26 Olivia
June 7th, 2022
During my shower, I registered something I hadn’t before.
Malachi had mentioned that there was a man following me. Someone other than Everett, which was as unnerving as it was irritating.
I was so oblivious to a world I thought I paid attention to, and now, after both of my revelations, I had to face the one person I truly didn’t want to see again. It was strange how much the world changed when you realize that your heart was lingering on eyes it shouldn’t. It was too bad I couldn’t train it like I trained Lucy.
My traitorous heart was already fluttering before I even left the bathroom, and I wasn’t at all surprised to find Evelyn and Everett sitting in my living room, waiting for me.
Evelyn smiled from where she sat on the couch. “Hey, baby.”
I ignored her and turned to the kitchen. “I’ll be out in a second.”
I couldn’t deal with this. With having these intense moments of pure bliss with these people who were using me as payment to a debt I didn’t own. It was starting to wear on my psyche. On my physical and mental well-being, but what really bothered me was knowing that Malachi was the one who ordered it all. It only made it worse. It made everything worse. I wasn’t sure how long I could keep dealing with it before I simply imploded.
Lucy followed me, watching as I pulled out a wine glass, filled it, emptied it, and filled it again. Someone else was following me. And I briefly remembered Everett telling me that the night after my first meeting with his father.
But I was exhausted and all I wanted was to sleep, despite the fact that it was barely 2 in the afternoon.
I rolled my shoulders and finally headed back for the living room to face the problem I was most likely creating.
Everett was standing behind one of the chairs, waiting like the angry cat he was while Evelyn admired her nails, as if remembering something fondly.
I eyed her as I sat in a chair completely opposite Everett. Maybe this time what I needed to swallow wasn’t the anger but everything else. That was the only way to get through this.
She smiled and folded her hands together. “It’s been a while since I’ve smelled a beautiful woman on my hand. About a month to be exact. I do love the way you smell though. Simply divine.”
My cheeks warmed. Not because of her but because the thing I would not soon forget was the feeling of Everett’s head between my legs and the feeling of his tongue lapping me up desperately.
I folded one leg over the other keeping my eyes on her. “Malachi mentioned about a man following me.”
She nodded. “I think it was the same man who followed you and Everett when you left Stella’s house last week too. I left their contact information on the fridge, by the way. They were worried.”
Yeah, they could stay worried for a while. I wasn’t ready to talk to her again. Not yet. Not after I humiliated myself so much.
“We also believe it’s the same people who have been following you in that black van.”
I knew it. I knew something was wrong with that van. It just seemed out of place. “So, if you guys are so powerful, who is it? Why me?”
“Jack ran the plates, nothing. Checked cameras,”
she shrugged. “Nothing. All we have is the description of that girl you talked to that day in the park, do you remember that?”
My cheeks burned bright red, my face hardening. God, he was such a prick, and I was embarrassed that while I was waiting for him to show up, he was enjoying the show.
“You should start taking Lucy everywhere you go from now on,”
Evelyn went on when I didn’t reply. “We’ll be around, but we still have jobs to do too.”
I took a drink of wine. Good, that was good. “It’s probably some fan. I picked a pen name for a separate reason, but people obsess over crime books. Crime anything. I was bound to have some crazies find me eventually.”
I was completely unnerved, but I didn’t want Everett knowing that. I just moved into a new house. I had a cop living down the street, and my house, apparently, was covered in cameras. I wasn’t going to get any safer than I was right now.
“We checked and couldn’t find any proof that it was a fan,”
Evelyn informed me.
I watched her for a long time before gesturing to my dog. “I’m not worried.”
“Dogs don’t stop guns. You should probably get one yourself,”
Evelyn suggested.
It was an effort not to react, especially with Everett’s eyes boring into my skull. “Why?”
Her brows pulled together which was expected. The question was a stupid one. “In case someone breaks in. You need one. Have you ever shot one?”
Only in my fantasies. “No.”
