by Bella Jewel
“You want to know if you matter to me,” he roars so loudly in my face, I’m cut off. My words pausing in my throat. “Is that what you want to fuckin’ know? Well, you do. You matter more to me than any other person has mattered since my brother. I don’t fuckin’ like it. Because I don’t like fuckin’ feelin’. I’m here to do a job, and that job is to stop you gettin’ killed. But the very fuckin’ idea of someone hurtin’ you brings a rage and protection to me that I haven’t felt for a very long time. I feel you on a level I’ve never felt another woman. You make me fuckin’ wild, and I don’t understand why. You make me feel things I’ve not felt, and I don’t understand why. All I know is you get me, you fuckin’ get me in a way nobody else ever has. You see my fuckin’ darkness, and you still want to wrap it up in your hands, like it’s a tiny fuckin’ butterfly you can protect. I’m no fuckin’ good for you, Charlie. But you matter to me. Do not fuckin’ doubt it.”
My knees wobble, and screw everything else. I push my head forward, because he has my arms pinned to my side, and I kiss him. I kiss him with a ferocity that hurts my damned soul. For a moment, he doesn’t do anything, hell, he even pulls his head back and growls, “Can’t be doin’ this with you. Fuck. I can’t.”
“Fuck what you can and cannot do. I want it. You want it. Stop fighting me, Dakoda. Because I won’t go away.”
A low growl leaves his throat and he releases my hands, letting my fingers go up to his thick, wet hair, and tangle in the depths. And then he kisses me at the same time he lifts my bottom up and onto the counter top. I spread my legs, letting him step between them, and I kiss him so hard I lose my breath. It’s desperate, and a little angry, and a whole lot frustrated. But it feels like heaven.
Pure heaven.
I release his hair and claw at his chest, running my fingernails down it until I reach his jeans. I fumble with them, needing them gone, needing him inside me, god, something. Anything. I reach into them when they’re undone, curling my fingers around his cock and squeezing. A deep hiss leaves his throat and he steps closer, jerking my night dress up that I got into only an hour ago, and tearing my panties to the side.
Hard.
Deep.
Rough.
Exactly how we both want and need it.
His fingers dig into my ass as he lowers me off the counter and then surprises me by flipping me over so I’m bent over it, chest pressed against the cool wood, ass exposed to him. He runs his fingers down over my ass cheeks and then thrusts one into my pussy from behind. I groan, wiggling, gripping the counter, desperate.
“Fuckin’ drippin’ for me already. Beautiful fuckin’ pussy.”
He steps closer, lining his cock up to my pussy, and then he pushes in. One hard thrust and he’s fully sheathed. I gasp, he growls, and then his fingers dig into my hips as he fucks me. He fucks me so hard items from the bench scatter and smash on the floor as my hands flail around, trying to find something to hold onto as he fucks me into oblivion. I’m screaming, it feels god damned incredible. His skin can be heard slapping against mine, and it’s the best sound I’ve ever heard.
“I’m going to come, oh god,” I scream, throwing my head back and bellowing as an orgasm rips through my body.
Thrust after thrust, he drives me into that counter top, and then, finally, he pulls out with a ragged growl and hot spurts of cum tickle and warm my bottom as he shoots his release all over me. I whimper, my body limp, as I feel the last drops hit my flesh.
After a few seconds, Koda pulls me to my feet and leans in, whispering into my ear, “That was only the beginning. I’m not done with you.”
Oh, boy.
~*~*~*~
THEN – CHARLIE
I tell Oliver everything.
It takes me three hours. That’s just to give him the basics. I tell him about my father, my mother, my life, every person I’ve met, what I’ve done, about Carl, about his uncle, and about Ellie. Oliver sits, and he listens the whole time, nodding, his eyes kind and understanding.
Before I spoke, I made him promise that he’d get me protection, and that I wouldn’t get in trouble for my involvement. He agreed, promising that he would keep me safe, that he would make sure I had the life I deserved, if I told him everything he needed to know. After all, everyone knew Benjamin Masters—the problem was he was far too smart for them to get enough on him, to bring him down.
