by Alta Hensley
“Where do you think she’d run off to?” Tennessee asked.
“Where’s that hick town she is from?” I asked. “Give me the name of that from her hiring papers. Also all her emergency contact names. We’ll start there.”
“You want me to handle it?” Harley asked. “I can hunt her down.”
Yeah this was right up Harley’s alley. He could do this blindfolded, but I also didn’t completely trust the man. The assassin had demons. Ruthless demons. And I didn’t want to risk having Anita piss him off and end up murdered anyway. No. He was not the man for the job.
I shook my head. “No, I will. I hired her. It’s my mess to clean up.”
“Don’t fuck with Marco,” Harley warned. “He’s a mean son of a bitch, Kenneth. This isn’t the courtroom. This is my domain.”
“I don’t plan on fucking with him. I’ll make sure this gets handled and Spiked Roses is clear of this shit. I’ve got it handled.”
I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I didn’t have the time for this bullshit. But fuck. If you want something done right, do it your damn self.
Anita
I couldn’t believe he was standing in the middle of Virgie’s living room. I mean… I wasn’t exactly being smart when it came to coming back to Muckaluk, but I really didn’t expect anyone to follow me or really care. Sure, I knew Marco would be mad, and going back to New Orleans ever again was out of the question. But a hundred grand was just a drop in the bucket for these people. Would they really put a bounty on my head? I hadn’t thought so. I hadn’t thought it was necessary to go into hiding. Apparently, I was wrong.
And I really hadn’t expected my boss from Spiked Roses to do the dirty work. Kenneth Saxon was here. He was here! And he was pissed. If looks could kill… And he was fast. I barely had time to change my clothes, hide the money, and start planning on what I needed to do to get Virgie out of Elko Regency.
“Did you really think you could just sign the contract, take the money, and run? And I’m disappointed in you, Anita. Back to your hometown? In the house you used as an emergency contact on your hiring paperwork?”
“I didn’t think you rich fucks would really care enough,” I defended. “Not to come to the middle of nowhere Nevada to find me. That’s for sure.”
“Well I did. And I’m not happy about it.”
“I’m not happy about it either, so we are even.”
Our eyes locked, and neither of us would dare back down and look away. We were having our own stand off.
“You have two choices. Come with me, and honor your contract, or terminate the agreement, and give the money back. Simple. Your choice.”
“No,” I said with zero emotion.
“No?” His firm and rigid expression was only slightly altered with the rise of an eyebrow.
“You heard me correctly. I will not give the money back.” I meant every single word, and there was nothing this man could do to make me change my mind.
“Fine. I don’t care. But you will return with me and honor your two week contract then.”
I shook my head. “I won’t do that either.”
Kenneth’s jaw clenched. “You are saying this as if you have a choice. You don’t. You return the money, or I return you.”
“Consider this my resignation,” I said without so much as a flinch even though my heart beat a mile a minute. “I quit.”
Kenneth gave a slow and sinful smile. Fuck the man was handsome, even when he appeared terrifying at the same time. “Very well. I shall accept your resignation. But that does not change anything. You owe a very dangerous man a lot of money, or you owe him you. The choice is yours, but it is one or the other. You can’t just quit Spiked Roses and run home to hide. There is no hiding from this man. Do you understand that?”
“I’m not giving the money back!” I snapped. “I consider the money payment for services rendered. He pissed on me!” Bile formed in the back of my throat just thinking about it.
Kenneth smiled again with humor twinkling in his dark eyes but said nothing. Was he going to laugh at me? Yes, the fucker wanted to laugh at me!
“It’s not funny! He pissed on me, he choked me, and he expected me to act like his pet. I’m not a fucking animal! I didn’t sign on for that.”
Very calmly, Kenneth asked, “Did you read the contract?”
“Yes,” I mumbled, hating how the man had full control of his emotions when I wanted to scream and throw a fit like a damn toddler.
“Then you knew what you were agreeing to. You initialed next to noncon, did you not?”
“Yes, but—”
“You initialed next to Master/slave? To pet play? To whatever aggressive act aside from permanent bodily harm, correct? And were you not paid in cash? A large sum of cash to perform Marco’s out of the ordinary desires?”
“I didn’t know he was going to pee on me!” I took a few steps back and shuddered at the memory of Marco’s ammonia-scented urine raining down on my naked flesh.
“Clearly you got in over your head on this. Tennessee warned you, but you were too stubborn to listen. Or maybe too greedy. But whichever the case, you were warned.”
The fucker was right. I’d had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I’d wanted the money. I needed the money, and I wasn’t going to give it back. I should be paid for what was by far one of the worst experiences of my life. The image of piss shooting from Marco’s ugly limp dick would forever be ingrained in my mind.
“So give the money back and end the contract. You know that either party can walk away at anytime. You could have said the safe word, which you didn’t. You can’t be so stupid as to think that you can walk away and keep the money. So give it back to me, and this mess is over. I don’t have time for this shit. Hurry up so I can get back to New Orleans.”
I crossed my arms and glared at him. “I already gave you my answer.”
