Light From The Dark: Protecting What's Theirs, page 18
“No stopping on the side of the road for pussy!”
His finger went back into the air, and I could see Casey with her hand over her mouth as she covered her giggles. I honked one more time, then took off for home, fairly certain that he would actually make it the entire way without stopping to fuck our girl. But the chances were never going to be zero.
***
I knew I was about to stir up a nest of hornets. But I also knew that to heal themselves, this might be the one thing the people I loved needed more than anything.
Or it could ruin everything. For all of us.
I looked at both of them, taking in their beautiful features and enjoying their happiness. We were good, but we weren’t great. Casey was laughing about some story Brent was telling that happened on the construction site. She looked so much more relaxed and freer than she had since we first met her. It was a beautiful look, one that I never wanted to leave her gorgeous face. As much as Brent was going to hate what I was about to set into motion, nothing else would have the power to forge an unbreakable bond.
“Hey, Brent? Remember that case last year about the man who murdered his pregnant wife?”
“Fuck. Yeah, I remember.” His reaction was pretty much what I had expected, the smile instantly slipping from his face, replaced by a vicious scowl.
Casey looked back and forth between us. “What case? What happened?”
I twirled my fork in the noodles on my plate and speared a piece of meat with it before answering. “There was a couple that lived near my mom and dad. Someone called in a domestic disturbance one night. It wasn’t the first call. But the woman always refused to press charges. When the call came in this time, she was around six months pregnant. She was dead when they got there. The husband claimed she had fallen down the stairs during an argument.” I put the fork in my mouth and chewed thoughtfully, giving it a moment to settle in for them.
“There were obvious signs of a struggle all over the house. Tables overturned, and things were broken. It looked like she put up a good fight.”
“So, did she actually fall?” Casey’s eyes were misty. Our girl had such a big heart.
“They found a suitcase by the front door. Maybe she went back up the stairs for something. I don’t know. But the evidence indicated that she’d been strangled. It wasn’t a broken neck or anything else that would be indicative of a fall. The worst part was the coroner found bruises on her abdomen and bruises on her arms.”
“He hit or kicked her pregnant belly, and she tried to protect it.” Casey deduced, her voice breaking slightly as her tears breached their dam.
I nodded slowly as I tracked her tears rolling down her cheeks. “Yeah, that’s what the evidence showed.”
“So, how did he get away with it?” She demanded. Her food was sitting forgotten on her plate, and a glance at Brent showed he was angrily pushing his around with a fork. “The defense attorney found evidence today. Well, he found out that evidence that would have helped seal his case closed was mishandled. I don’t have all the details. But the judge had to call a mistrial because of it. He gets to walk away like nothing happened.”
“But that’s unfair! Can’t they just start over?”
“That’s not how it works, sugar. “Double jeopardy doesn’t allow a person to be tried for the same crime twice. But the court system could try him again,” I paused, not wanting to lie to her, but not wanting to give her hope, either.
“It depends on the circumstances. I imagine the case will eventually go back to court. The only problem is the evidence that was considered mishandled in the first case won’t be allowed to be used in the second trial. Considering that evidence was enough to let him go this time, it’s unlikely that the prosecution will be able to gather enough new evidence to replace it.”
“So, that’s it? A man can kill his pregnant wife and get away with it?” She looked over at Brent, who was glaring daggers at his plate. “You have to do something!”
He slowly lifted his head and cocked a brow. “You think I don’t want to put that fucker into the ground?”
She swallowed hard but held his glare. “I think that you are the only one that can get justice for that woman. What if he does the same thing to someone else?”
He nodded. “You’re right. The system is fucked up, and too many innocent people get the shit end of the stick.” he waved his hand in my direction. “Ethan does all he can but often gets tied up in red fucking tape, or the victims are too scared to press charges.”
She straightened her shoulders back and fiercely held his glare with one of her own. “You’re going to kill him.”
The words hung in the air like a heavy weight as I watched them both struggle with their emotions. Finally, Brent slowly nodded. She mirrored his movements.
