by Ali Parker
Zak had mentioned her finding another life, and Jon seemed ready to offer her just that, but would it really work? Jon himself was having a hard time not slipping back into the silkiness of the shadows and living freely amidst the underbelly of society.
"Perhaps you'd like to speak to one of our life coaches when you're all patched up?" A pretty nurse moved up beside the doctor, and gave Kate a warm smile. "There's a lot of opportunity in the world. You just have to look for it."
"Right. That sounds fantastic, but I have a pimp waiting at home for me who doesn't much like me being gone too long. Time is money, right?" Kate gave them a wry smile and hated herself for being a bitch. Just because the jerk before her had cut her deeply with his words didn't mean she had to return the favor.
"All done. Good luck with whatever you do, Miss." The doctor got up, turned and left without another word.
The nurse gave her a sad look and moved in to finish bandaging her arm. "I'm sorry about that."
Kate looked down at her hands. "I don't have a pimp, just a lot of baggage. Just wrap me up, please."
"It's okay. Dr. Baker is a bit too tough on people. He lost his son recently to a drug overdose at a club on Bourbon Street. He's just not handling it too well at all." She finished and patted the back of Kate's shoulder. "All done, love. Hope your tomorrow is better than your today."
"Which club?" She had to ask, though something told her that she already knew.
"Hm?" The nurse worked to clean up the tray of tools as she glanced up at Kate.
"Which club did the boy die in?" Bile swirled in the bottom of Kate's chest, threatening to come up.
I didn't want this life the first time, and I don't want it now. Anywhere but-
"Expulsion is the name of it, I think. Vile place." The woman smiled. "Stay away from there and you should be good. The owner has been labeled a black widow from what the news said last night. There were several deaths around the club and I think three murders now just outside of it. Scary place to be."
Kate offered a weak smile as the woman walked to the door and paused.
"Take a few minutes and then if you need more time, just let us know and we'll move you to a room." She smiled and walked out.
Lifting her good hand, she wiped at the few tears that were starting to escape. Running sounded like the right answer. Just packing up and leaving everyone and everything. Much like Jon, there was no way in hell she could sustain the life they were living now. Everything about it seemed off, wrong.
A tap at the door caused her to jerk her head up. Zak.
"You okay?" He walked in and touched her shoulder. "All patched up?"
"Yeah. I feel a little dizzy though." She blinked slowly a few times and tried to focus on not passing out. The blood loss caught up fast while she wasn't paying attention.
"Stay here and I'll grab you a bottle of water from the cafeteria. I'll be right back." He moved to her side and helped her lay down. "Just relax. Everything is fine."
Kate nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was too close to tears, and hated crying about as much as killing. The sound of the door closing ushered in peace. Alone. Safe.
"Katie, is it?" The sound of a new voice caused her to jerk up and almost fall off the thin plastic bed she sat on.
A greaser with long brown hair and dark eyes stopped near the door and tilted his head to the side.
"Who the fuck are you?" Her speech was a little slurred, and she couldn't seem to get the room to stop spinning around her.
"A friend in the making. Billy sent me to tell you thank you." He crossed his arms over his thin chest, but didn't take another step.
"Tell Billy I said to fuck off," she growled and reached out, gripping both sides of the bed as sickness pumped through her. Too much blood.
"He might actually enjoy that. I figured you killed Victor for some purposes of your own, but you know how Billy is. He thinks you did it for him. A flirting invitation of sorts." He smirked and showed his lack of teeth.
"He's wrong, as are you." Kate tried to get her bearings. Having one of Billy's lackeys in the room could mean only one thing.
He wasn't far behind.
"Really? Interesting. He made it seem like you were his girl." The guy tilted his head and studied her in a way that left her wanting to shiver, but to let the monster smell fear was to give him power. It wasn't happening.
"He's a dreamer. What can I say?" She nodded toward the door. "You might want to leave soon, Mr..."
"Reni. How rude of me." He extended his hand as the door behind him opened and Zak walked in.
"Right. Time to go, Mr. Reni." Kate turned her attention toward Zak. "Billy sent one of his boys to talk to us."
"We're not interested in anything you have to offer." Zak handed Kate the water and turned to face the guy. "Get the fuck out, or I'll show this pretty lady how we kill without weapons in Russia."
Reni laughed and lifted his hands. "No need to get upset. Just a friendly house call. Billy misses his old lady and hopes she'll come visit soon."
"She won't." Zak's tone was cold, deadly.
"Right. Nice to meet you both then." Reni walked out as Kate dropped back onto the bed and let out a soft groan.
"Why? I didn't ask for this shit. I don't want it. I never have." She laid the water bottle down beside her and pressed her palms to her eyes. "No telling anyone that I was anything less than vile and hard. Got it?"
"Absolutely." Zak moved up beside her. "Get out of it the minute you can. Its hold only grows stronger the longer you play in its world."
"What is the it we're talking about?" She turned her attention to Zak. "Darkness?"
"Evil, Kate. Inherent human evil and its unquenchable thirst for power."
Chapter 3
Three Days Later
Jon
The need to see Kate was almost overwhelming, but he couldn't push himself past wanting to punish himself to the nth degree. His brother had died because of him, and now his mother. All him. No one else.
Jon tugged at his hair as tears burned his eyes for the millionth time. He wasn't ready to let it go, to open the floodgate and let the torrential outpour consume him, because it would.
After moping around the kitchen for a few more minutes, he walked into the living room and dropped down on the couch. The house around him was completely dark, though it was just before lunch. He'd drawn the curtains closed and was grateful for the storm that rolled in. His mood was tumultuous at best, and violent at worst. The funeral was at three that afternoon, and he'd talked himself in and out of going a million times.
