Hell's Hilltop

by J. A. Dennam

  The image of what they’d done before drove him over the edge. Maybe everyone was right. Maybe he was easy. Who the fuck cared?

  With a groan, he clamped his hands around her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Why can’t I go more than six hours without wanting to bury myself in you?”

  His only answer was a sensual, open-mouthed kiss that wiped all other thoughts from his mind. She had cast some sort of spell over him. It was the only viable explanation.

  It scared the shit out of him.

  Which only turned up the heat.

  To lose oneself in a woman like Rena was like running into a burning building without gear. What the hell was he thinking?

  But she was simply irresistible. Her milky white skin, the natural elegance that changed every room she walked into, the contradictory attitude, and those exotic eyes… Jesus. They pulled him under until all intelligent thought was wiped clean.

  When she tugged on his jeans, he somehow found the strength to move her hand away. “I won’t do this again without a condom.”

  Frustration made her growl. She hovered over him. A fallen wisp of hair moved with the pulse of her rapid breathing as she brought his hand up, held it over her heartbeat. “Do you feel what you do to me?” she groaned.

  Whoa. So, he wasn’t the only one struggling with newfound feelings. His natural desire to lend comfort blended with his overwhelming need to possess her body. Suddenly, all the reasons they shouldn’t do this became secondary.

  When he stood, the rolling chair sailed backward. He leaned in, kissed her hard and swept the counter clean in the process. Papers, cups and glass vials scattered. “Lay back,” he ordered.

  She did it with a victorious smile.

  Stay away from the breasts. One look at those puppies and his no-intercourse decree would go up in smoke.

  He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her black terrycloth pants and pulled them off. A pair of sheer, silk panties soon followed and Ty’s groin flared from lustful ache to painful throb.

  A groomed layer of raven hair framed her entrance, accentuating the moist pink flesh he so wanted to try. Reclaiming the rolling stool, he sat down between her legs and positioned her feet on his shoulders. The self-inflicted wound where she’d dug a small device from her inner thigh reminded him of her sacrifices. The lengths she’d go to in order to thwart IGP’s attempts to track her.

  As she watched him, he placed a gentle kiss just above the healing cut he’d treated only days ago. Her breath caught.

  “Rena Hellberg,” he murmured, moving his mouth upward, “I can’t think of a better place to be than between your thighs.”

  She closed her eyes and arched backward, savoring his warm breath as it bathed the most vulnerable part of her. He could feel her give him everything: her trust, her desire, her weaknesses.

  With his thumbs, he parted her swollen folds, leaned in, inhaled her scent. A mixture of clean soap and sweet musk stormed his senses. His tongue traced the edges of her labia, moved upward and flicked over the distended nub he found there. Her bottom lifted clear off the table and he broke away.

  The second time his tongue made contact she writhed with pleasure, but managed to stay in place for more.

  She was incredibly slick, producing more fragrant nectar every time he stroked her. He dove in as far as his tongue could reach, lapped it up hungrily then stole a few moments in between to tease her clitoris, over and over again. He felt her eyes on him, watching as she neared her climax without so much as using his hands.

  But, the moment he penetrated her with his fingers, she fell over the edge. Silky heat clamped around him and her sensuous moans echoed off the rock walls.

  He continued to lick and stroke until she begged him to stop. Keeping his fingers buried deep inside her, he stood with a fierce need to see those breasts. Fuck that higher ground. It sucked up there and his aching dick demanded entrance into the heavenly place his tongue had just devoured.

  Clumsy with need, he fumbled with the zipper of her top, but was unable to coerce it with just one hand. Rena grabbed his shirt and pulled him down, kissed him full on, transferring much of her desire from his skin to hers.

  “I feel much… much better,” she whispered against his mouth. “But if you don’t fuck me I’m going to hurt you.”

  Good god!

  Uneven footsteps bounced through the tunnel entrance behind him. When Ty identified the sound, he groaned in despair.

  No! Jeez, why, why, why!

