by K. J. Dahlen
A few hours later, Mikial’s phone buzzed and when he answered, Pepper stirred. She felt refreshed and good enough for another round. Sitting up, she gazed out the window and saw that night had fallen. Her stomach growled and she smiled. For the first time in days, she felt hungry.
Turning to Mikial, she saw him smiling slightly. “What?”
Grinning widely, he asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Starving actually.”
“Good, the others are just about to order supper.” He reached for his pants.
Pepper got out of bed and reached for her own clothes. Then they crossed the hall and entered Yuri’s apartment
Raven looked up at her and smiled. She was sitting on the couch looking at some typed pages. “Are you feeling better?”
Pepper nodded. “I think I needed that rest. My mind isn’t so clogged now.”
Raven’s eyes twinkled. “Okay, sounds good. So glad your mind isn’t so clogged anymore.” She chuckled.
“Works for me.” Pepper laughed. Looking around she asked, “What’s going on? Did you find anything else out?”
“We did,” Raven informed her with a grin.
“My men intercepted a phone call between Leon Knight and Timothy Flynn,” Yuri told her as he handed her several pages of typed correspondences.
“What are these?” she asked as she took the pages.
“This is what the two men talked about.”
Pepper shifted her eyes to the pages and began to read.
“Hello,” Leon answered the phone.
“What the fuck is your man doing?” Timothy asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean he fucking ran down her roommate, what the fuck is he doing?”
“I had no idea he was going to do that?” Leon said. “This is beginning to become a clusterfuck of epic proportion.”
When she read the words written there, Pepper felt something slam into her heart. She cried out and slipped to her knees on the floor. Wrapping her arms around her belly, she felt her head exploding. “No, it can’t be,” she whimpered.
Raven cried out for Yuri and everyone came running.
Mikial dropped down beside Pepper. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Pepper didn’t hear him her mind was like sludge as she tried to remember her past. Voices screaming and yelling and she was hiding behind to sofa, scrunched down with her tiny hands over her ears as she tried not to listen to the fight her parents were having.
Her eyes were tightly shut and she was supposed to be in her room but she had snuck out and hid behind the sofa, hoping to catch sight of who her mother was talking too. Usually, when he or anyone came around, her mother would ask her to stay in her room.
Pepper would always peek out and see who her mother was entertaining but normally, it wouldn’t turn into a shouting match like it had that day. Being as tiny as she was, she snuck into the living room and waited for her mother to talk to her visitor. Her mother told her that day was going to be a new start for both of them. Today was supposed to be a special day. Her mother had wonderful news to share.
Rocking back and forth, she was hyperventilating as she began to remember everything. Her arms tightened around her waist as memory after memory assaulted her senses. She peered up at Mikial.
“What are you remembering?” he whispered.
“He was there the day my mom got hurt.”
“Who? Who was there?” Raven asked.
“I don’t know his name, I never knew his n-name,” she whispered brokenly. She rocked back and forth slowly. “Mom never told me who he was but I remember waking up at night hearing their voices. Most of the time they were hushed voices but once in a while, they sounded angry then I would hear them going into her bedroom and it would be a long time before they came out a-again.”
“What happened that day?’ Yuri asked as he sat down on the sofa beside Raven. “Can you remember?”
Pepper shook her head. “I don’t want to remember that day,” she cried out.
Mikial wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Looking over his shoulder at Yuri, he shook his head.
Yuri’s lips tightened. “Honey, Please try. We need you to remember what happened.”
Pepper rocked back and forth. Burying her face in Mikial’s chest, she didn’t say anything for a long time. Tears rolled down her face and she cried for a few minutes. “Mom was all dressed up that day. She’d taken a long bath and put on her best dress. I watched while she put on her makeup. She was almost giddy with excitement waiting for him.”
“Him?” Yuri asked. “Who is he?”
Pepper shrugged. “I asked her that but she told me it was a surprise, a surprise for both of us. I remember she was very happy that day.”
“What happened then?” Mikial asked.
“She heard his car coming down the driveway and told me to wait in my room. She wanted to tell him her news and then she would call me out to meet him.” She glanced at Mikial and fresh tears ran down her cheeks. “I heard him slap her and I snuck out of my room and hid behind the sofa. He yelled at her. I can’t remember the words he was saying but I felt the anger. He yelled at her that he couldn’t marry her because he was already married and had been married all along.” She closed her eyes and began rocking again. “My Mom was shook. She yelled at him and slapped his face. She called him a monster. She told him she’d given him a daughter that he showed no interest in and was now giving him another child and she hadn’t known he was already married.”
“Did you know he was your father?” Yuri asked.
Pepper shook her head. “No he was never around when I was awake. He always came after dark. When I asked about my dad, my mom would always tell me someday, I would meet him but just not yet.”
“Then what happened?” Mikial asked.