An ominous shadow washed over his face as I was lifted into the air by Kenneth and swung over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing to the man. He bolted out the front door and down the porch stairs, heading straight for a black Escalade waiting in front. Complete panic filled me as I thought of all the horrors that may happen in the hands of this man. He could be far more deviant than the asshole I had recently escaped. I already knew he was no nonsense, and a man all the ladies at Spiked Roses feared. But what if there was more beneath the surface? What if my fleeing and forcing him to come after me had awoken the beast?
“Stop fighting me,” he demanded calmly, carrying me to the vehicle, apparently not really concerned as my fists walloped on his back.
I continued to kick and punch with every ounce of strength I still had left in my body, coughing from the bone of his shoulder pressing into my stomach with every twist and turn of my resistance. The pressure of his shoulder into my abdomen also prevented me from screaming—if there had been any point in screaming to begin with. Everything was happening so fast. I would be thrown in the back of the vehicle before anyone would arrive to save me.
Kenneth swatted my ass hard, causing an involuntary yelp to escape my mouth. “I said to stop fighting me.” He spanked my bottom two more times until I paused in my useless struggle.
“That’s a good girl,” he praised.
The submissive term of endearment fired me up again. I would never be anyone’s “good girl”. I began my fight with a renewed strength. Over and over, I kicked and punched, only to be rewarded with continued swats in response. Fucking bastard was spanking me like a damn child.
Kenneth
I lowered her feet to the ground, my hands still gripped tightly around her tiny wrist, my stare immediately going to her rich brown eyes. “What the hell did you think you were doing running here? Did you really think no one would find you?” I asked, pulling my gaze away from her briefly and tossing her into the back of the car, knowing I had to get her as far away from this house in this piece of shit town, and quickly. “I took you for a smart woman. You didn’t think they would loo
k for you at your friend’s place in your fucking hometown? Are you a goddamn idiot?”
She continued struggling against me, her fists punching, and her legs kicking me in the side with a vengeance as I crawled in beside her, slipping across the slick leather seating. I knocked on the glass separating the back seat from the driver to signal for him to take off.
When the vehicle started and pulled away, Anita’s eyes widened as she glanced out the tinted windows. “You have no right to take me. This is kidnapping! Who the fuck do you think you are?” she demanded.
I turned calmly to look at her, my hands going to her assailing fists trying to stop her futile attack. Finally grabbing her by the wrists, I made her stop, my eyes studying this woman I’d felt the duty to find. Her skin was so pale, bruised in areas from the hand of a monster—no doubt Marco Nunez. Her body seemed so fragile, a contrast to the spitfire that ineffectively pummeled at me. As I restrained her, I couldn’t help but be concerned I may bruise her delicate skin even further. I knew this woman was practically a stranger to me, and I shouldn’t give a fuck about her wellbeing, but I still didn’t want to deliberately cause her any lasting injury or mark her beautiful skin more than it was.
Feeling her boot heel clomping down hard onto my foot, my attention pulled away from Anita’s tantalizing beauty and back to the harsh reality that stood before us. I needed to remember why I was here with this woman in the first place. I wasn’t here by choice. I was here because I needed to figure out a way to clean up this fucking mess. A fucking mess her dumb ass put us both in.
“You signed the fucking contract, and I’m here to make sure you honor it,” I told her as she continued her assault on me.
“You can fuck off, you and that disgusting contract!” Anita yelled, still fighting against me. “Mind your own business, and let me go.”
“I advise you stop before I lose my patience,” I warned, my lips close to her ear. So close that I could smell a floral scent mixed with spice that literally made my mouth water. “And watch your mouth and speak like a fucking lady, or you won’t be sitting comfortably for the entire ride back. I tolerate many things from women, but I can’t stand a foul-talking, truck stop vocabulary.”
Anita seemed to pay no attention to my warning as she continued fighting against me, her body brushing against me in a way most men only hope to have some woman to do so well in the heat of a sexual encounter. But this was no fucking sexual encounter. She was a goddamn, out of control little brat right now. The nerve that she actually believed she could take the money and run caused my core to sizzle with frustration. And she was acting like I was the bad guy! I was saving her goddamn life. Well, I was sick of playing Mr. Nice Guy and Mr. Professional. I was going to do this my way from now on.
My irritation—and sexual frustration—building, I did the only thing I knew would keep her still and silent. My fingers firmly gripping her chin, I lifted her head, grabbed a handful of hair in my hand forcefully, and kissed her hard and fast on the lips, nipping at her lower lip.
“Now you stay still, baby doll, or you’ll be getting more than just a kiss,” I said, enjoying how the force of intimacy seemed to cease all breathing in the stubborn woman. I finally had the upper hand… and I didn’t mind how I had to get it either.
Stunned motionless, Anita just stared. “What are you planning to do to me?” Anita asked, her struggles gone, her tone obviously nervous.
“I told you. You signed a contract, and now I’m bringing you back to New Orleans to honor it. Marco—your new owner for the next two weeks—is waiting for you. And from what I know of this man, you could be in a world of trouble for trying to steal from him and think you’d get away with it. I’ll try to fix this, but you need to shut your fucking mouth, smile like a good little girl, and let me handle it.”