  But, as much as he hated it, the party was over. He tore some paper towels from a nearby dispenser and blocked her with his body while he cleaned up and she dressed. When a bearded man appeared, they were decent again, prepared for just about anything.

  “Isak.” Rena’s voice was still unsteady as she stepped around him. “This is Ty. He’s here to help us.”

  Hawkish eyes scrutinized every detail before they settled on the left pocket of Ty’s T-shirt. “Are you really a fireman or do you just like to wear the clothes?”

  Ty glanced sideways at Rena and the woman fought a smile.

  Since she was able to recover quicker than he—after all, she got her orgasm—reality was once again restored. “Did you move Rafferty?” she asked, all business once again.

  The old man ran a hand through thick wiry hair, lifting it from around his face. Instead of answering, he moved to a rolling divider and pushed it aside. Much to Ty’s surprise, a man occupied a cot there, revealing that he and Rena had never been truly alone in the lab.

  “Oh, shit,” Rena breathed, the flushed heat from their sexual encounter fading to pale shock. “Is he still alive?”

  “Yes.”

  Ty moved closer, taking his first look at the infamous IGP handler Derek had escaped from… whom he’d feared. A deep seeded loathing grabbed Ty as he realized he was also looking at Rena’s captor. Her rapist. Her demons compiled into flesh and bone. “Why are his eyes taped shut?”

  “He’s still alive,” Isak answered factually.

  “So?” Let the sick shit suffer. “He’ll be dead soon enough.”

  Isak turned on Rena. “If I were to guess by his symptoms, you gave him a dose of tetrodotoxin.” When her nod confirmed it, his look turned sad. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

  “You knew about Sophie’s Plan B drug?” Ty asked, his suspicion of their basement chemist growing stronger.

  The old man regarded him through tired eyes. “I made it for her. I never knew Rena had one, let alone would use it.”

  “I’m willing to pay the price,” Rena answered thickly, her intense gaze raking the large, prone body with hatred. “He took everything from me. I have nothing left because of him.”

  Isak’s brows lowered. “Maybe so,” he croaked. “But you didn’t just sacrifice your freedom. You sacrificed mine.”

  Now she did look up. The fan kicked off having ended the cycle, bathing the cave in complete silence. “He needed to die,” she whispered.

  “When you came to me yesterday,” Isak continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “I believed you were well again. I should have never turned my back on you.”

  “I am well again.”

  “You pushed me down the stairs in order to get your chance at this.” His hand shot out, indicating the man on the cot. “I’ve known you since you were a gangly child. Taught you and your sister how to bait a hook, how to stand up on one ski.” He stepped toward her with a stern finger. “I kept your secrets! We were family!”

  She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Ty chose that moment to step in. “What kind of family allows a cocksucker like Rafferty to violate her under his own roof?”

  Nostrils flared. “Excuse me, son, but you aren’t a part of this.”

  “I am now.”

  “You weren’t when it mattered! You have no inkling of what it means to be owned by someone else. Rena and I did what we had to do to survive, only she adapted a lot easier than I did.”

  “Adapted?�
��

  Frost stepped closer, challenging. “Wake up, man! Rafferty didn’t violate her; she had a relationship with him! A consensual relationship! I was in fear of her as much as I was of him!”

  “It wasn’t me!” Rena snarled. “It was whoever I am when the lights are out, and she scares me, too, Isak! I thought you understood that!”

  The man threw up a hand in disgust. “Frankly, after the incident on the stairs, I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

  Fists bunched at her sides. “I told you, I didn’t push you.”

  “You were the only one who could have.”

  “I was in the kitchen when you fell.”

  “Wait a minute….” As acting moderator, Ty stepped between them and singled out each opponent accordingly. “You say she physically pushed you down the stairs, and you say you were nowhere near him?”

  Fists on hips, Rena paced. “That’s right. He must have tripped.”

  “I was pushed!” Isak threw out angrily.

  With his hands, Ty gave the universal sign for shut-the-hell-up. “There may be another explanation,” he stated calmly, “but you’ll think I’m crazy.”

