Bound by Affliction

by Ryan Michele

  I almost laughed thinking to myself. Hot mess found to your left Mr. Blake, run as fast as you can away from a woman like me.

  His gaze had my body heating up like laser beams going up and down me igniting every inch of my body. I felt the flush crawl up my skin no doubt reddening my cheeks and neck. With my pale body, there was no way to hide it, never could, my mother always saying it was one of my tells. My eyes locked on his and I became stuck in place, air swooshing from my lungs.

  The way he took command of a room was dangerous and all consuming. Almost like the room was closing in, putting all of its energy on this man, and forcing us to do the same. The concoction, I found to be threatening and unstable.

  I took a step back as Kennedy stood in my peripheral vision. She grabbed my arm forcefully and led me out calling behind us as I stumbled backwards trying to keep up. My eyes stuck on the stranger’s even as my mind screamed for me to break the hold between us.

  It was intoxicating. It was heady.

  “Sorry for the interruption, continue on without me,” Kennedy said as Onyx moved in line behind us blocking our departure.

  “No, stop.” He demanded in a deep baritone that commands the room and rumbles through my belly once again. “I’ll take her. You want to negotiate on a deal that is non-negotiable. I want her for my assurances.”

  Kennedy froze in place causing my momentum to throw me off balance making me stumble over my feet briefly. Her grip tightened on me so much that pain shot up my arm to my shoulder. I looked in to my sister’s eyes and saw the tears already forming threatening to escape. What in the hell was going on here?

  “She knows none of this Blake.” Malcom stuttered, his demeanor changing to concern in a flash as he moved to us. I wasn’t sure if he was planning to attack this man or something, but if he did, Malcom would lose, big time. The Hulk himself would have a hard time with this man.

  “I don’t give a shit. How do I know you two won’t flake out and fuck shit up?” The man’s tone never waivered. “At this point in time, you two owe me in order to keep any deal going. You broke the terms of our original agreement. It had consequences. I haven’t dished those out though, have I? In fact, considering the state of things between us, I think I’ve been a relatively understanding man. You knew what you were signing.”

  My sister didn’t turn around to face the men as I watched her crumbling in front of me. My strong as hell sister, who had always been my rock shattered to pieces on the floor smashing in a dust. I started to ask what was going on, but Kennedy squeezed my arm again, giving me a small shake of her head silencing me. Confusion consumed me as my problems were forgotten. My mind raced with what my sister could have gotten herself into.

  She was honest and carefree, not having a single, horrible or mean bone in her body. My sister would give someone the shirt off of her back. There’s no way she would get involved with a man like Onyx Blake unless it was something huge. Something that she couldn’t find another way, but what that was, I had no idea.

  Malcom moved to stand beside Onyx, a small droplet of sweat falling down his worry lined temple. “We haven’t messed up yet. Look my wife and I have lost enough, we just wanted a little more reassurance. That’s all we asked Cole for.”

  Onyx Blake gave a smirk. A cocky, powerful, he really didn’t give a single fuck about anything my brother-in-law had to say smirk. “Yes, but your agreement is with me and not Mr. Cole. He is no longer your contact, everything goes through me. And I’m not asking for her — I’m demanding it.”

  The way he said the word demanding sent shivers through my body, but confusion had set in hard and fast making it all difficult to process. Demanding? Me?

  “She’s not part of the deal, Blake.” Malcom tried to explain.

  The man looked at my brother-in-law and laughed. His words are confident, arrogant. “She is now. My world, my rules. You knew it going in and she leaves with me.”

  “Wait!” I cried out pulling my arm out of my sister’s grasp. “What do you mean leaves with me? I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  He cut his gaze to me sharp and concise, “Yeah, you are.”

  Hands on my hips, I searched my sister looking for something, anything to tell me what was going on here. She gave me nothing, but sadness. The despair in her eyes had me more on edge wanting to do anything to help her, but terrified of what that might be.

  I turned to her. “Kennedy, what’s going on here?” Tears streamed steadily down her face taking with it the black mascara she had painstakingly put on each lash.

  “Tor, I …”

  “Enough.” Onyx demanded making me jump an inch off the floor. I turned around to glare at him. “She knows nothing you say? So, leave it at that.” His eyes searched mine looking for a sign that I knew something, anything, which wouldn’t be a hard task.

  “And what makes you think that I’ll come with you?” I snapped back at him, wondering who in the hell this guy thought he was.

  He leaned in close, the smell of some kind of cologne, or hell maybe it’s just him hit my nostrils. It smelled good, it was woodsy with a hint of vanilla, and far too good. The man’s body language screamed menace and power. “Because you want your sister happy and I hold the key.”

  My stomach fell to my feet and the small sandwich I had earlier started to roll around threatening to come up. “What does that mean?” When Onyx didn’t respond, I stole a glance at Malcom then Kennedy, each one sad and scared like their world was falling apart around them and they had no way to fix it.

  “They can’t tell you anything about it, but if you want your sister to be happy, you’ll come with me. If you don’t, I take you anyway.” He was frank with his words leaving no doubt.

  He’d do it, I felt it to my very soul. This man did not seem like the type that would make empty threats and judging from my family in the room, they knew it too.

  “Kennedy?” I asked again hoping she’ll tell me something, give me some kind of clue what the hell was going on here.

  She glanced to Onyx then back to me as she shook her head. “What will you do with her?” She questioned with a tremble in her voice.