When I’m done telling Oliver everything I can think of, he just stares at me, his eyes warm and locked on mine. “You’re a smart girl, Charlene. Smart and incredibly brave. It takes a lot for someone to go through what you’ve gone through, it truly does. I promise you that when we’re done here, you’ll be free of your father.”
“Are you sure?” I whisper, rubbing my upper arms. “Because he’ll find me and …”
Oliver nods. “I’m sure. I’ll make sure he goes down, no matter what it takes, and I promise you, you’ll be safe.”
“But I have to go back there, don’t I?”
Oliver smiles warmly, his eyes sympathetic. “If we protect you now, he’ll know you’ve gone and gotten help, and he’ll likely shut down the operation. The only way for us to be able to take him down is for things to remain as normal, until we find out what we can to bring the entire operation down.”
I nod, even though my chest clenches and fear grips me. “And Ellie?”
“I’ll look into the girl, see if I can find any information, see if there is something I can do, without blowing the whole cover. If we barge in there, again, your father will stop what he’s doing and cover his tracks. I hope you understand that to do this, to finally take him down, we have to keep things as normal as possible.”
I nod, because I understand that, I really do.
I’ll do whatever it takes to end this quickly. Whatever it takes.
“Just tell me what you need from me, I’ll give you whatever I have.”
“All we need is a big deal, something major, something we can close in on and destroy a good portion of his operation. Something huge, even.”
I take a shaky breath. My father has something going down soon, it’s why he’s so paranoid about double crossing. Whatever, or whoever, he is trading off with, there is something big happening. I’m doing far more work than usual, and he’s on the edge of his seat, angry and wild all the time.
“Okay,” I whisper. “Okay, I know there is something big going down soon. I’ll get what I can and get it back to you.”
Oliver nods. “I’ll give you my number, but don’t save it anywhere. Don’t mention my name to anyone, not even those you trust. For this to work, it cannot be known you came here, Charlene. It’s the only way I can ensure your safety until we have you out of your father’s hands.”
I swallow and rub my arms. “I understand. Oliver, can I ask you something?”
He nods, holding my eyes. “Anything?”
“Do you think, if this works, and you get me safe, that I’ll ever be truly free?”
He studies me, and I wonder if he’s just going to give me the answer I want to make me feel better, or if he’ll give my he real answer, the truth, the one we both know is the more likely scenario.
“I can’t promise you complete freedom, Charlene, but what I can promise you, is that I’ll do everything I can, use every resource I have, to keep you safe. And, I’ll do everything I can to make sure your father never, ever gets close to you again. That much, I can promise you.”
And is that enough?
Is that enough to risk everything?
To risk my father finding out?
I put a hand against my throat, to the angry red mark my father’s boot left when he tried to take my life earlier. I go to the scared, broken face of Ellie, still trapped in a basement somewhere. I think about my mother and the fear she lived through in those few seconds before her life was snuffed out. I think of all of it, and I know, the life I’m living right now, it’ll eat me alive if I stay.
Maybe I’ll never have full freedom.
/> Hell, that’s a high possibility.
But if I stay, if I stay and keep doing his work, my father eventually will take my life the way he took my mother’s. Eventually, his use for me will run out, and he’ll no longer need my help. And when that day comes, he’ll not have a second thought about ending me.
This might not be a guarantee. No.
But it is a chance.
A small, tiny, sliver of hope.
That maybe, just maybe.
I might be able to breathe for the first time in my life.
And even better.
I might actually be able to live.
-20-
NOW – KODA
Feels fucking good. Can’t lie.
Here, in her bed, her wrapped in my arms after I fucked her so any damned times my cock aches. Won’t stop me from taking her again in the morning, that messy bed hair and those rosy cheeks. Fuck. My dick is getting hard again just thinking about it. Thinking about how fucking good it’ll feel. And it will. Fucking good. In my mouth, I can still taste her sweet pussy, I can hear the sounds of her moans as she squirmed beneath me.
