by Erin Trejo
“What now pretty boy?” I ask him and await his answer.
Chapter 22
CARNIE
Part of me is nervous as hell, but the other part is bored out of my mind. I’ve been sitting on our old couch with
Viking for the last two hours. It’s like torture. I can’t touch him and I want to choke Eric. Half of his goons have left, so we have somewhat of an advantage if we could just get out of these zip ties somehow. Eric paces the floor in front of us clearly unsure of what to do next.
“This is stupid Eric. Let us go before the other guys find us and kill you,” I sneer at him.
I want to snap. That’s when he’s the most unsteady. Viking clears his throat next to me, but he doesn’t understand Eric like I do.
“Shut up Carnie. This is all your fault. I wouldn’t have had to do this if you hadn’t left me.” I instantly roll my eyes.
“You kept me a hostage in my own home Eric. What the hell did you think was going to happen?” I ask him. “I kept you here for me. You’re mine.”
“I was yours. I’m not anymore,” I remind him.
Viking shifts uncomfortably next to me. I know he told me not to egg him on, but this is what we need to do to get him to make a move.
“You’re still mine Carnie. You always have been. As soon as the boys round up the money you’ll be mine again. We’re getting out of here and lover boy there won’t be able to find you,” he says proudly.
Fuck. Way to throw a game changer in there. Viking growls low in his throat, but I speak up before he gets the chance.
“Where are we going?” I ask making sure to put emphasis on the we.
“I’m not telling you. That’s the whole point, isn’t it?” Eric says glaring at me.
“This is stupid Eric. If you wanted me to go with you why didn’t you just ask me?”
He laughs a dark, menacing laugh.
“I sent my boy to get you didn’t I? I’d say that didn’t go over too well for him,” he says with a sigh.
“You sent someone. You should have come yourself,” my scream becomes louder and the more I scream the more I want to punch him in the face.
“Like that would have worked,” he mumbles under his breath.
“It would have. It would have showed me that you really loved me.”
I’m trying my best to keep my tone calm and as real sounding as possible, but this is just hard as hell. Thank fuck I never wanted to be an actress. Viking shifts a little, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation, but I know what I’m doing.
“Really? Because I didn’t show you enough? I did everything for you. I got into this bullshit, for you,” he roars.
“Stop lying. You did this for yourself. You never did anything
but isolate me Eric. I couldn’t go to school, couldn’t have friends, hell I couldn’t even go out for a walk. Don’t turn this around on me,” I tell him in a harsh tone.
Eric walks around, but suddenly stops. His eyes come up to meet mine.
“Do you love me Carnie?”
That simple question only requires a yes or no answer but I sit here in stunned silence. I’ve never been a person to say I love someone without truly meaning it, but I’m about to lie to him and probably hurt Viking in the process.
“Yes.”
I say it with all of the strength I can muster. I can see Viking swallow hard with his throat bobbing. My heart clenches with the lie I just told. Eric watches me. He’s not saying a word. It’s intense. Way too intense. The room is thick with tension and the air is heavy.
“Can I go to the bathroom Eric?” I ask needing an exit.
I need away from the heat that’s rolling off Viking in waves. I need away from Eric who is still looking at me.
Slowly Eric nods his head and motions for me to stand. I shove myself up and walk toward him. He grabs me in his arms and kisses me roughly. I fight the urge to throw up and swallow it back down. When he breaks the kiss he pulls my head to his chest.
“We’ll make this work,” he whispers against me.
I can hear the rapid beat of his heart against my ribs. He reaches into his pocket as he pushes me back and pulls out a knife. He cuts the zip tie and shoves me in the direction of the bathroom. I hurry and close the door behind me. I turn on the water and open a drawer to grab one of his razor blades. My heart is thudding in my ears. I really hope I’m doing the right thing here. I slip the razor into my back pocket, flush the toilet, and open the door. I’m startled to see Eric standing there smirking at me. My heart is beating overtime. I’m fearful he knows I took a razor or that he just knows I did something. What if he checks? What if he finds it on me?
“Arms behind your back,” he says with a smile.
“I thought we were okay Eric?” I ask softly as I bat my eyelashes at him. He chuckles in return.
“We are. I still don’t trust you or him though,” he says nodding over his shoulder to Viking.
“It’s okay. I understand. So, what’s next?” I ask sweetly as he zips a tie pulling my hands back together.
In my head I’m praying to god that he doesn’t find the razor in my pocket. Eric leads me back to the couch and shoves me down while I stare up at him.
“We’re waiting. I told you that my guys are out picking up a little ransom and then they’ll be back,” he says as surely as he can.
Viking chuckles and says, “Ransom? Tell me you didn’t ask my club for money to get me back?”
I almost laugh at that thought, but I can see by the look in Eric’s eyes that is exactly what he did.
“They’ll pay for you Viking. You’re the fucking president.” Viking chuckles, but it quickly turns into full blown laughter. Eric moves closer to us and slams the butt of his gun against Viking’s eye.
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Eric can’t you just call them and tell them to hurry?” I interrupt their little bitch fight. It’s almost funny that Viking told me not to mess with him, but he’s doing exactly that.
