by Jamie Begley
Her hands went to his shoulders to push him away. “I belong to them.”
“Exactly who do you belong to? Train? He fucks anything that moves. Rider? He likes sharing, doesn’t he? But he doesn’t want to claim anyone. Cash? Hell, he won’t even let you sleep in his bed. Viper? He belongs to Winter. Knox? He belongs to Diamond. Shade? He belongs to Lily. I can keep on going, Evie. You’re just a fuck-toy to those men.”
“Shut up,” Evie screamed.
“What’s wrong, Evie? Does the truth hurt?”
“No. It doesn’t. I don’t belong to them; I’m a part of them. They have my back. They protect me.”
“They use you.”
“No, they don’t. It’s the other way around.” Evie laughed at his shocked expression from her admission. “They give me support for…”
“For what?
“For everything,” Evie went on, ignoring his questioning gaze. “They give me what I need when I need it. Train and Rider can both fuck me until I’m too tired to think and can sleep. Cash can take control away when I step out of line. Viper, he helps me make important decisions. They gave me shares of their business. I’m a very wealthy woman because of them. Knox, he’s my best friend. He understands what it’s like not having the one you love.”
“What does Shade give you?”
“None of your fucking business!”
“Has he fucked you since he’s been with Lily? Has he already betrayed her?”
“I’ve never fucked Shade! He saved my life. He was the one who found me after those men raped me. He cleaned me up and stood beside me when everyone else called me a whore. He let me stay at his house with his mother and Penni when I got out of the service. He made sure I got counseling. When I joined The Last Riders, he tried to talk me out of it. He never gave me his vote, but I needed The Last Riders, and he finally backed down. He gave me someone I could talk to, and I was someone that could listen to him talk about Lily. That’s how I know he will never hurt her; he’s done nothing but talk about her for years.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” King’s shoulders slumped with defeat. Evie knew he only wanted to hear bad things about Shade, not that he was in love with his wife and had longed for her for years.
“Because it’s none of your fucking business!”
“Anything to do with you or Lily concerns me. When are you going to understand? You’re not a fuck-toy to me, Evie. I care about you.” His hand cupped her cheek.
“You don’t care about me, King.” Evie contradicted him.
“You’re wrong. It’s too late.” He turned her to face the window, pressing against her back. “You’re mine like every building, man and woman out there belongs to me. I’m never going to let you go.”
Chapter 18
“King, I can’t stay here.”
His mouth traced a line from one bare shoulder to the other. “Why not? They have so many women they won’t even miss you.”
“That’s not true.” She couldn’t keep the hurt out of her voice.
“Tell me one who would miss you? Which one would it cause to eat their heart out if you didn’t wake next to them? Who would miss you bad enough to come after you? No one. You’ve been gone for the last two months. How many times have they called you? Told you to hurry back?”
“Stop it, King.” He didn’t know what he was talking about. It had been several days since they had last called, but they were all busy. It was the factory’s busiest time.
“I can’t spend an hour in which I don’t want to know where you are, what you’re doing. I fuck you hard so you’re tired enough to sleep, wake in the middle of the night to make sure you still are, and when I wake in the morning, it makes my day to hear your grumpy voice before I walk out the door. If you left, I would not only miss you, I would come after you and bring your ass back here where you belong—with me.” His hand went to her hair, tilting her head back while keeping her body pressed to the window.
She heard him unzip his pants, and Evie trembled at the erotic touch of his hand as his fingers slid under her thong, sweeping through her damp pussy and coming to a stop when he reached her clit. He stroked the hood until she pushed her ass back against him, wanting more.
Placing her hands on the window in front of her, she braced herself when she felt his cock brush against her opening before sliding inside her in a movement so hard her breasts were pressed flat against the window. Her legs widened to ease his entry.
“King…”
His hand tightened, bringing her head back to rest on his shoulder as he began fucking her, staring down into her eyes. The violet depths of his eyes swirled with emotions his image branded her soul. She rose onto her toes in the high heels, trying to give herself more of him.
“What are you going to do, Evie? Does being mine scare you so badly?”
“Yes,” Evie admitted out loud to both of them. “You’re using me. You want to hurt them.”
“Not if it means hurting you. Believe me, Evie; why would I lie? I have nothing to gain except you, and that’s all I want.”
Evie shuddered as he continued to fuck her, leading her desire where he wanted it to go, taking the control away from her but giving her what she needed in return.
She moaned as his finger rubbed her clit hard while he drove inside of her harder. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him anymore than she was beginning to believe she would be able to leave him.
Her pussy began rippling in the beginning of her climax, and it was then she realized he hadn’t worn a condom. She had broken a rule of the club; she had fucked without a condom. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt both of them climax, stealing away her last chance of escape.
Somehow, someway, King had managed to steal his way into her heart, so she was going to take a chance and trust him. She had to at least give them a chance; she wanted that happily ever after just once for herself.
King stepped back from the window.