Fucking perfect.
And, I know I shouldn’t be doing it, but fucked if I can stay away any longer.
I’m tired of even trying to.
But I haven’t been completely honest with her, and I know eventually I’ll have to tell her my reasons for wanting to protect her, for wanting to be around her, for wanting in on this so bad. Because of her father, and my brother, and everything it all stands for to me. She’s not going to like it. Fuck no, she’s going to hate it, in fact. But I had to do it.
Now, though, I’m starting to realize it might just cost me her.
And I didn’t think that was going to be a problem, until now.
“What are you thinking about?” Charlie asks me, her fingers stroking over my chest.
Feels fucking nice.
Comforting.
Something I’ve never allowed a woman to do.
“Thinkin’ about fuckin’ you again,” I murmur, turning and pressing my face into her hair.
Fuck.
That smell.
Incredible.
She makes a whiny sound, and it’s fucking sweet. “No way you could possibly be thinking about that, Koda. Seriously. You’re insane.”
“Can’t help it when you smell so fuckin’ good and it feels so fuckin’ good to be inside you.”
She turns her head and looks up at me, those eyes soft and fucking beautiful, face calm. God she’s fucking cute.
“Really?”
I hold her eyes. “Really.”
She nods, turning and snuggling back into me. Like a little puppy, trying to get closer, like she just isn’t getting enough.
“Koda?” she asks me, her voice soft.
“Yeah?”
“Can I tell you something?”
I inhale, then exhale slowly and murmur, “Yeah.”
“I feel guilty, about Ellie.”
Ellie.
The poor girl who is fuck knows where and has been fuck knows where for a very long fucking time. And Slater, spending his life chained to Shanks, in hopes he might be able to find her. A fucked-up story, indeed.
“Not your fault, Charlie. You couldn’t have gotten her out, you know those people as well as anyone, you’d have been killed on the spot or worse, chained down there with her.”
She goes silent for a moment, and then whispers, “But I saw her, she was so scared, begging me to help. And I walked out. It’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever done in my life, Koda. I should have called the police then and there, screw my father’s operation, screw it all. At least she might have had a fighting chance.”
“We both know you were too fuckin’ messed up by your father at that point to do that, and there ain’t nothin’ wrong with that. Not a fuckin’ thing. Because that man, he’s the worst of them. The fuckin’ worst. And you were just a kid.”
“But I wasn’t,” she protests. “I wasn’t just a kid. I was nearly eighteen years old, I could have very easily walked out of there, called the police, and done it without anyone knowing. Instead, I wasted time by going home, telling my father I saw a girl, and then going to the police. It was too late by then. And because of me, the only chance Ellie had, she’s now probably been living an entire decade in hell.”
I roll, shifting her so we’re face to face. Her eyes are glassy, and I can see this is fucking bothering her in a big way. I get that. I’ve felt guilt. Lived with it for so many fucking years. So, yeah, I get it better than anyone. Also know it will eat you alive if you let it, and that’s what’s going to happen to Charlie if she doesn’t take it easy and understand her position in this.
It wasn’t her fault.
“Listen to me,” I say, my voice hard, but not cruel. “You could have walked out and called the police. Hell, they might have even come in and saved her. But the reality of that, is very fuckin’ slim. Big men like that, rich, with money, he would have had her out the second he heard sirens. He’d have a plan. A back up. Something in place, I can promise you that. All that would have done is turned the heat on to you, and you know exactly what your father would have done to you when he found out it was you, and he would have found out. You and I both fuckin’ know that.”
She looks away, and I reach up, grabbing her chin. “Eyes, Charlie.”
She hesitantly looks back.
“Not your fuckin’ fault. You went to the cops. You got your father locked up. You did the best you could in a situation where you were surrounded by big fuckin’ brick walls.”
