ONE MORE RIDE

by Sophia Gray

  Turning abruptly on my heel, I ignored Mosher as he tried to call me back over. In fact, I ignored everyone and everything around me. I was a woman on a mission. Grabbing my phone from my purse, I sent out a quick text to Jessie.

  It’s bad. Closed for at least today. I’ll let you know more later.

  Then I jerked my car door open, threw my phone inside, and dropped down into the driver’s side. I slammed my door angrily, then took out of there at a speed entirely inappropriate given there were cops everywhere. But I didn’t care. I had to pay someone a visit.

  # # #

  I got to Ethan’s Diner in record time, coming to a screeching halt in the parking lot. I didn’t care that I took up two spaces or that I’d scared the crap out of a couple of late night patrons who looked more than a little drunk.

  Fuck them and everyone else who had anything to do with Ethan Chambers.

  I was tired of the people he had tucked into his back pocket as much as I was tired of the man himself. And I was about to tell him as much.

  The diner was open twenty-four hours, which meant that even at about four in the morning, there were several people there. A lot of them were truckers just passing through, though there were a few regulars, I was sure. A couple of them were cops. I assumed the worst of every last one of them and couldn’t even manage a shred of guilt for writing them all off like that.

  One of the waitresses, a pretty little thing with tits as fake as they were big, came over to me with a pad and pen ready. “You can sit anywhere. Want me to start on your drink?”

  I calmed myself enough to keep from shouting that I wouldn’t take a free water from here. Instead, I said, “I’m looking for Ethan Chambers.”

  Instantly, the girl stepped back. She motioned with a hand over her shoulder, calling, “Louis!” A large man in a suit that looked out of place for a basic diner like this stood up suddenly, his bulk hidden behind the booth he was sitting at. He turned to look at the waitress. Then his gaze slipped to me and without another word he headed over to us. “Problem, Lily?”

  She shrugged and gestured towards me. “This lady’s looking for Mr. Chambers. He expecting someone?”

  Louis didn’t take his eyes off me as he answered, “As a matter of fact, he is. I’ll take it from here, hon.”

  She nodded once, then turned away, as good as ignoring me from then on out.

  I turned to Louis, about to give him a piece of my mind, but he reached out and grabbed me by the upper arm first. “Keep your mouth shut, and we’ll do just fine.”

  “Get off me,” I told him, trying to jerk my arm free. I wouldn’t let his size or unfriendly demeanor scare me.

  Instead of listening, he leaned forward until we were eye level, then he said, “Shut up or I’ll hurt you.”

  For the first time since getting there, I finally realized I’d probably made a really poor decision by coming here. A dangerous one. But it was too late to back out now. I’d have to see this through to the end—one way or the other.

  He escorted me through the back of the building and down a hallway that ended in a basic door. He didn’t bother knocking, just opened the door and shoved me inside.

  There, I found the man himself sitting at his desk, a cocky grin on his face.

  “Ms. Leone, what a pleasure.”

  He’d been expecting me.

  Chapter 6

  “What the fuck have you done?”

  He raised a dark eyebrow at me, his mouth playing at a smug smirk. If anything, my choice of language seemed to please him as oppose to upset him. Not exactly what I’d been going for. “Why, Diana, honey, do you kiss your son with that mouth?”

  I stomped forward, slamming my hands down on his desk like I wasn’t terrified about being here in his office with a huge bouncer standing at the door. “You leave my son out of this!”

  He shrugged, bothering to sit up at least a little as he spoke again. “All right. Then to what do I owe this lovely little visit?”

  Straightening, my jaw worked in anger until I managed to calm myself enough to speak again. “The Cut. What the hell are you playing at?”

  Letting one large hand trail along his jawline—strong, chiseled, distinct in all the right ways—he considered me. After a moment, he said, “I made you a perfectly reasonable offer, if you recall. An offer that you declined for absolutely no reason at all.” He lifted both of his hands as though to say, What can you do? “I’ve decided to take it very personally.” He smiled at me, almost sweetly if I had been blind to the lingering smugness.

  Bastard.

  “You set fire to my store,” I leveled at him point blank. I wasn’t interested in playing anymore. He’d taken things way too far. That was my life he was ruining!

  He sat forward abruptly, slamming his hands palm flat down on the table. They hit with a heavy, loud noise that made me jump before I could stop myself. “Be careful, Diana. Accusations like that are dangerous. Haven’t you learned anything about danger today?”

  I swallowed back the venom that surged at his words.

  “The fact is, I didn’t want to have to do business this way. I prefer the easy, negotiable way in which we are both adults about the whole thing.” He lifted his broad shoulders slightly. “But you were being horribly uncooperative. You left me no choice.”

  “No choice?” I repeated incredulously.

  Ignoring me, he continued. “Now, I’m forced to leave you with no choice.”

  I began to shake my head, my heart sinking. “What do you want?”