  “Welcome to my world,” Rena sniped from her corner.

  Ignoring that, he faced Isak. “You might consider the possibility the hand that pushed you could be of the… paranormal variety.”

  Isak rewarded his suggestion with a quelling look. “That’s it? That’s you’re big explanation?”

  So, he turned to Rena. “When I watched you kill Sophie through the lab door, I tried to stop you, but something held the door closed. When you were done, it opened right up. I was by the window, I would have noticed if someone physically held it closed. Hell, I was looking for it.”

  “So, now she’s telekinetic,” he heard next.

  Ty rolled his eyes in frustration. “I’m thinking something much more common.”

  “You’re talking ghosts. Like… spirits.”

  Now, it was a conversation between men since Rena chose to remain silent.

  “After the lab door,” Ty explained, “which I personally experienced, it makes sense to me.”

  “You probably watch all those paranormal shows that are so popular now, don’t you?” Isak fired back with derision.

  “Sure, at the firehouse sometimes, but…”

  “There you go.”

  It was so easy for the man to discount what Ty considered a natural conclusion. “Why is it so hard to believe?” he argued. “Every guy on my shift believes in ghosts. Every one of us has experiences of some kind, it’s all in how you perceive it.”

  “The argument of perception,” Isak said philosophically, “is used by those who seek excuses.”

  “Oh, lordy.” Ty peeked down at the woman beside him. “It’s no fun in your world.”

  But Rena was far removed from the conversation, instead continued to regard him with thoughtful eyes.

  While Isak went about his business, Ty moved hair from her face. “You okay?”

  “I just don’t get you,” she murmured. “How you can….”

  “What?”

  She swallowed hard. “For the first time in years, I don’t feel so incredibly alone.”

  With that lost look turned on him, Ty wanted to draw her in, hold her and tell her everything would be okay. However, it was a guarantee he couldn’t make, and her tendency to reject help pissed him off more than a little.

  Ignoring his need to soothe, Ty replied dryly, “I can’t always kick the door down, Rena. Sometimes you just need to answer the fucking thing.”

  CHAPTER 15

  While they gazed at each other, Isak proceeded to clean the mess on his counter, mumbling about young folks and their lack of consideration for a clean work environment. Then he came across the two blood samples and held them up. “What is this?”

  Ty had to fight off the urge to ignore the man and kiss that evocative smile from Rena’s lips. Damned if she didn’t rekindle the want inside him, despite the misery of their audience. “Possible proof that Rafferty was drugging her,” he said finally.

  “I already drew her blood.”

  Rena blinked, and after a quick shake of her head, said, “He drugged me again before he collapsed.”

  For some reason, she didn’t sound convinced. Ty handed the empty syringe to Isak. “Unless you can tell us what was in that.”

  Ignoring Ty’s offering, the older man placed the new blood samples in the small refrigerator. “No, I can’t. He didn’t get it from me.”

  “Where else could it have come from?” Rena asked, suspicion adding bite to her words. “You keep saying he was in no shape to leave, but I assure you he was plenty capable of overpowering me a few hours ago.”

  “He is a ghost, Rena. Anything is possible. You know that better than anyone. But, to my knowledge, he did not leave my basement since we brought him back last night.”

  “What about when you left to pick me up from Melanie’s apartment building?” Rena challenged.

  Isak breathed deeply, rubbed at his eyes. “Perhaps, but….”

  “Good,” Ty broke in, settling it. “With Isak’s testimony, the syringe and this last blood sample, it should be enough to grant you a new trial.”

  “It won’t be so easy without Rafferty’s confession,” Isak argued, taking up a nearby broom. “My own credibility will be in question once my role in Sophie’s crimes is exposed.”

  “We’ll have enough.”

  The broom hovered over the cold stone floor as Isak paused in his work to peer at him through jaundiced eyes. “Sophie took measures to protect Lesico Labs if something were to happen to her. But once her death is discovered, IGP will have a microscope crammed up its ass. If the ghosts are truly gone, all the police will find is my trail.”