She looked over to Everett. “You’ll train her. Daddy dearest has me doing something this week. I guess Azrael is…”
she waved her hand dismissively. “Anyway, trouble again. Teach her how to shoot.”
“Yeah, make good on your orders, we all know you have issues following them.”
His eyes raged. “Do you have something you’d like to say, Olivia?”
he asked through his teeth.
I flicked the metal pawn hanging from my still damp collar. “Daddy dearest has great taste,”
I taunted. “You should learn a thing or two from your precious master. A girl loves her accessories.”
Evelyn smiled, glancing over to Everett who looked on the verge of exploding. “We do love our accessories,”
she agreed.
“You think you’re safe because Evelyn’s here?”
he asked, his eyes narrowing to slits. “I don’t give a fuck what she sees, if you want to take your anger out on me, be prepared for the consequences.”
Evelyn’s eyes swung towards me, waiting for my response.
It was just another chance for him to get in my head again, for him to take. Another chance to get another payment. Why couldn’t Everett deal with his brother? I worked my jaw, my heart racing, butterflies erupting, and I forced the nerves to filter through my anger. “He’s not teaching me how to shoot a gun,”
I told her. “Absolutely not.”
I didn’t want him anywhere near me again. Especially not with a gun. Especially not with a gun.
A sly smile crossed her lips. “Yes. If someone breaks into this house, you need a gun and you need to know how to not shoot yourself while defending yourself. If anything, the sight of it will hold him off until we get here.”
She shoved herself up and walked over, sliding a hand over my shoulder as she walked behind the chair. “It’ll be good for you both.”
She leaned down, running her nose across the shell of my ear, causing me to shiver, but nothing else. The high with her was gone, the addiction to Everett overtaking everything. “Payments can be fun.”
She nipped my ear, Everett’s eyes going black. “I’ll be thinking of you when I fuck my toys tonight.”
I turned my head towards hers to tell her to stop. Her eyes glowing bright, her hand sliding into my hair, her lips lowering…
“S—”
A door slammed so hard the wood splintered.
I flinched, my head whipping around to the front door, heart pounding. “Did he break my door?”
She laughed, standing. “No, baby girl, just his own heart. A point made, but I honestly didn’t think he had one. See you soon, I’ll call you.”
My brows furrowed. “What? You don’t have my number.”
Another laugh as she headed for the door. “Everett, Malachi, and I have had your number since day one. We just didn’t communicate that very well. See you soon.”
She kissed her fingers and blew a kiss at me before heading out the door after her brother.
I sat at my island and stared at my screen, the words blurring together. It was almost midnight, and it was far too silent.
I hated it here. I thought I would love a more peaceful place. A place like the woods where everything was fresh and smelled good and there was no noise, but I absolutely hated this. I wanted to move back to the city where noise was constant. The world was too eerie without noise.
I released a breath and looked over to Lucy who was laying at my feet, asleep.
Yeah, good idea. “Lus?”
Her ear twitched but she didn’t bother opening her eyes.
“Wanna head to bed?”
She inhaled deeply and huffed out, her ears folding back.
I couldn’t help but smile. “There’s a big brand-new bed waiting for us.”
Almost brand new. Definitely broken in.
After a few seconds, she grumbled and shoved herself to a stand like a 110-year-old lady might get out of a chair.
“Such a drama queen,”
I cooed, sliding from my stool and heading for my bedroom.
I still felt sore from the events of the day, but mostly just exhausted. Physically, mentally, emotionally. And I honestly was dreading the whole ‘gun lesson’ with Everett.
He was going to be cruel and cold and silent, judging me for not being smart enough to hold the gun right. I just didn’t have it in me to deal with all of that, let alone the irrationality of my own heart.
But I didn’t really have a choice.
And part of me liked that.
I never should have moved to The Springs. I should have just stayed in Denver, took my punishment, dealt with my parents, and lived my ‘silver-spoon’ life because this life? It was just plain exhausting.
