Chapter 40 Josie
JOSIE
I woke midday with the sun shining in through the window. I never slacked at work, but I didn’t have it in me to show up for work today. Not when JR was in bed with me.
Rolling over, I snuggled into his warmth, sighing when he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close.
“Morning.”
“Morning,” he said, his rough voice washing over me and sending shivers down my spine. “How did you sleep?”
“Like a baby.”
“Babies don’t generally sleep,” he grumbled.
“It’s just a saying.”
“Bad saying.”
My hand slid over his chest, up to his shoulder where a dimple in his skin made me pause. “What’s this?”
“Gunshot.”
My head snapped up in surprise. “You were shot?”
A cocky grin split his lips. “I’m good, but bound to run out of luck eventually.”
I nodded, not liking his words. “How many times?”
“Three. Two knife wounds. Nothing fatal, though.”
“Nothing fatal,” I repeated under my breath. It was hard to believe he could talk about it like it was no big deal. Gunshots and knife wounds were not normal around here.
“But that’s over,” he whispered. “I swear it.”
“How can you promise that?” I asked, staring at the far wall. I wasn’t sure I could look at him right now, all the time wondering if he was lying to me.
What surprised me was when he tipped my chin to face him. “I can promise that because I’m all in. Wherever this goes, I know what I need to do to keep you, and I won’t break that promise for anything.”
Swallowing hard, I took it all in, all the things that had changed in such a short amount of time. It was hard to believe any of it was real, and there was a part of me that wondered if it would all change in just a few days when he realized how much he was actually committing to.
But if I was going to give him a shot, I couldn’t go in thinking that he was going to fail.
“I have to get to work.”
Groaning, I squeezed him tighter, burying my face in his chest. “If I took off, so can you.”
“I don’t own my business. And I can’t drop Lizzy right now. She’s on bed rest.”
Rolling me over, he pressed me into the bed and groaned, kissing me hard. “Fuck, I wish I could. Stay here,” he whispered. “Right here in bed for me.”
“All day?”
“All day. Don’t move at all.”
“I may have to pee at some point.”
A small grin split his lips, the first I had seen in a long time. “Alright, you’re allowed to move for necessities, but that’s it. No clothes.”
“I’ll consider it.”
He kissed me hard, pressing his erection between my thighs once more before tearing himself from my arms. “You have no idea how hard it is to leave you right now.”
Propping my head up in my hand, I smirked at him. “I think I have some idea.”
“Fuck,” he muttered, shoving his fingers through his hair. “This is gonna be the longest shift of my life.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way to get through it,” I laughed, tugging the sheet down to give him one last peek.
“That’s not helping,” he grumbled, narrowing his eyes at me. “Alright, shower and then I’m out of here.”
“I could help you with that,” I said, pointing to his massive erection.
“As much as I would love that, I’m not sure I could keep my hands off you.”
I flopped on my back as I heard him walk into the bathroom. The shower kicked on, and I momentarily thought of joining him, but he was trying to be good. I couldn’t interfere when things were finally going right.
I laid in bed, thinking of all the things he confessed to me last night. Some of them worse than others. Yes, he had killed people, but no one who hadn’t deserved it. But then sometimes, he was a protector, watching over those who needed protection.
Did it sound like I was making excuses for him?
Yes. I knew that, and yet, it didn’t make me want to pull away from him either.
Was it so wrong to give someone a chance to change for the better?
Even if this didn’t work out between us, I couldn’t judge him based solely on the past, not when I felt like there was something so much deeper to him.
Maybe I was fooling myself. Maybe I really was making this all up in my head, but I wanted this, and I was determined to see it through.
“Babe?” he asked, pushing the door open. “Sleeping?”
“Nope. Just thinking about later tonight,” I lied.
“Keep thinking about that. I have plans for us.”
He leaned down, his lips caressing mine in a sweet kiss that lit sparks inside me. “I let the mut out and fed him. He’s sleeping in his spot.”
“He has a name.”
He hummed and kissed me again.
“What time do you get off tonight?”
“Bar closes at midnight. I should be home around one.”
Sliding my hand up his arm, I sighed heavily. “That’s a long way away.”
