by Nicole Snow
“I can't believe sin and redemption are so clear cut. That was the Prophet's message – damnation for the corrupted, hellfire and death to purify anyone in the congregation who went astray like me. That can't be right, Evan. Nobody is condemned forever if they try to make it right. If you killed her, I get it, even if you weren't holding the swords...but you can still save your son. Same way you can save yourself.”
I raised an eyebrow. The girl was wise beyond her years. Rare to see wisdom and beauty all mixed up, twisted together in a rocking hot body like hers.
But fuck, it was that body keeping her here, wasn't it? If she'd been anything less than perfection on two long legs that hooked straight around my hips, I would've turned her out. I wouldn't have roped her back here in the first place.
Too bad I couldn't let go. Not while she had my aching nuts in her hand, balls melting at her touch. My dick wanted her here too bad.
And shit, he'd seen her too. If Cassie went off on her own, even under my supervision, the cartel could get antsy. There was nothing stopping her from ending up in his talons if he wanted her bad enough.
No fucking way was I gonna let that happen. She was right.
All my fuckups were squarely in the past. I had to make things right for her, for Ty, for Izzy. Had to cure everything I'd poisoned, and drag that fucking asshole who'd started all this to hell with me.
I was about to speak when she opened her lips and dropped a bomb. “Let me help you, Evan. You say this man's unreachable? I don't believe it. Not after the way I saw you kill those men and save me. You're smart...strong...amazing. If you have the right tools, you can figure something out. Use me if it helps solve all this.”
“No!” I jerked out of her arms. This time, I was putting real space between us.
Couldn't take the risk having her so damned close. Her tits and pussy up against my skin wouldn't let me think straight.
“You talk about innocents! Who's more innocent than your kid, Evan? It's not me. No matter how much you think it is.” She took a deep breath. “Don't let a child suffer if there's something I can do. I'll be careful. I'll do whatever you want. I won't let myself get too deep in danger or anybody else if –“
“No ifs, ands, or buts, babe. None.” Red hot blood pounded in my chest. “When I pulled you away from the religious freaks, I told you I wasn't taking any chances again. I'm sticking to it. You can like it or fucking lump it – you're not going anywhere I can't see. Not one inch closer to Borzia.”
Her lips twisted. She didn't like what I was saying, but she didn't fight it. I had to move fast.
All this intensity in the nude sent angry blood pumping through me, including to my cock. I wasn't gonna fuck her when I was pissed and risk losing my head. Shuffling to the edge of the bed, I grabbed my clothes, and dashed out the room before she could say another word.
A cold shower would help me keep my fucking promises. I let the icy drops beat down my neck and shoulders and face for a good long while, wishing they'd clear my head the way they hosed my lust.
Cassie, Ty, and the whole goddamned world sat on my thick shoulders now. Damned if I had a clue how to carry them all.
“Your update's overdue, Cole. Where is she?” Borzia's lip moved in a nasty curl. “I need to see her again.”
Nowhere in your reach, you fuck. She never will be.
Hot fury churned in my guts. I'd never stop hating the way I had to muzzle myself to keep my son alive. One day, I'd tell him to fuck off to his face. Preferably while I squeezed his life out of his throat with my bare hands and no chance to talk back.
“Where is she?” He repeated.
“You'll have your pictures,” I growled. “I'll send new ones your way and anything else you need.”
Another lie. One more thing to navigate in the dark seas of my endless nightmare.
“Not good enough, Cole.” He showed his teeth, half-snarl and half-smile. “I want our schedule moved up. Send the pictures tonight, and the puta in the next week. My men will meet you to retrieve her.”
I stared. Blank and dull and dumb, sick with fury.
Bastard.
The heat was on, and it was a goddamned flamethrower braising my neck. I had a bad feeling I wasn't gonna figure out jack shit in a week, let alone how to kill his ass dead and keep Cassie well away from him.
“Cole!” Hearing my name on his filthy lips broke me out of my trance. “Have you forgotten what's at stake? Do you need another reminder?”
