Cobra (Blue Angel Security Book 1), page 41
“Nah, he’s pretty secure in our relationship. He knows I’ve only got eyes for him.”
“As he should be. I’m sending you the GPS directions that Cobra insisted Phoenix take this morning. Cobra had you grab a weapon from his safe, correct? Or do we need to stop by the warehouse and get you outfitted?”
“I’m good. I have my own. Cobra did offer for me to grab a piece from his safe, but my man makes sure I’m covered. He’s a bit protective, too.” As we climb back into my truck, I look at my watch and shake my head. “Alright, we should probably get going. We don’t have much longer before Cobra’s plane will be here. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to tell him we still don’t have his girl.”
“Definitely not,” he says, slapping my shoulder. “Let’s move out.”
Before we know it, we’ve left the city limits and are heading up the final route that should’ve taken Phoenix and Jaycee to the cabin. Unfortunately, the road has so far proven to be a worthless search. The only bright spot for this whole thing is at least the sun is still sort of helping us. As I round a very sharp curve, Jackal hits the dash just as he shouts at me.
“Stop! Back up. I think I see something,” he says confusing me. The only thing I can see is the damn sun nearly blinding me. Everything is being reflected because of that giant ball of fire. Regardless, I do as he instructed and back up. The car behind us flips me off as he speeds past me, but I pay him no mind. I’m searching for whatever Jackal saw that he thought warranted us stopping on the shoulder.
“Stop the truck!” he yells at me getting out before I’m fully stopped.
Curious as to what he’s seen, I follow him out. “The guard-rail is scratched, and it looks like there might be black transfer paint on them. Isn’t Jaycee’s Jeep black?”
“Yeah, it is and look, there’s fresh skid marks too.”
“And broken glass, not much, but there’s some,” Jackal says as he looks around the scene. He walks slightly ahead of me, but soon he bellows to me.
“Liam! Liam get over here!” I rush to catch up with him, when I see what I believe to be shattered pieces of her brake lights. As we look ahead we can’t see any other signs that the Jeep moved. It’s like this literally was the end of the line. “Well, I think we may have found where they were intercepted,” he says, looking at the tracks just as I had done a few seconds ago.
“I agree,” I say, shaking my head. “Something’s not right. It’s like Phoenix, Jaycee and the Jeep just vanished. There’s no trace of them from this point. How the fuck does a whole fucking vehicle, just disappear?”
“My guess? Whoever took them had help and most likely a tow truck to remove it from the site. That’s what my gut is screaming at me, anyway.”
Scanning the shoulder, neither one of us sees anything new as Jackal looks off in the distance. “Since we haven’t seen anything else to add to the growing trail of evidence, I suggest we finish the track to the cabin that Jaycee and the girls were supposed to be at.”
“And if we don’t find anything?”
“Then we call my team in for a group meeting. One way or another, we will find them. You have my word, Liam, we will find them.”
Eventually, we pull back into the warehouse’s yard, frustrated and pissed. “All I gotta say is that your team had better start finding us some answers. I do not want to be the one to tell Cobra, when he lands, that we’re still no closer to finding his girl.”
“I know, you’ve already voiced your opinion on that matter. For the record, I don’t want to either.”
“As long as we’re in agreement,” I attempt to laugh as I look at a building which houses his team. A team, I pray can find the answers we’re searching for and fast.
“Go on back to Cobra’s. I’m sure that pooch of theirs needs to go out. I’m sure Cobra will be in touch with you shortly. That’s after he reams my ass out for not finding his girl yet. You sure you don’t want to tell him?”
“Not a chance. Make sure one of you calls me the minute you know something,” I say as he walks into BA’s.
As Jackal walks away, I finally let my guard down. It’s been a fucked up day. In the words of this new generation to be exact it’s been fucked up beyond repair. I just hope that statement isn’t really true. I don’t know what I’d do, what any of us will do if something happens to her.
“Where are you, Jaycee?” I ask aloud as I pick up my cell and see Clayton has been texting me for a while now.
