Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Merrick
Something smells like shit around here and it’s not just all the overflowing port-a-johns.
Her father is full of it. Something is wrong there. I don’t know the specifics yet, but I’ll fucking find out, and when I do there’ll be hell to pay.
I know I only spent a few hours with her, but she’s mine, and I’m going to make sure she’s safe until she’s with me full time.
After the group of girls dragged Kezia away last night, I drove around the back of the camping area and watched from the shadows for an hour. Kezia didn’t do any fucking costume cleaning, so that sister of hers is also a liar.
That would make Kezia a liar too.
Fine. She’s being coerced, my instincts told me that early on. That ‘father’ of theirs, if you can even call him that, has some sort of hold over them.
He’s more than full of shit, he’s a mother fucker and it makes me wonder what sort of intimidation he uses to get compliance.
As I watched from the parking lot, she returned alone, walking to Thadius and some older woman, maybe her mother.
They were lecturing her, pointing fingers and waving hands, getting right in her face as she stared at the ground.
Then, the older woman took her by the arm, half dragging her into some sort of makeshift shower area, shoving her in.
She came out soaking wet, wearing just a thick sort of nightdress, and the woman then handed her off to one of the younger women that took her from me earlier and they disappeared into a tent.
I could see their silhouettes as they sat with a low light inside casting shadows. Every once in a while, Kezia would put her head in her hands while the other threw hers into the air as she talked.
Soon after, the light inside went out.
I hated leaving, but I had to take care of some work since I’d had my other deputies cover everything for the day while I was gone and dispatch called me a few times for some minor but important incidents around town.
As well, Rosy and Eleanor were at the house and I’d been gone longer than usual and it was too late at night to ask mom or dad to head over and check on them and feed them. Tension coiled inside me as I drove away, knowing I’d be back as soon as I could.
Now, I’m showered and dressed in civilian clothes.
I managed two hours of tortured sleep while fighting the urge to jerk my cock raw, the taste of her still lingering on my tongue.
There was no fucking way I was waiting for daybreak to come back.
This girl has cast a spell on me and maybe I’m losing it, but my urge to consume her is overpowering.
It’s not just the way I want to sink into her virgin cunt and claim her forever, it’s more.
There’s a throb inside of me. I want to make sure she has everything in life and more.
A protector, a guide, a lover, a confidant, a friend…
everything. Like a father to a daughter, as well as a husband to a wife and a stalker to his prey.
I want it all with this wisp of a girl that’s already stolen my heart.
I’m watching again from the rear of their camp with night vision binoculars The tent where she disappeared last I saw her is still dark, and I can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong.
Not having her next to me or in my sight is going to push me to insanity, so I throw open the door of my truck and start walking toward the tent.
I pause as I approach, hearing low voices from other tents.
The fire at the center of the camp is glowing orange embers, and it reminds me of the white-hot desire Kezia has lit inside of me.
My balls still have that heavy feeling like they are weighted down with a lifetime of cum just for her.
I can’t stop my cock from leaking at the thought of imprinting her with my seed.
I wonder if I should have taken her by the lake. Not waited but marked her right there and claimed her as my own.
She is innocent, but the way she took her pleasure as her slick pussy spread itself on my thigh has me feeling drugged.
I want that pussy dripping with me, morning, noon and night, and that’s something I’ve never thought of before.
The anguish I feel without her surprises me but the image of her sweet face as her first orgasm flowed through her will be burned into my memory forever. My finest hour.
I’m gone for this girl.
And as unrealistic as it is, I don’t care. I decide I’m all in and I’m following my gut, which rarely steers me wrong.
I take slow, measured steps toward the tent, and bend down, listening but there’s no sound from inside.
I ease around the front, the zipper is open and I don’t want to scare the shit out of her or the other girl she was with, so I crouch down, my eyes adjusting to the low light, but my heart sinks when I see the tent is empty.
Fuck. Something’s wrong.
Not knowing where she is, is one thing, but my inner bullshit meter is off the charts when it comes to her father. I should have never left her here.
That’s on me, and if something’s happened to her, I’ll never forgive myself.
Just as my heart is about to crack my ribs, I hear a little yelp from over my left shoulder. It’s a female’s voice, a young woman, and I reach down and grip the handle of my pistol, partly on instinct and partly because if anyone has laid a hand on her, they’re getting some lead in their head.
There’s low voices and I follow them toward a larger, tall canvas tent with a low light inside.
I step to the back where it’s darker and my shadow won’t cast against the fabric, and peer through an open slit where a roll-down window covering doesn’t quite square up.
And my blood turns to ice.
My fingers curl around the cold steel handle of my gun, while my thumb flips open the snap holding it in the holster.
