“Fuck the world. I’m done.” Next to her message was a broken heart.
I sat down on my bed and stared at the screen for a couple of minutes before putting it on the charger and laying down. I remembered everything about the night I spent with Monica. When the drugs mixed with alcohol, all of her inhibitions disappeared and she was actually tolerable for once. Her message haunted me as I tried to sleep. If she was planning to do something stupid, I definitely didn’t want it to rest on my conscience. I looked at my phone again and saw a few responses to her message, mostly just concerned friends, although a few of them were cruel and blamed her for what she did. I got out of bed and put on my clothes.
I might not give a shit about Monica, but I didn’t want her to do something stupid. I didn’t need a coffin on my conscience, even if it was her own damn fault that she ended up in the position to begin with.
I walked outside and got on my motorcycle. I knew where Monica lived, because my brother had mentioned that she grew up in a pretty poor neighborhood. It took me a while to find the mailbox in the dark, but I finally found one with Adamson in faded white paint. There was a light on in the window, so I walked up to the front door and started knocking.
“Monica?” I hit the door a few more times after I didn’t get a response.
“Who is it?” I heard her voice from the other side of the door.
“It’s Grady—open up.” I tapped the door a little lighter since I knew she could hear me.
“What the fuck do you want?” She pulled the door open and stared at me. Her eyes were red-rimmed and there was smeared mascara underneath them.
“I saw what you posted online.” I pushed the door open and stepped into her house. “What did that mean?”
“What do you care?” She walked towards her living room and I saw several boxes lined up on the floor.
“I’m not going to pretend to feel bad about what I did.” I followed behind her and stopped once I was standing at the doorway of her living room. “I just don’t want you to do something stupid because your lie got exposed.”
“I’m not going to do anything stupid.” She picked up a couple of items and placed them in the box closest to her.
“So what, then?” I looked around the room. “You’re just packing everything up and moving away?”
“You must be Grady.” A voice to my left surprised me and I turned to see a man walking into the living room from the kitchen.
“Yeah...” I tilted my head as he stepped into the light. His face was red and swollen.
“I guess I’m your father-in-law.” He walked up to me and narrowed his eyes at me. “If I didn’t already feel like shit, I’d punch you in the mouth and take the ass-whipping that would probably follow.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t lay a hand on your daughter. The marriage will be annulled just as soon as my brother signs his contract.” The lack of reaction from the old man suggested he knew exactly what I was referencing.
“I didn’t want her marrying your brother anyway. You did me a favor, too.” He picked up a beer from the table and took a drink.
“Oh, hell no.” Monica’s face flushed with anger. “He ruined everything!”
“Monica...” Her father dropped his head and sighed heavily.
“So why are you packing up?” I looked around the room again.
“That’s none of your business.” Monica quickly snapped at me with the same angry scowl on her face.
“I’m guessing it has something to do with the bruises on your face?” I turned back towards her father.
“Don’t tell him anything.” Monica shook her head angrily.
“Whatever.” I sighed and waved her off. “I don’t want to know. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t about to do anything stupid.”
“I’m fine.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You can go now.”
“Fine—I’m leaving.” I shrugged and started walking towards the door.
I walked outside and stared at the street before throwing a leg over my motorcycle. The street was pretty quiet, but there was a dark colored sedan parked near Monica’s house. When I cranked up my motorcycle and my headlight illuminated the inside of the car, I saw a man duck down. I rolled down the driveway and slowly drove by the car, staring at the man as he started to lean up in his seat.
I recognized him. He worked for Walter Grant, who was a fairly predominant loan shark in Las Vegas. I recognized him because I had done a few jobs for Walter Grant over the years when I was low on money. If he was sitting outside Monica’s house that mean that her father likely owed Walter Grant a considerable amount of money, and they thought he might skip town before the debt was paid. If the boxes in the living room were any indication, that was exactly what they were planning to do.
Things started to click in my head as I drove home. Walter Grant was pretty good to people who tried to pay him back, but if her father was planning on running from the debt, it wasn’t going to end well for him.
I HAD NO REASON TO give a shit about Monica or her father, but when I got out of bed the next morning, I couldn’t help but think about what I had seen the night before. Her message on social media—the boxes in her house—Walter Grant’s man watching her house. I took a shower and after I was done, I decided that I was going to go see Monica again. She might not know much about Walter Grant, but I felt obligated to at least warn the two of them that they were being watched. I didn’t know how much money her father borrowed from the loan shark, but he wouldn’t have put someone on their house all hours of the night if it wasn’t a considerable sum. I had done that kind of work before and it was usually when there was a lot of money at stake.
I got on my motorcycle and drove over to her house. The car that was there the night before was gone, but there was a black SUV parked on the curb next to her mailbox. I didn’t see anyone inside, but it was definitely too nice to be parked in that neighborhood. I parked in her driveway and saw that her front door was open. When I got closer, I could hear shouting, which caused me to pick up my pace.
“Did you not get the message when I was here before?” I heard a man’s voice followed by a thud, and then I heard Monica scream.