“But, after he got locked up, I forgot about her, Koda. For a while, I forgot. What kind of monster does that make me? I’m not different to him. I should have kept looking … I should have …”
“Should haves ain’t goin’ to get you anywhere, Charlie. You and I both know it. I should have done a fuckin’ lot of things, too. But I didn’t, and life is the way it is now because of that. Don’t let guilt eat you alive. Trust me. Help Slater, get involved if you need, find Ellie. But do not fuckin’ live blamin’ yourself. You understand me?” She opens her mouth to argue, but I snap out, “Do you fuckin’ understand me?”
Her mouth snaps shut, and she nods.
“Good girl.”
She stares up at me. “Anyone ever told you that you’re a complete dick sometimes?”
I grin at her, and her face breaks out in one, too.
“All the fuckin’ time, babe.”
Her cheeks flush.
“I like it when you call me that.”
I grin at her. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Know what I like?”
She rolls her eyes. “If you say sex, I swear …”
“Like the way your fuckin’ smile hits me right in the heart.”
Her smile is wiped clean from her face and replaced with a soft expression. “You do?”
I nod.
“Well, that’s good.” She smiles softly, the warmest I’ve seen from her. “Because I like the way your smile hits me right in the heart, too.”
And just like that.
We’re both fucked.
~*~*~*~
THEN – KODA
I spit blood on the floor and glare up at the man in front of me. Easily six feet tall, scowling expression, dark hair and blue eyes, big motherfucker. And he’s getting a fuck load of satisfaction kicking the shit out of me. Two days they’ve been kicking the shit out of me. Beating me. Torturing me. Fucking me over in any way they can. But I won’t break. Fuckers will have to kill me damned slowly before I ever tell them where Braxton is.
“Think you’re tough, little boy,” the man taunts. “You’re not tough. We’re only just getting warmed up here.”
I grin at him, teeth bloodied. “Can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store.”
Frustration bubbles in his chest and his boot connects with my jaw, sending me stumbling backward into the wall, smashing against the bricks. Pain radiat
es through my body, and I find it hard to breathe, fuck, I find it hard to do anything. But I don’t make a sound. Not a grunt. Nothing. My ribs are broken, my arm, and I have a fuck load of internal injuries inside me. I can feel them.
No doubt I’ll die here.
Fine by me.
So long as Braxton finds a way out.
Fuck, I hope he finds a way out.
The big man strides toward me just as the door opens and Shanks steps in. “Enough, Lorenzo. I have a surprise for our boy Dakoda here.”
I look over to the man I now despise and spit blood in his direction. He grins at me, raises a hand, and clicks his fingers. Two men appear, Braxton in between them. For a single fucking moment, my heart stops beating. I want to bellow and wake up from this fucking nightmare, but I can’t. I can’t fucking stop what’s happening right in front of me. My stomach twists with a sick feeling, and my fists clench, broken or not.
“Say hello to your brother, Dakoda. Turns out, he wasn’t that hard to find after all.”
No.
Fucking no.
“He was stupid enough to let himself out of the rehab center he was hiding out in when you hadn’t showed up with your little plan of running away. It didn’t take us long to find him. What a wonderful ending, don’t you think?”
“Go to fuckin’ hell,” I spit.
“Oh, I’m going. But not before I take him down for crossing me.”
They throw Braxton onto the ground and he rolls a few times. He’s beaten, battered, and bruised. I notice he’s missing two fingers on his left hand. They’ve had him, and they’ve tortured him. It must not have taken him long to come after me when he realized I didn’t show. Stupid fucking idiot. He should have stayed where he was safe.
“Why did you come out?” I hiss at him. “Fuckin’ why, Brax?”
He looks at me, with bloodshot eyes and a fucked-up face. “Because you’re my brother, Dakoda. I was never goin’ to fuckin’ let them have you. That’s what brothers do.”
“Aw.” Shanks laughs. “How sentimental. You know, I’ve thought long and hard about this. I’ve thought, maybe I’ll kill you both, but that just wouldn’t scratch my itch, you know what I’m saying?”