Condemned

by Soosie E Nova

  He tongue ran between my slick folds, his mouth encased my swollen clit. He hummed, the vibrations sparking crazy making explosions of bliss in my core. My fingers released, my body relaxing. Leo melted my anxiety like candle wax. It dripped from my pores, evaporating into the air.

  His tongue flicked over my clit. My pleasure streamed down my thighs, he seduced away my fear. The climax started in my toes, flowing into my hips, I bucked beneath him, my fingers tangled in his mop of curls, pushing his head closer, smashing his face between my thighs. I raced headlong towards profound relief, sobbing his name as I fell into the abyss of ecstasy.

  Leo held me until the final wave of climax washed through me. Goosebumps peppered my skin, my pores swirled with lusciousness. I pulled him up, dragging him over my glistening body, my skin glowing with the aftermath of orgasm.

  “We don’t have to go any further, just being with you is enough,” he smiled. I could taste the sweet tang of my juices smeared over his lips as he bent to kiss me.

  “I’m ready for more, Leo. I need you.”

  He pressed the head of his cock at my wet entrance, watching me, his eyes fixed intently on my face. I pressed my feet into the small of his back, urging him deeper. He slipped in easily, my wetness welcoming him deep inside. My pussy throbbed, stretching almost to the point of agony to accommodate him. The fear didn’t return.

  His hips rocked slowly, each thrust deeper than the last, his lips showered my face with kisses.

  “I love you,” he chanted, the pulse of his pelvis on my clit slowly teasing me back to the edge.

  “You don’t know what…”

  “I do, and it kills me. It doesn’t change you or the way I feel about you.”

  I pressed my mouth to his, swallowing his words. His loved wiped away the nightmares, dampening the memory of the cruel things inflicted on me.

  The orgasm ripped through me like an earthquake, shuddering my hips. He rocked faster, thrusting harder, slamming his whole eight inches deep into my tight channel.

  “Jesus, Dani,” he cried. I felt his dick throb inside, his thick hot seed spilling into the condom.

  “I love you too,” I sighed as he rolled off me.

  “I know you do,” he smiled.

  He pulled me into his arms, resting my head on his chest. The steady beat of his heart lulled me into a deep, satisfied sleep. The nightmares that haunted me night after night did not visit. I was safe with him, in his arms, protected.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Leo

  It took hours for sleep to take me. I couldn’t tear my eyes from her. She was here, in my arms. It would take death to part us again. Unfortunately, death still loomed on the horizon for me. If Lucy was all we had, then we had shit, and I’d be damned if I was going to put my family and Dani through the Hell of me living on the run.

  Lucy was loyal to her father, down to her core. She’d never betray him, not for me, not for anyone. I’d fight, of course I would. The death chamber didn’t hold a warm, fuzzy place in my heart, but I had to fight for Dani, to help her.

  She rested soundly in my arms, her breath coming in steady waves, its warmth kissing the skin over my breaking heart. I had to heal her, pick up the pieces of her broken soul and meld them together with a strength that would survive losing me. I pulled my arms tighter around her. Schilling seemed to care for her and Maria worshipped her. Her father, for all his faults, did love her. There were people around who’d hold her together, if it all went wrong. She just had to open her eyes enough to see them.

  I peeled myself away from her, resting her head gently on the pillow. She stirred, a soft whine escaped her lips. I was about to take the biggest risk of my life, second only to calling the mother of my supposed victim for help.

  I tiptoed to the living room. The fire lay in dying embers, its dull orange glow gave little warmth as I settled in front of, cell phone in hand. He’d either kill me or help me.

  “What?!”

  “Sir, it’s Leo.”

  “Are you out of your Goddamn mind? Do you have any idea what time it is?”

  Maria’s sleepy voice echoed in the background, soothing his frayed temper, urging him to listen.

  “Sir, we think we know who is behind my framing.”

  “And?”

  “And I need your help, for Dani’s sake. If this goes wrong, she’ll break, unless she has people who love her around her.”

  “Danielle ran for a reason. She doesn’t want me in her life.”

  “You suffocated her, you never let her grow up, make her own mistakes.”