I shoved open my door and immediately froze, Lucy jumping in front of me, snarling viciously at the man who stood at my bedroom window, his back to us.
My heart skipped a beat, Evelyn’s words about needing a gun biting me in the ass as the man held his hands behind his back, his cane gripped in one.
I had a dog. Her teeth beat his cane any day.
I swallowed, taking him in. I knew he knew that I was there. Despite the dog, I had a feeling he would have sensed me anyway. I recognized that cane too, his hair, pushed back, much like Everett’s was, with enough gel to hold it in place, but not enough to cause it to glisten. It had to have been longer than Everett’s, certainly longer on the sides. Where Everett’s was shorter on the sides and longer on top, Azrael’s seemed to be long everywhere. Long enough to layer perfectly when pushed back and curl ever so slightly at the nape of his neck. “Azrael,”
I said softly, my tone not as hard as I wanted it to be.
To be honest, the way the others had protected me from him that day in my apartment really set the tone on who he was.
Somebody never to be messed with. Someone never to double cross or second guess. “He escaped the asylum,”
Everett had said.
Escaped.
The asylum.
And now he was in my house, to what?
“Don’t worry, rose, I’m not here to kill you.”
He turned his head just enough for me to see the edge of his mask, the way a few strands of his hair fell over the top of it, the glow of the moon giving him an eerie halo. “You and the pup would have been dead long ago if I wanted you dead.”
I remained where I was, glancing down the hall, wondering if Everett and Evelyn were watching the cameras at this exact moment.
God, I hoped they were, which was more annoying than it was reassuring.
“I’ll be long gone before they get here,”
Azrael answered, pulling my attention back.
I fisted my hands, glaring at his back, although I had to admit, he scared me more than the others did. “What are you doing here?”
He inhaled deeply, turning back to the window. “Trails upon trails upon trails,”
he sang. “You don’t know it yet, but every trail leads back to me. A few stops along the way. First the daffodil, and then the mouse, and now you. It’s not your fault, although blame yourself if you want, who am I to restrict your fantasies of free will?”
My eyes narrowed, my tired mind trying to track and understand his strange way of talking. “What are you talking about?”
“Strength,”
he said, turning to me. “Honor. Bravery,”
he hummed, his eyes glowing like the devil’s. “Your survival means nothing to me, but I’ve seen this twice before, and I fear you might be the third. I’m rarely ever wrong.”
He looked over me carefully. “You’ve challenged him, good, it shows good fight in you. Whether or not you survive is on you, darling little rose. But I do in see you…”
his smile widened, “possibilities.”
My lip curled in a sneer. “Your brother doesn’t seem so scary to me.”
His mask was terrifying. It covered every inch of his face except for a corner that was broken off on the right side of his jaw, just enough to show off a portion of his lips and the sharp curve of his jawline. It was porcelain and white. The smile reflecting sharp teeth with rosy cheeks, the mask black around his eyes, causing the blue to glow torturously bright.
He smiled, the look haunting. “It’s not my brother you should be worried about. It’s not my family. Although, it would do you good to keep a healthy amount of fear when it comes to us. Just keep your eyes open, rose, keep those thorns sharp, and keep your dog close. Things are in motion that cannot be stopped and while your beating heart means nothing to me, I’m sure it’ll mean something to the mountains. It’s three years coming now, and I doubt it’ll end anytime soon. Watch the shadows, we aren’t the only creatures lurking.”
He pulled out a pocket watch and opened it with a click. “Tick tock, midnight’s closing in.”
He snapped it shut and gestured to my dog.
I watched him for a few seconds before ordering Lucy to step to the side, giving him space to leave.
I waited until I heard the door shut before I had Lucy search the house. When she was done, I finally locked the door, double checking every window and the back door just in case.
I snarled under my breath. “I hate your family,”
I snapped to nobody in particular, and finally headed to bed.
