Redeemed (The Dark Redemption Series Book 2)

by Lane Hart

  “So you never actually told them what happened, the truth or the lie?” Aden asks.

  “No. I never said another word after that. I stopped eating and drinking. I never slept either because of the nightmares. They put me in the hospital, and I remember having an IV in my arm. After that, I started sleeping all the time. And before I knew it, years had passed. My father never visited, not that I wanted to see him. But no one came to see me. Only doctors and nurses. Eventually, they stopped talking to me, trying to get me to communicate with them.”

  “And you’ve been locked away in a mental institute since you were eight?”

  “Yes. They thought I was suicidal because I wouldn’t eat, so even after I turned eighteen, they refused to release me because I couldn’t verbally tell them that I wouldn’t try to kill myself.”

  Aden presses a button on his phone and then sets it down before reaching out and folding me in his arms when I fall apart. I want to hug him back, but I can’t because he can’t stand to be touched. So I keep my hands in my lap, and that makes me cry even harder.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell him through the tears that fall steadily onto his t-shirt covered chest.

  “It’s not your fault,” he says, his hand stroking over the back of my hair. “The three of us were all victims of our parents’ decisions. They decided to have an affair. And no, your mother didn’t deserve to die for it, and my dad didn’t deserve a life prison sentence, but all of that rests solely on your father’s shoulders. Not yours.”

  I think I’m finally starting to realize that and let go of some of the guilt, especially after remembering more of the conversation and what happened the day everything went to hell. The words my mother said about being pregnant. Sure, my words may have instigated everything, but she had planned on telling my father she was leaving him. It would’ve likely had the same outcome, only she would’ve probably waited until I went to bed to break the news to him. Either way, my father would have been angry. He was always angry. Despite how my mother broke the news to him, he would’ve probably killed her before letting her leave him. And because of that single decision on his part, I was locked away for ten years, Aden was abused by his foster parents, and Brede became a trained killer probably because he thought his father was a murderer. But now, the three of us can begin to live our lives, knowing the truth. And hopefully, Ben Rawls will be released from prison soon and reunited with his sons to start making up for lost time.

  “I’m sorry for how I treated you,” Aden says. “Yes, I was angry at you, but that anger should’ve been directed at your father. It’s just…there are lots of victims that refuse to say the words needed to convict the bad guys. In the case against my foster father, I told them everything he did, but my foster brother and sister held back. I get that they were afraid or ashamed to admit what happened to them, but because of their silence, they protected him, even though it was inadvertently to protect themselves. He’ll be released from prison in just a few years.”

  “God, that’s horrible, Aden,” I tell him. “It’s not easy to open up, and we have a long road ahead when it comes time for me to do it in court, but I’m strong enough to do that now, thanks to you and Brede…”

  “You don’t have to be nice and throw me in there,” he says as he pulls back and releases me from his embrace. “It’s Brede who’s saved you and cares about you. I was angry at you and just using you.”

  “I deserve it for what you went through. But don’t give up, Aden. You should be cared for and loved, and now your family is going to be reunited. It won’t be easy, but you can overcome all the horrible things done to you. Keep putting away bad guys. That helps, right?” I ask him.

  “Yes, but I don’t know if I can ever let anyone touch me again. Not for the reason you may think,” he says when I open my mouth to counter that statement. “I know you wouldn’t hurt me. That’s not the real problem. Honestly, I just don’t feel like I’m worthy of your touch or anyone else’s. I’m disgusting, Blair.”

  “No, you’re not. Those things, whatever they did were not your fault just like my father’s actions weren’t mine,” I say.

  “You don’t understand,” he replies with a shake of his head. “When I was finally able to run away, it wasn’t easy, and I didn’t have anything but the clothes I was wearing.”

  “I didn’t either,” I remind him.

  “Well, I’m not proud of the things I did those first few weeks.”