He moved the camera. Honest to God tears sharp as glass pricked my eyes when I saw my son.
“Daddy!” Ty smiled, innocent as the day I last saw him.
“Hang in there, son.” Why the fuck was it harder to speak to my own kid than the animal holding him hostage? “Daddy's coming. Just a little bit longer...”
“No more delays. You need to deliver now,” Borzia's voice boomed from above. Resting his large wiry hand on Ty's shoulder, he squeezed, pinching tender flesh between the neck and the collarbone.
Ty screamed. I dropped the fucking phone and dove for the ground, catching it just before the screen smashed to bits.
“Let him go, asshole! This wasn't part of the fucking deal!”
“Not so fast.” The killer's cruel fingers eased, but they held on hard enough to hurt, burning my son with the pain that should've been mine.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
“Let. Him. Go.” Snorting the words out hid the weakness in my plea.
I begged, yeah, but I wasn't beaten.
He wouldn't kill Ty. Not while he needed a companion.
The bastard wouldn't forfeit the last precious thing he had over me, and it was all I had. Little consolation. This fucker could do a lot of terrible things in the meantime without snuffing out my son's life.
If there was one thing the cartel had mastered, it was torture. The savagery these fucks leveled on their enemies would've turned medieval inquisitors green with envy.
“You'll get this urchin back when you give me my girl. It seems you've grown lax, Cole. I hate making the boy squirm – really – but business is business.” Ty gasped and fell to the ground as Borzia released him, filling the camera with his wicked face again. “Don't make me do worse than plucking at his nerves. Pictures tonight. Delivery when Rafael gives the word. Get her to me, and we're square. You can bring this little shit home with all his fingers and toes intact.”
I was on my knees, clutching the phone so hard my thumb was a pinch away from going through the fucking screen. He saw everything. Lying to this fuck wasn't possible when he read me like a card.
Ty sniffled one last time. The screen went black. My son was gone, and so was the demon.
I couldn't take a second more of this shit. My brain was on auto-pilot, gripping the phone in my hand. In one burst, I turned, hurling the fucking thing at the brick wall. It exploded into a cloud of plastic and glass.
Hold tight, son. Daddy's coming, just like I said. I'll crawl on my hands and fucking knees before Satan himself if it keeps you safe.
I stood. Sweaty from my earlier workout, I hadn't realized just how wet I was until I was on two feet again. Water steamed out my pores, bubbling on my skin. Wasn't hard to smell the stink of loathing and frustration in it.
I grabbed a towel off the chair and began to wipe myself down. Wrinkled my nose in disgust, staring at the shattered phone. I'd clean that shit up later. Also had a backup with a direct line to the hell.
I was still toweling off when I forced open the door and nearly crashed into Cassie head on.
“What does he want?” She asked.
I looked at her and tensed up, blood blazing. “You heard the whole fucking thing, didn't you?”
“I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. I was just worried. You haven't been upstairs since morning...”
Fuck it. There was no use fighting or yelling. Guess she deserved to stick her angelic nose where it didn't belong after the way I'd yanked her into the shadows.
“The asshole wants the new
pictures I promised him last week. Tonight. If he doesn't have them, he'll hurt my son.”
Cassie blinked. An uneasy smile pulled at her lips, brightening the natural pink that always stood out on her pale face. Fuck, I knew I wasn't gonna like what came out of her mouth next.
“Let me do this simple thing, Evan. I can buy you time. I'll do it however you want. Make the man drool over what he can't have.”
Shit! Lightning shot to my cock as mad thunder rumbled in my head.
This would've been so much easier if she bowed up and slapped me across the face. I wanted her to fight. Not do me favors she didn't fucking owe.
Too bad I was at the end of my goddamned rope. Without sharing her sweetness over the lines, I was truly fucked. The odds of Borzia carving up my son tonight if he didn't see me cooperating were high.
Time to swallow my bitter pride and choke. Easier than getting Ty's fingers in the mail one-by-one.
“You're sure? I'm only giving you one chance to back out.”