“Leave him alone!” Monica’s voice was hurried and I could tell she was crying.
“I gave you a week and you’re trying to skip town?” The man’s voice boomed.
“Hey!” I pushed the door open and saw Monica’s father on the floor with a man towering over him—it wasn’t someone I recognized from Walter Grant’s crew. “Leave him alone.”
“Who the fuck are you?” The man turned towards me.
“Do you work for Walter Grant?” I took a step towards him.
“Something like that.” He chuckled and narrowed his eyes at me. “I’ll ask again—who the fuck are you?”
“There’s a misunderstanding here.” My eyes darted around the room. “He isn’t skipping town.”
“He isn’t? The boxes say otherwise.” The man motioned to the boxes stacked against the door.
“We just got married.” I pointed past the man to Monica. “She’s packing up because she’s coming to live with me. Her father doesn’t have anything to do with that. You’re going to pay your debt, right Mr. Adamson?”
“I am.” Mr. Adamson leaned forward and put a hand on his ribs.
“My apologies.” The man’s face relaxed. “Please allow me to offer my congratulations and regret over this misunderstanding.”
“Yeah...” I took a step to the side. “I guess you should be going now?”
“Of course.” He smiled, but there was very little emotion behind it. He walked out the front door and I slammed it behind him.
“Can you help me get him to the couch?” Monica motioned for me to help once Walter Grant’s brutish employee was out of the house.
“You are the stupidest...” I growled at her as I walked over and helped her father to his feet. “Why the fuck would you run? Walter Grant has never hurt anyone when they tried
to make good on their debt.”
“No, he hasn’t.” Her father grimaced as we got him to the living room and sat him down on the couch. “Something’s different this time. I don’t think Walter is in charge anymore. That guy showed up a couple of days ago and said I had one week to pay my debt in full or he would start breaking my bones.”
“Seriously?” I looked at Monica who nodded in confirmation of what her father said. “How much do you owe him, anyway?”
“Fifty large.” Mr. Adamson groaned.
“Fuck...” I shook my head and sighed.
“I’ll get you some pain pills.” Monica started walking down the hallway.
“There’s no way I can come up with fifty thousand dollars in a week. If I can’t get away, I’m fucked.” He looked down at the floor and put his hand on his ribs. “Fuck, I think he already started breaking bones and the week isn’t up yet.”
“Here.” Monica returned and put two pills in her father’s hand.
“Thank you, darling.” He washed them down with a beer before leaning back on the couch.
I really didn’t know what to say. Monica’s father closed his eyes and kept his hand pressed on his ribs. Monica took a seat in one of the chairs next to him. I sat down across from her and stared at the two of them.
They were in a fucked up mess. If Walter Grant had changed his strategy and was actually going after debts, then there were going to be a lot of people all over Las Vegas struggling to come up with some quick money to pay him off. I had never really understood his business model, but he certainly seemed to do fairly well for himself. My theory was that he had so many debts floating at one time that just collecting a little bit on them, along with the interest he charged, was enough to make it all work out in the end.
That no longer seemed to be the case if he was employing someone like the guy who threatened Mr. Adamson. The guy looked like a beast who could definitely make good on his threat to turn the collection process into one that was excruciatingly painful. I had only resorted to violence one time when I was working for Walter Grant and I didn’t enjoy it. The man I saw standing in Monica’s living room looked like he not only enjoyed it—but thrived on it.
Chapter 5: Monica
“This is why you wanted to marry my brother.” Grady looked over at me and shook his head back and forth with a solemn stare.
“Yeah—well, I wish it was that innocent. I didn’t know my father was going to be required to pay his debt in a week, we were just struggling to make the weekly payments.” I pushed a tear away that gathered in the corner of my eye. “Even if I was still engaged to him, I wouldn’t be able to marry him quick enough to get that kind of money.”
“Your father has quite a gambling problem, huh?” Grady looked over at my father who had started to lightly snore once the pain pills kicked in. “I’m guessing he didn’t spend that fifty grand on your wedding?”
“He’s borrowed money before, but never that much. Usually we make the payments until it’s paid off, but then he’ll hear about another amazing opportunity and we’re right back in the vicious cycle.” I sighed and shook my head. “Marrying your brother was a way out.”
“You need to get some rest.” Grady looked over at me. “You don’t look like you slept at all last night.”
“Like you give a shit.” I glared at him. “I’m not saying this is your fault, but if you hadn’t screwed up my plans, I might have been able to negotiate for more time if I had some money coming my way.”
“I may not like what you did or why you did it, but I’m not heartless. I understand your reasons.” Grady stood up and walked over to me. “Come on, you need to get some sleep. I’ll stay here and make sure nothing happens to your father.”
Grady reached for my hand and helped me to my feet. He was being a lot nicer to me than he should have been considering the circumstances. I looked into his eyes and I saw kindness where I had only seen callousness before. Our hands interlocked after I was on my feet and I felt my heart racing. He squeezed my hand and pulled me closer. My emotions were in turmoil and I couldn’t explain what I was feeling. The man in front of me was the source of my problems, but I felt something connecting us in a way I had never felt before. I stood there with my breath drawn for a moment and I saw the same reflection in his eyes that mirrored what I was feeling.