“Good.” She picked up her fork and stabbed at a noodle. “I want to be there when you do.”
Brent’s fork clattering to the table and falling onto the floor was loud in the silence. I held my breath as I waited for his outburst.
Twenty-Eight
BRENT
“Absolutely not. Fuck no! Have you lost your goddamn mind?” My thundering boom made her flinch, but she just popped a fucking noodle in her mouth and stared back at me. Not saying a word, just casually chewing her food like she hadn’t just said she wanted to commit a felony with me.
I shoved back my chair and gripped my hair, yanking hard. I turned to Ethan and pointed a finger at him. “You!” He just lifted one eyebrow at me. That fucker had planned this. He didn’t have to tell her; he knew how her fucking bleeding heart would react. Ever since it had happened over a year ago, I had wanted to drain that motherfucker dry for what he did, not only to his wife, but to the baby inside her.
I stood up and stormed out of the room. Fuck! Casey wouldn’t let this go. She had all but begged me that morning to let her experience a kill. Now this shit had dropped right into her fucking lap. Ethan may as well have tied it up with a bow. I should have told her no, I wasn’t going to do anything about it. But of course, I was. Fuck! Shit! Damn!
If I didn’t take her with me, she would be hurt. It could end what we were building as easily as I would end that man’s life. If I let him get away with it, it would eat at my soul. If I let her watch…
No.
No, that couldn’t happen.
I paced the living room as I warred with myself. More than frustrated, I threw back my head and roared. “God fucking damn it!” I stormed back into the kitchen and stood there with my chest heaving as I watched the two of them. Casey had her hands folded in her lap, calm and seemingly unbothered by my temper tantrum. Ethan was watching her like he needed to rush to her if she fell apart.
Even though she appeared calm, I could see tiny tremors in her hands that she was trying hard to hide. I stalked over to her and dropped to my knees on the hard tile. I cupped her hands in mine and begged one last time.
“Baby,” I pleaded. “You don’t want to see it. After everything you have gone through, do you really want to see a man murdered right in front of your eyes?”
She lifted her head and stared at me with so much determination I knew I had already lost. “No, Brent. It wouldn’t be a man. It would be a monster. A monster killed seven women, and he wants to kill me. That monster killed two people. I want him stopped before…” Her breath hitched, exposing a small crack in her iron-willed determination for the first time. “Before he kills someone else.”
I let out a heavy sigh and dropped my head into her lap as I continued to cradle her hands. “Fine.”
Her breath hitched at my resignation, and then she pulled her hands from mine. I felt her tug on my hair and allowed her to raise my head up, cradling my jaw in her small hands. I was still fucking pissed, and I was sure she could see it in my eyes, but she didn’t flinch away. Instead, she lowered her mouth to mine and placed a soft kiss on my mouth. “Thank you.” Her whispered words against my lips almost broke me. I knew at that moment that she was going to rule me. One look of her big blue eyes, one smile of her soft, plush lips, one flash of her gorgeous as fuck body, and I would drop to my knees to do anything she asked of me. And I was helpless… because I wanted to.
I stood up and scooped her out of the chair. I glared at Ethan, who was trying, unsuccessfully, to hide his smug look. “Get in the bedroom. I’m going to pound your ass into the mattress while you fuck our sneaky little girl. Fuck!” I started stomping off to the bedroom. “You are both getting punished tonight!”
Casey wrapped her arms around me, putting her face in the crook of my neck, and giggled, causing goosebumps to erupt on my skin. As much as I wanted to be angry at being fucking manipulated, I just wanted to fuck it all away. There was only so much I could take before I exploded. A good fucking would calm me when I couldn’t cut a mother-fucker up.
I tossed Casey on the bed, not waiting for her to stop bouncing before I was tearing my shirt over my head. “Strip!” I barked out while going for my belt. I watched as she sat up and shoved her golden hair out of her face, and gave me a disapproving look. It reminded me of a spitting kitten, and she was too cute to do anything else but laugh at. But I knew that if I did, she would show her blunt little claws.
