by E. M. Moore
He takes a deep breath. “That’s one of the things about you that draws me in. You’re selfless. You have so much going on, yet you’re talking to me about this old wound. You went to as many of Oscar’s football games as you could because you knew how much it meant to him. I think it’s time you let someone take care of you for a while.”
“You already do,” I say. “You saved my life...what? Twice now?”
“I want to do so much more.”
His words have me reaching out for him again. I release my seat belt and kiss him with everything I have. It’s awkward with the cupholders and gearshift between us, but we make it work. I kiss Jacob until I’m breathless and needing more. He hauls me into his lap. My ass presses the horn on the steering wheel briefly, and he grins into the kiss before moving his seat back to allow me more room. I settle over him and gulp at the bulge in his pants pressing against my thin workout attire.
I grind against him, and he freezes. After several beats, he pulls away, both of us breathe heavily. “I’m sorry,” he says. “We have to stop.”
“Not impressed with the car space?” I ask, going for humor to cover up the fact that I really don’t want to stop.
He chuckles, but a layer of tension tightens his body. He helps me sit back in the passenger seat. “Not ideal, is it?”
He licks his lips, staring out the window for a moment while I arrange myself in the passenger seat, feeling like a little kid. Maybe it’s just because I know the age difference between us, but whenever something like this happens, I feel as if he’s chastising me. Like, I’m the one coming on to him, and he has to be the one to stop it because he’s oh so mature with years and years of wisdom.
Or, I’m reading too much into this because as hot as a car fuck could be, it’s maybe not the best for our first time.
“I should applaud you for your restraint,” I say, dropping my head back to the seat.
He moves his lust-filled gaze to me. “The only thing you should applaud me for is my grip strength when I jerk myself off tonight with thoughts of you.”
Well, hot damn. I squeeze my thighs together. Okay, I’m petty. I know it, but I damn well needed to hear that.
“Johnny seems to be keeping you well satisfied anyway,” Mag says as he adjusts his seat and pulls the car away from the curb.
My cheeks bloom a deep rose color. “He should never have shared that with you.”
He shakes his head. “I signed up for this. I knew you cared for all of them when my feelings grew. You never have to apologize about what you do and who you do it with, Kyla. Never.”
Man, it’s a fucking turn on to hear that. “Thanks,” I tell him sincerely, a simmering burn spreading through my limbs. Jacob may be able to hold off screwing me, but I’m not sure I can. Well, I’m sure I can, but I’m sure I don’t fucking want to. Besides, now that Johnny’s aware of my feelings for everyone else, there’s no reason to hold back anything.
It takes us about ten minutes to get back to the tower. Magnum nods toward the security guy in the booth, but he holds his hand up to stop us from just driving straight through. “Big Daddy K wants to see Kyla as soon as she’s in.”
Mag nods and waves, but as soon as we’re away from the booth, he swears, “Fuck.” A quick check tells me the muscle in his jaw is feathering with this information.
I’m in the same hesitant boat. What the fuck? What does he want to see me for?
“I don’t like this.” He pulls into his usual parking spot and slams his hand against the wheel a couple of times.
“Maybe it’s about the fight,” I say, trying to reason this out with a level head.
“Yeah,” Mag says, voice gruff in a sound that says he’s hardly agreeing at all. He doesn’t know why I’m being summoned, but it must scare the shit out of him. He pulls his cell phone from his pocket and hits Johnny’s name. The phone rings and rings. No one answers. “You try.”
I take my phone out and do the same. It rings until it goes to voicemail, and I shrug.
Mag sighs. “Hopefully, he’s up there.”
He pushes his door open, and I follow. Apprehension floods my stomach, and it’s like I’m walking on a cruise ship as we make our way to the elevator that will take me up to the suite floor. I try to brush off the dread because this legitimately could be about anything. My fight. Brawler’s initiation tasks. Me and Johnny. Gregory?