The man that presented himself as Kezia’s father is sitting in a wooden chair, holding a long, knotty cane.
It’s what’s at the end of that cane that very well may end his life this morning.
It’s Kezia.
She’s curled into a ball, cowering inside a wooden crate fashioned into some sort of cage, barely big enough for her tiny, tucked body. Thadius is banging on the top with the gnarled end of his cane.
“What is your job?” he asks, as homicidal thoughts flood my brain.
To kill you, motherfucker.
“To distract. To do as I’m told. To serve the family.” Kezia’s soft voice shakes. I try to suppress a growl as rage bubbles inside of me.
He slams the cane down on the top of the box five times and I see Kezia wince and curl tighter with each blow.
“You say the words but you do not follow through with your actions!” he bellows, standing now, stepping to the wooden crate and looking down.
“You kissed him. I overheard you telling Genevieve.” He locks his jaw then continues.
“You are not to be touched by them. You are to be untouched. Your value to the family is partly your beauty but also your purity. If it is discovered you let an outsider touch you, I will lose many thousands of dollars, Kezia, and that is not going to happen.”
“I’m sorry,” she whimpers and I’m not listening to anything more.
The beast inside of me is ready to tear his skin off as I make my way around to the front of the tent and rip my way through the flaps of fabric that serve as the door, my pistol pulled.
Her father spins, his cane in the air, and I give him a look that lets him know he’s half a twitch away from a bullet in his brain.
“Merrick.” I hear Kezia’s voice but I’m focused on the fucker in front of me.
I reach out and jerk the cane from his hand, throwing it into the corner but keeping my gun pinned on him. Then I step forward, and in a single movement I rip the top of the cage holding my girl off its hinges and throw it at him.
“You okay, baby?” I ask, keeping my eyes on the man who is staring at me without fear.
“I’m okay,” Kezia answers as I offer my free hand and help her out of the box. “Don’t hurt him.”
I swallow the hatred gathered in my throat as I push her behind me, then close the space between me and her father, reaching up and grabbing his throat with one hand and shoving the barrel of my gun into his gut.
“You’re fucking lucky she’s here. Only reason you’re alive is I don’t want her to watch you die.”
“You are a man of the law. I am unarmed. It would be murder.” He chokes out the words as my fingers crush his windpipe.
“Look in my eyes, do you think I give a shit what they would call it? Besides, I caught you in the commission of a felony, forcible imprisonment and torture, domestic abuse…You fought me as I tried to free Kezia. I know the fucking law.” I shrug.
His eyes narrow but he shrinks back, mouth open as I cut off the little air reaching his lungs.
I release his throat, cock back and hammer my fist upward under his jaw, throwing him back three feet to where he lands in a pile of dust, out cold.
I spin, grabbing Kezia’s hand and march us out of this medieval torture chamber toward the truck.
As we make our way outside, a voice sounds from behind another tent.
“Psst.” I look over, Kezia oblivious next to me and I see one of the girls that took her from me earlier.
“Take care of her. Please.” I open my mouth to answer, but she’s gone and I don’t want to wait another second to get my baby away from this place but make a note to ask her later who the dark haired girl is.
I get Kezia inside the truck, buckled in, and finally holster my gun when I look behind me and see no one watching. I throw the car into drive and spin in the dirt, knowing now that I’ve got her back with me, I’m never letting her go again.
“I’m sorry I left you here. I knew something was wrong, I should have followed my instinct.
My sweet little girl, I may never let you out of my sight again.
” I reach over and brush the dust from her cheeks.
Dried trails of tears cut through the dirt and I never want to see her cry.
My gut feels like a coiled viper ready to strike anyone that dares come close right now.
“Baby, are you okay, for real?” I reach over and cup her cheek.
“I am now.” She looks over, her soft features so trusting as she smiles, and my heart is beating out of my chest. “Where are we going?” she asks, and it takes me a second to switch off the fury and focus on caring for her.
Just as I open my mouth to answer, a loud, gnawing growl comes from her stomach and she wraps her free hand around her center.
“Sorry.”
“You’re hungry.” New anger wells up inside me as I remember watching her last night but not seeing her eat anything. “We’re going to get you some food, that’s where we’re going.”
“No,” she snaps, too fast, but I’m not backing down. “I’m fine.”
“Yes, we are,” I announce, giving her a stern stare. “Sometimes, I make the rules, I know what’s best for you and you’re going to learn to trust me.”
The tension in her face softens and she brings a shoulder to her ear. “Daddy knows best.” The words drip from her plump cherry lips and my already throbbing cock sends a jolt of painful need deep into my core.
“Every time you call me that, I feel like I’m the luckiest human on the planet, baby girl.”
“Every time I look at you, I feel the same.”