Oh, shit. Signal one big ass chewing for this partner.
I smile connecting my bluetooth and call my now very pissed off partner. “It’s about fucking time you called me dickhead. I’ve been going out of my mind with worry.”
“I’m fine baby, I’m—”
“I know where you are. What I want to know is why are you at Blue Angels? Did something happen to Cobra or Shadow?”
“No, Cobra and Shadow are fine, and how did you know I was at BA’s?”
“From the tracker you carry on your keys, dumb ass.”
“Clayton?”
“Listen, don’t be mad at me, but remember last year when Kylee got upset with us and took off to Maine for those two weeks and no one could find her or Jaycee?”
“Yeah, I remember. She was in so much trouble when they finally got home. I thought your mama would half kill her.”
“So did I. When she got home, I purchased trackers to go on each of your keyrings. With the app on my phone, I can track any of you anywhere in the world.”
“So you can literally follow me and Kylee anywhere? That’s kind of creepy, baby, I understand it, but still.”
“Jaycee has one too. Don’t tell Cobra. I need to remove her tracker. Thank you for reminding me. The last thing I need is for Cobra to kill me for tracking his girl.”
“You can track Jaycee? As in right now?”
“Yep. Why, you want to go crash their weekend away?”
“Nope. I want to rescue her. Clayton, she and Phoenix are missing. No one has seen or heard from her since this morning. If she has her tracker on her, we just might be able to end this tonight.”
“Okay, Liam, I’ll send you her last known coordinates. Wait for me. I’ll meet you there.”
“Clayton, she’s already been missing for too long. I have to go get her. I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to her.”
“I’m telling you this is the most reckless thing you’ve ever done if you go in there alone. You need to wait for me, or go upstairs and tell someone from BA’s what’s going on and let them go with you.”
“No, we have no idea what shape or condition she’s going to be in. I’m not letting them see her like that. I’m going. I have to do my best to keep her safe.”
“Just be careful, baby. Like you just said, I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to you. I love you, Liam.”
“I love you too, Clayton. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Even if my boyfriend is officially being classified as a creepy stalker.”
“A stalker that hopefully is going to save our friend’s life. Go get her, Liam. I’ll see you soon.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
49
JAYCEE
It’s time we got reacquainted…
Those words play on a constant loop in my mind. Like fucking hell we will. There has to be a way out of this mess. I didn’t survive two bullet wounds, witness protection, and countless other shit in the last seven years, to die alone in an abandoned cabin at the hands of my evil ex-husband. Nope. No way. Not this girl. She isn’t throwing in the towel just yet.
With his hand on my back, Dalton controls my movements as he pushes me down a narrow hallway. “I didn’t have any plans to use this room, so it definitely isn’t up to your standards. Though, considering the present company you’ve been keeping these days, this might be right up your alley,” he says, opening the door to a dark and musty room.
Knowing what I know about him, I keep my mouth shut. I’ve already seen the evidence of his temper. The two bodies in the other room just further prove his instability. Even after all these years, he hasn’t changed. If anything, he might have gotten worse. As he forces me inside the small room, he flips a switch, illuminating it. I glance around the room, he claims he had no plans for using. Dalton has always been obsessed with cleanliness. And seeing this room coated in dust, spider webs, and filth covering the windows is enough to convince me, for once, he’s being honest with me. “It’s not the Ritz, but it’ll serve its purpose for us,” he says, pushing me into another chair.
My gaze continues to dart around the room as I take in the makeshift table he has against the window. As he sits down facing me, he removes a length of rope from his pocket as well as Phoenix’s knife. Toying with it in his hands, he flips it over and over with his thumb as he eyes me. “I wonder what the MIC stands for?” he taunts me as I stare silently ahead.
“No response, Feebs? Maybe, I can guess? How about my inner cock, or move into cock? Oh, how about my inferior cock?” he laughs at me.
“You thought you were so clever when your worthless bodyguard gave you that knife. Robert had it removed from you before he even carried you into the cabin. It was kind of pathetic, really. That guard of yours went down easier than your dear sweet ol’ daddy did. Although, to his credit, the miserable old fucker was trying to protect your mama.”