  “The first mistake I allowed her to make ended with her kidnapping. I’m happy with the way I raised her.”

  “Sir, please.”

  He muttered to Maria in quick, unintelligible Spanish.

  “Fine, where are you?”

  “Leave Angel behind. It’s her father she needs not his henchmen.”

  “Tell me again how to raise my daughter, I fucking dare you.”

  “Leave Angel behind. It’s her father she needs,” I repeated.

  “You have balls, Leo, I’ll give you that. We'll be there by morning. I get arrested, I swear to God, I’m bringing you down with me.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less, Sir.”

  If this didn’t work out, I was headed nowhere but prison anyway, taking him with me, didn’t seem such a bad deal. I reeled off the address of the cabin. He scribbled it down, Maria bustled in the background, chattering about bringing enough snacks for the trip and ingredients to prepare Danica’s favourite foods. I left them to it, cutting the call and making my way back to Dani.

  She lay in the bed, her face twisted, her body writhing, the thin cotton sheets tangling around her limbs.

  “I’m here, you’re safe with me,” I whispered, slipping into the bed beside her, pulling her into my arms. She sighed softly, her crumpled face smoothing, her breathing deepening.

  ◆◆◆

  Schilling woke us first, chucking bacon, eggs and mushrooms into a skillet. The scent of sizzling bacon is something that hasn’t woken me in over six years. Dani lay in my arms, her head rested on my chest, her wavy ebony hair frizzed out over the pillow, tickling my chin as I bent to kiss her. She smiled into my kiss.

  “Schilling’s here?”

  “I hope so,” I smiled, “if he’s not an intruder is cooking bacon for us.”

  “As long as there’s bacon, I don’t care,” she grinned, sitting herself up, smoothing down her hair. She slid out of the bed, snatching the shirt her father had given me. I really needed more clothes. Ones that fit. The flannel shirt swamped her, the material skimming her knees, the sleeves hung inches past her fingers. She tucked her feet into her chunky work boots, following the scent of crispy bacon.

  “You lost your clothes, kid?” Schilling joked.

  Dani’s laughter rang through the cabin, warming my heart. Christ, I’ve waited a decade to hear that sound again. I pulled my jeans on, trailing after her, shirtless. My stomach growled louder the closer I got to the kitchen.

  “Hot,” Dani hissed, leaning against the kitchen counter, a strip of cremated bacon gripped between her fingers.

  “At least you’re eating, I guess,” Schilling sighed. “Maybe I should bring you a fresh felon every week, might help get some meat on your bones.”

  “There’s only one felon I’m interested in.”

  “Glad to hear it,” I smiled, snatching the bacon from her hands. Schilling chased us from the kitchen. It was all so normal, so unlike prison.

  We ate on the veranda overlooking the lake, watching the sun rise over the smooth, calm waters. Dani wrapped herself in my coat, wedging her chair so close to mine, I couldn’t move. Schilling banned us from talking about the case until we’d finished eating.

  They both turned to me when the sound of a car crunching over the gravel driveway reached us. Schilling grabbed for his gun, shoving Dani into the house.

  He opened the door at the second tap.
/>   “Where’s my daughter?”

  “Come in Mr Ramirez,” Schilling snapped as Ramirez pushed past him, stomping into the cabin. Dani scowled, squeezing my hand. Maria followed her new husband, dragging a huge hamper behind her.

  “What are you doing here?” Dani hissed.

  “I invited him. Figured we could use all the help we could get. He wasn’t involved, Dani, he loves you in his own fucked up way.”

  “Watch your mouth, Leo,” Ramirez warned.

  “He’s right,” Schilling said, helping Maria drag the hamper to the kitchen. “Your dad isn’t part of this. And we could do with the help. The people we’re going up against aren’t the kind of people who are scared of a badge. Fuck, half of ‘em have badges of their own.”

  Maria hovered in the background, rubbing her hands over her arms, her warm brown eyes filling with tears. I knew that look. That kind of pain is the pain only a mother can bear. My own mother had worn that same defeated expression when she visited me, parted from me by thick plexiglass, and Christ only knows how she was coping now, with me on the run and her clueless as to my well being. Maria might not be Dani’s real mother, but her love for her, the agony filling her at Dani’s enforced separation from her is very real.