I pull my shoulders back and plaster on my game face. It doesn’t matter what it is, we got this. If it’s something awful, well, that’s what I’ve trained for. I shake myself out on the elevator and stretch my arms.
Mag bends and pulls his pants leg up. He pulls at a strap and takes off his knife holder. “Here, put this on.”
The knife itself is slim and not super bulky, but I’m wearing leggings. It’s a good thing they’re black, so there’s less of a chance for it to stand out. I pull up the material on my left leg and attach the strap so that the knife is on my inner right calf just above my ankle. When I pull the leg back down, you can see it there, but it’s not a neon sign or anything.
“Use it only if you absolutely have to,” Mag says quickly. “If Johnny’s up there, let him do all the talking. He’ll protect you. With his life.”
Fear crawls over my skin like a million spiders walking up my body with their gross, spindly legs. I want to ask if he thinks he’ll be coming in with me but the elevator dings and the door opens. I lose my chance.
Taking a deep breath, I walk out like I’ve done dozens of times before. The guards don’t pat me down or use the wand on me, so we stride toward K’s door with the knife still strapped just above my ankle. The guard there at the door greets Magnum. “What up, brother?”
“I hear he’s waiting on Kyla,” Mag says, keeping his voice even and calm.
I envy him that facade.
“Yep.” The guard glances at me and gives me a small smile. “She’s to come in immediately,” he says, stretching the word out. If this is serious, K hasn’t let anyone else know. They seem to be in decent moods, even joking a little.
“Is Johnny in there?” I ask. “I can’t get ahold of him.” The off-hand question shouldn’t come as a surprise. I hope, anyway.
“Yeah, he’s in there. He and the guy from Chicago.” The guard kicks the door open behind him and moves out of our way as we walk in. Pressure swarms me, and it feels like the first time when I came into this suite to meet him. I thought I was going to throw up then, and I might just do that now. No matter how hard I try to not be afraid of him, I can’t. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to take his life one day, though, but I’m woman enough to admit he scares the shit out of me.
Magnum and I step farther in, and the guard who let us in closes the door behind us with him on the other side.
My ears perk up, but I don’t hear any noises, and I don’t immediately see anyone either. It isn’t until we get even farther in that Johnny’s slumped form strapped to a chair, blood running down his face, pulls me up short. My stomach threatens to expel at the sight.
“Johnny,” I say almost hesitantly, like I can’t believe it. Then I yell his name, running forward. Magnum tries to grab me, but he just misses. Johnny’s right eye widens as he takes me in. The other is swollen shut. His usually crisp white shirt is bloodied from the gash on his cheek and nose.
His gaze says everything though. He looks at me with a heart full of apology and regret and love.
In that moment, I know I’ll take so much happiness in killing Big Daddy K. Not only for what he did to my parents, but for this moment right here, right now.
A deep growl rips through my throat, and I turn.
Big Daddy K sits cross-legged in a plump chair that usually adorns his living room. The dining room table is pushed to the corner. Johnny is front and center with his father sitting just in front of him. Staring, gloating over what he’s done. “Hello, Kyla. I’m so glad you’re here.”
28
I want to pulverize him. I want t
o take a meat tenderizer to his fucking head.
“Babe?”
Just that one, raspy word stops me. With my hands balled at my sides, I turn back to Johnny. My heart breaks. Blood trickles from his mouth, proving this wasn’t just one punch. Not that that’s any better, but this is a beating. Meant to hurt. Meant to inflict more than just pain.
Meant for submission.
I swallow hard, and he tries to smile for me, but he grimaces in pain instead. “Everything is going to be okay,” he promises.
Can he really promise that anymore? Look what’s happened.
Johnny tilts his head to the side to tell me to come stand next to him. I do as he’s asked, placing my hand around his shoulders while his wrists are tied behind him. Magnum looks on at the scene with completely veiled horror and disgust. It’s in his eyes. On the surface, he appears blank, bored even. But I see it all in his eyes.
“I already told you how sorry I am,” Johnny says, voice strained though he’s trying to talk like he’s in a business meeting. “There’s no need to bring Kyla into this. It was my fault.”