“It’s not that easy Carnie. We have a system.”
He takes a step back and runs his hand through his hair. He turns to the two idiots that stayed with him and whispers something to them. I take that as my chance and scoot closer to Viking. I lean forward and Viking’s eyes stay on me the whole time. I keep watching Eric as I maneuver my fingers into the back pocket of my jeans. Very slowly I slip the blade free. I nick my finger as I pull it out. I wince, but keep my eyes on Eric. I shift and move my ass closer to Viking.
“Now isn’t the time for that darlin’,” he whispers under his breath.
I throw my head around to look at him before I jerk my head toward my back. He nods as if he understands me. I look back toward Eric and I’m happy to see that he’s still talking to his friends. Viking’s finger skims across mine. Heat races through my body just from that small connection. He grabs the blade and shifts himself back into his spot. I watch him as he shifts forward. He’s no doubt trying to manipulate the blade so that he can free himself. Eric’s lackey buddies leave the apartment and I sigh in relief.
“Eric can we please talk this over?” I plead with him.
He shakes his head, pulls out his phone, and steps out the front door. He keeps it propped open slightly so that he can hear us. I wish this shit was over with already.
Chapter 23
VIKING
She’s a sneaky little thing. I thought she was just a little horny with all the excitement at first, but once I saw that blade glistening in her fingers I knew I was dead wrong. I also felt the warmth of blood on it when I took it and that made me wonder how bad her cut was. I slice through the zip tie, free my hands, and keep them behind my back until I know Eric’s on his phone. When I can hear his hushes talking I move.
“Is there a back way out of here?” I whisper catching Carnie’s attention.
“There’s a fire escape outside the bedroom window.”
“I want you to back up slowly until you’re against me. I’m gonna cut
you loose. I’m sure he’s got his boys out front somewhere. Here’s the plan,” I begin to tell her while I’m checking to make sure Eric isn’t peeking in on us.
Carnie shifts and I cut the zip tie free. I hold her hands in the same position. She gasps and I give her a quiet chuckle.
“I’ll have to remember to tie you up later. For now though we need to move as quietly as possible. We can’t slam the door or he’ll hear us, yeah? I want you to go to the fire escape. When you get to the bottom you run. When you get to the third complex down, go in through the back door. Go up to the third floor. There’s a maintenance room there. Shut the door and get behind whatever you can. You wait for me. If I’m not there in thirty minutes then you run down the hallway screamin’ for help. Someone will call the police. You got me?”
Carnie shakes her head rapidly turning her head to face me. “I don’t want to leave you. Please don’t make me.”
I release her hands and pull her face to mine. I kiss her quickly. Then I push her back.
“We have no other options. My shoulder’s fucked. I can’t fight more than one or two of them. I need you to go. I’ll be right behind you Carnie,” I try to assure her.
“No,” she says firmly as anger courses through my veins.
“Carnie I fuckin’ love you, but I can’t fight you on this. I need you to be safe okay? With my shoulder fucked I can’t hang on like you can. You’ll move quicker without me. I promise you I’m comin’. Get over there and wait for me,” I say holding her face inches from mine and watching her eyes.
“You love me?”
Fuck me. Of everything I just told her that’s what she hears?
“Yeah I do. Now get the fuck outta here. For me,” I tell her quickly.
She nods her head and I press one last kiss to her lips before I shove her off the couch. My eyes stay on Eric as she slowly moves through the room. I could kill the fucker with this blade. The idea sends a chill up my spine. I hold the blade in my hand and move to stand behind the door. I’ve always liked having the element of surprise on my side. I can hear him say to hurry the fuck up before his footsteps come back toward the door. The door shifts and he walks in.
“Shit,” he roars.
I know we don’t need the extra distraction of his boys coming in. I reach for him with my bad arm before he moves anymore. I’m holding him around his throat. I pull him back to my chest and bring the blade around to the front of it.
“I’d say I had a good time, but I really didn’t. Hope you realize just what you’ve sent your boys into,” I whisper in his ear.
His body trembles a little which only serves to excite me more as he asks, “What the fuck do you mean?”
“Did you really think you could just demand money from a group of bastards like us? Did you not do your research Eric? We’re called Soulless Bastards for a reason man.”
Before he can respond I slide the blade across his throat. I cut deep enough to kill, but just shallow enough for him to endure the pain for a while. He chokes on his blood. The muffled sounds make my dick hard. What a fucking waste of a life. I slowly lower his body to the floor being as quiet as possible. I close the door and lock the deadbolt before I look down at the motherfucker that almost ruined my girl.
“She was never yours to have Eric. She always had a mind of her own and a set of wings. You kept them clipped so that she couldn’t fly. Now I’m gonna love watchin’ her spread those fuckers and soar.”
He gasps for air as I step past him and rush to the bathroom. I cringe as I look at the bed he used to share with her. He lied to her there. He made her hate herself. Bastard.
I climb onto the fire escape and make my way down slowly. This fucked up shoulder is giving me hell. I’m still pretty pissed about it, but as soon as my feet hit the pavement I run. I jog close to the edge of the building and keep peeking around to make sure none of his assholes are there. When I don’t see any I start to move again, but then I hear it.