I swallow down the bile threatening to erupt as I look across the room at the man I once promised both him and God that I’d love til death did us part. How could I have ever even loved him, let alone make such a promise? There’s only one logical conclusion for why I married this bastard, love really is blind.
“What’s the matter, Feebs, don’t want to think about the failure that your daddy was? He couldn’t even save your mama when he had the chance. He was weak, just like his poor excuse of a daughter is.”
“Fuck you,” I roar. “You’re the only one that’s pathetic. You had to conspire with two assholes and murder an innocent couple to get their money. Well, Dalton, where is that money?”
Angrily, he rises from his chair, rushing at me. His fingers dig deep into my jawline as he wraps his hand tightly around neck, and I gasp. Yanking me upwards with a single hand, be backs me into a wall, pinning me in place. “By the end of tonight, it’ll be on its way to my account, and you’ll be laying on the floor with the other two incompetent idiots.”
“You’re half right,” I spit in his face. “Because if I’m dead, so are your chances of ever finding my money. I’ll never tell you where it is,” I rasp out, glaring at him.
“We’ll see. By the time tonight ends, you’ll be begging me to kill you. That is, right after I fuck that sweet little cunt of yours. I’ve been dreaming of that hole for the last seven years. If I have any regrets, it’s that I didn’t fuck you the last time I had the chance to,” he tells me, slamming his nasty, vile lips down on mine. Remnants of day-old cigars seep into my tastebuds as he forces his tongue into my mouth. Tamping down my nausea, an idea quickly forms.
Thank you, Liam, for all your lessons.
I allow him to kiss me deeper, waiting one second, then another, before I clamp down hard on his tongue with my teeth. Blood instantly gushes from his mouth and pools into mine, the warm copper taste making me want to hurl as he rears back and slams me against the wall. I spit his own blood in his face right before he backhands me, causing me to slump to the floor. With blood still oozing out of his mouth, he roughly pulls me up from the floor before dragging me back to the chair. As he shoves me onto my ass, he reaches over, grabbing Phoenix’s knife he left on the table. Clutched in his hands, he pops the blade open as he brings it just below my ear and gently trails it down and around my neck.
I close my eyes using one of the coping mechanisms Clayton taught me, removing myself from my current situation. Suddenly, warm liquid lands between my legs, soaking the thin material I’m wearing, and I realize he spit on me. My eyes instantly snap to his. “You don’t get to leave my side mentally or physically until I’m ready to let you go,” he slurs as blood continues to drip from the corner of his mouth. Carefully, he presses the blade into my neck causing the tip to pierce my skin. The instant sharp pain radiates downwards through my neck. Slowly, the sting burns away as I hear his mumbled words call out to me. “I wonder,” he taunts, as he spits again between my legs, “how much blood and spit it’ll take to soak your cunt,” he tells me shifting to the front of me as he moves his free hand to my breast and cups it. “They’ve definitely filled out since you left. I bet they’ll feel amazing in my mouth.” His sadistic eyes zero in on my chest as he rips my shirt the rest of the way open and pinches my nipple. And still, I sit unmoving. He won’t get what he’s wanting from me tonight.
“I wonder how your guard would feel knowing the knife he gave you to protect yourself, ended up hurting you more than I originally planned? Do you have any idea how easy it would be to slit your throat right now and watch you bleed out? How satisfying?” he goads me as he closes Phoenix’s knife and slides it into his pocket.
Not giving him the satisfaction of seeing how his words really affect me, I keep my mask firmly in place. Liam and Clayton didn’t spend years teaching me how to be their warrior princess for me to shrivel up and fold when it got tough. Abruptly, he breaks out laughing.
“Maybe that little Neanderthal of yours did teach you a thing or two, after all,” he says as I notice a few spots of dry blood near the corners of his mouth.
“Oh, he taught me plenty, but one thing is for sure, Dalton. There is nothing little about Luca. Absolutely nothing.”
