asshole? Are you seriously implying that I was involved? I was there with you, remember? " My voice climbed as I spoke until I nearly screamed the last sentence.
Joey let out a breath, his body relaxing in relief, but Az was undeterred.
"I don't know, Princess. You seem to have a lot of connections with some real bad people."
"For fuck's sake, Az." Leighton snarled. "She didn't even know we'd be at the club until you got there with her. How the fuck is she supposed to plan a whole ass attack on the place? Besides, nothing has added up to her beyond what Gary gave us. You all call me the crazy one, but you're making connections that don't fucking exist."
"Why the fuck are you defending her, Leighton?" Az demanded as he swerved in and out of traffic.
"I know real fear when I see it. And you're acting fucking delusional right now." Leighton looked like he wanted to punch Az. "You're holding on to your own shit too hard to realize it's just not adding up!"
The car fell into a tense silence, the only sound coming from Leighton tapping furiously on his phone. Az drove like a madman through the city, only slowing when we neared the manor. The gravity of what we'd been through came crashing down as he parked the car in front of the house. Heavily armed men waited for us as we exited the vehicle.
"I'm gonna take la petit démone inside." Leighton said, pulling my trembling body against his chest. "You two get the guys setup on a perimeter. Nobody except our men get on the property."
He tucked me under his arm as we walked inside the house, cooing soft reassurances that we were okay now and I was safe. I almost couldn't register what he was saying. My mind was awash with fear and more than a little anger about what Az had implied. Leighton led me to the dining room and sat me down as he began removing my shoes.
"How do you know we're safe, Leighton? What if they come here?" I couldn't speak higher than a whisper, and I was trembling again, imagining armed men bursting through the many windows and doors in the house.
"Then it would be the last thing they did in a long list of bad decisions, ma petit démone . No one here is going to let something happen to you, not even Az's stupid ass." He leaned down and planted a small kiss on the side of my knee as he slid the ties down my leg.
"But…" I started, and he shook his head, pulling me up from the chair as he stood. His arm snaked around my lower back and pulled me closer to him.
"You need a distraction. Let me show you something." He grinned before leading me to a panel in the back of the room that had originally gone to the butlery. He slid it aside to reveal a wall of monitors streaming images that flipped across the property and through the house. Several were off at the moment.
"I know about the cameras, Leighton."
"Oh, I'm sure you do. But I doubt you realize Daddy-O had cameras installed in all the bedrooms." He leaned around me and flipped a switch on the panel, bringing up a live feed of all the rooms. "We took control of that, though, so outside of this room, nobody can see what happens. I like some freaky shit, but even I'm not down with your father watching me sleep." He chuckled with a fake shudder, punctuating his words.
A small giggle escaped me at his dramatics, and he flashed me a heart-stopping grin. Part of me knew it was a bad idea to swoon over the man before me, but I couldn't find it in myself to walk away. He slid the paneled door closed behind us and gave me a look that had me pressing my thighs together. Heat settled in my core, and I knew I wasn't going to walk myself out of this room.
"I take it you have something in mind to distract me?" I whispered. In response, he backed me against the wall and tipped my face up to look at him as he closed the distance between us.
"Stop me now if you're going to, ma petit démone , because I won't be able to once I get started." His brown eyes were hooded, and his voice was low and husky.
I pulled my lower lip between my teeth. Did I want Leighton to stop? Adrenaline was still pumping through my veins, and my mind was whirling. I tipped my head back in invitation.
He groaned before he crashed against me in a crushing kiss that immediately caused my mind to empty. I slid my arms around his neck and kissed him back, parting my lips as we explored each other. I shivered as his hands slid down my sides, pushing the hem of my dress over my hips. I felt him grin at the way I responded to him.
His fingers danced across the outside of my thighs and played with my lace panties. His other hand wound in my hair, pulling my head to the side as he trailed scorching kisses across my jaw and down my neck. My skin tingled where he sucked on my nape, and I groaned as he bit me. My nails scraped against his neck in response.
He pulled back and looked at me, his eyes searching. I dug my fingers into his neck and pulled him in for another kiss, biting into his lower lip. The slow heat turned into a frenzy in response. He pushed me against the wall again, hard, grinding against me as he gripped my panties and pulled. I heard the delicate lace threads snapping, a small bite of pain burning against my thighs before they fell by my feet. I pushed his shirt over his head, clawing his back as each muscular inch was exposed.
He left a trail of bite marks and hickeys down my shoulders after pulling my dress off, then released me from the wall and grabbed me by the neck, leading me toward the control panel of the cameras. He placed my hands on the panel.
"Don't move." It was an unmistakable command.
I could only nod in response. He slid his fingers up my thighs, teasing me with feather-light touches before pain bloomed across my ass as he smacked me. I yelped, but my back arched of its own volition. He chuckled darkly behind me and delivered a few more slaps to my ass before positioning himself behind me.
I could feel his cock teasing against me, and I pushed back against him impatiently. " Un petit démone si gourmand ."
I heard the slight whine of feedback as he slid inside me. I moaned loudly, and my eyes fluttered closed as I adjusted to him. I hadn't known he was pierced until I felt every ribbed bar and ball sliding past my entrance. Oh, fuck.
"Look at the screen." He ordered, fisting my hair in his hand and directing my eyes to the display from Az's room.
