I found myself wishing this was all a horrible nightmare, and I would soon find myself waking up once again in the safety of Colt’s arms.
Colt. I knew he must be beside himself with fear by now. He would find Sam’s body, and know something was wrong. He would find me. He just had to.
After Jack tied me up, he taped my mouth shut before I could even try to convince him to let me loose again. I knew it was no use anyway. He was determined, insane, and apparently very focused on whatever his plan was. I was trying desperately to not imagine what that entailed.
He disappeared for almost an hour. I struggled to get out of my restraints, but he had tied expert knots, and they wouldn’t budge an inch. It was the longest hour of my life.
My whole life seemed to pass before my eyes as I sat there, trying to think of anything other than the horrific reality of the situation I was in.
I thought of my childhood, my mother’s high hopes for her only child. I was the only chance she had at ever making something of her life, and she knew it. She wasn’t completely awful, she had her sweet moments. We had some fun along the way. But after I had my breakthrough she had turned into an entirely different person. The money got to her. She had grown up so poor, that acquiring money had become like a toxic addiction to her. We all had our addictions, though, didn’t we?
I did. That’s what had gotten me into this entire mess. If I had only found a way to keep the bottle from my lips, none of this would have happened. Crazy Jack wouldn’t have had an opportunity to kill Jesse, because I wouldn’t have made Colt sleep with me. He would have been right by the door, he would have been able to hear it. And if Jesse hadn’t died, I wouldn’t have fled to the cabin. And if I hadn’t fled to the cabin, Sam wouldn’t be dead. And Colt wouldn’t have been going through the torture that I knew he must be wracked with right now while he was surely searching for me.
This was all my fault. Whatever this freak had in store for me, I surely deserved it.
I was lost in my thoughts when I finally heard the clicking of shoes walking down the hallway. I turned my head and my mind almost exploded in disbelief.
Crazy Jack was wearing some sort of costume. He had a coarse black wig on, the fake locks flowing around his shoulders in a glossy sheen. His face was thickly covered in makeup, his eyes lined in heavy black eyeliner, and a familiar dark red shade of lipstick was smeared on his lips. When I looked closer, I saw he was wearing a black leather jacket that looked exactly like my old one. When I saw the tiny rip on the right arm, I gasped. That was my jacket! How in the fuck had he gotten my jacket?
I shuddered in fear, as I watched him walk over to me, his stride unsteady on the tall, black pumps he was wearing. He looked ridiculous.
He looked insane.
He leaned down, and I caught a whiff of lavender. My lavender perfume. How did he know what perfume I wore? When his face was merely inches from my mind, he smiled, his teeth disgustingly covered in red lipstick.
“What do you think, Jett? Do I look like you?” He stood up and spun around, stumbling in the heels before he caught himself on the kitchen counter.
“Or do I look like a dirty whore? Maybe both, hmm?”
I shook my head in disbelief.
“Maybe both, because that’s what you are! That’s what you’ve become, Jett. I’ve been so disappointed with you lately, do you know that?” he asked, cocking a hip and putting a hand on his hip. “You’ve been whoring around with devils, rolling around in filth and covering yourself in sin. You’ve disgusted me, Jett.”
“And it’s not fair!” His voice began to rise in anger, and I began shaking. “I love you, Jett! You saved me, you know? All those years on the battlefield, all those days you sang to me while I killed those men? And afterwards? It was you that cleansed my soul every time. Now, I’m here to return the favor. You’re clean, deep down, Jett. I just know it. They haven’t ruined you, there’s still hope.”
I felt like I was going to be sick as I watched him begin to pace around the room.
“You know it didn’t have to end like this. Oh, but not that this is the end. I mean, it’s really just the beginning for us. But if you had just kept your legs closed, if you had stayed pure like I know you are deep down inside, then we wouldn’t have to go through this.”
He disappeared again, this time up the stairs, almost tripping as he went up them. I heard him rummaging around up there, and then I heard the sound of water running. When he came back down, he had taken the shoes off and with a strength I didn’t know he possessed, he picked me up, chair and all, and carried me up the stairs.
The bed was turned down, and he had lit candles all around the room. They glimmered in the darkness, the only other light coming from the attached bathroom. There weren’t any windows, and I almost couldn’t see at first. He put me down just outside the bathroom door, and when I saw the items laid out on the counter in there, I began to struggle against the ropes again, desperately wanting to escape.
Neatly lined up in a row, I saw scissors, razors, steel wool, a steel brush, an assortment of cleansers - bleaches, floor strippers, ammonia, alcohol, peroxide - along with hairbrushes and makeup. The tub was filled with steaming water.
He laughed at my efforts to free myself, and once again I felt the gun pressed to the back of my head.
“Don’t be silly, sweetheart. But of course you would think you could escape. You don’t know who I am, do you? I’m Sergeant Jack Anderson, a decorated member of the U.S. Army, my dear. I possess excellent skills, you know. You’d be impressed if I named all the awards I’ve won. But I won’t bore you with the details. Just rest assured you aren’t going anywhere, so don’t even try. You’re going to be purified right now, and that’s that.”