June 21st, 2022
It’s been two weeks since I’ve seen either Everett or Evelyn, but I suspected their eyes had been on me since that first night, which was annoying to say the least.
I woke up and headed into the kitchen, only to pause, heart skipping when I found Everett standing at my island, bike helmet on, visor up, a look of disdain filling his expression.
He had chained me to a wall and put me through things most normal people could never be put through, so the fact that I was still in my pajamas, hair in a wildly messy bun, did little to detour the absolute irritation I felt at seeing him first thing.
Although I was slightly embarrassed that, out of all the mornings he hadn’t been here, this morning I had decided to pull on his sweatpants rather than keeping on my own shorts. But it was cold this morning and I didn’t have any sweats of my own, I rationalized. That’s the only reason I was wearing them. The only reason.
Even so, I made sure my irritation was known as I walked over to my iced coffee maker. “What a great way to start my day,”
I muttered, getting my things ready. I liked it more than I would ever admit. Starting the day seeing him was…relieving, but I had to come to terms with the truth of the matter, and that was enough to fuel my irritation. Enough to keep my guard up, to keep him at arm’s length, right where he needed to stay.
“It’s no better for me,”
he replied icily.
“Then go take Evelyn’s job over and send her my way. Her tongue is far more advanced than yours, I’m sure her aim is too.”
It was a lie. A flat out, bald face lie. In fact, I had just last night masturbated to him tongue fucking me. God, I had missed him.
I missed the fighting, the little smiles, his light-filled icy blue eyes. I missed his voice. More than anything else, I had missed his voice, but it changed nothing.
He laughed, causing my heart to flutter. “You will never cum for her like you cum for me,”
he replied, causing my skin to heat up. “And we both know it.”
We certainly did.
“Someone sounds jealous.”
He scoffed but didn’t say anything.
I went through the process of putting together my coffee before I finally turned to him while it brewed. “If you weren’t being a creep the other night, you should know that your brother stopped by the day you two left.”
Everett straightened ever so slightly, his eyes flashing before he leaned back against the counter, gripping the edges of it. “And?”
So he didn’t watch me all the time, that was nice to know. Especially knowing how many hours I spent over the last two weeks with either my fingers or my vibrator in my pussy. “He said something about how all trails lead back to him and that I should be careful. Something about honor and bravery and strength. That this has happened twice before and he is always right,”
I waved my hand dismissively and turned back to the maker, but not before I caught the way a muscle in his jaw feathered. Something about that bothered him. “He speaks in riddles, which is fine in writing, but I was too exhausted that night to decipher anything he was saying.”
I was glad it bothered him that his brother was here. It served him right for all the shit he put me through.
“Azrael is certifiably insane. You’d have to be the same to understand half of what he says.”
“Says the psycho stalker with a fucking sex addiction,”
I muttered under my breath.
“He thinks he’s hunting something that doesn’t exist,”
Everett went on, either not hearing or not caring about what I said enough to respond.
As a girl who wanted this man out of my life, I didn’t give a shit.
As a writer who was in desperate need of inspiration, my interest had grown.
I pulled a glass out of my cupboard and filled it with ice. “Oh? And why don’t you think it exists? Aren’t you all close?”
By what happened two weeks ago, it truly seemed like it.
“Because most of the shit he goes after doesn’t exist. He’s a free agent. He does what he wants, and we let him because if we didn’t, he probably would have killed us all a long time ago. He’s been officially classified as a serial killer by many agencies, but he hasn’t been caught because we have people everywhere and Jack is very good at helping Azrael cover up the tracks he can’t manage to cover up on his own, which doesn’t happen often.”
He paused. “That isn’t breakfast.”
I poured a bit of creamer into my cup and filled the rest with coffee. I stirred it, turned, and sucked down a few gulps while making direct eye contact, watching as his eyes narrowed to slits. I swallowed. “Ahhhh,”
I sighed. “Yummy.”
