by Erin Trejo
“Then why don’t you?” What the hell am I saying? I couldn’t possibly want the man that has held me captive to touch me. The though alone makes me dizzy but so does his lips on my skin.
“Give me what I want first, Henley.”
“What do you want?” I ask him breathlessly as his lips continue to move over my skin. The heat that ignites inside of me is unreal. I’ve never felt like this in my life. I lean back into his touch, letting the man that kidnapped me, whipped me and kept he hostage take what he wants from me. What kind of person am I?
“I want to know where those girls are,” his whisper drifts over my skin, fire racing through my veins.
“Ransom,” his name falls so easily from my lips.
“Tell me, Henley.”
“You will just kill me when I do.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. His heat instantly pulls away from me, spinning me to face the man that holds my life in his hands.
“Do you get none of this? Why do you want a life that takes from others? How can you be so goddamn selfish that you don’t care what’s happenin’ to those girls?” His words are harsh, any lust I saw in his eyes now turned to hate and it’s all directed at me.
“I don’t want to die, Ransom! Don’t you get that?”
“So you protect that bastard? Is that what this is?” He snaps stepping closer to me. My hands shake, my body shudders. He doesn’t understand what would happen to me.
“I…you don’t know him like I do!”
“Then tell me, Henley! Tell me what the fuck I’m missin’ cause right now, I’m thinkin’ that this is all shit and I should just kill you!” His hand moves faster than I can move my body. Wrapping around my throat, he squeezes tightly, pushing me against the wall.
“Then do it!”
“That really what you want? You want me to hurt you? You said daddy never hurt you. Why are you so afraid of him?” My breathes are quick, sucking in as much air as Ransom will allow.
“I said he never did. That doesn’t mean he didn’t have someone else do it!”
Chapter 13
Ransom
Tears sparkle in her eyes and I hate to see it. I put them there. I made her break just like I wanted to do and now I feel like a piece of shit for it. She sobs roughly, her head hanging down.
“Who?” When she doesn’t look at me, I reach in and lift her chin. Her eyes are puffy as the tears keep spilling over.
“What’s the difference? Are you going to make it all go away? Make the past disappear?” She sneers. What did they do to her? Who did it to her?
“Tell me you don’t know where the girls are and I’ll walk away right now. I will leave you alone and let you shower and eat. Just say you don’t know,” I nearly beg her. I don’t want her to know. I don’t want that wearing on me. The fact that she stands there and stares me down with so much emotion in her eyes stirs something in me.
“I can’t tell you that, Ransom.” My chest tightens because deep down, I know that she knows. I don’t understand why she doesn’t want to tell me and end this all right now. Neo made the call. Her dad knows we have her just not where she is. The lockdown is a blessing in disguise although my house shouldn’t be on anyone’s radar. Never the less, we are safer here. I grab her throat, shoving her back against the wall before releasing her and reaching for her panties. Sliding them down her legs, she steps out of them before I look back up at her. Standing face to face with the enemy, I lower my jeans and boxers. She isn’t her dad but she knows what he does. Her breathing is rapid; her eyes move between mine.
“I could protect you, Henley,” I whisper as I lean in and inhale her scent. Brushing my lips against her soft skin, Henley sucks in a deep breath.
“How?” Sinking my teeth into her flesh, she cries out for me. I never thought I’d hear that coming from her lips and for some fucked up reason, I don’t want to hurt her the way I planned. No, now I want to own her. My tongue sweeps over the spot that I just bit, her body trembling.
“How do you think I’ve kept you from your dad since I’ve had you? I can keep you safe, Henley,” I tell her once more before grabbing her around her waist and lifting her in my arms. At first I think she’s going to protest but after a second she wraps her legs around my waist. Her body is so fucking hot that it’s almost unbearable.
“Tell me, Henley. Tell me where they are,” I ask once more grinding against her. Henley’s breathing picks up and presses her hot body into mine.