“Eric?”
Well shit. They found him quicker than I would have hoped. I pick up my pace and head inside the third complex just like I told Carnie to do. I take the stairs to my left and jog up to the third floor. I’m sucking in air when I find the room I sent her to and am praying that she actually went into it. I turn the handle, step into the dark room, and let my eyes adjust as I look for her.
“Carn?” She doesn’t answer. Fuck. “Baby girl you in here?”
That’s when I hear it. A muffled cry. My eyes jerk to the corner to find her curled into herself. I walk toward her when her head pops up. She stirs up so many emotions within me that I can barely keep them all straight. When my eyes meet hers there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I love this girl.
“You’re bleeding,” she says as she looks at my hand.
“It’s not mine. I know you have a past with him Carnie, and maybe you still loved him, but…” I let my sentence trail off not knowing how she might react to the fact that I just killed the man that she spent years of her life loving. The man she thought the world of is dead by my hands. Carnie slowly shoves herself off of the floor to walk toward me.
“I never realized what love was until I was with you. I know what I thought it was, but it wasn’t real. You’re real Viking. Whatever I feel when I’m with you is real,” she says which makes my heart clench. “I’m sorry that I messed up your life. It’s my fault he did that to your house. Your home.”
When she begins to cry uncontrollably I lose it. I grab her, pull her into my arms, and hold her as tightly as I can with my shoulder.
“You didn’t do shit but love me. No one has ever given me
that Carnie. Not since my parents anyway. I don’t think you
realize just how much that means to me.”
“What do we do now?”
“We gotta hang back in here for a while. They’ll have their boys scoutin’ the area in no time. After that we get to a phone and get someone to come pick us up,” I tell her breathing her in.
“What are we going to do until then?” she purrs as she sniffles back her tears.
I chuckle and pull away from her long enough to look into her eyes and ask, “What did you have in mind?”
“We’re in a dark room. There’s no one around. Hmmm. I can think of a few possibilities.”
“Don’t forget I’m injured here. You’re gonna have to do all the work baby girl,” I tell her nodding toward my shoulder.
She smiles up at me and the soft light coming in through the window cascades around her.
“I think I can handle that.”
“Well in that case let me just check the door to make sure it’s locked up tight.”
I step back from her and turn to the door. After checking the lock and shoving an older dresser in front of it I turn back to see Carnie standing there in nothing. My eyes travel over her body and I admire the way she’s put on some weight lately. It fills her out nicely. Makes her more womanly and soft. Fuck my cock is straining to get out of my jeans and get at her. I take a few slow, deliberate steps toward her. She smiles at me. “Can I get to work now?”
Chapter 24
CARNIE
“I’m really worried about that bone Viking. An x-ray can rule it out,” the doctor tells him as we sit in the clubhouse. His good hand is wrapped tightly around mine.
“No fuckin’ x-ray. Just patch me up doc. I’ll live,” he says looking at me with a grin.
The guys are all huddled around us watching and listening as Viking fills them in on what happened. They’re all pissed as hell, but someone is missing. Fin. Mason said he called him and his only response was voicemail. It kills me inside that I’ve hurt him this bad.
“Can we get some drinks?” Viking roars which makes everyone laugh.
The girls scurry off to get the drinks. The guys sit around waiting for the doctor to leave. I just sit silently next to Viking rethinking everything that’s happened. I was scared to death Eric would really follow through with his plan. I really
thought I might never see Fin or Viking again. I didn’t question his motives. Eric was a different breed of man. He wasn’t like Viking. He couldn’t take no for an answer, but Viking was okay with a no.
Once the doctor finishes up Viking releases his grip on me. He heads toward the bar to grab a bottle of Jack before the door opens. Everyone freezes as we’re all still on edge. Fin walks in with Molly right behind him. I let out a sigh and stand up from my chair. His eyes catch on mine and there’s nothing to be said. Tears fill my eyes as I run to him. He moves toward me at the same time. He catches me when I leap into his arms. Hugging me tightly he keeps me pressed against him as I cry.
“Thank god you’re okay baby girl,” he whispers in my ear. I hang onto him as tightly as I possibly can. I never want to let him go.
“We need to talk Carnie.”
I nod my head when he goes to pull away. He grabs my hand in his. We both look over at Viking and he gives a slight nod before Fin pulls me down the hallway. He stops in front of one the rooms and opens the door, ushering me inside. I find my way to the bed and sit down on it as he runs his hand through his hair.
“I was scared to death when they called me Carnie. They told me Viking’s place blew up, and fuck I thought I had lost you,” he says which makes me sob even harder.
“They took us from there,” I tell him.
“Do you really care about him? He’s so much older than you. You know I’m not one to make a big deal about age, but fuck Carnie.”
“I know Fin. I know this isn’t what you wanted for me. It isn’t what I was looking for either. It just happened. I swear to you I was only trying to do what was best, but Viking’s different. He lets me see parts of him that I’m not sure many others ever get to. He understands me and knows what I want in life. He pushes me to do it. I love him Fin.”