“Except for his IQ. He must be dumber than a box of rocks, especially if he’s willingly with you. I guess in a way I owe him a thank you, but unfortunately, I won’t be around to thank him for helping me secure my money.”
“You’re stupid if you think anyone knows where it is. And even if Luca knew how to access it, the last thing he’d do was help you find it.”
“No, Feebs, you’ll do that for yourself tonight. But have you wondered how I found you? How I was able to stage that ambush this morning?”
Bastard.
He knows me as well as I know him. He knows exactly how far he can string the bait before I snap and will need to know what happened.
“I can see the wheels turning in your head. You’d love to know, wouldn’t you, Tiger?” he needles me.
Tears well in my eyes that I refuse to release as the hidden message seeps into my subconscious.
Somebody close to me has betrayed me. Again. Have they betrayed Luca as well? And, if so, who? Taken aback by his halfhearted admission, I don’t know how to proceed from here. I lower my head, blocking Dalton from my view and silently wonder, who can I trust?
“Now this is the Feebs I know,” he menacingly laughs beside me. “The one who is more concerned about others than her own safety. Although you shouldn’t worry about that. You won’t be breathing much longer.”
“The woman you know,” I say, snapping my eyes to his, “is dead. She died the day you tried to kill her. As for this woman—”
“She’s going to look amazing wrapped around my cock as soon as she tells me what I want to know.”
“What, that you’re the biggest mistake I’ve ever made?”
“No, the biggest mistake you ever made was testifying against your own brother and me. But that’s okay, we’re about to rectify that mistake,” he says as he reaches forward and harshly pulls me off the chair. At least this time it wasn’t by my neck. With a wicked grin, he wraps his hand around my wrist, tugging me closer to him. My fear rises quickly, and I yank my arm back. Surprisingly, he releases me, and I crash to the floor. Instantly, his wicked grin morphs into a full sadistic laugh as he stares at me laying on the floor trembling.
“Much better,” he says as my eyes dart around the room, searching frantically for something, anything, to stop this madman. “Change of plans, darling. You look too tempting to resist. We’ll chat later. Who knows, maybe you’ll be more amendable afterwards,” he says, gripping the top of my pajamas bottoms and ripping them down my legs, baring my most intimate part to himself. Instantly my eyes fill with tears as the memories from all the years ago pour out. Only now it’s Dalton, who’s standing over me, ready to take something from me that can never be undone. Sweat drips from his forehead. He’s so pumped up with adrenaline as he places his hand on legs that he’s barely cognizant as kick at him visiously, missing his cock by centimeters.
“Uh-huh, we can’t be having any of that,” he chides me as he reaches into his pocket, pulling out Phoenix’s knife, and pops it open. Terrified of what is coming next, I can’t get my body under control. Panic rises as my mind plunges me into the future, seeing his cock ripping me apart.
“No, no, no,” I chant fearfully as I place my hands on the floor and crawl backwards. Unfortunately, I didn’t think it through because he simply prowls forward, following me until I hit a wall.
“Like I told you, there’s no escaping me. Not tonight, not ever. Oh, how I wish your brother and mine could see how the mighty have fallen. As much as they would’ve liked to have seen you crumble when you got the pictures, courtesy of Bryant, they would love seeing you literally crawling away like your dog. This is priceless. I bet you wish Nyx was here with you now, don’t you, Feebs? That beast never went anywhere without you or your fucking Wolfman,” he baits me, waiting for the hook to catch.
Unexpectedly, a realization hits, we weren’t betrayed by anyone. He fucking bugged my dog.
“You fucking bastard!” I seethe as laughs uncontrollably.
“You caught that one, huh? I personally think it was pretty ingenious. I really do need to thank Hawk for that one. Your fucking team was so focused on checking the houses and the cameras surrounding you, but no one thought to check the one thing that went everywhere with you. Nyx. He was my best informant, even if he never knew it. Hawk wasn’t bad either. Not quite as useful as your dog, but still he was useful. I hope he’s enjoying his gift,” he says, unbuckling his belt. I can’t even process his last words as I watch his hands grip his metal buckle, sliding it effortlessly loose.
