Bender

by M. Stratton

  Mick watched until Nutter was done and when he finally stepped back to stand next to him, Mick finally spoke. “Well, I’m quite impressed with what you did with her. I wasn’t sure what it would look like, but yes, it works very well.”

  “Thank you. It was a bit difficult, as I’m not used to working with such aged material, but I must say, I kind of like it. Maybe I’ll venture out and offer my services to the old and dying.”

  Stormy had been up and down all night long. Finally, she gave up on getting any sleep before the sun even came up. Trying to be quiet, she went to the kitchen, grabbed a glass of water, and got dressed for the day. Grabbing a book, she lay back down in bed and started to read, getting lost in the words.

  When someone slid in behind her and wrapped his arms tightly around her, she stifled a scream. Looking down at the hands, she saw it was Bender and relaxed.

  “You should be sleeping.”

  “And you should know my mind won’t allow me to sleep.”

  He nuzzled the back of her neck. “You should be sleeping.”

  Wiggling until he loosened his hold and she was able to turn in his arms, she caressed his cheek. “I worry.”

  A small smile pulled at his lips. “I have to admit, it is kind of nice to be worried about, by you.”

  Looking deeply in his eyes, she saw sadness there. “What’s happened?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Do you think I can’t see something has upset you?”

  “I had a walk down memory lane. Ended up having to help a couple of people I knew in high school.” With one of his hands, he rubbed her hip while the other played with her hair. “It was a long time ago. It shouldn’t matter now.”

  “But it does . . .”

  “Yeah, it does. We didn’t hang in the same crowds, but sometime life forces you together with people you normally don’t look twice at. You bond; you try to be friends, at least for a day or so. You hope people are going to keep their word, but it’s either crush or be crushed. They both decided to crush.” He fell into silence.

  “Was it that simple?”

  “To a teenager, it was. As an adult, not so much. As an adult, when they asked for help, I couldn’t turn away from them.”

  She suspected there was more to the story than what he was saying. Murdoch had filled in a lot of his past. She knew why he was so gruff and had a hard exterior. He’d had to survive, and the only way to do that was to make people think he didn’t care. Underneath, he cared too much. Putting the clues together she wondered if it was what had happened to him in high school. From what Murdoch said Bender had always been the bad boy, getting into trouble all the time. Then he met some friends that didn’t run in his crowd. They’d tried to be friends, Bender had even half given his heart to the girl, before they both turned their backs on him because their crowd didn’t approve. After that Bender had become more and more like his father, getting into more trouble and more dangerous situations, trying to run from the hurt. To hurt others instead.

  “I wish I could take the pain away; the pain from now, the pain from the past. Heal you.”

  “You help more than you could possibly know.” He leaned toward her, his mouth hovering a breath’s space from hers. “I feel more whole than I ever have, than I ever thought I was capable of.”

  Slowly and effortlessly, he kissed the sense out of her, taking away every doubt she ever had about the man or herself, giving into him completely.

  She swore he had to be some kind of musician because he played her body like a master, knowing instinctively what to do and when to give her the most pleasure. Continuously changing the tempo as he saw fit, she was helpless to deny him anything.

  With their eyes locked, they rode the wave of their passion until it couldn’t contain either of them. The force of their release erupted hot and hard before collapsing and falling back down to Earth.

  Stormy knew nothing in her life would ever be the same. She’d given her heart to this man who protected so many, including her. Her heart swelled with the love she felt for him. With his head resting on her breast, both of their chests heaving from their lovemaking, she ran her fingers up and down his arm dreaming of being able to tell him exactly how she felt, but knowing it had to be her secret, at least for now.

  By the time they arrived at the bookstore, Crissy and Steven had already opened, and people were browsing the stacks. Stormy smiled at Bender. This was what she loved, people wanting to read. She’d come so far since the first day when she was left alone to take care of the customers. Now she put her purse behind the counter and dove right into talking to people and helping them find the book they were searching for. Smiling over at Bender, she felt more alive than she had in years. When he smiled back at her, her heart melted, and she knew he felt the same.