  “Hell, Aden. Neither am I. I went into an old woman’s house and stole money from her purse and took her car. Do you know how horrible I felt about that?” I ask.

  He frowns at me before he responds. “That’s nothing compared to what I did, baby girl.”

  “Oh,” I mutter. “But we both just did what we had to do to survive. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “Yeah, there is. The things I did…those are the decisions I made. No one made them for me.”

  “It can’t be that bad,” I tell him, wishing I could reach for his hand or stroke his arm to comfort him.

  “Oh, but it is. And if you knew, you would regret ever letting me touch you.”

  “No, I wouldn’t,” I tell him. “I liked how you touched me, how you restrained me. That was hot, Aden.”

  “It won’t happen again,” he says.

  “You mean, you don’t want to…be with me?” I ask in confusion.

  “Not anymore. I took what I wanted from you the other night. And that morning in the hotel room, when you were on your knees? That helped remind me of everything I’ve tried to forget.”

  “So you just wanted my virginity?” I ask, my cheeks warming with embarrassment that I gave that to him instead of Brede. And now he’s telling me that’s the only reason he ever touched me. To take, not to give.

  “I’m sorry, Blair. I really am. But I’m also fucked up in the head more than you know.” He scrubs his palm over his face. “I wanted to take you before Brede because I was angry at you and envious of him, and virgins are a fetish to me. That’s all I want, to be the person who a girl never forgets. She won’t be able to forget her first time, just like I’ll never forget mine.”

  “Wow,” I mutter as his harsh words filter into my head.

  “I wish I wanted more from you. And the thought of your lips around my cock does get me hard, but I can’t…I don’t want anything like that from you again.”

  My stomach flips at the realization that I mean absolutely nothing to him. Right now, I could be pregnant with his baby, not Brede’s because I thought he cared about me, that he wanted more with me. I was so wrong. And while part of me is relieved that he doesn’t want a physical relationship with me…the other part of me is devastated.

  Chapter Twelve

  Aden

  After my confession, Blair gets up and walks away without another word. She disappears into the bedroom she shared with Brede and shuts the door. Shuts me out.

  I deserve no less. God, I’m such an asshole.

  Brede cares about her, maybe even loves her, and I took from him the one thing he’ll never have.

  Her first time.

  I tainted her, spoiled her for him. And he’ll forgive and forget because he’s my brother, but Blair probably never will.

  Maybe that’s why I told her, so she’ll hate me. She should. I tied her up and fucked her selfishly to make my inner monster happy. And, damn, he loved every single demented second of being inside her tight, virgin pussy. Especially since I knew my brother wanted her. He could’ve taken her sooner, but he didn’t, because he cares about her.

  The truth is that, when it comes to sex, I’m still that twelve-year-old confused boy. I love and hate being intimate with someone, loving the pleasurable high I take from another person’s body, and hating that I take enjoyment in my perversion, whether it’s tying up a virgin to fuck her, or being the very first one to top a straight man. I’ve done that more times that I’ve been with virgins. Of course, I always used condoms with them, but that doesn’
t mean I’m clean other than being free of disease. Inside, I’m disgusting for being the asshole who takes their virginity and runs, having no use for them after the first time. It’s sick and twisted, and even if I feel guilty about what I do, that doesn’t mean I’ll stop. This is the life I live, and I’m never going to change.

  Blair and Brede think they can fix me. But they’re wrong. I can’t be fixed. And the worst part is, I’m not even sure that I want to be fixed. I like the hunt and the taking too much to stop. Even now, days after taking Blair’s virginity, I want another person at my mercy, giving me what can only be taken once in their lifetime. My evil cock is hard just thinking about it. I could try to jerk off, but eventually, that won’t be enough to make me come. I’ll be in a perpetual state of arousal until I find another willing victim and force my cock into their virgin ass or pussy. God, I love the sounds they make at that moment I take it, and then I revel in the pleasure that overcomes me, knowing they may regret it later, but they can never forget it. They’ll never forget the way I felt pounding inside them their first time while they surrendered themselves to me.