“As he should be. I’m sending you the GPS directions that Cobra insisted Phoenix take this morning. Cobra had you grab a weapon from his safe, correct? Or do we need to stop by the warehouse and get you outfitted?”
“I’m good. I have my own. Cobra did offer for me to grab a piece from his safe, but my man makes sure I’m covered. He’s a bit protective, too.” As we climb back into my truck, I look at my watch and shake my head. “Alright, we should probably get going. We don’t have much longer before Cobra’s plane will be here. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to tell him we still don’t have his girl.”
“Definitely not,” he says, slapping my shoulder. “Let’s move out.”
Before we know it, we’ve left the city limits and are heading up the final route that should’ve taken Phoenix and Jaycee to the cabin. Unfortunately, the road has so far proven to be a worthless search. The only bright spot for this whole thing is at least the sun is still sort of helping us. As I round a very sharp curve, Jackal hits the dash just as he shouts at me.
“Stop! Back up. I think I see something,” he says confusing me. The only thing I can see is the damn sun nearly blinding me. Everything is being reflected because of that giant ball of fire. Regardless, I do as he instructed and back up. The car behind us flips me off as he speeds past me, but I pay him no mind. I’m searching for whatever Jackal saw that he thought warranted us stopping on the shoulder.
“Stop the truck!” he yells at me getting out before I’m fully stopped.
Curious as to what he’s seen, I follow him out. “The guard-rail is scratched, and it looks like there might be black transfer paint on them. Isn’t Jaycee’s Jeep black?”
“Yeah, it is and look, there’s fresh skid marks too.”
“And broken glass, not much, but there’s some,” Jackal says as he looks around the scene. He walks slightly ahead of me, but soon he bellows to me.
“Liam! Liam get over here!” I rush to catch up with him, when I see what I believe to be shattered pieces of her brake lights. As we look ahead we can’t see any other signs that the Jeep moved. It’s like this literally was the end of the line. “Well, I think we may have found where they were intercepted,” he says, looking at the tracks just as I had done a few seconds ago.
“I agree,” I say, shaking my head. “Something’s not right. It’s like Phoenix, Jaycee and the Jeep just vanished. There’s no trace of them from this point. How the fuck does a whole fucking vehicle, just disappear?”
“My guess? Whoever took them had help and most likely a tow truck to remove it from the site. That’s what my gut is screaming at me, anyway.”
Scanning the shoulder, neither one of us sees anything new as Jackal looks off in the distance. “Since we haven’t seen anything else to add to the growing trail of evidence, I suggest we finish the track to the cabin that Jaycee and the girls were supposed to be at.”
“And if we don’t find anything?”
“Then we call my team in for a group meeting. One way or another, we will find them. You have my word, Liam, we will find them.”
Eventually, we pull back into the warehouse’s yard, frustrated and pissed. “All I gotta say is that your team had better start finding us some answers. I do not want to be the one to tell Cobra, when he lands, that we’re still no closer to finding his girl.”
“I know, you’ve already voiced your opinion on that matter. For the record, I don’t want to either.”
“As long as we’re in agreement,” I attempt to laugh as I look at a building which houses his team. A team, I pray can find the answers we’re searching for and fast.
“Go on back to Cobra’s. I’m sure that pooch of theirs needs to go out. I’m sure Cobra will be in touch with you shortly. That’s after he reams my ass out for not finding his girl yet. You sure you don’t want to tell him?”
“Not a chance. Make sure one of you calls me the minute you know something,” I say as he walks into BA’s.
As Jackal walks away, I finally let my guard down. It’s been a fucked up day. In the words of this new generation to be exact it’s been fucked up beyond repair. I just hope that statement isn’t really true. I don’t know what I’d do, what any of us will do if something happens to her.
“Where are you, Jaycee?” I ask aloud as I pick up my cell and see Clayton has been texting me for a while now.
Oh, shit. Signal one big ass chewing for this partner.
