Cookie
I’d never been angrier at anyone in my life. I didn’t even know if I was this angry at Frank. He at least had a reason for wanting to kill me. Even if I didn’t agree with it. What could’ve been so important at the office that he handcuffed me to the bed to go take care of it? It was late. The office should’ve been closed.
I was so pissed that I wanted to keep screaming, but I’d already made myself hoarse. If Vince gave me the chance, I was going to slap the shit out of him.
I’d been cuffed for hours already and I needed to pee. I also needed to get the hell out of there. I didn’t want to be around Vince. The idea of getting me pregnant was so horrifying to him that he’d almost let me get killed.
I’d had a moment of complete horror when I’d realized Frank was sitting next to us at the light. I’d been telling Vince to go and he wasn’t listening. For a flash of a second, I’d had the insane fear that he’d decided to just let Frank take care of the problem. I couldn’t be pregnant if I was fucking dead.
That was crazy, though. Obviously. The thought had wizened me up to what I’d been doing, though. I was going crazy with Vince like I didn’t have a care in the world. I’d been sleeping with a man whom I didn’t know. While I didn’t think he’d give me up to Frank to get away from me, I couldn’t say for sure because I didn’t know him.
I was being stupid. I’d planned on leaving as soon as I dried off and got dressed. I could go back to the shelter. Although having all of my money in my duffel would be dangerous there, I didn’t have a lot of choices.
Also, the way Vince had gotten giddy over the car chase scared me. I was getting close to a man who clearly had a fucking death wish. He’d been happy to be racing through the city with Frank on our ass shooting at me. He’d enjoyed himself. What kind of man was that to hang around? I didn’t have a death wish. I had a Dream and that involved me being very alive and not taking chances that could get me very dead.
Of course, it all led me to thinking about our sex. It’d been wild and crazy. I’d wanted it that way, but I knew that there were men who wanted to sleep with strippers for the thrill of saying they slept with a stripper. It was stupid and awful. Had Vince wanted it for the thrill? I’d let him do things that were wilder and crazier than typical sex. I’d let him fuck me in public. Did he get off so hard because I was a slutty stripper who’d let him do shit like that?
My brain was throbbing and I was miserable. I wanted to run away. I didn’t want to have to face him and see his stupid, sincere-looking face.
Unfortunately, I was stuck. His very readily available handcuffs in his bedside drawer were the real deal and there was no way I could slip out of them. I was there until he decided to let me go.
Hours passed. I knew because I could hear the constant ticking from the clock in the kitchen. The whole house was as silent as a mausoleum. I nodded off a few times, but mostly I just lay there, slowly driving myself insane with all of my thoughts.
I’d nodded off when I heard his truck. I could see light coming in from outside and I was instantly irate that he’d left me cuffed to his bed for so long. I pretended to be asleep and waited for him to come in. I didn’t know what his plan was, but I was shocked when he stumbled in and fell face first into bed next to me.
He slung his arm over my hip and pulled me closer before grunting and going quiet.
I stayed still for forever to make sure he was asleep before reaching over and trying to find the key in his pockets. I’d seen him drop it into his left pocket—and, luckily, that side was closest to me. I found it immediately and as silently as possible unlocked myself from the bed.
I hurried into the bathroom and peed before sneaking into my duffel and finding clothes to put on. I was pulling on a T-shirt when I thought about what I wanted to do. I could just leave and it would be over and done with. I’d go crazy wondering about all of the questions I had for him, though. I wanted to know stuff before I left.
I pulled off the shirt and dressed in a lingerie set instead. It was one from my club bag and left little to the imagination. I pulled it on and, as quietly as possible, removed the handcuffs from the bed and took them with me to the kitchen. I snapped one cuff around the stove and let the other one dangle before pulling ice cream out of the freezer and hopping on top of the counter to eat it.
I had time to think about what I was doing and instead of changing my mind and just leaving, I enjoyed my ice cream and then ate Vince’s, too. He didn’t get ice cream.