  …

  Brede

  I clench my fist and then plow it right into the motherfucker’s gut.

  “Ow, fuck,” he grumbles drowsily. Good, he’s awake.

  “What’s your name?” I ask.

  “Dalton,” he mumbles.

  “Dalton?” I repeat.

  “Dalton Kincaid.”

  “So, Dalton, we’re gonna play twenty questions,” I tell him, leaving off the part about at the end of the game he dies. He’s bound to know as much by this point. I’ve got him tied up to a chair in a seedy hotel room. His leg is still bleeding profusely, although I wrapped a torn sheet around it. I need him to live long enough to answer my questions.

  “First off, who the fuck sent you?” I ask, pacing in front of him while holding his gun next to my thigh.

  “Nadia Taylor,” he answers right away.

  “Glad to see you’re gonna be cooperative on your death bed.”

  “If I’m done… then so…is she,” he explains.

  “Right,” I reply. “So who the fuck is Nadia Taylor?”

  “Assistant…district…district attorney in Lexington,” he stutters.

  “No shit?” I ask. “What’s her relationship with DA Lockhart?” I ask.

  “Her…fiancé and…and boss.”

  “So she was giving you orders from him?” I ask.

  “No. Wants him…dead…too.”

  “She wants her fiancé and boss dead?” I exclaim. “Seriously?”

  Dalton nods.

  “What about his daughter?”

  “Needed…her dead…first. No heirs.”

  “She put the hit on Blair Lockhart?” I ask in surprise. All this time, Roger referred to the “DA”, and I thought he meant her father. I’m starting to believe he was talking about the up-and-coming DA who wanted to take his place and his money after she married him and had Blair killed.

  “Yes,” he answers.

  “So why the fuck did you kill two innocent people?”

  “Money…wanted money…back,” he replies, sounding even groggier with his narrow chin slumping to his lean chest. Time’s running out.

  “Were you supposed to kill them for the money?” I ask, nailing my fist into his liver and making him cough in pain.

  “Wanted...you dead…whatever it took.”

  “That worked out well for you,” I reply before I put his own gun to his forehead, I don’t hesitate before pulling the trigger.

  Fuck, it’s messy. And killing him in a hotel room without a silencer isn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but I’m not thinking clearly. It’s not like I could’ve taken him back to the room I share with Blair and Aden. Fuck, even after I quickly wash the blood off of me and walk out of this shady motel, I know I can’t go back to our hotel. Not yet.

  My emotions are all over the place, and I’m…unstable. I need food or sleep. The need to kill is all that’s driving me right now, and Blair and Aden don’t need to be a part of that. I’m not thinking straight, and it’s possible Roger and Dalton’s deaths are gonna come back on me. Besides, I’m not done yet. Nadia fucking Thomas is gonna die first. I just need to find out where the hell that bitch is.

  Until then, Blair and Aden are also in danger. Just like my parents were.

  The guilt is a living, breathing thing, tightening around my chest and throat, trying to squeeze me to death. No one I care about will ever be safe.

  The stupid foil pill wrapper jabbing into my thigh only serves to remind me of the life I desperately wanted to create with Blair because I’m constantly surrounded by death. And I’m the only one to blame for that.

  How fucking stupid was I to think that I could have a family with Blair? That shit is never gonna happen, and the sooner I end things with her the better. If I can put distance between her and Aden, maybe they can forget me and have a life together. He’s the opposite of me, a man on the right side of the law. Aden can protect his family the right way, while all I’ll do is put them in danger, until every last one of them end up dead like Paula and Jim.

  Pulling out the unused pill still wrapped in foil, I toss it in the first trash bin I come to outside the hotel room, along with everything it represented.

  Shit, that’s depressing as fuck.

  When did I start wanting things I can never have anyway?

  Probably the day I fell for an angel.