I smile connecting my bluetooth and call my now very pissed off partner. “It’s about fucking time you called me dickhead. I’ve been going out of my mind with worry.”
“I’m fine baby, I’m—”
“I know where you are. What I want to know is why are you at Blue Angels? Did something happen to Cobra or Shadow?”
“No, Cobra and Shadow are fine, and how did you know I was at BA’s?”
“From the tracker you carry on your keys, dumb ass.”
“Clayton?”
“Listen, don’t be mad at me, but remember last year when Kylee got upset with us and took off to Maine for those two weeks and no one could find her or Jaycee?”
“Yeah, I remember. She was in so much trouble when they finally got home. I thought your mama would half kill her.”
“So did I. When she got home, I purchased trackers to go on each of your keyrings. With the app on my phone, I can track any of you anywhere in the world.”
“So you can literally follow me and Kylee anywhere? That’s kind of creepy, baby, I understand it, but still.”
“Jaycee has one too. Don’t tell Cobra. I need to remove her tracker. Thank you for reminding me. The last thing I need is for Cobra to kill me for tracking his girl.”
“You can track Jaycee? As in right now?”
“Yep. Why, you want to go crash their weekend away?”
“Nope. I want to rescue her. Clayton, she and Phoenix are missing. No one has seen or heard from her since this morning. If she has her tracker on her, we just might be able to end this tonight.”
“Okay, Liam, I’ll send you her last known coordinates. Wait for me. I’ll meet you there.”
“Clayton, she’s already been missing for too long. I have to go get her. I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to her.”
“I’m telling you this is the most reckless thing you’ve ever done if you go in there alone. You need to wait for me, or go upstairs and tell someone from BA’s what’s going on and let them go with you.”
“No, we have no idea what shape or condition she’s going to be in. I’m not letting them see her like that. I’m going. I have to do my best to keep her safe.”
“Just be careful, baby. Like you just said, I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to you. I love you, Liam.”
“I love you too, Clayton. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Even if my boyfriend is officially being classified as a creepy stalker.”
“A stalker that hopefully is going to save our friend’s life. Go get her, Liam. I’ll see you soon.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
49
JAYCEE
It’s time we got reacquainted…
Those words play on a constant loop in my mind. Like fucking hell we will. There has to be a way out of this mess. I didn’t survive two bullet wounds, witness protection, and countless other shit in the last seven years, to die alone in an abandoned cabin at the hands of my evil ex-husband. Nope. No way. Not this girl. She isn’t throwing in the towel just yet.
With his hand on my back, Dalton controls my movements as he pushes me down a narrow hallway. “I didn’t have any plans to use this room, so it definitely isn’t up to your standards. Though, considering the present company you’ve been keeping these days, this might be right up your alley,” he says, opening the door to a dark and musty room.
Knowing what I know about him, I keep my mouth shut. I’ve already seen the evidence of his temper. The two bodies in the other room just further prove his instability. Even after all these years, he hasn’t changed. If anything, he might have gotten worse. As he forces me inside the small room, he flips a switch, illuminating it. I glance around the room, he claims he had no plans for using. Dalton has always been obsessed with cleanliness. And seeing this room coated in dust, spider webs, and filth covering the windows is enough to convince me, for once, he’s being honest with me. “It’s not the Ritz, but it’ll serve its purpose for us,” he says, pushing me into another chair.
My gaze continues to dart around the room as I take in the makeshift table he has against the window. As he sits down facing me, he removes a length of rope from his pocket as well as Phoenix’s knife. Toying with it in his hands, he flips it over and over with his thumb as he eyes me. “I wonder what the MIC stands for?” he taunts me as I stare silently ahead.
“No response, Feebs? Maybe, I can guess? How about my inner cock, or move into cock? Oh, how about my inferior cock?” he laughs at me.
“You thought you were so clever when your worthless bodyguard gave you that knife. Robert had it removed from you before he even carried you into the cabin. It was kind of pathetic, really. That guard of yours went down easier than your dear sweet ol’ daddy did. Although, to his credit, the miserable old fucker was trying to protect your mama.”