“It’s a good thing I’m not afraid of heights,” Evie joked, trying to make light of the connection she felt between them.
“I would never let you fall. I’ll always be there to catch you.” He picked her up, carrying her through the bedroom and into the bathroom. He slid off her high heels like she was Cinderella then lifted her into the shower, turning the water on. They washed off in silence.
When King turned the water off, he pulled her from the shower. Evie then stood at the mirror while he brushed and blow-dried her hair. He treated her as if she was special, as if she meant something to him.
When he was finished, she turned back, taking his hand then leading him to his bed where she pushed him down onto it. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you didn’t use a condom.”
King’s hand reached out to play with a nipple. “I got carried away.”
“You don’t get carried away.”
“You on the pill?”
“No, implant.” Evie bent over his chest, laying her head down so she could hear his heartbeat.
“What are you doing?” She heard his rumbling laughter.
“Making sure you have a heart.”
“I have one.” He took her hand, placing it on his chest, his gunshot wound just a few inches higher.
Her head dropped to his chest again. “I don’t know how to love you, King, but I’m going to try.” She let her heart shine in her eyes for a brief glimpse, begging him silently not to hurt her, giving him her trust.
“Evie…” King’s voice softened. Neither one of them was used to exposing their hearts. Both of them were used to guarding them while wanting to reach out and take their own grasp at happiness.
Evie did something then she hadn’t allowed someone to do in years. He pulled her close, hugging her tight, while she wrapped her own arms around him, hugging him back just as tightly.
* * *
Evie woke when the first rays of sunlight started to rise from the sky. Sliding quietly out of bed, trying not to wake King, she went into the bathroom.
She crossed the room, picking up her skirt and top from the floor before going to the couch where she picked up her purse, accidently knocking down the folder King had packed into the apartment with them.
She wasn’t going to read them; she had found out everything she already needed to know. She slid the papers back into the folder, rising to her feet, and she was about to set them down when King startled her.
“What are you doing?”
Evie smiled at him tenderly.
“You couldn’t even do it one day, could you?”
“What?” Evie asked, confused as to why he was becoming angry.
King motioned to the folder she still had in her hand. “Snooping again? By now you should know I don’t keep anything for you to find in the apartment. Didn’t Rabbit tell you yesterday I was getting out of the business?”
“You’ve been watching me? That’s how you knew I was at the nightclub last night?”
“Of course, why would I trust you?” King snapped.
Evie felt as if a hole had been drilled in her heart. Setting the file down, she began getting dressed, giving herself time to get her emotions back under control. She finished putting them on then walked across the room to him. Without saying a word, she went into the bathroom, picking up her thong and throwing it into the trashcan, then putting on her heels.
“What are you doing?” Ignoring him, she slid by, walking back through his bedroom. He grabbed her arm in the hallway.
“Let me go.” Her deadly-calm voice had him dropping her arm.
Evie went to the couch, picking her purse back up. “Get yourself out of the mess with Ramos. I don’t care how, just do it. I checked them out. Ramos plays dirty. He’s the type to try to use Lily against you. Let him do his deal or let the Predators deal with it. Either way, go back to Treepoint and visit Lily until the deal’s over.” Evie went to the door, opening it and closing it behind her.
Once in the elevator, she shut down every emotion she had, shoring the barricades she had let crumble last night. She had known better; she couldn’t believe she had fallen for his lies. He had told her he wouldn’t let her fall, yet she felt as if she was in a downward spiral she wouldn’t be able to recover from.
Going out into the daylight, she started walking down the city street toward Penni’s apartment when she heard a car come up behind her. She didn’t have to turn to know who it was.
Henry pulled up, rolling the window down. “Get in, Evie.”
“Go away, Henry. Please, just leave me alone.”
The man nodded and the electric window slid back up. Evie continued walking, her feet becoming sore and tired, but she refused to ride in his car or have anything to do with King again.
The car followed her until she stumbled into Penni’s apartment building.
Penni was sitting at the table, jumping up when she saw her. “What happened?”
“Nothing. I’m fine. Make sure you lock the door when you leave for work and inform the concierge that if someone comes knocking on the door without permission, I’ll call the owner and complain about him not doing his fucking job.”
“Okay, do you need me to get you something?”
“No. I’m going to lie down for a while. I’ll see you tonight.” Evie shut her bedroom door before Penni could pry any further.
Limping into the bathroom, she started to run water into the tub before getting undressed and climbing inside, hissing in pain as her blistered heels were engulfed in the warm water.
Evie drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. She lay her head down on her knees as tears fell from her eyes. Evie couldn’t remember the last time she had cried so hard. Keeping the water on, she cried until her sobs turned to hiccups.
After a while, she turned the water off and got out of the tub. Wrapping a towel around herself, she went to her dresser, pulled out one of her own t-shirts then took a pair of fresh underwear and got dressed.
She went back into the living room, relieved to see Penni had left.