  “There’s still one left,” Rena informed quietly.

  Ty gave her a warning look. No one needed to know of Derek’s survival just yet. To reveal that trump card now would be a grave mistake if Isak Frost turned out to be dirty.

  But now they had the man’s full attention as Isak leaned on the broomstick with interest. “Who is left?”

  Ty deflected by jerking his chin toward the cot. “That one. His corpse will be useful to us somehow.”

  After a moment, Isak gave a short nod and resumed sweeping. “In the meantime, I’ll sit with him until he dies.”

  As they stood there watching Isak rid his workspace of imaginary dust, Ty could sense that he and Rena were thinking the same thing. When she opened her mouth to voice it, he stopped her with a squeeze to the fingers and pulled her aside.

  “If you’re going to suggest holding a pillow over Rafferty’s face, don’t bother.” Another glance over his shoulder proved Isak wasn’t within hearing range. “Something tells me your friend won’t approve of your methods.”

  “I have a strange feeling about this,” Rena murmured quietly. “Rafferty has always been able to defy the odds before. Something tells me to err on the side of caution and just… run a wooden stake through his heart while I have the chance.”

  Ty cocked an eyebrow as he studied the man on the cot. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with you.” He drew in a deep breath, released it slowly, gearing himself up for what had to be done. “I’ll do it.”

  Her head reared back. “You?”

  “Well… yeah.” He scratched his temple. “The guy’s dead already, right? I’ll be doing him a favor.”

  “You sound like you’re trying to talk yourself into it.” When he didn’t deny it, Rena took his face in her cool hands and made him meet her eyes. “Have you killed anyone before?”

  No, but Ty couldn’t summon a shred of morality when it came to killing Rafferty. “I’ve seen people die,” he said thoughtfully. “Sure, it weighs heavily on the soul, but he would be an exception to that rule.”

  Rena’s hands fell back to her sides. She absently tugged at the hem of her shirt as the tension began to build. “Let me do it.”

 
“No. You don’t need any more deaths on your conscience.”

  “It already is on me,” she argued. “I gave him the pill, it’s a done deal.”

  Struggling to keep his voice low, Ty leaned in. “Rena, it’s not the same. I saw what happened to you when you stabbed those people. You were horrified.”

  A spark of anger deepened the blue of her eyes as she removed his hands. “Don’t try and protect me from this. It’s something I need to do.”

  “Not this time.” Ignoring her wishes altogether, Ty reached behind him and grabbed a pair of scissors. But when he turned back around, it was to be greeted with a knee to the groin. He doubled over. The scissors clamored to the floor as the meltdown in his balls clawed through his body.

  When Rena took possession of the scissors, Isak yelled and lunged at her. They struggled, and somewhere in the fray, the old man came up with them buried partway in his chest.

  Ty pushed past his pain and grabbed for her, but she didn’t put up a fight. The horrified look was back as she watched Isak Frost collapse, blood spreading over the starched blue of his shirtfront. As he settled on the floor, Rena hovered over him, helpless and in shock.

  “Why did you do that?” she breathed. “Why would you…?”

  Isak panted, eyes scrunched in pain. Ty struggled with the urge to keep Rena contained, but he couldn’t let the man bleed to death, either. While he tended to Isak’s wound, he could sense that Rena had skipped out on him yet again. Frustration mounted until the ebbing pain in his groin became secondary.

  He checked his phone and, of course, there was no service in the cave. At this point, he could only hope that Austin was paying attention and would block her retreat outside.

  Moments later, with plenty of packing around the wound, Ty propped a towel beneath Isak’s head. “I’ve stabilized the scissors which means you need to be still,” he growled. “Think you can do that?”

  Isak jerked out a nod. Oh, the questions Ty had for this man, but they’d simply have to wait. In order to call for help he’d have to leave, so with phone in hand, he hurried through the tunnel.

  Outside, a darkened sky indicated a significant passage of time. Quelling the urge to yell for Rena, Ty checked the screen as he walked along the shoreline, waited for more bars before dialing a number.