He walked into the bathroom, and grabbed the scissors. Returning to where he had placed the chair I was strapped to, he went around behind me, and gathered my hair in his hands. I cringed, and when I heard the first snips of the scissors, I knew he was cutting my hair. Tears began to roll down my face and the terror continued to fill my heart.
“This hair…it’s filthy. It’s touched so many filthy people.” He was muttering to himself behind me. When he was done, my beloved locks were lying on the ground below me like a pile of dead snakes.
“Oh, my dear!” He exclaimed suddenly. “What am I thinking! I totally forgot the music! Stay here, darling, I’ll be right back.”
He ran back downstairs, and within moments I heard my voice trailing up the stairs. It was one of the first songs I had ever recorded, one of my first hits. It was the last thing I wanted to hear.
☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
I peered into the window of the cabin, and as soon as I saw him, I knew we had found them. The crazy fucker was dressed in some sort of costume, looking vaguely like Jett. His back was turned and he was turning on a CD player in the corner. The cabin filled with Jett’s voice, and my stomach churned. My eyes scanned the cabin quickly, but she was nowhere in sight.
I gestured to two of the men to go around the back of the cabin, and Rusty and the others stayed with me. They were watching the spectacle before us with wide eyes.
“What the fuck…” Rusty whispered.
“I have no fucking idea. Jett has to be in there somewhere.”
“I’m sure she is. Maybe upstairs?” he asked, nodding towards the staircase. Crazy Jack began spinning around the room, his head thrown back in ecstasy as he began pinching his nipples, and singing along loudly to Jett’s song. He was wearing a fringed jacket that was completely open in the front, his chest bare and exposed as he danced around the room and fondled himself.
When his hand trailed down and he began cupping his erection, I couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Let’s go. We’ll break the door down!” I whispered to Rusty.
“No, wait! Give it a second. You see his gun there on the table? We don’t want to give him time to grab it. Wait till he’s danced around to the other side of the room. God, what a fucking freak
. Is he supposed to be dressed like Jett?”
“I don’t fucking know,” I growled. “I just hope she’s alive.”
Moments later, Jack did exactly what we were hoping. He danced into the kitchen, leaving the gun lying on a table by the stairs.
“Now! Move!” I said, my gun already drawn. Rusty and the boys followed me, and we paused a beat, then slammed into the door all together.
Jack never expected us. He screamed like a little girl when the door splintered in half. We barreled through it, and I was on him in a flash. I threw my weight against him, landing on his body in the kitchen, and pushed my gun into his mouth.
His eyes bugged out of his head, full of fear and surprise.
“Where’s Jett, motherfucker?” I growled.
He mumbled incoherently, and I felt Rusty pulling me off of him, his own gun poised directly at Jack’s head.
His eyes darted upward, and I left him there with Rusty while I raced up the stairs. When I saw Jett, I almost collapsed in relief.
She was a mess. Tears ran down her face, her mouth covered in duct tape, her hair chopped to pieces and lying at her feet, her limbs tied to the chair. But her eyes filled with joy when she spotted me, and I embraced her hard, my heart pounding violently in my chest.
As gently as I could, I removed the tape from her mouth and she sobbed.
“Oh, Colt! Oh, my God!”
“Shh, baby, it’s okay, I’ve got you,” I said, soothing her as best as I could. “You’re okay, let me get you loose, okay?”
She nodded, her sobs intensifying as she stared at me with wonder. “I’m so glad you found me, thank you so much, he’s so fucking insane —,”
Her voice was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a gunshot and we both jumped.
“Fuck, stay here!” I said, as I grabbed my gun and ran back downstairs.
“Don’t leave me, Colt, please…” her voice trailed off behind me, and when I reached the kitchen, I stopped dead in my tracks.
Jack was dead. His eyes bulging out of his head, a bloody river flowing out of his chest and onto the floor around him. Rusty stood over him, a satisfied look on his face.
“Fucker killed Jesse.”
I stared as he stalked away, putting his gun in the back of his waistband.
He turned to me. “You find her?”
“Um…yeah, she’s okay. Upstairs,” I replied, taking one last look at Jack and then turning to run back up the stairs.
“What was that?” she asked, her eyes filled with fear. I never wanted to see that again, I decided then and there. Jett would never be afraid of anything again, not as long as I could help it.
“Jack’s dead, baby,” I said, pulling her close to me. “He’s never gonna fuck with you again. Now let’s get you out of here.”
I untied her and helped her down the stairs and outside. I sat her on a bench on the porch and found a blanket on the couch to wrap her in.
My brothers streamed out of the cabin one by one, a trail of bad ass, leather wearing saviors that once again had proven to me exactly how loyal they were.
For years, there was nothing else in the world I had cared about more than them.