  “I told you already: I want your storage.” He sat back again, his momentary burst of anger gone in a flash, just as quickly as it had come. “You have something I need. A piece of property in town without my name on it. A rare commodity these days. And that little slice of storage space already receives steady, legitimate shipments of consumable goods.”

  “You want storage space? Fine, take it,” I spat, furious as I realized I didn’t have any options left. Turning him down had just cost me an income I couldn’t afford to lose. Maybe I could make it back in whatever deal he was going to throw at me.

  He held up a hand. “Oh, I’m going to. You see, I had been willing to pay an excellent price for it. Monthly rent that you so desperately needed. After all, I’m not heartless.”

  I couldn’t stop myself from snorting, though I instantly regretted it. I didn’t tell him that I highly doubted the existence of his heart, mostly because I saw the hardening of his eyes. He hadn’t appreciated that little sound.

  “I know that adorable little boy of yours isn’t cheap.”

  It was the way he said it. With hard eyes and a dangerous tone, the threat laced beneath was clear and present. He was threatening my boy, reminding me he had me by the balls. And I didn’t like it.

  Without a thought in my head, I lunged. I threw myself over his desk, reaching for him, but I didn’t make it more than a couple of inches. The big man, Louis, who had been standing at the door, moved like lightning. He caught me around the waist and jerked me back, throwing me harshly into a chair. He didn’t say anything, but he left a large hand planted heavily on my shoulder to keep me from trying anything else.

  “I told you not to talk about my son!”

  Chambers only smiled at me. “In lieu of the proposal so quickly rejected earlier, here’s the new one. I will use that storage space anyway. And not only am I not going to pay rent, I’m going to charge you protection. Clearly, after the fire, you need it.”

  I opened my mouth, but couldn’t find any words. What he was talking about…Pay protection? Between the cost of repairs and the lost income of the convenience store, how was I supposed to find this extra money to pay Chambers, too?

  Grasping at straws, I jumped on the only thing I could think of. “You wouldn’t burn down the salon. Not if you’re storing your own stuff there.” It may not have been the best argument I’d ever come up with, but it held water. If he was going to use the storage space anyway, he wouldn’t want to dest
roy his own goods.

  I felt a little better, like I still had a dog in this fight. Until I saw his unperturbed expression.

  “Sometimes you have to take a loss. And besides, who says you have to worry about me burning the place down?” When I didn’t answer, he continued, “I have my enemies. It would be easy to throw out a few hints into the ether, little tips to attract the wrong kind of people to your shop. My rivals would love to get their hands on my stash. In fact, that’s half the reason I needed the space in the first place.”

  My heart sunk. I was screwed, and this bastard of a man knew it, too.

  “So you will need my protection. Because after they torch The Cut, I’d have to punish you for losing not only that precious storage space, but also my very expensive stash. Honey, you’d be ruined in less than a week.”

  I slumped in the chair. Louis’s beefy fingers released me, letting me wallow in my situation. It had been a long time since I’d felt this out of control, this utterly helpless. My heart ached in my chest, my breathing like drawing air through a cigarette filter. How had this happened to me?

  I did the right thing and I got screwed for it.

  My eyes burned as I tried not to cry, but it was all too much. I thought of my pride, of how hard I’d worked towards building it up. After everything that had happened with Cody, after all the mistakes I’d made with his father, and the stupid things I’d tried as a kid…I’d worked hard to come back from it and all of that effort was tied up in those two little businesses. The Cut and that convenience store were my life. Not just the way I made a living, but how I convinced myself I was doing well. That I was setting a good example for my kid.

  And now…what was left?

  I shook my head. I couldn’t afford to lose The Cut and then owe Ethan on top of that.

  The tears came unbidden, no matter how hard I tried to stop them. I felt them tip over my lashes and slide hot and wet down my cheeks. I didn’t bother to wipe them away or even acknowledge them.

  “Please,” I heard myself croak. I was disgusted with the sound of begging, but I couldn’t deny the fact that that was what I was doing. There were no other options now. “I can’t pay you protection. You have to know that.”

  He smiled and nodded his head. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

  I stared at him through my tears, wishing I had a card left to play. Wishing I were a stronger person who could stand up to a man like Ethan Chambers, but he held all the power. “You don’t understand. I can’t even afford to give you a cut of—”

  He held up his hand to stop me. “No, no. I have something else in mind.”

  Chapter 7

  “You’re going to pay me with your body.”

  I was frozen to the chair. Stuck to the worn vinyl seat cushion in Ethan Chambers’ office, watching him like he had just grown a second head. Because there was no possible way he was saying what I thought he was saying.

  “No.” The one word answer was out of my mouth before I had a chance to even think twice about it. It was an automatic, instant reaction on my part that was more instinct than anything else. Because my brain may have still been processing what Ethan was talking about, but my body was already responding. I felt greasy, disgusting. Like he’d just dumped slime over the top of me, coating my body until I was both a game show reject and a sewer rat.