“I’m sure you’ll find some way to pass the time.”
“Yeah?”
“Think about me,” he whispered, kissing me softly. “Touch yourself. Make yourself come for me.”
Shivers raced down my spine at his suggestion. “I don’t—”
“You can do it. And then you can tell me all about it when I get home. Maybe you can even reenact it for me.”
With one more bruising kiss, he was out the door, leaving me alone in bed. Now, I was all alone and had no one to take the edge off. He really was cruel.
I laid in bed for a good hour, drifting in and out of sleep until I finally had to get up to pee. After that, I considered going back to bed, but my stomach was protesting the lack of food. Instead of getting fully dressed, I slipped into some underwear and a robe, leaving less to take off later.
Sawyer came home just as I started chopping up vegetables for soup. Surprised by my good mood, he approached warily.
“So, and I take it that this means you made up with JR?”
“Yep.”
“And you’re okay with what happened between the two of you?”
“Let’s just say that everything’s worked out,” I grinned.
“For how long?”
I stopped chopping and looked at my brother carefully. He didn’t normally get so involved in my life. In fact, it was usually the other way around.
“Look, I don’t want to say he’s not good for you. I’m happy if you’re happy, but I’ve also seen how depressed you’d gotten.”
I laughed at that. “Depressed? Sawyer, you’re the one who gets depressed.”
“You stopped drinking your tea,” he pointed out. “Maybe you weren’t crying like I do, but you were sad, and I don’t like seeing you like that.”
“I get it,” I said honestly. “I do, but we talked a lot last night. Trust me, I wouldn’t go into this blind. I know how it looks, but I need you to trust me.”
“It’s not you I don’t trust.”
“Well, then you’ll just have to witness it yourself when he comes home,” I grinned.
“Now, go get cleaned up. Dinner’s going to be ready in an hour.”
Shaking his head, he pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Just be careful.”
“That’s my middle name,” I grinned as I dumped the chopped veggies into the pot.
“Oh, hey! Can you let Milo into the backyard before you take a shower?”
He rolled his eyes, but whistled at Milo, opening the sliding door for him. Milo raced outside, chasing a squirrel as he happily got in some exercise.
Spinning around, I took the butternut squash out of the microwave and started peeling the skin off, wincing as the vegetable burned me multiple times. I chopped it open, scooped out the seeds, and chopped it into small pieces before dumping it in the soup to cook with the rest of the veggies.
“Sawyer! Thirty minutes!”
When he didn’t answer, I washed my hands and went in search of him. He was probably still sitting in his work clothes, sulking about Bugaboo, or whatever his pet name was for her.
“Hey,” I knocked on the door. “Tell me you’re not still thinking about the cougar.”
Pushing the door open a crack, I saw his boot laying haphazardly on the floor of his bedroom. “Sawyer?”
A pained groan filled the air, and as I shoved the door open the rest of the way, I gasped at what I saw. He was lying on the ground, a severe slash across his forehead as blood dripped onto the floor beneath him.
“Sawyer!” I shouted, rushing to his side.
Grabbing a shirt, I pressed it to his forehead, trying to stem the bleeding.
“Josie—” he whispered.
“So, this is JR’s girl,” someone said from behind me.
I spun, but the moment I turned, something hard hit my face and I blacked out.
“Sawyer,” I murmured through what felt like a broken jaw.
Everything was blurry as I peeled my eyes open. Something crusty was on my eyes, and my mouth felt like cotton balls had been stuffed to the brink inside my cheeks.
Blinking several times, I finally cleared my vision enough to see the room. I was still in my house, but I was tied to a chair. My arms were stretched behind my back, knotted together, and my legs were tied to the rungs.
“Sawyer,” I murmured again.
“Josie?” he whispered.
Through my one good eye, I found him on the ground, his legs and wrists tied together. But that was the best part about it. Blood dripped from his face, and a mysterious puddle of blood pooled beneath him.
“Oh, God,” I whispered. “What happened?”
But he didn’t answer. He just laid there, losing blood by the second, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I struggled against the ropes tying my wrists together, but there was no budging. It was too tight, and as I tugged, it only scraped against my skin.