Az glared at the camera. I could nearly feel the heat of his gaze through the screen. Leighton rolled his hips, tearing another moan from my lips, and Az's gaze simmered in response. He might not have been able to see us, but he could definitely hear us.
"You see how much he wants you?" Leighton murmured against my ear, his free hand snaking around me to pull me against his chest by my throat. "I bet he'd free his cock and put on a show if you asked. Too bad you can't speak with my hand around your throat." He squeezed lightly as he talked, cutting off the sounds threatening to burst from my lips.
Leighton shifted his hips again, setting a brutal pace. The sound of skin slapping echoed through the control room, punctuated by grunts and moans. My eyes stayed pinned on Az as he continued to stare into the camera. The thrill of knowing he could hear us and the sensation of being watched heightened my arousal as Leighton slammed into me. His piercings took the pleasure to another level, the ribs they created on his dick making me dizzy. The pressure on my throat mottled my vision, and the lack of oxygen set my nerve endings ablaze.
"You love knowing he can hear us, don't you, ma petite tentarice . You're so fucking wet right now." Leighton growled loud enough I knew Az could hear. "You're such a good little slut, so needy for us."
I whimpered and mewled in response, my hips pressing back to meet him thrust for thrust. I reached my arm behind me, wrapping it around his neck in a desperate attempt to pull him closer. Leighton nipped my neck in answer to my desperate attempts to draw him nearer, leaving stinging bite marks in his wake that made my legs tremble.
Every frenzied stroke of his cock dragged his piercings along my G-spot. The tell-tale build up of pressure low in my core caused me to moan with wild abandon as Leighton drove me closer to the edge. My body tensed around him, begging for release.
"Come for us, démone ." He commanded, releasing his hold on my throat and sliding his hand down my body to pinch my clit.
My vision went black around the edges, and I screamed my release. I couldn't hear him, but I saw the roar that ripped from Az as he gave into his rage. He looked around momentarily before picking up a small chair and launching it at the camera just before the screen flickered and turned to snow.
Leighton laughed loudly before gripping my hips roughly. The laughter died, giving way to harsh grunts as he chased his own release. The pace was rough and brutal; my eyes rolled back, and I arched my back to drive him deeper. He slammed my hips into the control panel with bruising force, but I couldn't find the motivation to care about the marks that would be left behind as my core began to tense again.
Leighton's hips stuttered, and he let loose a low, throaty groan. His cock pulsed inside me, his release coating my inner walls before he slipped free. My core clenched around empty air where he had been just a second before, still seeking my second release.
"God, that's so fucking hot, seeing my cum drip out of you like that." He groaned.
"LEIGHTON!" Az's voice carried from somewhere in the house.
Leighton gave me a quick glance as I turned to face him before he shook his head and slipped through the paneled door without a word. I slid to the floor, drawing my knees against my chest as his footsteps receded into the distance. I wrapped my arms around my legs and pressed my eyes into my knees. Everything was so beyond fucked up.
I listened as Az yelled for Leighton, knowing he was running from the backlash of our coupling being played out over the intercom, as my body shook in the aftermath of the best orgasm of my life. Softer footsteps echoed just outside the control room, but I didn't bother to look up. My thoughts and emotions were too scattered to care who had come to retrieve me in Leighton's wake.
"Shit," Joey's hushed whisper reached my ears. "Let me see the wounds."
My head jerked up, my eyes landing on Joey's concerned face as his eyes raked over me. "What wounds?"
He kneeled beside me, sitting a small first aid kit on the floor, and raised his hands as if I were some wounded animal that needed to be cautiously approached.
"Did Leighton hurt you?"
"Aside from my ego?" I snorted.
Shock flitted across his face before he softened his expression. "Oh, okay. Good. That's good." He muttered, more to himself than me.
"Yeah, because fucking someone and immediately running away is such a good thing." I snarked.
Joey pressed his lips into a thin line before he spoke. "Leighton has a tendency to leave damage in his wake. I'm just a little surprised he was gentle with you." He stood and offered me his hand. There was no judgment on his face, just concern that creased his brows. "Let's get you dressed, and I'll run you a bath to soak your bruises."
"Yeah… sure." I stood, a disconnected daze washing over me.
I let him dress me and throw the ruined panties in a nearby trashcan before gently leading me from the camera room. He scanned each room we passed, alert as he led me through the house to my suite. He spoke calm reassurances as we went, but the tension didn't leave his shoulders until he closed my door behind us.
We didn't speak as he sat me down in a plush chair and went to the bathroom to run me a bath. It was so strange to be so thoroughly used by one and then cared for in the aftermath by another. Combined with the other events of the night, I was fairly sure my mind was a little fractured.
"Come on, Princess, your bath is ready. You get cleaned up and I'll be just outside. Az is on the warpath, and I think it's best you stay in your rooms for the night." He held his hand out to help me up, and I felt panic climbing up my throat.
"Please…" I couldn't make the words come out and had to grip the chair to find some stability. "Don't go. I don't…" My voice failed me as tears pricked in my eyes, and he crouched down, rubbing my leg in a comforting way.
"Shh, sweetheart. You're okay." His brows furrowed, and he looked contemplative for a moment. "Alright." He mumbled to himself before standing and picking up a sturdy wooden chair and jamming it under the doorknob of the entrance to my rooms. He picked me up and gathered me to his chest, striding to the bathroom.
"I'm here, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere. I promise. You get cleaned up, I'll be right out there in the chair. I'll stay there all night to make sure you're safe."