She stepped forward, throwing her hands around my neck. Where the hell had she gotten that black fall dress with the jack-o-lantern colored stripes going through it? The girl was sexy, even when I didn't want her to be. Couldn't decide if she looked like embers turning over in a fire pit or some exotic spider ready to kill.
“I told you I'd do it. I want to help him come home safe. I want to help you.”
Black angel. I wondered if I'd done something to her head, inverting her innocence and purity, making her cling to me the way women in her old cult were supposed to relish their greasy old Prophet.
My cock bulged in my shorts. Nothing sounded better than unwrapping her, taking dirty pics, and then reminding us both who she really belonged to.
Yeah, the Mexican would have his pics, but he'd never have her body. I'd damned well make sure of that. My pitch black heart wasn't totally dead. I didn't have the cruelty to tell her about the new schedule.
Wasn't gonna do it until I figured out how to unfuck my promises. Keeping Cassie and Ty safe was like watching a slow motion car wreck, and I was the idiot traffic controller trying to keep shit apart before it smashed together and shattered lives.
“Come on. Let's get this over with.” I grabbed her wrist and pulled her along.
She didn't resist.
Sweet Cassie. So obedient, so sensitive, so submissive.
And so damned fucked if I don't screw my head on straight and save your perfect ass one more time.
I helped her pick out her clothes. Didn't have a clue about women's fashion, but I sure as shit wasn't inviting Izzy here to get involved.
She wouldn't understand the negotiations after the promises I made. She was doing her job to get Cassie's sister cleaned up and straight. Cassie herself was mine.
We rampaged through the huge wardrobe Izzy stocked for her training. It was the first time we were in the old slave room together since I rescued her. It was strange as hell to be back in here without her fighting me.
The dress she picked out accented her curves perfectly, all stark black without any orange hues this time. Then she picked out a pair of fishnets, spiky heels, and lacy lingerie to go under it. Simple shit that let her tits and ass do all the talking.
My cock agreed. Bastard jerked and pulled at my whole damned body when she actually stepped out of my master bathroom wearing it.
I would've flipped my shit and dropped the digital camera then and there if it wasn't so fucking sobering. Jenny used to come to me like this when I came home from bloody jobs.
My home was a refuge. It's not easy to turn your brain off after strangling, shooting, and stabbing depraved motherfuckers for weeks at a time. But the minute she disappeared at night and came out looking like a ten, she bleached death out of my brain, drowning macabre remorse in bright desire.
My heart thumped something fierce. I had to push my fingers to my eyes and rub them to believe what I was seeing.
Never thought I'd find another woman who knew exactly how to carry herself. Cassie walked less confidently than Jenny ever had on her new heels, but she was pure throbbing sex, slow and seductive with her lips slightly pursed.
“Fuck, babe! Where did you learn to dress like that? You look like a goddamned pinup.”
“You guessed it,” she purred, stopping just short of settling on my lap.
Damned good thing too. I would've started in and wouldn't have stopped 'til we were both a hot sticky mess. Then I'd need to clean her up and do this shit all over again for the bastard with his gun to my head.
Wait, what the hell was she talking about? I shook my head, not understanding.
“Treating my sister and I like crap wasn't all Daddy did. He had magazines...things the Prophet would've burned him for. I knew where he hid them. Heather and I both flipped through them when we could get away with it. Couldn't resist a little piece of corruption from the great beyond...” Cassie's hands went on my shoulders, and she lowered her face to my ear. “Heather was always scared of those smiling, naked girls in heels and hose. I wasn't. I wanted to be them.”
Muscles rippled. My cock twitched and leaked and pleaded, begging to be unchained so I could let loose on her body. I jerked up.
Nearly threw her off me in the rush to reach for the camera in my pants. I hadn't bothered to throw a shirt on. Stupid mistake to be half naked when she looked like that. We still had a job to do.
“Lay on the bed, babe. One thing at a time. Let's make the asshole believe you're broken and ready to fuck his brains out.”
Had to use a digital camera this time. The backup phone was an inferior model. I'd have to transfer shit to Rafael, and then let jealousy run its brutal course as I thought about other men's eyes on Cassie's body.