Whimpering, I tried to think of anything I could do, but my brain was muddled and pounding.
“So, she’s awake,” someone chuckled.
Dark boots stepped in my line of sight. A dark trench coat hung from his bulky frame, and as I slowly looked up, my chest tightened with fear at what I saw. The man was frightening, with deep pock marks on his face and a few scars that spoke of the scrapes he’d been in.
“Who are you?” I managed to squeak out.
“Who am I?” Chuckling, he sat across from me, his legs spread wide as she got in my face. “That’s a good question. Maybe you should ask your boyfriend. And while you’re at it, maybe you could find out why he chose to not follow my orders.”
I sucked in a breath at his words. So, this was the man Archer and JR worked for.
“So, you’ve heard of me.”
“What’s wrong with my brother?” I asked quietly.
His dark eyes swung to Sawyer, who laid motionless on the floor. “He should be fine. If he gets to a hospital in the next few hours.”
“He has nothing to do with this.”
“No,” he cocked his head. “And sadly, neither do you, but that’s not going to save you from what I have planned.”
My heart ratcheted up by ten as he stood and walked slowly around my chair. His fingertips slid over my shoulders before coming to rest around my neck. Fear slithered over every inch of my skin until I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Large fingers wrapped around my neck, resting against my skin with only the threat looming. I stilled under his touch, my eyes flicking to Sawyer again.
Nausea swirled in my stomach with every second that passed. Was he going to kill me?
My air was suddenly cut off as his fingers squeezed hard, crushing my throat until black spots danced in front of my eyes. I wriggled and squirmed, trying to get away from him, but it was no use. There was no getting away.
Just as I was about to black out, he released me and oxygen flooded my lungs. I coughed hard, but the pain shattering my throat was nearly worse than almost dying.
His fist flew out, slamming into my cheek, splitting the skin. I felt the blood dripping down my face, mingled with tears.
“Oh, look at her cry. She’s so pretty when she cries,” he whispered, leaning in close to lick the tears from my face.
I jolted away from him, but he grabbed my jaw, twisting it painfully to face him.
“Don’t worry. I won’t break you yet. Not until he’s here to see it.”
The evil smirk on his face sent my adrenaline into overdrive. But instead of feeling superhuman, like I could escape anything, fear took the driver’s seat. My eyes stung with tears as I stared at the man in front of me.
“Please,” I whimpered.
“That’s what I like to hear. How much will you beg for me to let you go?”
I had no pride, no sense of strength that a woman dating JR should have. If this man hoped I would hold out, he would be sorely mistaken. My only concern right now was staying alive long enough to get Sawyer to the ER.
“You know, we had a good thing going, and then you messed it up,” the man sighed.
“I didn’t do anything,” I cried.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” he laughed. “He was doing his job, taking care of everything he was supposed to, and then he stopped in this pissant town, and that’s where everything fell apart. Do you really think I don’t have people watching my employees?”
My whole body trembled with fear as I tried to figure a way out of all this. He strode around to the front, leering at me. It was only then that I remembered I was only wearing a robe, and it was gaping at the front.
“So beautiful,” he murmured, brushing his knuckle down the front of my chest and over my nipple.
I sucked in a breath, trying not to fall apart. How long would he torture me before he took it further?
“Oh, yes,” he laughed. “He chose a good one. Tell me, do you like sucking his dick? Are you a dirty girl?”
I whimpered as he pinched my nipple, but when he shoved his fingers in my mouth, I gagged and bit down hard, disgusted by his fingers being anywhere near me.
“Stupid cunt!” he shouted, backhanding me hard across the face.
Blood burst from my mouth, spilling down my chin. But he wasn’t done with me. Flicking open a pocket knife, he grinned as he trailed it down my chest.
Whimpering pleas spilled from my lips. “Please, don’t do this,” I cried. “Don’t!”
The knife sliced open my skin in tiny cuts meant to hurt. I cried, squirming as he continued down my body until he was just to my navel.
“Please! I can’t give you anything!”
“Oh, but you can,” he laughed darkly. “Every single thing you give me is exactly what I need.”
The knife slashed hot into my skin, and I didn’t stop screaming until the darkness took over.