“They screamed at each other some more but I had my hands over my ears and didn’t hear what they said. Then the room shook and the sofa flew back and hit the wall. I was stuck but managed to wiggle out. Peeking around the end of the sofa, I saw the man sitting on top of my mom with his hands around her throat. She was laying on the floor and there was glass all over the floor. The coffee table was busted. I tried to move but I couldn’t. I was so scared. I could take my eyes off my mom. She had blood on her head and it was under her too. The blood was everywhere. Then he got up and started mumbling something about a clusterfuck of epic proportions. I didn’t understand it at the time. I tried to go to her but he dragged me out of the way. He grabbed a bottle of booze my mom had under the sink and began pouring it all over the living room. He poured most of it on my mom then he lit a match and threw it into the room. The fire spread quickly and he stood in the doorway watching it. He held one hand on my shoulder and I was fighting to get to my mom but he wouldn’t let me go.”
Mikial held her tighter as she paused breathlessly and her body shuddered as she wept.
“He dragged me out of the trailer and the fire just got bigger. I cried out that I had to get my mom out of there that the fire would hurt her but he said it was too late. She was already gone. Then he struck me. He hit me so hard I hit the side of his car and I couldn’t move for a moment. That’s when he picked me up, tossed me into the backseat, and drove away. He was mumbling to himself as he drove away. I cried for my mom and he yelled at me to shut up. We drove for a long time before we stopped at the gas station. He told me to stay hidden and just stay where I was, he’d be back and then he’d decide what he would do with me. I waited until he went inside the station then I got out of the car and hid. I wasn’t going with him and I didn’t want him to know where I was. He never even looked for me.”
“He never came back for you?” Raven asked softly.
Pepper shook her head. “I don’t think so. I stayed hidden for so long. I didn’t want to move I was so scared. First, it was so hot then I was cold and then I was hot again. Finally, I saw someone peeking under the cardboard box I was hiding in. It was a policemen and he drag
ged me out of there. I fought him kicking and screaming as much as I could but I felt tired and thirsty and ever so hungry. Then there were so many people there. I got scared all over again and the man that was holding me became my lifeline. I couldn’t let him go. It turned out to be Paul Windjue. He ended up taking me to the hospital and then taking me home with him.”
“Did you ever remember the man’s face? The one who took you from your home?” Yuri asked. “The one who hurt your mom and started the fire?”
Pepper shook her head. “I couldn’t remember anything until now. My brain closed down after I was found.”
“How long did this go on?” Raven asked with tears running down her cheeks.
Yuri noticed them and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him.
Pepper shrugged. “I don’t remember. I try not to think about that time in my life.”
Mikial pulled her up to her feet then backed up and sat down in a chair. He pulled Pepper into his lap and just held her. She laid her head on his wide chest and pressed her ear to his chest.
Mikial’s hand came up and pressed her closer to him. He kissed the top of her head and just held her for a moment. “You are safe now,” he promised. “No one will hurt you again.”
Pepper wanted to believe him. “But you can’t promise me that. Someone out there is hurting my friends. They ran down my roommate and took a shot at us in the gallery and at the safe house.”
“We’re working on finding him,” Yuri assured her. “We know who he is and we will find him.”
Pepper nodded then turned her head and stared at the photos of the people involved. From her angle, she noticed something odd. That’s when it finally hit her. “Oh, my god!” she called out as she sat up and pushed herself out of Mikial’s lap. Rushing over to the table with the photos, she searched for what she’d missed earlier. When she finally saw it, she slumped down into a chair next to Yuri’s desk and simply stared at the photos.
“What? What is wrong?” Mikial knelt beside her chair.
She turned her head and tears rolled down her cheeks. “I think I know who my father is.”
“Who?” Mikial frowned.
“Leon Knight.”
“What?” Mikial’s frown deepened.
Pepper nodded. “I didn’t see it before but it’s as plain as day.”
Raven and Yuri joined them. “What is as plain as day?” Yuri wondered.
Mikial looked over at Yuri. “She says Leon is her father.”
Raven studied the painting with the photos of Leon’s family. It took her a while to see it but finally she turned to Yuri and nodded.
“Leon Knight is your father?” Barshan asked as he joined them. He held a stack of papers in his hand. Sazon and Roman were right behind him. “You didn’t remember this until now?”
Pepper stared up at them. “I saw him murder my mother. He must have shoved her away and she fell hitting her head on the coffee table. I remember the blood covering her face, it came from a cut on her forehead. She laid on the floor and he was on top of her with his hands on her throat. He was strangling her, making sure she was dead. She had told him about the baby that night. She was pregnant, that what was so special about that night. She thought he would marry her.”
“How is it you were his child and you didn’t know him as your father before that night?” Sazon asked.
“He never came when I was awake, only in the middle of the night. She would talk about him but she never told me his name. She said he was important and working all the time. But I remember she told me that day that I would finally know him and he would finally know me. I remember putting on my best dress and waiting impatiently for him to get there, so we could finally meet. I was so happy to finally meet my father. Then everything went to hell and I couldn’t remember anything.”
“Wow, that is so messed up,” Roman muttered angrily.
“So old Leon was having an affair with Jessie Carter and had one child four years old and another on the way?” Sazon shook his head. “At the same time his oldest daughter was five and his wife was pregnant with his second daughter.”