  During a lull, Stormy sat behind the counter eating, and sorting the mail from the past few days. She needed to get back on administrative duties; otherwise, she’d be behind in paying her bills. When Bender wandered over and glanced at a package she’d put to the side, he grabbed it quickly and tore into it.

  “Isn’t opening someone else’s mail a felony?”

  “Yes, but since I’m the one who bought it for the person it is addressed to, I think they’ll let me off.” Opening the small box, he showed her a simple silver bracelet. “Remember how I was telling you about the jewelry you could wear, and when you push a hidden button on it, it would send out a distress signal and your last location to your loved ones? This is it.”

  She looked at it. “I can’t see a button.”

  “This one doesn’t exactly work that way. Here.” He pulled out the instructions to show her. “You have to apply pressure on two sides to basically break it in half, and that is what sends out the signal. It’s not a tracking device, so you don’t have to worry about taking it with you. You can let it drop to the floor and focus on trying to get out of the situation. But it will help us get to you, if you are ever in a situation where you need help.”

  Placing it on her wrist, she spun it around a couple of times. She hated the fact she had to wear something like this, but knew, if she ever needed to use it, it would come in handy, and might end up saving her life.

  “Thank you.”

  He leaned down quickly and gave her a kiss. “Anything for you, lady.”

  “Anything?”

  He laughed and squeezed her shoulder. “Pretty much. I have to get some things from the bar. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  Lost in her work, she didn’t notice the time passing until a small hand tugged on her shirt. She turned to the child and the smile that was on her face slipped when she saw the bruises on his precious little face. “Hello, Donnie.”

  The boy ducked his head. “Hello, Miss Stormy.”

  “Can I help you?” Her heart clenched, she was hoping he’d finally take her up on her offer, or at least talk to Bender. She glanced over at Bender’s normal chair hoping he’d come in while she’d been engrossed in her work, but he hadn’t; his chair sat empty.

  “Can you help me?”

  “I will do whatever it takes.” She hoped he believed her.

  “I . . . I . . . need to leave. Yesterday, he said he’d kill me today.” He looked up at her with tears in his eyes. “I don’t want to die.”

  Stormy’s arms ached wanting to gather him up into her arms and protect him, but she didn’t want to do anything to scare him, or hurt him. “Okay, can you give me a minute to think?”

  At his nod, her mind began to race, trying to think of the best thing to do in order for the little boy to be safe. She picked up her phone and surprisingly strong fingers dug into her wrist.

  “No! Please don’t call the cops.”

  “Oh, honey, no. I was going to call Bender. He can help us.”

  She could see the wheels turning behind his eyes. The fact he couldn’t just trust people broke her heart. His childhood had been ripped from him. He didn’t have time to
enjoy being a little boy where all he had to worry about was which toy to play with next. Finally, he nodded.

  When Bender’s voicemail came up, she left him a message to call her as soon as he could. When his eyes became large, Stormy turned and looked out the front window. There was someone across the street staring into her store. A tall man. Turning back to the boy, she saw him shaking. “Who is that?”

  “I’ve got to get out of here. Please, Miss Stormy, help me.”

  Without another thought, she casually put her cell phone in her pocket and grabbed her keys and walked to the back of the store keeping Donnie in front of her so the man across the street wouldn’t see him. When they got to the back storeroom, she called for Crissy and let her know what was going on. There was no way she was going to be leaving without someone to go with her. Stormy and Donnie were in the backseat while Crissy drove them to Stormy’s apartment. It was the only place she could think of where he’d be safe. Since she couldn’t get hold of Bender, she had no idea if he was still at the bar and didn’t think that was the best place for a little boy. She didn’t want to take him to Murdoch’s, and she didn’t have enough cash on her to rent a room somewhere. While her building didn’t have the best security, as Bender had pointed out, it was better than nothing; plus, Crissy was with them.