He pulled me close and his lips pressed against mine, sending a shudder through my body. I had never felt that with Dane—I had never felt that with anyone. His tongue pushed into my mouth and swirled against mine. The weight of the world seemed to melt away as he squeezed my hips and wrapped his arms around my body. Our lips finally broke the seal that had formed and I started to gasp for breath.
“Holy shit...” I muttered as I stared into his eyes.
He started kissing me again, moving his lips down the edge of my cheek and brushing them against my ear before they ravaged my neck. I started to feel things I had only felt when I was alone, and my pussy was tingling with desire. I started walking towards my bedroom and his hands stayed on my hips while his lips continued to tease me neck. I had never been with a man before, but my body was begging for him to be the first one inside me, even if there was a lingering anger over what he had done.
He pushed my door closed once we were in my bedroom and his hands moved under my shirt, squeezing my breasts through my bra. His fingertips brushed against my nipples and sent another tingle through my body. He started pulling my shirt up and I turned to face him. There was a hunger in his eyes—a lust that his brother never had for me. Dane treated me like a virgin to be cherished, but Grady definitely had no interest in cherishing me. He wanted the same thing that I wanted. His lips crushed mine for a moment and his tongue ravaged my mouth before he pulled away and stripped my shirt off. His hands moved behind my back and quickly removed my bra, pulling it down my arms until my breasts were exposed. His hands felt amazing on them and my nipples got even harder when he moved his thumbs in a circle around each one.
“There was one part of my relationship with your brother that wasn’t an act.” I looked up at Grady.
“What?” He tilted his head as the intensity boiling in his eyes seemed to pause for a moment.
“I really am a virgin.” I bit down on my lip.
“Not for long.” He smiled and leaned down against my neck, kissing it with a renewed passion.
His lips were like flames against my flesh, making me tingle as he ran his hands down my hips and started pushing my pajama pants to the ground. I pulled at his t-shirt and got it over his head fairly quickly. I had seen the ink adorning his body when we were in the hotel room, and he was hot-as-sin, but I had never really considered him more than scenery in the relationship I was faking with Dane.
Grady pushed me back against my bed, and as I sank into the mattress he pulled my pajama pants to my knees, along with my panties that got tangled in his hand. He stripped them off and I was naked in front of a man for the first time in my life. He reached for his belt and started to unbuckle it. I spread my legs in anticipation of what was underneath the denim. He pushed his jeans down, along with his boxers, and exposed his cock, which quickly started to engorge with his lust. He crawled onto the bed once he was undressed and I reached for his massive shaft, wrapping my hand around it. It throbbed and pulsated from my touch, getting even harder as he slid between my thighs. Just when I thought it was going to go inside me, he sank between them and I could feel his hot breath against my pussy.
“Oh god...” I moaned and my body twisted with desire when I felt his lips start to kiss my inner thigh.
“This pussy will be mine.” His tongue drifted along my inner thigh and started to move across my pelvis. “But first I’m going to make you cum.”
His tongue moved around my labia in a circle, sending shivers through me that I had never felt before. He started sliding it along my wetness, circling the entrance of my pussy several times before he pushed it inside me. It felt like rapture—the ultimate moment of h
eavenly perfection I had heard every time I went to church. His tongue slid inside me until it pressed against my hymen and then started to move in a circle along the nerves that came to life underneath his breath. It created a feeling of pleasure inside of me that was more intense than anything I felt when I explored my body on my own.
His tongue drifted along the center of my labia and then flicked against the hood that covered my clitoris. I felt it start to harden and then it was pushed away. His tongue moved against the bundle of nerves that had quickly formed a hard knot from the excitement of the moment. His tongue sent surges of pleasure that swirled inside me and seemed to build up in anticipation of the release.
“That feels so good—don’t stop.” I moaned and ran my fingers through his hair.
There were so many times that I had considered just losing my virginity to get it over with, but with Grady’s tongue moving in a circle around my clitoris, I was glad I had waited. It was pure magic mixed with desire. He started moving his tongue faster and each rotation around my clitoris seemed to make the desire grow stronger. I needed the release that my orgasm would bring, but I wanted more than just his tongue.
My hand moved against his scalp and I bit down on my lip, rocking my hips against him as he sent me to a new realm of pleasure. The pressure inside me swelled and got so strong that I didn’t think I could stand it any longer. My legs started to shake and then I felt the pressure begin to release. My hands fell to the side and gripped the bedsheets as my orgasm began. I could feel my pussy spasming and my body quivered. He kept circling my clitoris even as I orgasmed and the sensation amplified what I was feeling. Pleasure surged through my whole body, building up for several seconds before it finally released. My head spun and I felt like I was sinking into the mattress as it finally started to subside. His tongue slowly came to a stop and I felt him rising up between my thighs.
“That was really good.” I nodded and sighed as my eyes started to close.
Vegas Revenge Wedding Page 3