  Dani stood arms crossed, at my side, arguing with her father and Schilling, her eyes burning with anger. People you feel nothing for can’t affect you that much.

  “Dan,” I nudged her arm, nodding over at Maria.

  Dani deflated, her shoulders slumping, her gaze roaming over Maria. Schilling and her Dad stopped their onslaught. Silence rang loud.

  “Whatever you believe I’ve done to you, Danielle, Maria is innocent. She loves you.”

  “Whatever, help if that’s what everyone thinks is best. It won’t change how utterly and completely I despise you.”

  She stormed to the bedroom. The door slammed hard, shaking the cabin. Maria flinched.

  “Go talk to her,” I smiled.

  “It’s fine,” Maria sniffed. She slunk into the kitchen, bending down to the hamper, unpacking all the treats she’d brought along.

  “Get dressed, son,” Schilling frowned, “We’ll go over what we have before me and Dani head to work.”

  ◆◆◆

  We all piled around the table. Dani by my side, glowering at her father. Maria by his side, unable to tear her eyes from Dani, Ramirez kept his hand on her thigh, gently kissing her cheek when the tears threatened to spill again. Schilling set himself in the middle, a barrier between Dani and her father.

  He laid out the all the files he’d compiled on the case. New evidence and old spread across the table. He’d gone through everything from my old case, highlighting anything that stood out as odd, like the speed my appeals raced through the system at.

  “Judges are involved in this?” Dani asked, running her hand through her hair.

  “It goes higher than that, kid,” Schilling said, shoving a pile of papers over the desk towards her.

  “What’s this?”

  “Accounts, showing undeclared payments between judges, governors, the damn Police Chief, feds, you name the department, at least one of the fuckers has their fingers in this.”

  “Can we use these?”

  “Nope. A CI, a dude I pinned for a hacking a few years before I moved into homicide, got me them. I have no warrants, no clue who to ask for them without tipping off the people we’re investigating.”

  Most of what Schilling had was circumstantial and all of that obtained illegally.

  “I’ll make some calls, see if any of the cartel know these assholes,” Ramirez said, pulling out his phone.

  “What the cartel you’re not part of?”

  “They didn’t cease to exist when I went straight, Danielle.”

  “Straight my ass,” she huffed.

  “That’s great,” Schilling said, “these guys need taking down, but even if we prove they helped get Leo’s case pushed through, buried his complaints about the apartment complex, had motive to remove him from the picture, that don’t get rid of the evidence we have against him.”

  “What’s it gonna take, Schilling?”

  “A confession,” he sighed.

  “And how do we get that?” Dani spat.

  “Lucy.”

  “Great, let’s go drill that bitch until she caves.”

  “Not us, kid, I need you to stay away from this. He has to do it.”

  “I’m not letting him go alone.”

  “Lucy won’t hurt me,” I assured her.

  “Yeah and if her dad turns up?”

  “I’ll go with him,” Ramirez offered, “wait outside, if anyone goes in, I’ll go in.”

  “Without Angel? You sure you’re brave enough,” Dani sneered.

  It was all arranged. Ramirez would drive me to Lucy’s. Schilling swore she’d be home today, he’d checked out her rota at the hospital she worked in. Ramirez had a picture of her dad up on his phone, if he or anyone who looked like they might work for him turned up, he’d be backup. Dani and Schilling would go into work as normal, giving them deniability.

  Dani nestled in my arms at the door, dressed in fresh clothes Schilling had brought for her. He tapped his wristwatch, raising an eyebrow at me. Letting her go, watching her drive away in the car, knowing it might be the last time I see her physically pained me.

  If this goes wrong, if Lucy calls the cops or her dad, I’m dead.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Leo

  Ramirez pulled up outside Lucy’s apartment block just after lunch. I crouched in the front seat of his SUV, my cap pulled low, oversized sunglasses hiding my face. If I’d tried, I couldn’t look more conspicuous. Schilling insisted on the disguise. He had a guy on the inside of the investigation into my escape. The feds weren’t watching Lucy, her dad might be.

