46. To own is to… Avenge
Chapter forty-six
To own is to… Avenge
Howling For you by the Black Keys
W arrick
Anticipation unsettles my gut, my heart hammering wildly in my chest despite the brief high after I gutted Leo. A slash, twist, and pull for my sweet Chloe, for every week she was suffering under his domain, then, when it went on long enough, a bullet for my father. I strung the man’s entrails around him like a demented Shabari display. I run through the actions on my rifle again and again because it’s almost time. She’s so close that again, I can feel her, her pulse thrumming through my veins where she took over from that very first day.
When the transport reforms, closing in as we exit onto the freeway, my driver pulls the car into place, opening up the sunroof. I take a deep breath, laying my gun on the floorboard of the blacked-out SUV, eyeing the six tail cars around the van housing my girl. The compact rocket launcher presses into my shoulder as we lurch forward. It feels like a comforting weight as I position it at the modified sunroof, waiting on Stuart’s word from the car ahead .
“Hold.”
I exhale. Everything goes deathly still.
“Go.”
A sick smile surges over my face as I lift the launcher, notching it in the small, steadying brace on the top of the SUV, one my company manufactures. I designed and built the initial prototype from scratch, back when I had the time for such things, before wide-doe eyes and long, pale strands of hair. This , this is where I thrive. My domain was never a home, but violence. Rage and destruction.
I fire at the trailing car, my driver slamming the brakes to fall back. There’s always a moment of silence, a pin striking into place before it erupts. The convoy jerks in tune, swerving and breaking apart just how we needed them to. The tail cars, what little there were, careen off the road, but I’m reloading, spinning around to take out another car and the feds inside. The explosion rocks everything nearby, sending the car rolling. That’s when hell erupts, but this time, the devil isn’t caught off guard.
Something that will never happen again.
I wonder if my sweet little pet has figured it out yet, if she knows her master has come to reclaim her.
Chloe
I scream as the van jolts, the deafening sound of an explosion rocking my eardrums. We jerk so violently, bile surges up my throat, nearly spewing as shouting carries over from the cab. Agent Benigno’s eyes widen, snapping to mine. Despite the chaos erupting around us, a moment of silence passes, perhaps the loudest moment of my life. His hate-filled glare meets my smile, and we both know what this means .
One of us is about to die.
His pause is short-lived before he springs into action, facing the small camera and barking orders—not that it’ll do any good. My master is here, and he isn’t leaving without me.
I take a deep breath, squealing tires, gunfire, and explosions making us sound like we’re in the middle of a battlefield. As much confidence as I have in Warrick, I can’t help the twist of anxiety in my gut, but I do my best not to show it.
The van careens wildly, making me cry out again as I’m slung roughly around. Only a small belt keeps me tethered to the bench, my hands still cuffed uncomfortably behind my back. The same can’t be said for the Agent Asshole. He’s knocked so hard into the back double doors, I worry they’ll fly open, stunning him. I watch with eyebrows raised as his gun is thrown from his hand, skidding right next to me. We realize it at the same moment, him groaning as he lurches to his feet the same moment I kick out, connecting roughly with his dick. I’m not sure what the plan was, considering I have no use of my hands, but if Warrick has to come in here for me, I know I don’t want Agent Benigno armed. He makes a painful whoosh sound the moment I connect, but it doesn’t slow him nearly enough. I’m kicking, screaming in frustration as he fights my legs down to get the gun they're guarding. The van veers hard again, knocking us both off-kilter as a bullet rips through the cab. Screaming erupts, and even dampened by the metal cage I’m in, it's jarring.
My head knocks against the wall of the van, making me dizzy for a second too long as it comes to a violent stop. Whoever is in the cab bails—smart guy. His screams grow further away before they stop altogether, gunfire popping sporadically, and I can hear the sirens in the distance. The world warbles out as I blink past the blinding pain in the back of my head. When things filter back in, it's to the sound of a gun cocking and being shoved in my face.
“Fuck you, whore.”
A shotgun blast rocks us both, but we barely blink, locked in each other’s eyes in a horrid standoff. When the back doors are ripped open, Agent Benigno turns to greet whoever is there, hatred burning in his eyes. He opens his mouth to say God knows what just as a loud pop sounds inside the confirmed space. I scream, squeezing my eyes shut so tightly, stars dance behind my lids, but there’s no pain. Booted steps enter the van quickly, barreling, pounding in such a small space as I force my eyes open, taking in the mess of brains splattered across the inside of the van, across me, before turbulent hazel eyes take over everything else.