  Riding up in the elevator, she tried to call Bender again, but couldn’t get a signal. She thought it might have something to do with being in an elevator. Opening the door to her unit, part of her was excited. It had been so long since she’d been home. She laughed at herself, but she missed being surrounded by her books, the ones she loved the best. Deciding she needed some more to take back with her, she was already thinking of which ones she wanted when she left.

  She heard Crissy lock the door behind her, and the gasp when she turned around to see all the books. Looking back over her shoulder at Crissy, Stormy grinned. “You know I love books.”

  “Girl, this is more like an obsession, but one of the best to have. I could spend weeks here.”

  When they came around the corner to the dining room, they all skidded to a halt. The wall was gone between her unit and the next. Stormy put her arm around the little boy and covered his eyes with her hand. Mrs. Wilkinson was arranged on the bookshelves that faced into Stormy’s apartment. Stormy’s eyes locked with the dead ones of her much-loved neighbor, both of their mouths hanging open. At the same time she started smelling a sick sweet scent, a tall thin man came around the corner of the other unit with a gas mask on. Stormy knew who it was; she could tell from the madness in his eyes. Turning, she shielded the boy with her body. Even as the gas was overtaking them and they were falling to the floor, she tried to keep him safe. With her last ounce of strength, she pressed the points on her bracelet, hoping it was enough to break it and send the signal to let Bender know she was in trouble.

  Bender raced through the streets to her apartment. Weaving in and out of traffic, he hoped he wouldn’t be pulled over. With all the cops on the take, he knew he’d end up in jail and by the time he got out, Stormy would be dead. Screeching to a stop, he put the SUV in park and didn’t even try to wait for the elevator, he ran up the stairs and burst through the door, and down the hall to her front door, which was cracked open.

  With his gun out, he slowly opened the door and used his training to assess the situation and enter. When the smell of the gas hit his nose, he backed out quickly and made sure the door was open all the way. Pulling a bandana out of his jacket pocket, he tied it around his head, covering his nose and mouth. Dropping low to the ground he counted on the fact the gas would be lighter than air, knowing it was there to knock people out so it should be above him.

  When he got to the living room, he saw Donnie and Crissy lying there, but no Stormy. He pulled Donnie out first and then went back to get Crissy. He absently took in the missing wall and the welcome home message left in blood from Nutter. Once everyone was safe in the hall, he went back in to get some water for them. The kid was the first to stir, his eyes wildly looking around, trying to figure out what happened. When they landed on Bender, they filled with tears.

  “Tell Miss Stormy I’m sorry. He told me what he was going to do to me if I didn’t help him, and I didn’t want that. I’m not ready to die. Please, she can’t hate me, make her understand.” The boy was sobbing. “She was the only good thing in my life.”

  “Donnie, calm down; who, who did this?” He was afraid he already knew.

  “Nut . . . Nutter.”

  Bender’s blood went cold. Nutter had Stormy.

  Mick whistled as he entered the warehouse. He danced up the stairs happy with the way things were going. Their sources were getting closer to figuring who exactly was behind the attempt to purchase their properties and what Bender had to do with it. They were acquiring more and more politicians. Their master plan was to own all of Chicago. Years ago they’d come up with the plan, going from town to city to bigger city, always modifying until they thought they had the best plan, and the money to make it happen. So far, they had squashed everything, which stood in their way. He thought at the rate they were going, within the next two years, most, if not all of Chicago would be theirs.

  They were going to surround the city, going to the south first and pushing the animals into a corner, their territory getting smaller and smaller until there was no safe place. They’d be able to do whatever they wanted. He got hard thinking of everything he and Nutter could do. His imagination ran away with him. When he punched his number in to unlock the door, he was greeted by muffled crying. Between his thoughts of taking over Chicago and the crying, he forgot to close the door all the way behind him. Frowning, he wondered what Nutter was up to. They weren’t supposed to have anyone here to kill today. He set the groceries down on the counter and walked up to Nutter’s room.