I folded an arm over my stomach and rose a brow. “Your father doesn’t seem like the kind to have such a loose cannon on his weird little team.”
“Family,”
he said bitterly. “And you couldn’t possibly understand the dynamics of our family.”
“No,”
I agreed, shaking my head. “I couldn’t. Because I could never imagine fucking some girl with my brother in the same room as me on the orders of my father who also told you to put a collar around my neck. Blood or not. That’s all sorts of fucked.”
I gulped down another swig, realizing it was worse for me because I had fallen for the man who was ordered by his father to fuck me.
I immediately slammed my drink down and straightened, opening my mouth to say something only for him to interrupt.
“Someone sounds jealous,”
he mocked, taking me in.
“Jealous of what, exactly?”
I asked, lifting my chin. “Of the fact that your middle-aged daddy gave you an order to fuck me rather than take my money? Jealous of how fucked up in the head he has to be to order his son, blood or not, to do that to the girlfriend of some guy who got a loan to buy his wife a house?”
I shook my head. “I’m not jealous, I’m fucking disgusted. Does that get you off, baby boy?”
I cooed, his eyes flaming. “Knowing that your daddy probably wants to fuck me as much as you do? Knowing that your daddy probably has wet dreams about what you must do to me?”
He straightened, taking a step towards me before freezing in his tracks, his nostrils flaring. “Says the girl who has dirty dreams about being strung up by a serial killer and raped while he shreds your skin with broken glass,”
he growled, his eyes wild as if he were seconds away from losing all control.
My eyes widened, my heart skipping a beat as my jaw hit the floor. “You found my stories?”
“You don’t hide anything well, pup. Not one thing.”
My heart thudded, my mind spinning. “Those were private,” I hissed.
“I don’t do boundaries, especially in situations like this.”
I couldn’t catch my breath. Everything I wrote in those books, they were graphic. Things that were never supposed to leave my sanctuary. “I see how much it turns you on looking at this collar around my neck,”
I said instead, trying to redirect the conversation. “You like it. I bet you wish it was yours. Your idea. Your collar.”
Pup, he had called me. It felt deeper, somehow, as if he had put real thought into picking it. Picking it just for me.
“It was, Olivia,”
he said through his teeth.
My heart skipped, my eyes widening. “What?”
He shook his head, his veins protruding from his skin as if he were imploding trying to keep his feet planted where they were. It only made me want to push him more. I wanted him to snap. I needed him to snap. “He suggested something to tie you to us. The order was to do whatever it took. To make you realize that you couldn’t escape us, no matter where you went or how loud you screamed. That was the order. I chose everything else. Right down to the pawn resting in the hollow of your throat.”
My heart slammed, my breathing labored at the thought of him picking this out. Of seeing it and thinking it would be perfect for me. Proof that he owned me. Just like that name. ‘Pup’.
“Is that what you fantasize about?”
he went on when I didn’t respond. “Powerful, dangerous people taking what they want from you?”
I pressed myself back into the counter as he stalked towards me like a lion on the hunt, his eyes glowing, his control wavering. “It’s called consensual non-consent. It’s in a book, that’s safe. I would never want that to happen in real life!”
A pathetic half-lie.
“Says the girl who loves being tied up and whipped,”
he hummed, coming to a stop in front of me, his eyes falling to my lips only to find my eyes again. “Who begged me to take what I was owed.”
Fuck, I knew that would bite me in the ass. “I said that in the moment, it’s not what I want.”
It was what I wanted, but I didn’t need him knowing that. Not that it mattered if he read those books. My private books.
He grabbed my jaw, lifting me up until I was forced to stand on my tiptoes, my hands wrapped around his wrist. “Embrace the fucked-up parts of yourself, Olivia, I won’t allow you to do anything else. Not anymore.”
I grit my teeth, glaring at him. “You’re not in charge of me,”
I bit. “You can’t order me around like a dog.”