  Maria sat in the back, a giant Tupperware settled on her lap.

  “You going in or what?” Ramirez spat.

  “I guess so.”

  My heart thumped, my palms slick, I reached for the door, vehemently wishing I’d taken up Ramirez’s offer of sourcing a gun for me.

  “Keep your phone close, call me the first sign of any trouble,” he warned.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  I made it to the exclusive apartment undisturbed. The security guard at the front desk eyed me.

  “Can I help you?”

  Shit. We hadn’t counted on this. Schilling never mentioned a doorman. He must’ve known there’d be one, he’d been here, followed Lucy here. Was I supposed to go the back way?

  “I’m here to see Lucy Attwood, penthouse apartment.”

  Panic edged into my voice. My eyes darted around the building, scoping exits. There was only one way in or out and the suspicious guy behind the desk will have a way to block the electric sliding door.

  “Miss Attwood never mentioned it.”

  “I’m from out of town, wanted to surprise her.”

  “Your name, please?”

  Jesus. I guess her dad would be worse than the police, at least being arrested I might live long enough for Dani to prove my innocence.

  “Leo,” I mumbled. Lucy wouldn’t let a stranger in. She was a smart, strong woman. That’s what attracted me to her. Our relationship started and ended in the bedroom. She’d have little incentive to help me. I had to pray she’d give me a chance to at least explain. She suspects her dad, she must know I’d never harm Maia.

  The guard lifted the phone, dialling through to Lucy. He spoke in hushed tones. My nerves spiked. My pulse raced so hard, I was sure my heart was at risk of bursting. I sat in the corner, leaning back, hiding from the scrutinising glare of the guard behind a banana plant, waiting for the Police. At least my mother would finally gain peace, she’d know for certain I was alive and safe.

  “Miss Attwood will see you,” the guard said. The chrome plated elevator slid open. The relief overwhelmed me. I struggled to stand on shaking legs, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

  The elevator doors sli
d closed, hiding me from view, I sank to my knees, relief coursing through me. I’d made it this far, now I had to pray Lucy’s father wasn’t lying in wait for me.

  When the doors opened, I was crouched in the corner, peeking up from under my arm, readying myself for the hail of bullets that I was certain would meet me.

  “Leo, what the fuck?” Lucy hissed.

  She stood at her apartment door, her long blonde hair piled on her head in a messy bun, dressed in yoga pants and a vest top, effortlessly gorgeous, not a patch on my Danica. She never had been.

  “Are you outta your goddamn mind?” She hissed. “The whole fucking state is hunting you. The feds have a price on your head. You should be halfway to Cuba already.”

  She cared. I pulled myself upright, squaring my shoulders. I shouldn’t have to run and hide, I’m innocent. I held onto that thought, stepping out of the elevator towards her.

  “I can’t run, Luce, my mother would never survive it and Dani’s back. I found her, Lucy, I goddamn found her. She needs me. I’m innocent, I need your help to prove it.”

  The fight dancing in her eyes drained away, her shoulders slumped. She fell against the doorway.

  “Please, Leo, don’t ask me what I think you’re going to ask. He’s my father for Christ’s sake, he wouldn’t do those things, I know he wouldn’t.”

  “And I would?”

  She bit her lip, shrugging her slender shoulders at me.

  “I mean, I don’t really know you, do I? I bet all murderers seem like nice guys, up until the time they stab you in the heart.”

  “Please, Lucy, just let me talk. If you still don’t believe me, I’ll leave, you can call the cops, whatever, just hear me out. If you have even a sliver of doubt you owe me that much. I’m sentenced to die, Lucy. I’m thirty-one years old. I’ve lost a child I adored the bones of, her killer is walking free and I’m condemned to die for it.”

  “You better come in,” she breathed, kicking the door open.

  Lucy paced the solid wood floor, wringing her hands, chewing on her lip, her clear blue eyes clouded with tears. Her eyes roamed everywhere but my face as I spoke.