Going to her purse, she took out her phone and checked the messages. There were three from King and one from Shade. She touched on Shade’s message.
“Going hunting. See you soon.”
* * *
“Pull up the security tapes from my apartment this morning and get out,” King said, walking inside his security room.
Trey pulled up the requested tape then slid his chair back before leaving the room.
King sat in the chair, forwarding the tape to where he wanted it, then pressed play, watching Evie walk into the room. King saw her accidently knock the folder over then she was about to set it back down when he saw her turn toward him in the hallway. King pressed stop, looking at the expression on her face.
She had laid it out for him to see and he had ignored it. He was too used to the betrayals he had suffered through the years.
She hadn’t even glanced at the papers in the folders.
Regret filled him at what he had said; he had deliberately pushed her away.
Last night had been the best night he had ever spent with a woman. Hell, the last few weeks were some of the best he’d had in his whole life. Now, he had destroyed her fragile trust with a few well-placed, cruel words.
He took his phone out, calling her, and it was no surprise when she didn’t answer his call. He texted her a message instead.
“I’m sorry. Meet me to talk.” He sent the message.
It pinged back an hour later with her response. “Fuck off.”
Chapter 19
“You’re leaving tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Evie turned away, putting her dirty dishes in the sink. “I’ve been here long enough.” Too long, Evie thought.
As soon as Rabbit had called her and told her Ramos and Moran were heading out of town, she would board her plane.
Rabbit said Ramos had agreed to King’s cut, so there actually hadn’t been a confrontation between the two men. Evie was relieved King wasn’t gaining a new enemy who was trying to move into his territory; he would be able to hand over the reins for the city to the Predators without conflict.
“I have to go to work. Dinner tonight?”
“Sure, I’ll even pay,” Evie offered.
“Sounds good to me. I’ll be back around six.”
When Penni left, leaving her with nothing other than time on her hands, she decided to pack. Taking out her cases, she laid them open on the bed. One by one, she emptied the drawers then the closet, leaving out only what she would wear tonight and tomorrow.
When she finished, she looked down at the filled cases, which held the extent of her possessions. She reached down to a case and pulled out a thin t-shirt, a skimpy blouse, a modest dress, her leather skirt, and one by one, she tossed them to the floor. Evie went into the kitchen and grabbed a trash bag, gathering the clothes into a pile then stuffing them into the bag.
She had almost nothing left, which was what her life felt like at the moment.
Grabbing her purse, she went out the door, locking it behind her. Then, after catching a cab, Evie went shopping.
It wasn’t much fun without Jewell, Bliss or Raci, but she picked out the clothes she would need for the next few months. When she finished, she caught a cab back to the apartment. Going through the lobby with her shopping in tow, she didn’t take the offer of help from the concierge.
After getting in the elevator, Evie looked down at her watch. She had just enough time to get showered and changed before Penni arrived back from work. She got off the elevator, juggling her bags while searching for her keys. Finally, she found them at the bottom of her purse.
She was so occupied trying to unlock the door with the bags, she didn’t notice someone coming up behind her until it was too late. A blinding pain struck at the back of her head, forcing her to her knees, the bags drop
ping from her hands. She was jerked to her feet by a pair of rough hands and then dragged to the elevator.
Dazed, Evie was slow to react; the doors of the elevator were closing before she was able to begin struggling.
“Stay still, or I will hit you again.” Evie felt the barrel of a gun pressed against the back of her skull as the button to the elevator was pushed. “It doesn’t matter to me if you’re still alive or not as long as King thinks you are.”
A rough hand jerked her out of the elevator then into a black SUV that was waiting. Shoving her inside, she fell face-forward into the vehicle.
Evie managed to sit up in the seat with no help from the man who had shoved her inside. He was in his early thirties with brown hair, and the ugly expression on his face let her know he didn’t care if she got to their destination breathing or not. She didn’t try to make conversation.
Clearly, she’d been lied to about the deal and had been taken to hold over King until it was completed.
She and King had obviously not been discreet the last few weeks. King had been seen with a variety of women over the years and no one had gone after them. His sister had been killed when he was younger, and since then, King had not become close with anyone.
The only reason Evie had been taken was because she was convenient. It was easy to snatch her and blackmail King. However, if Lily had been near, she would have been the target.
Evie’s stomach sank. Her kidnapping, whether she lived or died, had sealed King’s fate.
* * *
King was in his office when he received the call from Rabbit, passing along Ramos’s orders—stay out of the deal. When it was over, Evie would be released. After disconnecting the call, he called Ice.
He had learned a hard lesson several years ago; they had no intention of giving Evie back. She would be used whenever they wanted to use his city. If he didn’t comply, she would die.
King went to his security office, calling in reinforcements from there, as well. Afterward, Henry was waiting for him outside. They knew the location of the meeting, and because he was having Evie tailed, they knew where they were keeping her. She was tied up in the same building where the drugs were being sold.