My heart lurches as Warrick slams his lips against mine, claiming me. I moan into his mouth, letting go as he undoes my belt, forcing me up and into his arms in a crushing hold. “I got you, baby.”
I sob, nodding. “I know.”
His handsome smile makes my stomach tighten as he pulls away, gently tugging me off him where I’m pressing myself, trying to melt our bodies together. “We need to move quickly, okay?”
“Okay.”
He spins me, quickly unlocking my cuffs before tugging me into his arms. I pay little attention to the scene around me, but I can smell the smoke from the guns, feel the heat from the flames as I wrap my hands around him. He has to peel me off long enough to shove me into a waiting SUV. I’m crying harder as he closes the door behind me, so hard that I barely notice when someone enters on my other side.
“Enough of that,” the gruff voice offers, making my eyes snap toward Stuart.
My chin wobbles as I throw my arms around the older man. “I was so worried about you.”
He’s still, so still, I think he might’ve died before he reaches up, patting me on the back. “Me too.”
I let him go, flashing a watery smile as sirens barrel toward us, Warrick slams into the driver’s seat, barking a command for Stuart to get ready and for me to buckle up before the sound of his squealing tires fills the crisp November night air.
We drive for a while before the car is ditched. I watch Warrick command his team, in his element once again without the pressure of being lobbed in the head by a bullet, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t making me feel everything , primarily between my legs. Situation be dammed, my body is a live wire for this man. We’re pure damming electric energy, waiting, begging to be melded and manipulated. He stands there, his suit jacket long gone, sleeves of his black dress shirt rolled up, showing off those vascular muscular arms that make my core pulse. My eyes widen as the car suddenly lets out a jarring whoosh before it erupts in flames, the violent heat licking at my chilled skin.
That’s when another heat doesn’t simply bloom but razes, my eyes cutting across the wooded area to the man who changed everything, the man who continues to change everything. My heart, my freedom, my master and god. He stands so close to the fire, flames dancing in the reflection of hazel eyes, wind sweeping through the clearing that rustles his hair. In all the flurry of activity, he has eyes for only me. The result is shattering. I see it the moment he snaps, the moment we both do, puncturing the hardened ground as he heads toward me, walking through the throng of armed men like a man possessed, and I wait…his ever-willing victim.
My lips part on a gasp as he reaches me, his hands cupping my face so sweetly that for a moment, I forget to breathe. Hell, I forget breathing is even an option. My body succumbs, melts around him as he jerks me up. Wrapping my legs around his tapered waist, he walks us to the waiting car. The inside is already warm from the blasting heat, and I’m only vaguely aware of Stuart in the driver’s seat. My entire body thrums as I’m jerked up, hovering above Warrick as he frees his cock. There's no working me up, no preparation, because he knows whatever he gives, I’ll take. I’ll take and take until we’re nothing but husks, and then he’ll fill me up again. I’ll be desperate for it, and he’ll be desperate to give it.
“God, I’m so fucking in love with you,” he groans as he shunts into me, making a whimper escape my gaping mouth. It’s brutal, his size stretching and burning, but I’m soaking it all in. His rough palm finds my ass underneath the rich blue dress I was given, my head tipping back in pleasure as he works me up and down his cock. He’s using me and I’m content to remain liquid in his arms, at his mercy. The car rumbles down the gravel dirt path, each jolt sending me jerking on top of him as his lips memorize the flesh at my neck, nipping, tasting, covering me in sage and oak.
“Could the two of you not hold out until we got to the plane? It’s like listening to your kids have sex,” Stuart grumps from the driver’s seat, turning up the music on the radio in hopes of drowning us out.
The rumble of laughter that leaves Warrick makes my core tighten. I open my mouth to release a guttural moan as he pistons up into me, grinding into my clit, when his hand clasps over my mouth. “Hush now, my love. You’re making Stuart blush.”