And now, there was Jett.
She clung onto me, her tears subsiding and replaced by sighs of relief.
“It’s over…” she mumbled. “It’s finally over.”
****THE END****
☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
“Ha!” Jett said, as she threw her cards down on the table. “Full house! Take it off, baby!”
Colt laughed, cocked an eyebrow and slowly placed his cards on the table one at a time.
“One. Two. Three. Four. Four of a kind, darlin’, that beats your full house. I think it’s time for you to take it off! That leaves nothing but your pretty little panties, sweetheart. Do you need help with that bra clasp?” he asked, his voice taunting and full of amusement.
“Shit! You always win, that’s not fair!” Jett said, standing up and reaching in front of her to unclasp her black lace bra. Her breasts escaped their confines, spilling forward in a gorgeous display of femininity.
Colt whistled appreciatively as she flipped him off and laughed.
They had spent most of the last three months alone at the cabin, playing cards, cooking dinners, taking long walks in the woods and getting to know each other again. Colt had spent most of his time behind bars playing poker once he decided getting into fights wasn’t going to get him out of there any sooner and he was excellent at it.
“I’ve just had a lot of practice, baby. And I gotta admit,” he said with a smile, pulling her into his arms. “A chance to look at those magnificent babies is quite a strong motivator for winning.”
“Yeah, yeah…like you need an excuse!” Jett replied, snaking her arms around his waist. “After these last few months, I’d think you’d be tired of them by now.”
“These?” he replied, grabbing a handful of each one. “No fucking way. Never!” He dipped his head, his mouth engulfing a hardening nipple and sucking lightly. Jett’s moans echoed in the cabin, the place that had quickly become their sanctuary.
The smell of a bubbling stew filled the cabin. Jett hadn’t had a drink in three months, instead spending her time cooking. They had both gained a few pounds, but it only served to fill out her curves a little more. She didn’t care so much, now that she wasn’t on a stage every night.
After the nightmare with Crazy Jack, Colt had insisted she take a long break. The only way she would agree to do that was if he took the break with her.
And he was right, she needed it desperately. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Sam had betrayed her so deeply, and she was weary to trust anyone at all now. She was happy to hole up in her cabin with Colt for a while.
It was healing. For both of them.
They were still reeling from Jesse’s death, too, but they were working through it, each of them forgiving the other, and reminding them to forgive themselves at the same time.
They had both agreed to not think about the future for a while. Eventually, they would deal with it, but for now, they were just enjoying each other.
The radio played softly in the background while Colt trailed kisses up to her neck. He reached up and grabbed a handful of her short, cropped hair, pulled her head back and captured her mouth in his. He loved her new look, and she seemed to be making the best of it, too.
“And now,” the DJ on the radio announced, “we have the song that’s taken the country by storm, rising to number one on the Billboard charts the first week after being released. Give it a listen everybody! This is Rhododendron Rain, by everybody’s favorite rocker chick, Jett.”
Jett groaned as Colt quickly broke away from her and ran to turn up the radio.
“Yes!” he said, pulling her into his arms, putting his cheek to hers, and swaying to the rock ballad as she tried to resist.
“Come on, Colt!” she protested. “This is embarrassing!”
“Humor me, goddammit! I’ve never had a song written about me before!” he insisted, keeping her close and pulling her around the cabin, just as he had done every time the song came on the radio during the last week. They danced through the kitchen and into the living room. He twirled her around in front of the fireplace, where they had placed a picture of Jesse to keep his memory close. The sound of her voice filled the small cabin as she sang the one song she had gone back to Los Angeles to record. As soon as it was finished, she was back at the cabin and hiding away from the world again. It was the one thing Seth had asked of her, and since the song had already birthed itself in her head, she knew she had to get it out anyway.
“I found my joy in the palm of your hand…
Everything changed in the Rhododendron rain…
Rhododendron rain…”
Colt danced her into the bedroom, the passion in his kisses growing along with his throbbing cock, as he pushed her gently back onto the bed, ready to once again show her exactly how much h
e loved her.
Honey Palomino is a true romantic at heart!
She loves reading and writing about dangerous bad boys and the women that love them!
OTHER TITLES BY HONEY PALOMINO
BIKER ROMANCE AND EROTICA
Outlaws - The Novel
Dirty Crow Motorcycle Club
Captured
The Snake's Den
Saving Rebel
Old Ghosts
BOYS SERIES (MMF THREESOME EROTICA)
The Boys In The Barn
The Boys Next Door
The Boys In The Band
The Boys Back Home
The Boys From Texas
THREESOME/MULTIPLES EROTICA
Masquerade
Undercover
Playing With Fire
The Shrink
The Lust Boat
WEREWOLF ROMANCE AND EROTICA
Lust for Luna - The Trilogy
Stranded on Werewolf Island
Beast
After Hours
The Moon Howlers
Royal Rebellion
Sex Magic
Jett Page 15