Big Daddy K leans back in his chair, lacing his hands behind his head. “Now, now. I know you want to save face in front of your little girlfriend, but we have to show people, don’t we? Isn’t that one of the top rules I’ve always taught you? When talking isn’t enough, you show people.” His glare moves to me. “You’re probably wondering why Johnny’s being punished.”
I lick my lips, but keep my mouth shut. I’m playing so many games here that admitting to the wrong one could be catastrophic.
Johnny opens his mouth, but K lifts his hand to stop him. “I want the little whore to speak, son.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. It’s obvious now. He’s somehow found out we’ve had sex. I flick my gaze to Magnum, but he’s not giving anything away. We were so careful. Magnum’s been checking our rooms with his bug device. Our phones. Everything.
“I love your son,” I say, pressing my lips together to come up with the right words. I don’t want to have to beg this fucker, but if it gets Johnny out of any more punishment, then I’ll do it. I’ll fucking get on my hands and knees at his feet. “We didn’t mean to go against what you said, but I—”
K’s laugh swallows up all the air in the room. “You didn’t mean to? So, he fell, and his dick slid into your cunt? Is that what you’re telling me happened, Kyla?”
“No,” I say through clenched teeth. It’s not as if I have to have the “when two people fall in love with each other” talk with him, do I? “I love Johnny, and I wanted to share that with him. We didn’t do it to disobey you. We did it because we care about one another.”
“But I told you not to. In fact, I even think I moved you out of his room and sent him a bitch, so he could get over you.”
I nod, even though I’d love to castrate the fucker for referring to women as bitches and because of the overall power he thinks he has over us. “You did, and we kept our distance for a while.”
He slams his hand down on the wood armrest. “But not long enough!”
“Dad,” Johnny says. “I’ll take the punishment. Please just let Kyla go back to her room.”
“Go back to her room? Her room? The one I gave her. The one where we saved her from that fucking shithole she was living in, and this is how she repays us? Is that the one you’re talking about, son?”
Is he for fucking real? I was perfectly fine at my fucking shithole apartment.
“You said you wanted her here, so she could be kept safe, and we did that for her. But what do we find? Blatant disrespect.”
“It was me,” Johnny says. “I talked her into it. I practically held her down because I’m sick like that. You know, like how we play with the whores, Dad. We take what we want. I wanted her pussy, and I took it.”
The venom in his voice sends ice through my veins. He doesn’t mean those awful words. He’s just trying to get me out of this mess. I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not the one tied up with blood running from my face.
“As much as I wish that was true, I know you wouldn’t do that to your precious Kyla. Since she showed up, you’ve gone soft.” K stands, striding toward Johnny.
“Move,” Johnny whispers, and even though I want to stay there and stand my ground, Magnum reaches out to pull me to the side just as K punches Johnny in the face with a closed fist.
Johnny’s head whiplashes back. He stretches his jaw out and then looks forward again, meeting his father’s gaze. Indignation roars inside me, but I gulp it down. Sometimes, the hardest thing we have to do is sit back and watch.
“Since she showed up, you’ve cared more about her than the Crew. What have I always taught you?”
“Crew before everything,” Johnny says, voice slurring.
“Exactly!” K gets in his son’s face, his pallor as red as a firestorm. “Everyone is the property of the Crew. I am. You are. She is. She’s not yours, Johnny. She’s all of ours.”
K turns toward me. I meet his gaze with a stony one myself. He takes a step toward me and reaches out, placing his hand on my tit. He squeezes until it’s painful.
“Don’t you touch her!” Johnny roars.
K laughs, his hand fondling now. “I’m going to have to beat that possessive streak out of you.”
He gives my nipple a pinch right through my shirt and acid fills my stomach. In a flash though, he uses the same hand to punch Johnny again.
Magnum’s hands bite into my hips. He steadies me, rooting me to the ground because right now seems like the absolute perfect time to just grab the knife from my damn pant leg and end this fucking thing.