  He stopped at the doorway and looked at Stormy, spread out naked and tied to the bed; a mirror image of Nutter’s painting on the ceiling. There was blood on her legs. Nutter was naked and rubbing his face in the shallow cuts he’d made on Stormy.

  “Nutter, what have you done?”

  Nutter slowly turned toward Mick, his face covered in blood. “I was right. She does taste divine”

  Bender raced back down the stairs, the whole time trying Murdoch’s number repeatedly, but there was no answer. Bender knew where Mick and Nutter lived and that was the only place he could think of to go. Racing back to where he’d come from, he couldn’t help thinking he might have passed them with Stormy going back to the neighborhood, while he raced to her apartment. If only he’d known, he wouldn’t have wasted so much time.

  When his phone rang, he picked it up without looking at the caller ID. “Bender.”

  “Where the hell have you been, boy?”

  “Where the hell have I been? Where the hell have you been, old man? They’ve got Stormy!”

  “I know; that’s why I’ve been trying to call you.”

  “I’ve been calling you and you haven’t picked up.”

  Suddenly Bender could hear the dings of messages coming in. “What the fuck?” He pulled the phone away from his ear and saw all the missed calls and voice messages. “Stupid cell phone service. I thought we had the best.”

  “You need to get to Mick and Nutter’s now.”

  “I’m almost there.”

  “Now don’t come in here with guns blazing; you need to calm down and think, boy.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Bender . . .”

  “I said, ‘yes, sir.’”

  “Get it together before you get here. I need your head in the game, not your heart.” With that, Murdoch disconnected the call.

  Bender knew he was right. He had to think logically, take the emotion out of it. That was the only way they were going survive. Based on his knowledge of Mick and Nutter, Bender knew they were capable of doing anything. He had to keep his wits about him because he couldn’t predict what they might do.

  By the time he pulled up behind Murdoc
h, his head was in the game. After a brief discussion, they walked across the street and into the building. They were banking on the fact Mick and Nutter were going to be too busy to notice them; and even if they did notice, well Bender and Murdoch were just going to have to think quick. Trap or not, they had to go in to save Stormy.

  Mick’s mind scrambled, seeing her like this. He knew Nutter thought himself to be in love with her; and lord knew, Mick thought she was a hot piece of ass, but seeing what he’d only imagined in his mind was almost too much. He tried to focus on the fact this wasn’t part of today’s plan, but his cock had other ideas. It’s throbbing was becoming painful.

  Without another thought, he stripped down and climbed into bed with them making sure his gun was next to him.

  “Excellent,” Nutter hissed. “Taste, taste her, Mick.”

  His eyes rolled back in his head as he licked from the inside of her ankle, up to her hip. Opening his eyes, he saw Nutter on the other side, mirroring his actions. With a quick flick of his wrist, the knife clicked open and he cut a line from his side, across her belly and toward Mick. With fresh blood seeping from her wound, they slowly started lapping her up like a kitten with milk, their hands roaming over and inside her body.

  Something registered through Mick’s blood-induced haze and he pulled away from her. It was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. Her blood was like a magnet to him. Sitting up, he reached around for his gun and swung it toward the door seeing two men standing there with their guns drawn. He licked Stormy’s blood off of his lips. “I suggest you not come any further and put down your weapons.”

  “I’m going to need you to put down your weapon son and get down on the floor.” The old man said.

  “Oh, that’s not how this is going to work. You have two choices, you can either die or die, and there is nothing else.” Mick didn’t want to turn to see what Nutter was doing. He kept his focus on the two men, and he needed them focused on him. Since Nutter was lethal with a knife he typically kept them hidden all around the room, Mick was sure he had more than the one he’d been using on Stormy close by.