Pepper snapped her head around at glare at him. “What does that have to do with this?” she snarled.
Sazon held up his hands and backed up a step. “Nothing. Nothing at all. But Yuri asked us to look into his life for the timeline. Those are just the facts we uncovered.”
Pepper shook her head. “So he was cheating on his wife with my mom and had two very separate families? No wonder he wasn’t happy with the news he had another child on the way.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “No wonder he never wanted to meet me, never wanted to know me. I was his mistake, someone he wanted to keep hidden from the rest of the world.”
“Well, you aren’t hidden anymore,” Mikial assured her.
Pepper turned her head and looked at him sadly. “No I’m not, now he wants me dead.”
Mikial tugged her to her feet and pulled her close to him. “That is never gonna happen baby. I won’t let it. He’ll never hurt you again.”
A knock sounded on the door and Yuri turned to answer it. It was room service with their supper. Everyone moved to the dining room leaving Mikial and Pepper for a moment.
Pepper looked up at him. “What am I gonna do now?”
Mikial smiled at her. “You’re going to be strong and we’re going to beat him at his own game.”
“What does that mean?” Pepper frowned.
“It means Leon Knight is going down. For the murder of your mother and the child she was carrying, for hurting you and a number of other things.”
“What other things?”
Mikial shrugged. “We haven’t put everything together yet, but we think he’s responsible for at least one more murder. We have to figure out how he got his hands on your mother’s estate and why someone has been using the money she set aside for you all these years.”
Pepper’s stomach growled loudly and both of them were surprised at the sound.
Mikial chuckled. “Come on Pepper, it’s time to eat.”
“I’d like to say I’m not hungry but that would be a lie.”
“At least try to eat something.” He escorted her to the dining room where everyone else sat there waiting for them. When she sat down in front of her plate, she grinned. Everyone else had steak while she had chicken. She was good with chicken. She caught Raven’s eye and she nodded to her plate, Raven grinned at her chicken. Pepper smiled. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who didn’t like steak.
Glancing around, she observed the others as they talked among themselves. They were good friends, something she’d missed growing up the way she had. She never felt comfortable with other people, even now. Now she had Sami and a few good friends but crowds still bothered her.
Looking around the table, she could almost feel the bond these men had with one another. It was something she’d never known before. She’d always been alone, that’s all she knew but seeing this tonight, she no longer felt so alone in the world.
Later that night, she was lying in bed with Mikial. He was laying at her back with his arms around her and she felt loved and safe. In his arms no one could get to her, no one could hurt her and for the first time in a long time, she felt unafraid. To her that meant more than anything else.
Her body warmed to that idea and when she felt his lips on the back of her neck, she shivered as a whole other feeling swept through her. Groaning, she whispered, “I want you.”
Mikial growled in her ear. “I want you too, but I think you need rest more. You need to sleep now. You’ve had a very long and emotional day.”
“Let me feel you, make me forget everything else. I want you so bad right now.”
Mikial growled louder in her ear and she could feel his hold tighten. “Are you sure? I don’t think I can do gentle right now. I need you too much for that.”
“I want you to take me and I never asked for gentle,” she whispered. “I just want to feel you. I want to feel your k
isses, you lips, your teeth, your strong hands holding me. I want to feel your body on mine, driving me crazy. Please…”
Mikial surged against her and she felt his hand bunch the t shirt she was wearing at her front. A moment later, she felt the material rip as his strong fingers rendered the shirt apart. She couldn’t believe the strength he showed her. A strength she knew if he turned against her could hurt her badly but she also knew he would never hurt her.
She gasped when she felt the cool air caress her bare skin. She tried to turn to face him but Mikial wouldn’t let her.
One of his hands slid down her front and tore away her panties and then he raised her up on all fours. “Are you sure you want it rough?” he asked in a hushed tone.
She nodded as her heart pounded in her chest. “Yes, please?”
“I can’t wait. I need to be inside you now.”
Pepper groaned. “Yes, yes.”
He steadied her hips and tilted her upward, aligning himself with her opening then without a word, he dove into her core.
She gasped as she opened herself to him. Instantly, she felt herself respond as he plunged his hard hot cock deep inside her. Her wetness allowed him to go deep, then he withdrew and went in deeper. In and out, again and again. Pepper felt each stroke and each stroke sent her higher and higher, opening her to the pleasure of his movements. His force pushed her forward as she balanced herself on her hands and knees. She never knew of such decadent pleasure before. This man knew how to use her body to make her pleasure beyond anything she’d ever known.
Reaching past her waist, he passed his fingers over her nipples that were hanging down, he pinched them and rolled them in his fingers.
She panted and moaned helplessly as her body felt on fire. Moaning, her body raced to beat the shattering she felt coming. Her pussy began convulsing and she screamed as he plunged in again.
He ground his pelvis into her ass and grunted until finally he was spent.
Pulling her close to him, Mikial laid her down and tugged her to his warm body as he breathed in her scent. “I’ll never let you go,” he vowed.
Pepper panted as she laid her head against his shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere.”