  My mind was trying to tell me I must have misunderstood him. Even a bastard like him couldn’t mean that.

  No, he just burns people’s workplaces down. He wouldn’t charge sexual favors in exchange for protection against him, I thought dryly.

  Ethan lifted a single dark brow at me, a smirk playing at his lips. He didn’t seem the least put off by my answer and I knew why.

  Because I might have said no right away, but we both knew I wasn’t in a bargaining position. He’d get what he wanted—or I’d lose more than my store.

  “No?” he parroted back to me, mocking my tone. “But you haven’t even heard the details yet.”

  I felt bile rise in my throat. It took everything I had to not puke right there. Though maybe that would be enough to put this sick, twisted idea out of his head. I doubt it. He’d do it just to make me pay.

  Trying to control the tears that weren’t doing me any good, I folded my arms across my chest and acted like I was in charge instead of utterly terrified. “I don’t need to hear the details,” I assured him. “They can’t be interesting enough to make me consider it.” I was doing well until that tremble entered my voice in the end, announcing to everyone in the room that I was anything but confident.

  What was worse, as I said those words, my mind decided to flash with images of my dream. Being tied up at The Cut as I was manhandled by sexy, dominating Ethan Chambers.

  It was horrible. How could I be both terrified and turned on? How could I be disgusted and thrilled at the same time? It wasn’t right and it only served to make me feel worse about the whole thing. Because now not only did I think he was a piece of shit, but I was, too.

  Ignoring my bravado, Ethan described this new deal to me. “As I said, you’ll pay your fees for my protection with your body.” He took a moment then to let his eyes drag slowly over my form. I wished I’d worn something less flattering—maybe sweats or a burlap sack. When his eyes came back to my face, it was burning. “I’ll do whatever I want with you, whenever I want. You’re my newest plaything and I intend to take full advantage. Starting now.”

  I blinked at him, my brain seriously lagging on its processing time. “What?”

  He stood then and began to undo his well-fitting jeans. I watched with wide eyes as he deftly undid his button and jerked down his fly. Horror had to have been written across my face as I looked around the room in a panic. I recoiled, trying to put as much distance between myself and Ethan as possible, but being in the chair didn’t really make that an easy task.

  Raising a brow at me, he motioned towards his desk which was mostly bare. Just a few papers, a cell phone, and a laptop off to the side. I stared at it like it was the devil’s own bed and it was going to bite me if I touched it.

  Glancing at first to the door—in the futile hope for escape—then at the thug standing beside it, I hesitated.

  When I looked back at Ethan, he was still smiling blandly. “What? Louis?” he asked innocently, as though just realizing the man was still in the room with us. “Don’t worry about him. He doesn’t mind.”

  I felt sick. Utterly sick. Because in that moment I realized the severity of what was going on.

  My options were none. Leaving—assuming Ethan would even let me—would only leave me with a half burned down business, bills I couldn’t pay, and in serious danger from Ethan’s competitors. If I miraculously navigated my way through all of that unscathed, I would still end up being homeless.

  And so would Cody.

  Trembling with anger and a newfound self-loathing, I stood up from the chair. Ethan watched me, that infuriating smile still in place. With shaking fingers, I reached for my blouse. I began to undo the buttons, lifting my chin in my only real show of defiance as I did so. He didn’t seem to mind. He watched me like a hawk, his eyes fixated on my fingers and the smooth skin they exposed.

  I swallowed heavily, but forced myself to keep going. There was no other way out. I undid the buttons of my blouse, exposing my pale skin beneath and the basic tan bra I’d worn. Angrily, I jerked the blouse off and let it fall behind me.

  I half expected Ethan to laugh at my anger, but he ignored it. Instead, he told me simply, “Very nice.” Like this was a normal thing and that was the kind of compliment that would put my panties in a twist.

  Well, sorry to disappoint, I thought. I’m not going to just fall over you. You want this as a business deal? I’ll treat it that way.

  The thoughts were just false bravado, of course. I was terrified, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t just pretend this was all okay.

  My hands had paused for a moment while I tried to decide where they w
ere supposed to go next. Did he want me completely undressed? Should I take my bra off next? Or maybe I should do the pants or the shoes first? I felt like an idiot and a virgin, even though I’d done this plenty of times before, if not recently. Everything about this was just so…hard. So awkward.

  “The pants,” Ethan finally told me, realizing my predicament. “Take those off next.”

  To my mortification, my body responded to the demand in his voice. I felt heat flush my body and was embarrassed to feel wetness between my legs. Thanks to my dream of Ethan, my body was primed and ready for his orders and his dominance. It wanted it, even if I didn’t.

  I undid my black jeans swiftly and started doing the shuffle to get them off. I got them down my thighs and past my knees, feeling his gaze on me the entire time. When I reached the little ankle boots, I had to pause and take them off. That was awkward, because my pants were already around my ankles, but I pretended I was still at home, in my bedroom. That this was nothing. Just getting undressed after a long day.