I found my phone and put it on Vince’s charger so I could play games while I waited. I was too amped up to try to sleep while waiting on him. I was ready to punish him. Maybe it was wrong, but my feelings were hurt. No one had ever been able to make me feel like a stripper before, if that made any sense.
Hours later, when I heard Vince getting up, I moved to where I had my back to the stove and the cuffs were hidden. I pretended to be scrolling through my phone and casually glanced up when he came sliding into the kitchen.
“Thank fuck. I thought you’d—” He moved closer, his eyes trailing down my body. “What are you wearing, Carolina?”
I smiled. “I thought I’d surprise you, show you that I forgive you for handcuffing me to the bed.”
He was obviously still half asleep because he came closer. “Shit. How are you so good? Last night was awful and I was dreading you being angry with me.”
I grabbed the loose end of the cuff and smiled. “Obviously, you did it for my own good. Right?”
He nodded and grabbed my waist the way he always did. When I easily snapped the cuff on him, he looked down, confused, and by the time he looked back up, I was already on the other side of the kitchen.
“Of course I’m still angry at you, dickhead. You cuffed me to your bed and left me alone all night. I had to pee. I was hungry. I was upset. I wanted to leave. You cuffed me there and left me!”
His head dropped and he sighed. “Can you uncuff me and we can talk about this normally?”
“I’d rather talk about it while you’re chained up like a dog, the same way you left me.” I moved to the other side of the island and glared at him.
“Carolina!” He shouted my name and turned on me with anger and frustration on his face. “Uncuff me right now.”
I stepped back. “No.”
“Uncuff me!” His face had gone red and he was obviously upset.
“Yell all you want. I’m not going to uncuff you.”
He yanked at the cuff and the oven door slammed open partway. It creaked and I went wide-eyed as I thought about him ripping the oven door off. I backed up even farther.
Vince seemed to notice and went still. “I’m not going to hurt you, Carolina. You should know that.”
“Why? Because you care about me so much? You don’t even know me. We’re practically strangers.”
“I guess I deserve this.” He slammed the oven door shut and braced his free hand on the counter, facing away from me. “It’s been a long night. I want to talk about it and apologize the right way, but this isn’t working for me. Uncuff me and we’ll talk.”
“No.”
“Goddammit, Carolina!” He exploded. “Jade is dead. Someone went into her house last night and slit her throat. I couldn’t come back here right away because the cops were investigating Mercer. Again. He was the last one there, according to them, and they’re going to try to pin another murder on him!”
I backed into the wall behind me. “Jade’s… dead?”
He slumped. “Yes. She’s fucking dead. Now take these cuffs off of me.”
“She told me…” I hesitated. I wasn’t thinking anything that he was going to like, I was sure.
“What?”
“She told me that Mercer scared her.”
He froze. When he looked at me, his eyes were hard and cold. “Mercer isn’t a fucking killer. He’d never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it. Why were you talking to her about Mercer, anyway?”
I balled my fists up and gla
red back at him. “You said this isn’t the first murder he’s been investigated for. She said she was afraid of him. The cops said that he was the last person there. That doesn’t look good.”
“Take these fucking cuffs off of me, Carolina.”
“Why? So you can scream in my face? No, thanks. I’m leaving. This is insane.” I shook my head. “You know what? You’re scaring me. I don’t want to be here when you get free.”
“I’m sorry. Carolina, please. I’m just upset. It’s been a long night. I don’t want to scream at you. I just want to talk and then maybe get back in bed and sleep for a few more hours.”
I ignored him, instead hurrying into his room to grab my stuff and throw it in my bag. I pulled on a T-shirt and shorts and slung the bag over my shoulder and my phone in my pocket.
When I had everything, I made my way back out to the kitchen and stopped. Standing in the doorway, across from me, across from Vince, were four children who looked younger than ten. I jumped, shocked to see them.