  For a moment she made me think I could be something other than a killer. She saw me as her hero, and I’m an idiot for believing I could save her.

  Staying away from her will be the best I can do.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Aden

  God, I’m so fucking horny.

  That’s usually what happens when I’m stressed out. Fucking gives me the control I need when there’s chaos in my life.

  But I’m stuck in this hotel room with Blair, who’s basically pulling her hair out because we still haven’t heard from Brede. Besides, I took her virginity, so she’s no good to me. Unless…

  “Baby girl, calm down and come have a seat,” I say to stop her pacing.

  “Something’s wrong, Aden,” she says instead, repeating that same phrase for the millionth time.

  “Tell you what, relax and settle down until tomorrow morning. And if we still haven’t heard from him, I’ll go with you to his foster parents’ house.”

  “You will?” she asks. “Why can’t we go now?”

  “We need to give him a little more time,” I tell her. “Now, come here. Let me rub some of the stress out of your shoulders.”

  She stares at me silently for several long seconds before she blows out a breath. “Fine,” she mumbles when she relents and starts for me.

  “Actually, why don’t you go stretch out on the bed so I can get to all the knots,” I suggest, standing up in front of her.

  “Um, okay,” she agrees, practically swaying on her feet when she turns around and heads for the bedroom. She has hardly slept at all in two days, but I’ve been sleeping pretty well. Brede’s a big boy and a bad-ass assassin, so I’m not worried about him like Blair is.

  Following her up onto the bed, Blair stretches out on her stomach, so I climb on top of her back, straddling her hips. Pushing up her dress, I reveal her back and bare ass since she’s not wearing any panties. Jesus.

  “I-I need some new clothes,” she murmurs from where her head is buried in the pillows.

  “We’ll get you some tomorrow,” I promise her. “Now relax.”

  I start up high, despite my desire, kneading my thumbs into Blair’s tense shoulders.

  “Feel good?” I ask after a little while.

  “Yeah,” she says around a yawn, and the tension in her body relaxes further into the mattress.

  My thumbs press around the muscles that are still tight along her spine, trying to work them out and loosen her up more.

  Lower and lower I go, until
I get to her ass. Without pausing, I continue right along, squeezing her ass cheeks.

  “Aden?” she questions.

  “Relax,” I remind her, while trailing my fingers down her crease until I get to her pussy. Blair squirms underneath me when I slip a finger inside her tight, wet, heat.

  “What-what are you doing?” she asks, going still. I’m not sure if her question means she wants me to stop or not, especially when she moans. Unsure, I ease another finger inside her and slowly pump them both in and out. Lowering myself down along the length of her, I start kissing and sucking on her neck as I finger fuck her until I can’t take anymore.

  Sitting up, I push my fingertips against her puckered rim. Her body bucks even harder at the invasion as I work the two wet fingers, slick with her juices, insider her ass. I keep forcing them inside, stretching her for my cock. God, she’s so fucking tight, too.

  “Aden!” she cries out.

  Undoing my jeans, I push them down my hips to free my cock and then stretch out over Blair again, rubbing my hard shaft through all her wetness before positioning myself at her virgin hole.

  “Aden, no!” Blair exclaims before she maneuvers out from under me, moving further up the bed. Her back finally comes to a rest against the headboard, her knees drawn up to her chest as she tugs her dress down to cover herself.

  “Come on, it’ll feel good, I promise,” I tell her as my chest rises and falls, needy and desperate after being so close. Grabbing both her ankles, I pull her toward me and push her knees to her chest to line up my cock up again.

  Blair continues to squirm underneath me, but I know she’ll like it once I’m inside her…

  …

  Blair

  Oh. My. God.

  For the past few days since Brede’s been gone, I’ve started to think Aden has a few screws loose. Now I’m certain of it as he tries to shove his cock in my ass.

  I struggle to get away, but he just keeps yanking me back to him again, and now, even as I protest and try to get away, his blue eyes seem vacant, like he’s not hearing me…