“Fuck you,” she said in more of a mumble than a statement. She crossed her arms against her chest and stared out the window in what I had to admit was the most adorable pout I had ever seen.
Chapter Ten
Kenneth
The driver of the Escalade pulled up to a Travel Lodge that sat on an exit along the highway still hours away from New Orleans. We needed to stop for the night, and this was the best that could be found for lodging along the way. I was half tempted to make Anita stay in some Motel 8 that reeked of B.O. and dirty twat as penance for her little stunt but then realized the only person truly suffering would be me. Anita was probably used to those conditions. I, on the other hand, hadn’t stayed in a Travel Lodge since I was a law student traveling with buddies to see a Metallica concert.
I reached into my duffle bag at my feet and pulled out a short length of rope, which I used to secure her hands together in front of her. I was tired of being hit and didn’t feel like battling it out in front of the staff of the hotel. She didn’t resist which surprised me, but I think I stunned her by my actions more than her actually showing signs of submission.
“What are you doing?” Anita finally snapped as I pulled her from the car. “Why did you tie me with this rope?” She didn’t struggle but stared at her hands still appearing surprised I had actually tied her up. Maybe the gravity of the situation was finally sinking in.
“Be quiet or I’ll gag you too. I’m trusting you can keep your mouth shut while we walk through the lobby, yes?” I draped my jacket over her confined wrists to conceal the rope.
Instead of answering me or telling me to go fuck myself, she asked, “Where are we?”
“Fuck if I know. Out in the middle of nowhere thanks to you.”
And that was truly where we were. Nowhere. One shitty hotel, a diner called Mama Bear’s, and two small gas stations across the street from each other. I did take pause and wonder what the fuck reason there would be for two gas stations literally a few yards from each other, but I figured things didn’t make sense in the armpit of hell.
“We’ll stay here for the night. The driver needs to rest, and though I wouldn’t mind driving, I wouldn’t put the poor man through having to sit with you and your violent tantrums in the back seat.”
“I would never hit the man,” she said as a mix of shock and insult washed across her face.
“No? You just hit me?” I placed my hand on her back and led her toward the entrance of the hotel, while the driver was getting our bags.
Anita did an about face and started to back away from me. “You expect me to just stay with you? Not try to escape?”
“You will if you want to stay safe.” I closed the distance between us. “Marco put a bounty on your head. You’re lucky I found you before his goons did.” I stepped towards her further when she took a few more steps back. “Don’t push my patience. If you act up in there, I swear to God I will leave you on the side of the highway, call Marco myself, and tell him exactly where you are. I have no doubt his men will come and make your life holy hell before they deliver you beaten and raped. This isn’t the time to be stupid.”
She continued stepping away from me, stumbling a bit as her foot tripped on the sidewalk edge in the parking lot. “You stay away from me, you monster! I’m not staying with you for another second.” She charged in the direction of the Escalade. “You are going to take me back to Muckaluk, and you can tell that asshole you never found me. Go home empty handed, you piece of shit!”
Just as Anita struggled to open the back door of the car with her still bound wrists, I reached for her, pulling her kicking and cursing back towards me. Thank God we were in the middle of nowhere so that no one would see this. 911 would be called and I would have to buy someone off if they saw this ridiculous scene.
“Knock this shit off,” I ordered between clenched teeth. I swatted her hard on the ass as I pulled her close to me, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. The driver, however, was watching the display with annoyance as he had the bags slung over his shoulders. I nodded with my head. “Go ahead and get us two rooms. We will be in there in a second once Anita stops acting like a naughty child.”
“I’m a human being! You can’t kidnap me like this! Contract or not, this is all illegal,” she cried.
“You gave me no fucking choice. Not only are you putting your life at risk, you are fucking with my business. I’m not going to allow Spiked Roses to be taken down with you because you went chicken shit and ran away like a scared little girl. You knew what kind of people you were dealing with the minute you accepted the position. Men of power. Dangerous men. Ruthless men. Men you do not want to fuck around with. Men who can destroy you. You walked into a dark and fucked up world, and we warned you. Then when you took it to the next level and signed that contract…” I struggled to keep a steady tone, my jaw tight, not amused by her constant fight. I was losing my temper fast, but wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of knowing it. “You upped the game. A very twisted and dark game. But you were warned. You knew. So, don’t look at me with those innocent eyes and pretend you didn’t know. You knew. You fucking knew.”
Anita threw off my jacket from covering her hands. “I fucking hate you,” she spat.
Bending down, I reached for the jacket, struggling to not show that the bitch was working my last nerve. Taking advantage of my position, she kicked me square on the cheek. Luckily for me, she didn’t have the room to get full strength behind the kick to do much harm, but it was enough to throw me off balance and landing me flat on my ass. Fury blazed inside. I could fucking kill her right now with my bare hands, and though I could be ruthless, I had never been violent… until now. I could wrap my hands around her neck and squeeze, taking pleasure as I saw the life leave her fearful eyes. Yes, I would take great pleasure. But this was exactly why I hadn’t let Harley Crow take the job of bringing her back. Anita would have been dead by now. Very few men at the club had my patience, but it had grown extremely thin.