8. Rory
RORY
“Anything for you, rabbit.” It plays on a loop in my head over and over again. Lex’s gravelly voice was so sexy but also caring. And the way he looked at me so intently… swoon.
That has to mean something, right?
I just want to climb in his lap and call him Daddy.
My lips tingle at the thought.
Daddy.
“Ready to go?” Brendan asks. I nod and follow him to the elevator.
“What do you do here?” I ask when the doors close.
“Oh, um, nothing really,” Brendan answers, but he squirms.
“Lex said that you—”
“Lex? Who’s Lex?” Brendan snaps.
“The silver fox Daddy who’s always there.” And maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say because Brendan looks like he’s going to snap.
“Rory, listen to me. He’s off limits, and he’s straight.” I know that. “He’s got a daughter that’s older than you.”
Yikes, older than me?
“I’m not saying I want to date him.” Even though that sounds wonderful. “We’ve talked a few times, and he’s been nice.”
“Nice is not a word often used to describe him.”
“Well, he’s nice to me,” I snap and cross my arms while we walk out of the elevator. “And you didn’t say what you’re doing there.”
Brendan sighs. “Mr. Hart cares about his family and is willing to pay extra.”
“Please don’t do anything that will get you in trouble.”
“I’m not doing anything that will get me into trouble.”
I want to believe him, but something isn’t adding up here. Why is he making house calls to a business?
“I was thinking,” Brendan starts. He’s trying to distract me, but I’m not going to let him.
This could be important. What if he did have something to do with Tanner and— “It might be good for you to stay home by yourself, just for a little bit.” I want to scream out in panic.
“I’ll go to the gym,” he says quickly. “Only for an hour. You could sleep in.”
But what if something happens?
The idea of being on my own is truly terrifying, but he’s right. Both he and my therapist have been saying that I need to take some of my independence back.
“I’ll try it, but can you keep your phone on you just in case?”
“Of course, pixie.”
“And not at night,” I rush out.
“Are you still having trouble sleeping?”
“No,” I lie.
“Rory…” Brendan scolds.
“I don’t like the medication, and I can’t keep crawling into your bed every time I get scared. Someday you’re going to get married and she’ll hate me.”
“I would never marry someone who’d hate you.”
“Yeah, I know, but…”
“Let’s not worry about that right now. Besides, I’d need to find someone to marry me first.”
He’s right. How’s he ever going to find anyone if he’s always at home with me? God, I’m such a pathetic human.
I’ll try to be more independent, but baby steps.
“Maybe for an hour. But only in the morning,” I clarify.
“Same rules still apply at night. If I need to go out for an emergency, I’ll always wake you first.”
“And let me come with you,” I prompt, and he pauses which makes me nervous before he nods.
It’s not a solid yes, but it’s close enough to hold my panic at bay.
I’m working on the blanket I’m knitting in my room when I hear the front door shut.
Oh no. Is someone here?
No, that’s ridiculous, it’s only seven-thirty in the morning.
That means the noise I heard was Brendan leaving for the gym.
Wait! I’m alone.
Yes, and that’s okay.
This is what we planned.
I knew Brendan was going to leave, and I’m going to be here, by myself.
Simple.
I should get up and take a shower.
But then I’ll be naked, and I won’t be able to bring my taser in the shower cause water plus electricity equals death.
What if someone comes in while I’m so vulnerable?
Yeah, no shower.
It’s fine. It’s not like I did anything that caused me to get sweaty.
How about I just lie here and read for a bit?
That’s what I would normally do even if Brendan was still home, so I’ll pretend he’s here, just in another room.
It works for a while, but when the door camera signals an alert, I find myself jumping off the bed and grabbing my taser.
I’m not really sure how long I’m curled in a ball and shaking on the floor before I realize nothing happened.
No one knocked.
No one broke the lock.
No one came in, and no one is hurting me.
It was probably just someone walking their dog or something.
You’ll never know if you don’t check.
I just need to grab my phone and look.
Shit, where is my phone?
I just had it.
Just stand up and grab it.
Come on, Rory. No one’s here.
Sighing, I reach up and feel around on the covers until my hand closes over it. I really am pathetic.
So let’s just see.
I open the app, and the recent notification shows a well-dressed man dropping off a large package and leaving. Pausing the feed, I rewind and look at him again.
I think I’ve seen him in Lex’s building.
If he’s a friend of Lex’s, then it’s probably safe.
Lex got me a present!
Jumping up, I almost run to the door but realize I’m still in my jammies.
Right, clothes first, then present.
Dressing in record time, I hurry to the door. I still check the camera to make sure that it’s all clear.
Quickly I open it and grab the bag before pulling it back in and shutting and locking the door again.
Taking a few deep breaths, I begin to calm.
It seems like a nice day. Maybe Brendan will sit with me in the garden.
Maybe I should sit in the garden by myself. The backyard is fenced in, I should feel safe, but I could wait until Brendan gets home and then go out by myself.
I’ll figure that out later. Now let’s see what’s in here.
I pull out the funfetti tissue paper and smile when I see a big stuffed bunny. She’s mostly white with soft brown spots and long floppy ears with pink in the center. Definitely from Lex. He’s so thoughtful, and he listens.
I pull the toy close to me and snuggle her tight.
“You are so pretty and soft. I can’t wait to snuggle with you all night.” I pull back and look at her. “What should I name you?”
Should I go with a classic rabbit’s name like Floppy, or Lexi after Lex?