“There’s more than one place, Ransom,” she breathes. I reach between us and grab my cock. Slowly pulling it through her wetness she moans against my neck.
“Why are you doing this?” She asks huskily.
“You don’t want this?” I ask her but never stop rubbing against her. She pants and wiggles against me. I know she does, I could see it in her eyes.
“You hate me,” she retorts.
“Hate’s a strong word, darlin’. I saw the look in your eyes. You don’t want that life anymore after what I showed you, do you?” My tongue moves over her pulsing neck, her groans spurring me on.
“He killed them didn’t he?” She asks with a sob but I know that she needs to hear it again. I know she needs that truth to make up her mind.
“He killed them.”
“Your mother? He did something to her didn’t he?” I stop for a moment to gather my thoughts. Talking to Henley about my mom wasn’t on the list of things to do to her but I want her to understand why this is so important to me. Sliding my cock inside of her, she whines. I roll my hips a few times, letting her get used to me inside of her before resting my head in the crock of her neck.
“He killed her. He took her, beat her and killed her. He made me watch. Him and his guys beat me until I passed out. When I woke up, I was tied to a chair and she was on the floor.” Tears well up in my eyes when Henley reaches for my face. She forces me out of the safe place in her neck and my eyes meet hers.
“You’re telling me the truth, Ransom. He did all those things.” She isn’t asking for my reassurance. She had to have known that her father was capable of this but giving her what she needs, I nod my head slowly as a tear slides down my cheek. Henley shocks me when she leans in and presses her lips to the tear. My hips rotate listening to her moan as I move. With each thrust of my hips, I offer this girl another piece of myself. A piece that I wasn’t willing to give but for whatever reason, I can see the same kind of pain in her eyes. It nearly mimics my own. Her lips move over my cheek and down my neck. Soft sucks on my skin cause bumps to form over my body. Heat courses through me and the thought of actually hurting Henley slips my mind. She doesn’t deserve what he’s done to those girls but I had to make her see what kind of person he was.
“I’ll tell you everything,” she says on a moan that goes straight to my cock. I thrust harder, her body bouncing against the wall as I do. She runs her fingers through my hair and fuck, I want to stay here forever yet I’m still lost in the past.
“You want me to protect you, Henley?” I ask with each plunge inside of her. Henley clenches around me, her body locking tight. Does the thought of someone protecting her mean that much to her? Did her dad never do that? Offer protection when she needed it? Of course, he didn’t offer her anything but she was safe. Protection is something different. It’s deeper. Rolling my hips at the perfect angle, she screams.
“Ransom! God!” I chuckle and thrust against her until she comes around my cock. Only then do I let myself go and come with her. Our sweat slicked body’s rest against the other, our breathes mingling as I lay on her shoulder.
“Yes. I want you to protect me, Ransom. I want to be me not what he made me. I’m so sorry I didn’t see it before or believe it.” Her tears wet my skin as she cries and lets it all out. I run my hand up and down her back trying to soothe her.
“I’ll keep you safe, baby. I’m sorry that you had to learn about it like this.” Henley shakes her head and pulls back as I slide out of her, letting her feet hit the floor.
“You saved me. You save those girls, Ransom. I will give you every location he has that I know of. I…I thought they wanted to be there.” I can see the sincerity in her eyes and when I reach up and wipe the tears away, I can feel it.
“Let’s clean up and get you somethin’ to eat. Then we’ll talk about the girls, yeah?”
“I’m sorry, Ransom.” She cries harder as I reach over and turn the water on. Letting it heat up, I pull back and strip out of the rest of my clothes before grabbing her shaking body in my arms and lifting her into the shower with me. Henley’s cry’s don’t stop and I can’t seem to let her out of my grasp even she wanted to. What the hell am I doing with this girl?
Chapter 14
Henley
I feel like I’ve cried for hours. My nose is stuffed up; my eyes are swollen. Ransom washed us both in the shower before bringing me to the bed. I lie here, scared and useless. I don’t know what I’m doing or how to fix any of this. I’m confused and broken.