She pulled her shirt off, exposing her plain cotton bra, reminding me that she still needed new clothes. I wanted to see her in satin and lace. She deserves nothing but the finest against her skin, showing off her curves.
I shoved my jeans down my legs, kicking off my shoes before I ended up tangled in my eagerness to get the both of us naked. I looked behind me to see Ethan entering the room, the buttons of his dress shirt already undone and the ends hanging open to reveal his smooth bronze chest, making my cock throb with anticipation.
Looking back at Casey, I grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her all the way to the edge of the bed, smirking at her squeak of surprise. In an instant, I had the yoga pants that she had changed into after getting home off and tossed to the floor somewhere behind me, not giving a shit where they landed. I ran a finger over her bare pussy, already glistening with wetness.
“Naughty little dollface. No panties?”
Her face heated as her chest heaved with her heavy pants. “I am running out again.”
“Hmmm.” We couldn’t put off a shopping trip much longer. One of us would have to take the time to buy her some more shit. I jerked her thighs open for my hungry mouth, practically swallowing her pussy whole, lapping at her wetness, and then spearing my tongue inside her. “Fuck, you taste so much better than I ever thought a woman could.” My gruff words growled against her flesh and had a violent shiver rushing through her. Seeing her reaction to both Ethan and me whenever we got our hands, mouths, or cocks on her was a dream come true.
The bed jostled, and I looked up from where I had unconsciously closed my eyes, mesmerized by her scent and taste. I watched Ethan take her mouth in a hot as fuck kiss, reaching down to fuck my cock with my fist as pre-come began to leak from the tip. I swiped my thumb over it and used the wetness as lubrication for my strokes.
“I need to get inside of you.” I couldn’t wait anymore. I needed my cock inside of her before I exploded all over the side of the bed and the floor. Pulling back and standing to my full height, I lifted her legs high into the air. Ethan immediately grabbed one of her thighs, helping to open her up for my cock that was already sliding through her pussy lips, getting wetter. I started to slide into her, notching myself just inside. I waited until she stopped to look at me, her breasts heaving with the effort of her breaths. “Brace yourself,” I warned before plunging in deep and hard.
I threw back my head, and my eyes closed again at the sensation of being inside something so warm, so wet, and so tight. Her walls clenched around my cock, and she let out a small scream. I only paused long enough to allow her to get used to my invasion before giving her all of me.
Over and over, I thrust inside her. Bringing my gaze down, I admired the vision of her passage stretched tight around my cock. “Fuck. Look at that gorgeous pussy taking all of me.” Ethan let go of the nipple he’d been sucking on and glanced down, watching my cock get covered with her wetness each time I withdrew and plunged back in. His groan at the sight had Casey clenching around me and my cock jerking in response.
“I have to taste that,” he growled and leaned in to swipe at her clit before tonguing my dick, licking the pussy juice off with each stroke. He alternated between sucking at her clit and licking my cock; sending both of us on a climb so high and so fast towards our releases that I just knew when we finally broke and fell back down, it was going to ruin us.
I felt his hand reaching around under her thigh, the back of his hand rubbing against my nutsack, and I almost came right then at the added stimulation. I was in sensory overload and knew she needed to come soon, or I was going to be leaving her behind.
“Fuck, man. Make her come. I can’t last much longer.”
He tilted his head so I could see his face, slick and shiny, and a wicked grin on his mouth. “Working on it.” At Casey’s gasp and sudden shudder, I finally caught on to what he was doing.
“Fuck. Are you fingering her asshole?” His chuckle reverberated on my dick, making me desperate to come, holding back with every thread of my strained control.
“Am I fingering your asshole, sugar?” There was a sudden movement against my balls, and my whole body tightened at the exact time Casey froze. We both broke. Her scream and my shout of pleasure echoed around the room as she squeezed my cock so hard with her spasming pussy that it felt like my come had to force its way out.