  This wasn’t happening. This shitty day could not be twisting around to make it the shittiest of my hell filled life. My sister couldn’t actually want me to really go with this guy.

  His sinister laugh filled the air. “Whatever the fuck I want.”

  My back straightened as all kinds of twisted scenarios ran through my head. I blamed it on my horror movie addiction trying to let myself hold onto hope that this couldn’t be real. Each thought became scarier than the next. There was nothing good that could come of this.

  Malcom came around wrapping Kennedy in his arms tight. There was some sort of silent conversation going on that I wanted in on, dammit.

  Kennedy’s expression read pure devastation. “The deal’s off.” The words came out barely above a whisper.

  Onyx chuckled in a menacing way, goose bumps ran through my body and my heart sank. “Again with the negotiation. You’re already in. No backing out unless I cut you off. And you already know too much so either way you’re a liability.”

  Kennedy’s face washed out in fear. “But you can’t take my sister. I’ll give it all up just to keep her here.”

  My sister threw it all out there for the mad man. She was giving up whatever this guy had just to keep me away from him. That told me two things. One being this was scary as hell, because if what the man said was true and he held the key to whatever in the hell they wanted, I would have to go with him. And two, they feared him which didn’t mean good things for my future.

  “No. Deal goes as planned and I get collateral.” He stood tall, the frank in his tone and this demeanor about him that told me there was no escaping my new fate. Either way, I was going with him. Either my sister would get what she wanted or she wouldn’t and I’d be in the care of a scary, crazy man. But there was still a sliver of hope.

  “Please don’t hurt her.”
Kennedy pleaded with Onyx like I wasn’t even in the room two feet in front of her. There was this detachment in her voice and a void in her face that sealed it. They knew they couldn’t fight for me. They knew nothing would change his mind and they were terrified for me.

  “Like I said, I do whatever the fuck I want. This isn’t a debate. For some reason, you have it in your head you control this. Let this be your reminder, you don’t.”

  My sister turned to me, tears and pain bleeding from her eyes. “I’m sorry.” The defeat in her expression twisted my heart in two. I felt like my life was shattering in a way I wouldn’t ever be able to piece it back together again.

  “What kind of trouble have you gotten into Kennedy?” When she remained nothing but a sobbing mess, I turned to Malcom who held my sister tight. “Well?”

  “It’ll only be for a month, two at the most. I think” Kennedy whispered to me without looking me in the eyes.

  “Why a month?” I barely spoke the words, but I had to ask the question.

  “I can’t.” Her voice was so soft and pained. All I wanted to do is wipe the pain away for her. “I’m so sorry. You weren’t …,”

  “Times up.” Onyx ordered. “We’ll be in touch.” Onyx grabbed my arm and began pulling me out of the room. I yanked back, needing more time. I wanted to know what was going on.

  “Wait!” I yelled trying to get out of his grasp. He ignored me. Instead he lifted me up, hoisting me over his shoulder. My fists beat down his hard back over and over. “Put me down!”

  Kennedy ran up to us. “I’m so sorry.” Those were her parting words as she crumbled to the floor on her knees sobbing, my heart breaking for my sister.

  That’s when Onyx Blake hit me on the ass, hard. Everything inside of me stilled. As he walked us through the door the fear set in beyond anything I had ever felt before.

  The hatred. The anger.

  All of it swirled around inside me. Who was this man to take me from my family? What kind of power did he really have? What did he have that my sister needed?

  And in the moment, all I could think was – survival.

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  About the Author

  Ryan Michele found her passion in bringing fictional characters to life. She loves being in an imaginary world where anything is possible, and she has a knack for special twists readers don’t see coming.

  She writes MC, Contemporary, Erotic, Paranormal, New Adult, Inspirational, and other romance-based genres. Whether it’s bikers, wolf-shifters, mafia, etc., Ryan spends her time making sure her heroes are strong and her heroines match them at every turn.

  When she isn’t writing, Ryan is a mom and wife, living in rural Illinois and reading by her pond in the warm sun.

  Join my Reader Group: Ryan’s Sultry Sinners

  Come Find Me!

  www.authorryanmichele.net

  ryanmicheleauthor@gmail.com

  Other Books by Ryan Michele

  www.authorryanmichele.net

  Ravage MC Series:

  Ravage Me

  Seduce Me

  Consume Me

  Inflame Me

  Captivate Me

  Ravage MC Novella Collection

  Ride with Me (co-written with Chelsea Camaron)

  Ravage MC Bound Series

  Bound by Family

  Bound by Desire

  Bound by Vengeance

  Bound by Affliction

  Power Chain (co-written with Chelsea Camaron)

  PowerHouse

  Vipers Creed MC Series:

  Crossover (co-written with Chelsea Camaron)

  Challenged

  Conquering

  Ruthless Rebels MC Series (co-written with Chelsea Camaron):

  Shamed

  Scorned

  Scarred

  Schooled

  Raber Wolf Pack Series:

  Raber Wolf Pack Book 1

  Raber Wolf Pack Book 2

  Raber Wolf Pack Book 3

  Standalone Romances

  Full Length Novels:

  Needing to Fall

  Safe

  Wanting You

  Blood & Loyalties: A Mafia Romance

  Short Stories:

  Hate to Love

  Branded

  Novellas:

  Stood Up (Billionaire Up Romance)

  www.authorryanmichele.net/books

  Thank you for reading!