“You feel better?” He asks huskily as his arms wrap around me tighter. His strength amazes me. He’s so calm even after all that he admitted to me about his mom. My heart nearly broke in my chest when I saw the look in his eyes. He had to watch that, see his mother’s life fade from her eyes. How could anyone be that cruel?
“I feel numb.”
“It’s hard to learn these things. I won’t say sorry for the way I went about things, Henley. I know how to break people and that’s what I wanted to do you before.”
“Before?” I ask looking up at his face. Ransom’s eyes are hard and unyielding but I can see the slight glow in them. “What about now?”
“Now I want to fix what I broke. I fucked up whippin’ you. I was angry and frustrated and that isn’t me, Hen,” he says shaking his head slowly.
“You don’t know me, Ransom. You don’t know anything about me. Why do you want to fix me?” I feel defensive. I didn’t know I was broken before but I can see it clearly now. I was a pawn to my father. He didn’t give a shit if I lived or died. He didn’t care where I was or what I was doing. He bought me off and I was weak enough to let him do that to me.
“Your name is Henley Joann Heiser. Your mom died when you were little,” I cut him off there.
“What?” Jerking upright, I glare down at him. What the hell does he mean she died? Dad said she left us. Left me!
“What the hell?” Ransom asks, sitting up next to me. “You didn’t know that?” Shaking my head slowly emotions rise in my chest. Ransom reaches for me but I pull away.
“He said she left me. That she didn’t want me.” I remember that conversation vividly. I asked when I was young but I wanted more detail when I was older.
“She didn’t leave you. She died. Your mom had a heart condition,” he says when I look over at him. Ransom runs his hand through his mused up hair and watches me.
“I always thought she was out there somewhere.” God, can my life get any more difficult? First my dad and now this?
“Do you remember her at all?” I shake my head.
“Not really. I was really young when she left. Died.” Died. That word stings worse the more I hear it.
“I’m gonna tell you somethin’ and I need you to understand here and now. You might not like it but you need to hear it. I will keep you safe. I won’t let your dad or any of those motherfuckers near you but I need you to know this,” Ransom rambles which is unlike him. He’s always held himself high and kept his exterior hard so whatever it is he’s about to tell me must be important.
“What? What is it?”
“I’m gonna kill your dad.” The words leave his lips like any other conversation. Not one drop of emotion shows on his face. His hardened exterior is back in place and there is no getting around it now. His eyes are darker than I’ve ever seen them as he looks me in the eye. I can’t think, I just move. Climbing off the bed, I grab the first shirt I can find which happens to be his. Tugging it over my head, I stand in a stunned silence staring at him.
“You can’t do that,” I state. Ransom chuckles and climbs off the bed, walking toward his dresser. He pulls out boxers and a pair of jeans and slips them on.
“I can do whatever the fuck I want. This was never up for discussion; I was just tellin’ you facts.” I look up at him, his hard chest on display, his jeans hanging open. The man is barefoot and makes that look sexy as hell. My mind is torn between letting him do what he wants and saving my dad. He’s the only family I have aside from Natalie.
“How can you just kill him? That makes you no better than he is!” I scream but he just smirks.
“Never said I was better than him in that department.”
“Oh, my God. What did I do? What the hell have I done? I helped a murderer.” I pace the room not knowing what to feel. I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do now. I agreed to let Ransom protect and in turn I’d give up the girls’ whereabouts but going after my dad? I can’t do that. I’m tugging at my hair when I turn and slam into Ransom’s hard body. Following his hard chest up to his eyes, he blinks.
“You’re overthinkin’ shit. After I get your dad you are free to go. No one will fuck with you after that. Get it?” How the hell is he so casually talking about killing someone? Taking a life?
“Then what? Where does that leave me?” Ransom laughs, throwing his head back but it isn’t an amused laugh. It’s lethal and full of fire.