“Guys, this is my friend, Carolina. Carolina, these are my nieces and nephews. They’ve stopped by for a surprise visit. I must’ve left the alarm off and the door unlocked this morning.” Vince had blocked the cuffs from sight and looked over at me with a pleading expression on his face.
I grabbed the key to the cuffs and hurried over to his side, not willing to shame him in front of his family. I unlocked the cuffs and smiled at the kids. “You guys can call me Cookie. It’s nice to meet you.”
They all rushed into the kitchen at once, all talking at once. They climbed up Vince like he was a jungle gym and he smiled at them and let them, even though there was strain behind the smile.
I picked my bag up and edged my way to the door. I just wanted to slip out and get away.
“Well, look at what we’ve got here! Little bro was having a sleepover.” An older, not as built version of Vince walked in, blocking my exit. He had Vince’s grin as he held out his hand to me. “Van. I’m Vince’s big brother.”
“And I’m his big sister, Veronica. Who are you?” A smaller, female version of Vince followed Van in and stared at me. There was a protective gleam in her eye as she took me in.
“Guys, this is Caroli—”
“Cookie. I’m Cookie and I was just leaving. It’s nice to meet y’all, though. I won’t get in the way of family bonding.”
Van pulled me under his arm and tsked. “Nonsense. We need a buffer, anyway. We don’t exactly get along all the time. You’re staying. We’re doing an intervention. Little brother hasn’t come by to see Mom in forever and she’s upset. So, she’s coming over to check on him.”
His mom? No fucking way. I eased out from under Van’s arm and looked back at Vince for help. After what we’d just gone through, surely to God, he wouldn’t go along with me staying.
“That’s a great idea. I was just trying to convince her to stay. She can take some of Mom’s attention off of me.”
“Vince, I really have to go.”
He came over and pulled me into his side. “Like Van said. Nonsense.”
The sound of metal clinking caught our attention and we looked over to see the kids playing with the handcuffs. Veronica screamed instantly. “Billie, Carter, Jace, and Amarie! Get away from those right now! Go into the living room and find some cartoons. Those are big-kid toys and they have cooties!”
I felt my face burn and tried to slink away from Vince’s grip.
“No, honey. You’re staying and helping me with my family today. Okay?” He squeezed me tighter and then stole a kiss. When he pulled away, he looked into my eyes and there was softness there again. “I’m sorry. I can’t let you walk away, though.”
“What are you two lovebirds whispering about?” Van smacked Vince on the back and went over to the handcuffs. “You two think you could talk to Connie about this kind of stuff? She doesn’t believe in shit like this.”
“Watch your language, Van!” Veronica must’ve had supersonic hearing to hear him from the living room.
“We’ll be right back.” Vince tugged me towards his room. “You get yourself stuck in those and I’m not helping you get out, jackass.”
He pulled me into the bedroom and shut the door behind us before dragging me into the bathroom and shutting that door, too. Then he pushed me against it and kissed me. Hard.
I pummeled his chest with my fists, but it was like hitting a brick wall. He just grabbed my hands and held them still against his stomach as he rested his forehead against mine. He was breathing heavily, his eyes flashing, his lips bruised from the kiss.
“I’m fucking sorry. For all of it. I wish I could let you see inside, somehow, so you could see how serious I am. I freaked out. I almost cost you your life and I wouldn’t have been okay if I did let Porter take you out while I was sitting right there, able to stop it.
“I fucked up handcuffing you to the bed, too. Again, I was in panic mode about Jade, about Mercer. I just wanted you to stay here, where it’s at least kind of safe. Selfishly, I also wanted to come home to you. I’m just fucking sorry. For yelling at you this morning, too. I’m not used to any of this shit, Carolina.”
I squeezed my eyes shut as he spoke. My heart was beating out a stampede.
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just trying to figure all of this out as I go along and I messed up.”
I opened my eyes and looked up at him. “I know this is stupid, considering all of the other shit, but was I just a stripper to screw? I know that I started this and I know that I said I was using you, but… I didn’t think you were using me.”