I pressed a few more shallow thrusts into her as I flooded her, making sure every last drop emptied out of my balls. I finally withdrew, my legs no longer able to hold me up. I collapsed onto the floor, my back against the bed and breathing so hard one would think I had just finished a marathon. Fuck, I was thirsty.
I felt Casey’s leg brush against my shoulder and opened my eyes. Reaching up with what little energy I had left, I ran my hand over her soft skin and leaned in to press a kiss to her calf. My mumbled “love you” was so low even I could barely hear it, and I vowed to tell her to her face as soon as I was able to stand again.
“You guys are shit at using condoms, you know,” Casey panted out somewhere above me. I kissed her leg one more time before heaving myself back up, having to use the bed for leverage.
“Goddamn, I think you sucked my soul out through my cock, dollface,” I grumbled as I crawled weakly to lie next to her, snuggling into her side. Seeing a breast next to my face, I couldn’t resist temptation and stuck my tongue out for a taste. That taste alone had my cock twitching. I leaned up on one elbow and sucked as much as I could into my mouth. Pulling off, I looked at her sheepishly. “I’m so sorry, dollface. I didn’t mean to. I’ll be more careful, I promise.”
She let out a huff, grabbing my head and shoving my mouth back to her breast as I chuckled against her silky skin. “If you aren’t, you might be getting more than you are ready for.” Ethan and I shared a look. I think she would be surprised at how much we were ready for when it came to our girl.
Ethan grabbed the hair on the top of my head and jerked my face up to look at him, a snarl immediately on my lips. “If one of you doesn’t take care of my cock, I’ll be shoving it into the first hole I find.”
Casey and I glanced at each other with wicked grins. We moved at the same time, pouncing on Ethan. It was quite a while later, when we were all tangled limbs and exhausted but well satisfied bodies, that I remembered the forgotten condoms… again.
Twenty-Nine
CASEY
I could barely hold in my excitement. I was full of jittery nerves, scared out of my mind, but strangely excited for reasons I couldn’t explain even to myself.
Brent climbed into the cab of the truck next to me and pressed the button to start the engine. He put his hand on my bouncing thigh and began to drive away from the house, the path of the circular driveway lit by lights embedded along the sides. I was too wound up to take in the beauty of their landscaping tonight, though.
He gave my thigh a squeeze, then gave me the side eye. “Dollface, what the fuck are you wearing?”
I glanced down at my black yoga pants and the black t-shirt peeking out from under my black hoodie. I had my hair pulled back into a low ponytail and tucked under a black beanie. Unfortunately, all I had was the one pair of beat-up pink sneakers. I looked over at him, wearing pretty much what he did every day. He had on a pair of jeans that were worn and faded around his thick thighs and other stress points, looking like an expensive pair of jeans that someone would pay hundreds for.
“Ummm, blood?” Blood didn’t show on black, right? Wasn’t he afraid that his clothes would get ruined? How many pairs of jeans did he go through? I liked the way he looked in those jeans, and I hated the thought of having to throw them out.
“What?” He sounded like he was fighting back a laugh, so I huffed out a breath and crossed my arms. I turned my head to glare out the window. “Dollface?”
I sighed. “I thought killers would wear all black.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s cat burglars, baby.” His chuckle had me turning to glare at him, thankful the dark interior hid the pink in my cheeks.
“Well, blood doesn’t show up on black clothing.” It was my best and only reasoning, really.
He turned his head and grinned at me before facing the road again. “I wear coveralls to protect my clothes.”
“Oh.” Well, I felt dumb. My heart also sped up as I thought about the Castle Killer and what he would wear. As I thought about it, picturing it in my mind, the dark eyes that I could barely see morphed into green ones, and suddenly it was Brent’s eyes staring back at me through my memories. I shuddered and wrapped my arms around myself to ward off the sudden chill. I slammed my eyes shut, trying to erase the disturbing image from my mind.