“You’re always so concerned about yourself! Here I was thinkin’ you finally pulled that pretty little head out of your ass but no. You still think the goddamn world revolves around you!” His words are laced with hatred and it’s all directed at me.
“I hate what he did to those girls. I want you to get them out of there that’s why I’m telling you where the safe houses are.”
“But your still worried about how daddy will fund your goddamn bank account right?”
“I don’t have anyone else! Don’t you get that? I’ll be alone, Ransom!” Ransom runs his hand over his face as he nods his head.
“You make me sick. Here I am thinkin’ you were changin’. You were lookin’ into my goddamn eyes as I told you how that sick bastard made me watch my own mom die and you were just fuckin’ with my head.”
“No! It wasn’t like that and you know it. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore!” Anger courses through me at his words. How could he say that after he just fucked me in the shower? Tears fill my eyes but Ransom shakes his head, a disgusted look on his face.
“I was played by a little girl. In all my fuckin’ years on this earth, I have never been so stupid! Your tears mean nothin’, Henley. Not anymore. I thought you saw the bigger picture but you are still the same selfish little bitch you were to begin with. I should have left your sorry ass locked in that cage.” Before I have the chance to say anything further, Ransom spins around and grabs the bag he brought with.
“Ransom, please don’t do this. You don’t understand!” I plead but he doesn’t care. I watch him move around the room, hooking the long chain to the wall before moving toward me. My heart hammers in my chest when he steps up in front of me. Maybe this is what I deserve for being so into myself. Maybe I deserve this for not looking at what was happening around me. His hand wraps around my wrist and I don’t fight him. In my mind, I’m right. I do deserve this and so much more. So, I keep my head held high and sniff back the tears. Ransom wraps the cuff on the end of the chain around my wrist and hooks it in place before stepping back. His face is unreadable but there is war going on behind his eyes.
“I never thought I’d like someone like you, Henley. There is some good in you. You are givin’ up the locations but does that make you a good person? I wanted to see that as the good I liked but the more you show me your true self, the more I can’t stand you.”
“Ransom, you don’t get it. He pays everything. My house, my car, groceries. I would have nothing and be homeless. Is that what you want from me?” His mask slips slightly and the real Ransom comes f
orward.
“I wanted you to be different, Henley. I wanted you to step outside that comfort zone he’s had you in and see the real world. People live on the streets every single day and they survive. Girls are taken and murdered by men that abuse their body and then there’s you. The girl that was never loved and was lied to her whole life but she still doesn’t see what’s right in front of her face. She still doesn’t realize that everything she has was never hers to begin with. You know what, Henley? That makes me sad for you.” No other words need to be spoken. That was the worst thing I’ve ever had to hear about myself. No one has ever made me feel as low as Ransom just did in the matter of seconds. My heart slowly falls in my chest from the pure look of disappoint in his eyes.
Chapter 15
Ransom
“What the hell?” I ask as I sit at the table glaring at Neo.
“You heard me, it was the wrong goddamn warehouse,” he repeats. I heard him the first time but I sure as shit didn’t believe it.
“How do you hit the wrong warehouse?” Triton asks with a chuckle.
“Apparently they got their wires crossed. Anyway, none of our shit was touched. They weren’t lookin’ for coke anyway and I got a call this mornin’ from the fuck ups that did it. Small MC a few cities’ away. They weren’t after our shit,” Neo says trying to contain his laughter. This isn’t funny because we were shot at but in the grand scheme of things, it’s fucking hilarious.
“What a load of shit,” Rebel says lighting up a joint.
“Rebel, you and a few prospects head out and clean that shit up would ya?” Neo says looking over at Rebel. He nods his head and shoves out of his seat before walking away. This wasn’t a formal church call so no one bats an eye.
“Sherly! Bring me some whiskey!” I holler over to the bar. She nods her head and sets about getting my drink.