I swallow down the bile threatening to erupt as I look across the room at the man I once promised both him and God that I’d love til death did us part. How could I have ever even loved him, let alone make such a promise? There’s only one logical conclusion for why I married this bastard, love really is blind.
“What’s the matter, Feebs, don’t want to think about the failure that your daddy was? He couldn’t even save your mama when he had the chance. He was weak, just like his poor excuse of a daughter is.”
“Fuck you,” I roar. “You’re the only one that’s pathetic. You had to conspire with two assholes and murder an innocent couple to get their money. Well, Dalton, where is that money?”
Angrily, he rises from his chair, rushing at me. His fingers dig deep into my jawline as he wraps his hand tightly around neck, and I gasp. Yanking me upwards with a single hand, be backs me into a wall, pinning me in place. “By the end of tonight, it’ll be on its way to my account, and you’ll be laying on the floor with the other two incompetent idiots.”
“You’re half right,” I spit in his face. “Because if I’m dead, so are your chances of ever finding my money. I’ll never tell you where it is,” I rasp out, glaring at him.
“We’ll see. By the time tonight ends, you’ll be begging me to kill you. That is, right after I fuck that sweet little cunt of yours. I’ve been dreaming of that hole for the last seven years. If I have any regrets, it’s that I didn’t fuck you the last time I had the chance to,” he tells me, slamming his nasty, vile lips down on mine. Remnants of day-old cigars seep into my tastebuds as he forces his tongue into my mouth. Tamping down my nausea, an idea quickly forms.
Thank you, Liam, for all your lessons.
I allow him to kiss me deeper, waiting one second, then another, before I clamp down hard on his tongue with my teeth. Blood instantly gushes from his mouth and pools into mine, the warm copper taste making me want to hurl as he rears back and slams me against the wall. I spit his own blood in his face right before he backhands me, causing me to slump to the floor. With blood still oozing out of his mouth, he roughly pulls me up from the floor before dragging me back to the chair. As he shoves me onto my ass, he reaches over, grabbing Phoenix’s knife he left on the table. Clutched in his hands, he pops the blade open as he brings it just below my ear and gently trails it down and around my neck.
I close my eyes using one of the coping mechanisms Clayton taught me, removing myself from my current situation. Suddenly, warm liquid lands between my legs, soaking the thin material I’m wearing, and I realize he spit on me. My eyes instantly snap to his. “You don’t get to leave my side mentally or physically until I’m ready to let you go,” he slurs as blood continues to drip from the corner of his mouth. Carefully, he presses the blade into my neck causing the tip to pierce my skin. The instant sharp pain radiates downwards through my neck. Slowly, the sting burns away as I hear his mumbled words call out to me. “I wonder,” he taunts, as he spits again between my legs, “how much blood and spit it’ll take to soak your cunt,” he tells me shifting to the front of me as he moves his free hand to my breast and cups it. “They’ve definitely filled out since you left. I bet they’ll feel amazing in my mouth.” His sadistic eyes zero in on my chest as he rips my shirt the rest of the way open and pinches my nipple. And still, I sit unmoving. He won’t get what he’s wanting from me tonight.
“I wonder how your guard would feel knowing the knife he gave you to protect yourself, ended up hurting you more than I originally planned? Do you have any idea how easy it would be to slit your throat right now and watch you bleed out? How satisfying?” he goads me as he closes Phoenix’s knife and slides it into his pocket.
Not giving him the satisfaction of seeing how his words really affect me, I keep my mask firmly in place. Liam and Clayton didn’t spend years teaching me how to be their warrior princess for me to shrivel up and fold when it got tough. Abruptly, he breaks out laughing.
“Maybe that little Neanderthal of yours did teach you a thing or two, after all,” he says as I notice a few spots of dry blood near the corners of his mouth.
“Oh, he taught me plenty, but one thing is for sure, Dalton. There is nothing little about Luca. Absolutely nothing.”
“Except for his IQ. He must be dumber than a box of rocks, especially if he’s willingly with you. I guess in a way I owe him a thank you, but unfortunately, I won’t be around to thank him for helping me secure my money.”
