Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Wolfe
“No! Don’t! Please!”
My eyes flew open, my body jerking upright as my tired brain prepared to face the threat. Reaching for the lamp, I tugged the chain, and the room filled with a soft yellow glow.
The empty room, that was.
Beside me, Amy jerked, her voice a whimper. “No more, please! Don’t!”
Oh, fuck.
With a gentle hand, I shook her, trying to wake her from the apparent nightmare. With my voice little more than a whisper, I leaned closer. “Baby, wake up,” I urged. “Come on. You’re dreamin’.”
Her body jerked and her eyes opened. I noticed she was breathing hard and tears were streaming down her face.
When it appeared she was lucid, I wrapped her in my arms and pulled her close to my side. I brushed her sweat-dampened hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”
While I was giving Amy time to catch her breath, I heard the sound of the front door open, then close.
Rhys was back and I was finally able to fully relax.
I'd been asleep for about an hour, but it had been fitful, leaving me tossing and turning, my brain unable to shut down completely. Rhys had texted to let me know he was still working the scene and that he’d be home soon.
A few minutes later, the bed shifted.
“Hey,” I greeted, my voice rough from exhaustion.
“Hey.” Rhys leaned over and kissed Amy’s forehead. “What’s wrong?”
“Nightmare,” I answered for her.
“Wanna talk about it?” he asked as he got situated, his body pressing close to Amy’s on the opposite side.
“It’s one I have all the time,” she said softly, her hand absently sliding over my chest.
Neither of us spoke, and I knew Rhys was waiting the same way I was, hoping Amy would continue to open up, to let us in.
“I’m sure you’ve seen the scars on my back. I don’t think about them much anymore because I rarely see them, but I’ll never forget how they got there.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and met Rhys’s eyes in the dimly lit room.
I could see the same fury that had ignited in my gut burning brightly in the man’s dark eyes. This was another story, another reason Kelly Jackson needed to be stopped. I wasn’t sure prison was enough for the bastard.
In fact, I wasn’t sure Hell was enough punishment for the bastard, but it was a damn good start.
Amy
My bones were frozen, the nightmare having taken its toll on me.
I hated those damn dreams, the reminders of what I'd lived through, what Kelly had done to me. As much as I hated talking about them, it did help. More so when I shared with Rhys and Wolfe. They didn’t make me feel the shame I'd been consumed with for so long.
“The first time it happened, I was in the kitchen washing dishes,” I began, the memory taking over, carrying me right back to that horrific day.
“You done in there yet?” Kelly called from his spot in front of the television.
That was where he went every day after dinner.
I was expected to have it ready for him, and it couldn’t be the same thing he’d had at any point in the past month.
And he insisted it was fresh meat and vegetables.
Nothing frozen, no cans. I hadn’t been much of a cook before I met him, but after, I'd had no choice but to learn.
“Almost,” I answered softly, making sure there was no heat in my tone, although I hated that he questioned me all the time. The water was on in the sink; he should know I wasn’t finished yet.
“I want the bathroom done next. It’s filthy.”
I rolled my eyes as I stared out the window. The bathroom wasn’t filthy, because I had cleaned it two days ago when Kelly had found a drop of conditioner on the glass shower door. At that point, he had insisted that I get on my hands and knees and scrub the entire bathroom.
“Did you hear me?” he yelled.
I glanced over my shoulder to see him on the couch, bare foot propped on the coffee table. I wanted to tell him to clean the bathroom himself, but I knew better.
“I heard you,” I answered, scrubbing the pan from dinner.
The water must have masked the sound of his approach, because I didn’t even know he was behind me until he grabbed my hair and jerked my head back.
“Did you just talk back to me?”
“N-no. No, of course not.” Fire burned my scalp as he yanked me backward.
Then it was gone because he shoved me forward. My soapy hand slipped on the edge of the kitchen sink, and I fell forward, my cheek hitting the faucet.
“Get in the goddamn bathroom and clean it up!”
“I…” I pushed myself up. “I have to finish the dishes. I’m almost done.”
Admittedly, my tone wasn’t as submissive as I normally was, but the anger was building, and I couldn’t seem to contain it.
Kelly’s fist slammed down on the lever controlling the water and the sink shut off. When I reached for a hand towel, he grabbed my upper arm, his fingers digging painfully into my flesh.
“Kelly … don’t. Please. I’ll clean it.”
“You’re goddamn right you will. And when you’re finished, you’ll get the punishment you deserve. The punishment I should’ve given you a long damn time ago.” He jerked me toward the bathroom.
When we reached it, he shoved me, sending me slamming into the wooden door.
A sob threatened, but I held it back as I turned and slipped inside.
I knew better than to close the door. I was never allowed to close the door.
Not when I showered or used the bathroom.
He insisted that he always be able to see me.
That was the reason for the cameras everywhere.
I felt the two men beside me move closer, their arms holding me tightly. It was their presence that made the memory bearable. I knew I would never have to endure that ever again.
“After I cleaned the bathroom, he made me strip. Said I was dirty. I told him I would shower, but he said no. Said that would happen after my punishment.” I took a deep breath.
“When he pulled out the whip, I freaked. He had hit me plenty of times and had used various things. A belt, a flyswatter, a ruler, a wooden spoon. Whatever he could find close by. But a whip… I was terrified.”
Neither man said anything, but I felt the tension in their bodies.