Deciding that neither of those feels right, I choose S’mores, cause she looks like a toasted marshmallow.
“S’mores! It’s perfect.” Giving her a quick kiss, I open the backdoor. “Come on. You can be my emotional support rabbit.”
I take a few steps and turn my face to the sky. The sun on my skin feels amazing, and I hold S’mores out so she can feel it too. My toes wiggle in the cool grass, so I decide to sit down in a lawn chair and enjoy it.
“Pretty nice, right?” I ask S’mores. She doesn’t answer, of course, but I hug her tight anyway and sigh before relaxing into the chair.
I listen to the sounds of the birds and the wind in the trees, but then someone laughs and my heart squeezes.
That’s Chad’s laugh!
Is he here? He can’t be!
“Rory?” He taunts. “You think you can run from us, sexy?” He laughs again, and it’s so cruel. I remember how he practically laughed the whole time he was hurting me. “If you play nice, we won’t hurt you this time.” He walks out from behind the shed, and damn, he looks even bigger than I remember.
“Don’t lie to him.” Mitch laughs as he walks into view, and suddenly Chad’s standing behind me. I tense but can’t move.
“Fine. We won’t kill you,” Chad purrs in my ear like he’s talking sexy to me and grabs my ass.
“No!” I shout as he shoves me forward. “Help!” I scream and try to get out of his hold. “Help! Someone, please.”
“They can’t hear you, pretty boy. You’re ours now,” a third voice joins.
“Tanner?” I fight out of Chad’s grip and turn around. Tanner’s right there, and he looks fine. Was he not hurt as bad as they said? “You were attacked.”
Tanner rolls his eyes and huffs. “Yeah, thanks to your boyfriend.”
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Good, because he wouldn’t be able to fuck you for a long after we tear you up again,” Chad says and rips off my shirt.
Tanner’s hands slide around my back, and it makes my stomach roil. His skin is so soft. They’re the hands of a man who hasn’t worked a day in his life.
I cry out as Mitch bites my shoulder hard.
“Damn, Rory you taste so good.” He bites me again, and I try to get out of Tanner’s hold, but Chad grabs me from the front and pulls my pants down. Mitch rubs his hard dick against my ass, and oh fuck… it’s happening again…
A low growl echoes around us, and my heart leaps for a second.
It’s Lex. He’ll save me.
The guys don’t seem to hear him and keep running their soft hands over my body.
“Open up, Rory.” Chad leans in like he’s going to kiss me, and I struggle to get away. The hands on my shoulders are too strong—
“Rory? Rory?” I gasp and bolt upright. “Are you okay?” Brendan’s staring at me, and he looks worried.
“What happened? Is Chad here?” I frantically search the yard.
“No, pixie, no one’s here. You were having a bad dream,” Brendan says softly and cards his fingers through my hair.
“And that’s why I don’t sleep at night!” I throw out my hand to prove my point.
“Rory.” Brendan’s tone is now disapproving.
“Nope,” I hiss, and Brendan tries to interrupt, but I don’t let him.
“Would you want to meet your tormentors ever again? Cause that’s what happens when I close my eyes!
” I heave in a heavy breath. “I can feel their gross hands, teeth, and mouths all over me. I can hear them laughing at me.” And now I’m crying.
Fucking great. Brendan pulls me into his chest and rocks us side to side.
“I’m so sorry, pixie. I’m so sorry. I wish I was there, I would have killed those fuckers. Maybe I should now…”
“No!” I gasp. “No! You can’t have that on your head.”
“I wouldn’t feel even the tiniest bit of guilt.”
“Well, I would.” And I would. Yeah, I’m mad and I hate them, but I wouldn’t want to kill them. “Promise me you won’t kill them.”
“Fuck no.” Brendan laughs.
“I’m serious.”
“Fine. I promise I won’t kill them.” Something about that isn’t sitting right. Would he hire somebody? “You hungry? How about I fry up some bacon and eggs?”
“That sounds good.” There’s no way he could hire someone to kill them, right?
He moves to stand, and then he notices S’mores. “Where’d you get her?”
“A friend?”
Brendan gives me an assessing look before tugging on S’mores’s ear and going into the house. “Okay.”
I grab her and follow Brendan. There’s no way I’m staying outside now.
“Other than the nightmare, were you okay home alone?”
He puts some strawberries on a cutting board, and he hands me a knife so I slice them up.
“I was nervous when you first left, and I didn’t want to electrocute myself, so I got the package and went out where I fell asleep. Otherwise, I was okay?”
“Electrocute?”
“Tasers don’t belong in the shower,” I say sternly, and Brendan laughs.
“What was in the package?” I hold up S’mores, and Brendan frowns. “Do you really know who she’s from or is it some kind of crazy internet stalker thing? Cause I’ve seen your socials recently, and I’m glad you stopped looking.”
“I know who she’s from,” I reassure him.
“Okay. Who?”
“I already told you, a friend.”
“Vera?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“Jesus Bren, I have more than one friend.” I’m offended.
“Sorry.” He ruffles my hair.
“What’s your schedule like today?”
“I need to head downtown and check on a patient.”
“Can we stop and see Vera?”
“Or you can go see her yourself.”
“I’m not ready. Not after that dream.”
He nods and puts some scrambled eggs on my plate. “Let’s eat, and then we’ll get ready to go.”
I smile and shove a forkful of eggs into my mouth. I really hope the patient he needs to see is at Lex’s building.