“You’re stupid if you think anyone knows where it is. And even if Luca knew how to access it, the last thing he’d do was help you find it.”
“No, Feebs, you’ll do that for yourself tonight. But have you wondered how I found you? How I was able to stage that ambush this morning?”
Bastard.
He knows me as well as I know him. He knows exactly how far he can string the bait before I snap and will need to know what happened.
“I can see the wheels turning in your head. You’d love to know, wouldn’t you, Tiger?” he needles me.
Tears well in my eyes that I refuse to release as the hidden message seeps into my subconscious.
Somebody close to me has betrayed me. Again. Have they betrayed Luca as well? And, if so, who? Taken aback by his halfhearted admission, I don’t know how to proceed from here. I lower my head, blocking Dalton from my view and silently wonder, who can I trust?
“Now this is the Feebs I know,” he menacingly laughs beside me. “The one who is more concerned about others than her own safety. Although you shouldn’t worry about that. You won’t be breathing much longer.”
“The woman you know,” I say, snapping my eyes to his, “is dead. She died the day you tried to kill her. As for this woman—”
“She’s going to look amazing wrapped around my cock as soon as she tells me what I want to know.”
“What, that you’re the biggest mistake I’ve ever made?”
“No, the biggest mistake you ever made was testifying against your own brother and me. But that’s okay, we’re about to rectify that mistake,” he says as he reaches forward and harshly pulls me off the chair. At least this time it wasn’t by my neck. With a wicked grin, he wraps his hand around my wrist, tugging me closer to him. My fear rises quickly, and I yank my arm back. Surprisingly, he releases me, and I crash to the floor. Instantly, his wicked grin morphs into a full sadistic laugh as he stares at me laying on the floor trembling.
“Much better,” he says as my eyes dart around the room, searching frantically for something, anything, to stop this madman. “Change of plans, darling. You look too tempting to resist. We’ll chat later. Who knows, maybe you’ll be more amendable afterwards,” he says, gripping the top of my pajamas bottoms and ripping them down my legs, baring my most intimate part to himself. Instantly my eyes fill with tears as the memories from all the years ago pour out. Only now it’s Dalton, who’s standing over me, ready to take something from me that can never be undone. Sweat drips from his forehead. He’s so pumped up with adrenaline as he places his hand on legs that he’s barely cognizant as kick at him visiously, missing his cock by centimeters.
“Uh-huh, we can’t be having any of that,” he chides me as he reaches into his pocket, pulling out Phoenix’s knife, and pops it open. Terrified of what is coming next, I can’t get my body under control. Panic rises as my mind plunges me into the future, seeing his cock ripping me apart.
“No, no, no,” I chant fearfully as I place my hands on the floor and crawl backwards. Unfortunately, I didn’t think it through because he simply prowls forward, following me until I hit a wall.
“Like I told you, there’s no escaping me. Not tonight, not ever. Oh, how I wish your brother and mine could see how the mighty have fallen. As much as they would’ve liked to have seen you crumble when you got the pictures, courtesy of Bryant, they would love seeing you literally crawling away like your dog. This is priceless. I bet you wish Nyx was here with you now, don’t you, Feebs? That beast never went anywhere without you or your fucking Wolfman,” he baits me, waiting for the hook to catch.
Unexpectedly, a realization hits, we weren’t betrayed by anyone. He fucking bugged my dog.
“You fucking bastard!” I seethe as laughs uncontrollably.
“You caught that one, huh? I personally think it was pretty ingenious. I really do need to thank Hawk for that one. Your fucking team was so focused on checking the houses and the cameras surrounding you, but no one thought to check the one thing that went everywhere with you. Nyx. He was my best informant, even if he never knew it. Hawk wasn’t bad either. Not quite as useful as your dog, but still he was useful. I hope he’s enjoying his gift,” he says, unbuckling his belt. I can’t even process his last words as I watch his hands grip his metal buckle, sliding it effortlessly loose.