“Spread your legs. Give your hips a little twist. Let the skirt ride up.”
I kept my eyes glued to her through the camera's little screen. It added a tiny layer of protection to the foaming lust in my balls, both tight and shrieking for satisfaction.
Gotta keep control. Gotta capture those legs, those hips, those wet black panties slick with her cream through my lens...
Fuck! I closed my eyes when I had a good shot. My sanity was falling to pieces when I finally started to tap the button.
Click. Click. Click.
The camera did its magic and burned her sopping wet pussy into its memory banks. Eyes open. I moved closer. My blood boiled when she arched her back, tits rising and falling in waves.
“Take it off. Roll over and put your feet on the floor. Point your sweet ass at me, babe.” The words hurt like flames on my lips.
Fuck, this room was gonna go up in a combustion fire. The raging tension shot out our mouths like lasers, emanating off our flesh. I could barely hold the fucking camera as she repositioned herself.
She pulled the dress up over her head. Threw it carelessly, rolled, and tossed her legs off the bed. Sexy in any pose, but not exactly even.
“This good?” Cassie's voice shook, low like a whisper.
“Little lower.” I pushed the camera back into my pocket for a second and put my hands on burning thighs. They clenched as I pulled them apart. “Open up. Keep your ass up for me and hold it...just for a few seconds.”
Jesus H. Christ. I did my best to get the shots without fumbling, coming apart at the seams with her ass poised so perfect.
The fever beating its way through my body wouldn't let up a single second. Not until I finished my shots, grabbed her, and pulled her high into my arms. Cassie's ass wriggled against me, a long overdue moan escaping her mouth.
I didn't dare brush too close to her tits, her pussy, her ass. Kept my hands wrapped firmly around her soft belly to steady her, and then lead her to the big bay window overlooking the forest.
I'd dragged her out of the deep dark woods and into something darker. Seemed like an appropriate background for this. I slid my arms up her back, posing her like a doll. She took it so well, and the fierce power my hands exercised on her left my heart pumping acid thro
ugh my veins.
“You want me to lean?”
I nodded, pointing to her tits. “Lose the bra. Brace yourself on the frame and keep your ass parked on the wood beneath it. Settle in and pose, just like an angel falling to earth.”
Fuck me for waxing poetic. Fuck me for enjoying this so much.
I forgot all about the cartel and Miguel's beady black eyes. It was Cassie and I up here, this girl who daintily unclasped her bra and shuffled it off her lap, aiming her perky tits my way.
My girl. No one else's. Mine today 'til the day I fucking die.
Click-click-click. I was getting sloppy with my aim but I didn't give a shit.
My thumb moved on the camera in a whirl. My damned luck it was the same movement I made when I was flicking her clit, driving my knuckle into her, making her scream and come and collapse on my hands...
“Evan? Are you all right?” She sat up straight when I lowered the camera.
Goddamn! My arm was shaking like a scrawny kid's, totally overloaded with the lust scorching me from the inside out.
“Just fine, babe. We're gonna be done real shortly. Lose those panties and spread your legs. Brace your hands on the frame like before.” She edged her ass up and tugged at her waistband. I jerked up my hand when they were rolling down her thighs. “Wait. Keep 'em at your knees. Let's make this one look just like a pinup girl.”
I knew Borzia wouldn't like it, and that made me happy. Sexy wasn't oozing pleasure and ready to melt in a master's hands to this asshole. He wanted his girls shredded, fucked, sad eyed, and compliant.
I'd give the fuck his pictures. Damned if I was giving him anything more.
Click-click-click.
Had to stop just short of her face and cut her off at the neck. I stepped closer, and Cassie was smiling, enjoying the total focus on her tight little body. Her knees shook slightly as they held her panties around her knees, held her open for me and the camera to ravish.
One more shot and I aimed the camera down, sidestepping to Jenny's old dresser and setting it there. Cassie still had her head slightly tipped back, bracing herself in the big window, deliciously naked.