“Call me pup again. Put a leash on me and I’ll do whatever you want,”
I pleaded silently, my cheeks burning hot.
One corner of his lips flicked up as if he heard my innermost thoughts, and he angled his head. “I love it when you lie.”
My heart skidded, my eyes widening, a breathlessness filling me.
“Do it again,”
he ordered softly, his voice nonetheless commanding.
I searched his eyes, the world tilting on its axis. “You disgust me,”
I tried, his hand tightening around my neck as his pupils widened. “Every time I see you, I want to puke.”
“See, now that’s a good girl,”
he hummed, causing me to completely melt inside. He glanced to my lips, watching them for a few seconds, his eyes suddenly unreadable. After another second, he finally shoved himself away, releasing me to my own dizzying stand. “Go get dressed, put on the helmet, and meet me outside. I have a call to make.”
I watched after him breathless, my heart racing.
I wasn’t lying.
I wasn’t.
I glanced at the helmet on the table that I hadn’t seen walking in. he was doing it again, playing with my emotions, and I half wondered if it was part of the payments. Mental sabotage, mental fucking. I closed my eyes and released a breath. I would definitely get ready to go, but I was damn sure going to take my time, if only to mess with his mind like he was messing with mine.
I spent twenty minutes looking at my phone in my closet before putting on some leggings, a sports bra, and a loose-fitting sweater. I took another thirty minutes in my bathroom, the door locked, watching videos on my phone as I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, brushed my teeth and put on some light makeup to cover the fading bruises that my clothes didn’t cover. I didn’t feel the need to cover the horrible scars on my face. I had my doubts we were going anywhere public to do this, so there was no point in wasting my time.
Not to mention that I was getting tired of how long it took to wash off the layers of makeup I used to cover them, especially since they never completely disappeared behind the expensive products anyway.
I put on four different sneakers before settling on a white pair, picking a black scarf to wrap around my neck, and finally, after a little over an hour, I grabbed my keys and headed out the door, Lucy upset that she didn’t get to go with me.
Everett was watching the door with absolute rage in his eyes.
I lifted my brows at him and locked the door behind me. “Ready,”
I hummed, prancing past him. Yeah, that look was well worth it.
I made it halfway down the sidewalk before he appeared at my side. “Evie told me to play nice,”
he threatened, causing my steps to faulter and my confidence to diminish, “but don’t you forget that I know how to press buttons too.”
I knew that. He’s the one that started this.
He gave me a once over before pulling my scarf off and tossing it in the yard. “No.”
He passed by me and headed for the bike he parked on the street.
I fought the urge to touch the collar, my expression hardening. He slid on his helmet, mine gripped in my hand, and got on his bike, waiting for me without looking back.
My heart was racing. I could do this. I could handle Everett. He was a dick. I could be a dick right back. I had enough pent-up anger to last me a lifetime, and he was the perfect punching back.
I straightened my shoulders and headed for the bike. I slid my helmet on and swung my leg over, sliding against him with ease.
My pussy throbbed at just the feeling of him between my legs, and I hated myself for it. It was a payment plan, nothing else. Besides, why would I want anything more to do with him than fucking him anyway? He was a complete asshole.
But it had been two weeks since my last real fix, and honestly? I was fucking desperate, but not for him. Just for anything. Anything at all. Steven would always be right in that aspect. I was a whore, and even the slightest amount of attention from Everett was enough to make me forget all the bad and beg for his dick, and I loathed him for that.
But fuck, how was I supposed to ignore it when he said things like ‘now that’s a good girl’, and looked at me with those eyes of his?
I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned in as the bike roared to life. How could I win the battle of wits if he was already so far ahead of me?
He eased us back into the street before we took off, causing my stomach to enter my throat and my body to tighten involuntarily around his.
After about three minutes, though, I found myself relaxing into him and the bike as we rode through the city. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but clearly, it wasn’t close. If I were being truly honest with myself, I would have to admit that I liked riding on the bike. Despite being more vulnerable to death than I was in a vehicle, I felt somehow safer.