“Fuck, Carolina. No.” He leaned down so we were eye level. “I saw you and knew I had to have you. For what reason, I still don’t fucking know. You could’ve been a fucking librarian and I still would’ve felt like this. And that high that comes with being with you has nothing to do with you being a stripper. It’s just you. You make my heart race. You’re wild and I love that.”
“So, it wasn’t ’cause I’m a stripper?” Embarrassingly, I started to sniffle.
“No. Matter of fact, I really hate that. I don’t want other men looking at your body. I know that it’s wrong of me to say that, but I don’t give a fuck.”
I laughed a little as I wiped my eyes. “You’re stupid.”
He picked me up and wrapped his arms under my ass and across my back, holding me to him. “Can you please stop being mad at me? I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
I bit my lip. “I don’t know.”
“Come on. What kind of gift to you would I be if I didn’t keep putting out and making you happy?”
Chapter 19
Cookie
I was weak. Or stupid. I didn’t know which. When I should’ve zigged, I zagged. Staying with Vince and his family to pretend like everything was okay, while Frank was out there trying to kill me, and Jade was dead, was crazy. Playing with children and getting to know his parents and siblings like the world wasn’t imploding didn’t make any sense. Yet, that’s what I did.
We cooked dinner together and they gave Vince a hard time about being too busy to see them all the time. The children ran through the house, screaming and laughing, calling out to their Uncle Vinny. It was something I’d never experienced.
I’d never had the real family experience, I guessed, and that added to my anxious feelings, too. Stealing Vince’s and pretending like it was my own wasn’t healthy. They sucked me in, though, and made it easier to act like my emotions weren’t running the gauntlet when it came to Vince.
When my biological clock started ticking for the first time in my life, I considered literally running from the property. I had a plan. It didn’t involve Vince or children. The Dream didn’t have room for anything else. It also didn’t have room for feelings of longing, wishing for things that I couldn’t have.
By the end of the day, I was exhausted. I felt raw and I was questioning my judgment. Because I should’ve gone. I had no business continuing things with Vince. Not after everything. No
t when I could feel myself forming stupid little strings of attachment to him.
After his family left, all of them with hugs goodbye to me, I crawled into his bed and fell asleep hard. I didn’t dream, didn’t have nightmares; I just slept. I didn’t wake up when Vince came to bed and I didn’t know anything else was going wrong in the world. It was almost peaceful.
I woke up with a jolt when Vince’s cursing broke through my sleep. It was daylight outside and when I wiped my eyes and looked around, I could see Vince rushing about, jamming his legs into a pair of pants.
“What’s wrong?” Besides everything.
“Lauren’s been calling all night. I slept through it.” He turned around, stepping into his boots. “The cops tried to arrest Mercer and he ran. He’s gone.”
I pulled the sheet up around my chest and tried to make sense of everything. “Do innocent men run?”
Vince gave me a hard look. “They do when they’re being framed and when the idea of being locked up in a tiny cage sends them back to being a prisoner of war, beaten and tortured every day.”
I swallowed. “I’m sorry, Vince.”
“Don’t be. You just… you don’t know him. Mercer is different now, but he’s still my brother. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“Okay.”
“Okay what?” He yanked on a shirt and stopped long enough to sit next to me on the bed and lace up his boots.
I rested my hand on his arm. “Okay, I believe you.”
He slumped for a second and shook his head. “This is crazy. Mercer doesn’t deserve this. No one knows where he is, or where he’s going. He’s trained to survive on his own, of course, but we need him back here.”
“To help with the business?”
He looked at me. “Because we’re a team. We’re brothers and we stick together.”
Stupidly, I felt another one of those little strings attaching itself to him. “Where are you going now?”
“The office. We have to figure out what to do.”
“Want me to come with you?” I didn’t know what I’d do, but I couldn’t imagine sitting around his house would be any better. Not when it’d be so tempting to leave.
Black Dog Security- Complete 5-Part Series Page 59