The guards, though. They’re everywhere. And Johnny probably can’t even walk. There’s no way we would get out of this unnoticed. Free.
“Breathe,” Magnum whispers in my ear. “Fucking breathe, beautiful. You can do this.”
His strong words bring tears to my eyes. I blink to hold them in.
“Kyla was supposed to be your prize for when you took your rightful place beside me. Do you remember that deal you made, boy?”
Johnny nods. He keeps blinking, and I cringe thinking of the pain he must be in.
“Now what am I supposed to do with that?” K turns and strides back to his chair in a huff. “I already told the whole Crew. Should I announce to them that the successor to the largest organization in the area can’t even follow simple fucking instructions? You can get ass whenever you want. Wherever you want. I explained that to you as soon as you started jerking off. No reason to use your hand,” he scoffs. “No reason to ruin anything because of a little piece of pussy.” K waves a dismissive hand toward me. “You’re putting me in a fucking position, son, and I don’t like it. I’m supposed to be able to rely on you more than anyone else. Anyone else,” he grits out.
“You can,” Johnny says.
I move my gaze toward him and recognize the determined look in his eyes. He’s trying to regain his father’s trust instead of thinking of different ways he could blow him to pieces.
I’ve never had a parent turn on me. I don’t know what that’s like. I’ve always said I would give anything to have my mom and dad back here, but I also like to think if they treated me this way, I’d know where to draw the fucking line. Big Daddy K has Johnny by the balls. I get that. He has shit on him. He uses the parental card. He has his manipulation down to a T.
“You’re forcing me to come up with another way to punish you. I can’t let everyone else know you defied me. What happens when people defy me?”
“We eliminate them,” Johnny says, voice dark. He inches his chin higher in the air.
K nods slowly. He picks at the fabric on the chair he’s sitting in like it’s a lazy Sunday. “I don’t want to do that to you. My only son.” He lifts his gaze. “But you also know I just can’t let you get away with disrespecting me, don’t you?”
“I know,” Johnny says. He forces his shoulders back as if he’s going to face whatever his dad has in store for him
head on.
Inside my head, I’m screaming, The beating isn’t enough?! Fuck you, you fucking prick! You got your point across.
“And you know it has to involve Kyla, too,” K says, like it’s the last thing he wants to say. His voice is contrite. His face even looks as if Johnny is forcing him to do this. This is manipulation 101.
Johnny’s throat works. His pulse triples in time until it looks like the rapid flutter of a hummingbird’s wings. “I’ll take it all. I deserve it.”
K shakes his head. “Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s true.” His snide glare slides to me. “Kyla’s new, and she needs to understand what exactly she’s in for now that you’ve chosen her.”
I swear I can hear Johnny’s teeth grinding from here. He so wants to say something, but wisely keeps his mouth shut.
K shrugs. “So, I thought, what better way to treat a whore than to treat her like a whore?”
My stomach clenches, and Magnum’s fingers bite into my sides again. To K, it probably looks as if he’s holding me back from him, and he is, but for different reasons than he might believe. Magnum doesn’t give a fuck about K, but he does give a fuck about Johnny and me.
“What are you saying, father?”
“Jiko!” K calls out.
In the flurry of shit since we walked in the door, I’d forgotten he was supposed to be here. A door opens behind Johnny, and I glance over at the figure striding in. His gaze meets mine, holds it, and doesn’t look away as he moves opposite us. He’s dressed in his suit still, perfectly tailored, perfectly ironed. Shoulders back, chin out. He has the look down. That post, rich boy, I deserve everything look. Johnny usually has that down, too.
“Another thing you should remember, Jonathan,” K says with a smirk. “Sometimes your friends aren’t always your friends.”
The look I give Jiko should incinerate him on the spot. I don’t even have to hear K’s next words to know that Johnny confided in Jiko, telling him we had sex, and now Jiko’s used that against us. He’s told Big Daddy K our secret. The secret that got Johnny looking like this.