Perhaps it was just Everett. Perhaps I had this delusion that he was so terrifying, nobody, not even the assholes of the city, would dare try and get too close to him for fear of their own lives. Perhaps I was delusional enough to believe that he emitted some sort of death aura that caused people to keep their distance and I, a mere little writer, had somehow managed to step into that aura and was now safe from all the crazies of this world.
But I wasn’t delusional.
I was trying very hard not to be that delusional.
But fuck, the way he held me sometimes, the way he lost all ounce of control, the way he hummed certain things as if he were discovering a song within his heart he didn’t know he was capable of hearing.
The vibrations of the motorcycle were so soothing, and the feeling of his body was comforting in a way I hadn’t quite expected, and for a second, just a moment, I allowed myself to close my eyes and wonder how it would feel if instead of a gun range, we were going to dinner.
Or maybe to a play, he seemed like the type, when he wasn’t angry and acting like a complete dick, that would prefer a play over a movie.
I loved plays.
I loved the raw emotion of them. And maybe during this particular play, he would feel the need to reach over and touch me. Touch my knee, my hand, just to make sure I was still there for whatever reason, and then he would retract because it wasn’t quite his thing.
Gentleness.
But it would have been enough.
And then after the play, we would drive somewhere deep and dark, maybe deep into the woods around Pikes Peak, taking one of those trails you weren’t supposed to take, getting lost in the trees with no way out.
And perhaps he would turn it into one of his games. A game of hide and seek. The King seeking the pawn he wished so terribly to destroy.
Maybe he would catch me hiding behind a tree, pleading for my life, and maybe, just maybe, he would wrap a rope around my throat and drag me back to his little camp where he would string me to a pole and pull out the whip he had hidden in his coat.
My grip tightened around him involuntarily, the images running wild as my thighs tightened and my pussy throbbed. I missed the way he fucked me.
Maybe he would tell me that I had been a bad girl. That I had run away when I shouldn’t have. That I deserved to be punished for the wrong that I had done.
Maybe he would whip me until my skin welted, grabbing my jaw, telling me that I deserved to be punished. “You shouldn’t have done that, pup. You shouldn’t have crossed me—”
The engine suddenly revved, jerking me out of my little fantasy back to reality, my heart racing.
I realized that my hands had slid down his torso, that my body was so wrapped around his, my legs had lifted slightly just to get a closer grip.
I gasped, releasing him and shoving myself back violently, only for him to reach back, grab my hand and jerk me back around him.
He turned his head just enough for me to see more of that black visor before turning back to the road, squeezing my hand almost painfully.
I locked my arms back around him before he finally let go, his body now tense.
My own body felt far too hot, and I was sure my cheeks were blazing. Fuck me and my imagination.
The curse of being a writer.
I remained very aware of my surroundings the rest of the drive. Counting lights and stop signs, just to keep my mind from drifting. It was embarrassing. I shouldn’t have let him get that much control over my mind, but how could I not? He had ‘taken what he was owed’ and with that, he had stolen a piece of me that he now owned.
I hated that as much as I found comfort in it.
20 minutes later we finally pulled into a parking lot to a building that felt remote.
There were trees surrounding it, and I hadn’t seen another building in the last three miles.
The parking lot only held three other vehicles, and once the engine was shut off, I could hear distant gunshots echoing through the woods.
I slid off the bike, a little unsteady and very aware of how damp my underwear now was.
I turned away from him immediately before taking off my helmet and taking in the small building. Clearly the range was a little bit of a hike. The guy must have trusted these people not to steal the guns. Good on him, I’d be anxious about it constantly.
Everett walked by me without a word, and I frowned when I saw his mask firmly on. “They let you wear that in here?”
I asked, quickly dropping the helmet on the bike seat beside his and joining his side.
“I know him.”