I nod, tears brimming in my eyes as he fucks me harder, making my head bump the ceiling of the car. I try, God, I try to stay quiet, allowing him to swallow my whimpers, moans, and gasps as his mouth devours mine. Our tongues swirl together. It's messy, sloppy, desperate fucking, nothing adoring and sweet except the look in his eyes. I moan his name, repeating it like a mantra as he jerks up my loose-fitting dress, exposing my peaked nipples. When he swirls his tongue around the peaked mound, my core for the second time clenches, gripping his cock as I barrel over the edge, but he’s nowhere near done with me. I bury my hands in his soft hair, pressing my forehead to his. It’s then I notice the cool band he pulled from somewhere. My heart and clit thrum as his thrusts slow to a languid pace, and the moment his eyes meet mine, nothing needs to be said. We know.
It’s a look that says forever, everything clicking in place with the clasp of the collar as he adorns my neck. I breathe easier until he sees fit to take that breath from me. He does it so easily, fisting the collar so his hand pushes that part of my throat he uses to make my head swim. It’s torment, the achingly slow way he fucks me, the black dots that soon muddy my vision. It’s him and me, and nothing else matters. Nothing else will ever matter again.
“Such a good girl, so fucking pretty, baby.” He praises that devilish glint in his eyes, he knows what I need. My master, not Warrick. Not yet. I want... need to be reminded. I need him to take control. My arms and legs tingle, and I swear, my eyes roll back in my skull the moment he releases me. “Show me how much you missed me, how much you missed my cock.”
I do.
My hips roll, taking over as he leans back, letting me bounce on his daunting length. My clit brushes against him with every thrust, thighs burning, but I don’t dare stop, because he’s watching me, because I would live and die for the look in his eyes. His hand snaps out as I slow, gripping my jaw in a punishing hold, sweat beading my forehead. “Tsk, my little come mutt needs to be filled so fucking bad. Her little cunt is a fucking desperate, needy, pitiful little thing.”
“Yes.”
“You’re mine, Chloe. You’re all fucking mine.”
“God yes, all yours,” I cry out.
I gasp as he shoves his fingers in my mouth, gagging me as he presses down on my tongue. “Quiet now, those pretty words are only for me.”
I nod, tears spilling out over my cheeks because it’s too much. It’s too much and I can’t get enough. I’m so fucking close when he snakes a hand between us, gently pinching at my clit. My orgasm hits me hard, but he cuts off my scream, gagging me as he takes over, fucking my swollen core. I’m lifeless when he releases me, exhausted as he moans my name, filling me as he follows over the edge.
We sit like that for so long: me drifting in and out of sleep as his hands explore my body, testing, adoring, taking his time with each inch, checking that I’m okay. My heart swells. As much as I need the scathing, controlling side of him, it’s this side that made him the object of my obsession, the plot to every dream. My lids are heavy as I force myself back to look at him. The smile that fills my face is real, blindingly genuine despite all the uncertainty of what our life is about to hold. I don’t care what comes next because he’ll be with me.
“Tell me you love me,” I command.
He smirks, making my heart flutter. “I love you. So fucking much, it's maddening.”
“Keep going.”
His smile widens, those hazel eyes drinking me in. “It’s so much more than love. I’m obsessed with you, Chloe. I have been since the moment you walked into my office. You’ve consumed me, owned me . I never want it to stop.”
“Good boy.”
His eyes narrow on me, making my pulse jump, but he fails to hide the amusement on his lips.
I purse my lips, widening my eyes the way he likes. “Too much, Sir?”
“Far too much.” His voice is dark, and already, my body is thrumming, needy all over again. I make a sound of protest as he lifts me off him, gently tucking me into his side as he addresses Stuart, getting briefed on stuff I couldn’t care less about as his hand makes soft passes through my hair.
My eyes are on the window, watching the world blur as I pout, already desperate to be in his arms again when his hand abruptly tightens, making me gasp. “Oh, and dog?”
That name makes my pulse jump in the most degrading, tantalizing way, and I release how much I’ve missed hearing it. “Yes, Master?”
He steers my attention back to him, his thumb dancing across my swollen lips. “You made a mess.”
My eyes slip down to his still-exposed cock. Even in the darkness of the back of the car, I can see how wet it is, glistening still with our combined arousal. My cheeks heat as he leans in, his lips tickling my neck. “Lick it clean.”
And I do.