“I tried to run, but he caught me. I kicked and screamed, but he tied me to the bed. He kept ropes there because that was his thing. He sat on me while he secured me in place, facedown on the mattress. I never stopped fighting, never stopped screaming. I kept hoping that one day someone would hear me. The mailman, UPS driver, solicitor, Jehovah’s Witness.
I didn’t care, I just wanted someone to hear me, someone to stop him. No one ever did.
“Anyway, that night, he whipped me until I bled. The pain was excruciating. But the worst of it came when he made me shower afterward. He scrubbed my back with soap, and I screamed and screamed until finally I passed out from the pain.” I swallowed hard.
“That was the first time he used the whip. It wasn’t the last.”
Wolfe pressed his lips to my forehead. “He will never hurt you again.”
I knew he meant what he said, but I only prayed it was true.
Rhys
Sleep didn’t come easily for me. And when I did finally drift off, the events of the night had caught up with me. Seeing Joanna Tannenbaum’s lifeless eyes staring back at me, her car mangled beyond belief. Then Amy’s story of the additional horrors she had survived.
It had roused me, making it impossible to close my eyes again.
It all made me question myself, my job. Being a sheriff wasn’t something I'd ever thought I would do, but I enjoyed it. Liked helping people, protecting people. Then shit like this came to light and I realized it wasn’t enough.
There were monsters like Kelly Jackson out there. They came out of the woodwork all the time. And right now, as I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, I knew someone out there was suffering the way Amy had and there wasn’t a goddamn thing I could do about it.
However, I could protect Amy.
No, there was nothing to say that Kelly Jackson wouldn’t find a way to get to her, but we could arm her, teach her how to protect herself.
There were plenty of people who said guns weren’t the answer, and perhaps they were right in a lot of cases.
However, when it came down to protecting your life against a definite threat, sometimes it was the only option.
Finally giving up on the ability to close my eyes, I climbed out of bed as quietly as I could, then slipped out of Wolfe’s bedroom and into the living room. I thought about making coffee, but I was too keyed up for caffeine.
What I needed was something to punch.
The sound of the bedroom door opening, then closing, had me turning around to see Wolfe walking out of the bedroom, wearing nothing but a pair of basketball shorts. My body hardened, some of the anger replaced by lust.
When Wolfe’s green eyes met mine, I knew we were thinking the same thing. There was one very powerful way to release the pent-up energy, to burn off the adrenaline, to numb the pain if only for a little while.
Apparently Wolfe was on the same page, because he walked right up to me, put his hand behind my neck, and jerked me forward. A not-so-gentle nip on my bottom lip told me that he was strung tight, too.
We were a fumble of hands and mouths for long minutes. Groping, touching, kissing. Other than our combined grunts and groans, the room was silent, warming significantly the more we touched.
“Need you,” Wolfe growled. “Right fucking now.”
I nodded.
When Wolfe pulled a condom from his pocket, it was clear this had been his intention all along.
“Don’t suppose you have lube to go with that?” I teased, biting his lip gently.
“Of course I do.” He pulled back and a small tube of lubricant appeared in front of me. “But before we get to that, I want you in my mouth.”
I didn’t even have a chance to say anything before Wolfe was on his knees in front of me.
My boxers met the floor, and the heat of his mouth consumed me.
I grabbed his head, my fingers twining in his short hair as I held on.
The suction, the heat, it slammed through me, my body tensing as the glorious sensation assaulted all of my senses.
Unable to help myself, I jerked Wolfe to me, driving my cock into the man’s throat.
He allowed me to use him, to fuck his mouth.
In, out, deeper, harder. I was blinded by the lust that took over, the overwhelming pleasure obliterating everything else from my mind.
“Fuck,” I hissed. “Love your mouth.” I continued to fuck Wolfe’s face, not being gentle, but he didn’t seem to mind. He remained on his knees, his perfect fucking mouth giving me more pleasure than I thought possible.
I held on as long as I could, but eventually my orgasm won out and I came in a rush, my legs nearly giving out.
Wolfe’s arm banded around me as he surged to his feet, our mouths crashing together momentarily.
I knew my feet were moving, my legs carrying me somewhere, but I didn’t know where.
I allowed Wolfe to guide me, to do what I needed to do.
“Kneel on the couch,” he demanded, a gentle nudge sending me onto the cushion.
I turned away, kneeling as instructed and gripping the back of the couch. I was grateful I didn’t have to hold myself up any longer. More so when Wolfe pressed two lubed fingers into my ass. My cock twitched, but it wasn’t going to come fully back to life. Not that I cared.
Wolfe’s fingers disappeared moments before the man’s cock impaled me, his hard chest pressing against my back.
A firm hand gripped my hair, pulling my head back.
I went with the movement, turning my head and allowing him to kiss me as he drove into me from behind.
It was rough and so fucking good, the blood in my body returned to my cock, thickening it.
“Need this,” he whispered against my mouth. “Need you.”
I knew how he felt.
“Gonna fuck you hard now,” Wolfe warned.
A strong hand landed in the middle of my back, pushing me forward. I lowered my chest to the cushion as best I could. Wolfe gripped my hips and began slamming into me, fucking me harder than I had ever been fucked before. It was brutal and so fucking good.
Unable to help myself, I reached between my legs and gripped my cock, jerking roughly, chasing another release. A few minutes ago, I would’ve sworn it wasn’t possible, but I could feel it, another orgasm building, cresting.
Seconds later, as Wolfe was impaling me over and over, harder and harder, I came with a strangled cry. Mere seconds after that, he slammed into me one last time, following me right over into the abyss.