My eyes narrowed, unsure if his cool tone was because of what happened earlier or because he didn’t want to dive into it further. “Right,”
I said, glancing towards the trees, “because you know everyone, and you get special treatment everywhere. Talk about a silver spoon,”
I muttered.
Everett’s hand was around my throat in a second. He jerked me towards him, his eyes blazing behind that mask, catching me completely off-guard. Not because of his actions, per-say, but because of the fact that what I had said caused something this severe. I had said far worse before, but this? This kind of response after a comment about knowing people, it was abrupt, and it had my panic level shooting towards the skies.
“If you want to push buttons today, go ahead and push them. Test me. See where it gets you.”
I met his glare with one of my own, although I was fighting for my life with the way his hand was cutting off my oxygen. “You’re not original, Everett, I know exactly where it would lead.”
Okay, so he was on edge today. If I decided to continue pushing him, I needed to use a gentler touch, unless I wanted to rue the consequences.
I might want to rue those consequences.
His pupils widened, his hand tightening around my throat, forcing my hands around his wrist, my eyes filling. “Don’t say that.”
Spots danced in front of my eyes. “It’s your name,”
I rasped. “Unless you want me to come up with a quippy nickname for you.”
I swallowed against his palm. I was going to faint before we even made it inside. “How about Fucky? Oh,”
I wheezed, digging my nails into the skin between his riding glove and leather jacket, “I know. Limp Dickerson.”
I grunted, his fingers digging into my esophagus.
I coughed, the world turning hazy. “Master,”
I panted, losing strength in my hands quickly. My head was pounding, my heart thudding. I was going to lose consciousness, I was going to—
He released me.
I inhaled sharply, coughing violently, stumbling a few steps when he stepped away from me.
I rubbed my neck, glaring at him angrily, his eyes suddenly unreadable. “Dick,”
I rasped hoarsely.
His jaw feathered and he turned away from me. “Let’s go.”
I straightened, glancing around to see if anyone saw, but of course, we were alone. With a roll of the eyes, I followed after him. I don’t know why I said it, but I hated that I did, and I hated that look I thought I saw right before he stepped away.
It had to have been due to lack of oxygen. The way his expression filled with a sudden feral need, that couldn’t have been real.
I followed him through the door into a quiet room with a long bar-like desk sitting across from us. Behind that desk was a wall of guns. Any gun you could imagine, from handguns to assault rifles.
My heart skipped a beat seeing them. I remembered what it had felt like with one inside me, but I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like actually holding one. To feel that…that power in my hand. To feel the kick back when I pulled the trigger, to watch as it slammed through a target.
Fuck.
“Hey, Bobby. Give me a .45 ACP.”
I found the eyes of an older man, round, faded hazel eyes, nearly bald head. For some reason he was exactly who I pictured sitting behind the counter. He glanced behind Everett straight to me, eyeing me up and down. “Alright,”
he said, straightening.
I came to a stop a few feet behind Everett, using him as a shield between me and that man as I studied the room.
Everett ‘knew the guy’, so I had my doubts that there would be any paperwork or money exchanged for this. Off the books, I would have written down. Untraceable.
So if he took me into those woods to kill me, there would be nothing tying him to this place.
Good thing I wasn’t his target. Not today, at least.
Bobby set the gun and the bullets down on the counter and nodded. “Stay safe.”
Everett grabbed the gun and bullets and nodded his thanks before turning back to me, only to pause when he saw where I was standing.
His eyebrows furrowed and he glanced to Bobby and back, only causing my own eyes to harden.
I had scars on my face and a collar around my neck. I didn’t need people staring at me as if I were some goddamn clown. He was looking into it far too much
After a second, he nodded in a general direction and I followed it, finding a door at the other end of the room just as he walked by me.
I sent one last glance back towards the man, who was eyeing me, only for him to freeze when he caught sight of my face.
I frowned and followed after Everett to the side door. This was my face now. Eventually, I would have to get used to it.