The phone was filled up with texts, messages and calls from Kate, Marcus and Mike, but Jon couldn't bring himself to answer any of them. He needed to stew in the horror that his decisions had created and figure out how to pull himself out of all of it once again.
A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts, but he ignored it. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and rested his hands on his stomach, trying to let his memories take him far from the tragedy that threatened to put him out of commission.
Too much blood.
Too much death and destruction.
"Jon Peterson. You better open this goddamn door before I break a window." Kate's voice was far louder than it should have been through the closed door.
Something about the neediness around the edges of her anger caused him to get up and break the solitude. She was hurting too, no doubt, and three days was all the time she had to give from what he could gather.
He opened the door and squinted as she reached out and slapped him hard.
"Fuck you for ignoring me." She moved into the house and started to open the curtains and jerk the windows up.
"Kate." He turned and reached up with his free hand to rub the pain that permeated his cheek. "I needed time."
"You've had time. More than anyone would ask for." She turned and put her hands on her hips. The grimace on her beautiful face was far sexier than she would have been okay with.
Her jeans and tight black shirt accentuated every delicious curve of her perfect figure.
"You're right. Come here." He shut the door and walked toward her, grabbing her arm and tugging her against him. After wrapping her up tightly in his arms, he pressed his lips to the top of her head and let out a tired sigh. "I'm sorry."
She pressed her cheek to his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "When are you going to stop shutting me out? Why is that the first choice on your list every time?"
"Work with me here." He moved back and glanced down at her. "I've been single for forever. I just needed to process what happened, and try to convince myself that everyone I love isn't going to end up dead because of me."
"You're selfish. You know that?" She tugged from him and walked into the kitchen. "And it smells like shit in here."
Damn if his lip didn't lift in a smirk. Had anyone else been slinging him emotionally around the room and he would have lit into them, but having Kate do it made him feel wanted, cared about, loved.
"I haven't been on top of cleaning up after myself." He stopped by the door and leaned against the frame as the darkness inside his chest started to slowly dissipate. His eyes moved across the thick swell of her ass and up her back as he noticed the bandage peeking out from under her shirt sleeve. "Baby. What happened?"
She glanced over her shoulder as she started to work on the dishes. "What happened where? You've been hiding for three days, Jon."
Realization slammed into him. He was fucking selfish. With Victor and Billy both on the loose, a million things could have happened to Kate while he was hibernating with a bottle of bourbon. He moved into the kitchen and wrapped her into a tight hug from behind before pressing his mouth to the side of her neck.
He pressed his lips to her ear. "Stop cleaning my house. It's turning me on."
"Good. Something needs to." She bumped him with her butt and continued to clean. "What happened where?"
"Your arm." He moved back and slid his fingers carefully up her shapely arm to see the bandage. "You get hurt?"
"That's what a bandage usually means." She gave him a sideways look and ignored the question.
"Keep it up." He moved away and walked to the fridge to get a glass of tea. "Tell me what happened to your arm or I'll just call Marcus and he'll tell me. Does he know you got hurt?"
"Yes." She turned the water on the sink off and turned around. "I got shot, but Zak pushed me out of the way enough that it wasn't too bad."
Sickness and fury rose up inside of him immediately. "You what?"
"It's all fine now." She reached for a dishtowel and walked to the kitchen table, sitting down. "Come here and talk to me."
He walked numbly toward her, wondering if life could get any worse. Envisioning the beautiful woman before him dead in a puddle of blood at his feet said it could.
"I can't do this any more, Kate. I can't keep losing. I don't have much left inside of me." He sat down and moved closer to where their knees were touching.
She reached out and brushed her fingers by his cheek, over his stubble before leaning toward him and pressing her lips to his. The kiss was tentative, questioning, but he needed more.
He growled softly and slid his fingers into her hair, pulling her closer and consuming her mouth with a kiss that hopefully bled gratefulness and desire for her. He needed to know about the shooting and who the fuck she'd gotten into a gun fight with, but more than that, he needed to feel alive and to know that she was okay.
Kate pulled back from the kiss, her lips wet, eyes glossy. "I've missed you."
"Me too, baby. Stay here with me tonight. Forgive me for all of this, Kate." He reached out and touched her pretty face, brushing his thumb over her lips as his body hardened. A deep ache pulsed through the center of his stomach, the desire far more than the need to fuck his woman and more the desire to worship her. She was all he had left, but somehow he knew she was enough.
More than enough.
"I already have." She sat back and studied him, leaving him a little concerned with how badly he needed a shower and shave. "I killed Victor the night you went to the station."
Ice water poured through his veins. "You did what? Holy shit, Kate. Why didn't you tell me? Does Marcus know?"
"He does now." She slid her hands along his thighs, dragging her nails up until she cupped his package around his thin athletic shorts. "It happened too fast to figure out what really went down, but I just snapped, I guess."
Jon sat back and tried to take in the information. "Victor's dead. Wow."
"Yes, and Zak is with us now. Victor had a hold on him too. He has Zak's wife hidden somewhere in Russia. As soon as Billy is taken care of, we're going to help find her. He's helping us. We'll owe him." She seemed so cool, calm, sure of herself. She seemed as if death and terror were part of something she was quite comfortable with.
Concern filled Jon, and he got up. "The cops are going to find out about the murder, Kate."
"Murders, and I know." She stretched her legs out and closed her eyes. "I'm just surprised I made it out of there alive. I just kept thinking that if I could save you and Marcus, it would all be worth it."
Something snapped deep inside of him, and he moved back toward her, snatching her up and squeezing her upper arms as he pressed his forehead to hers. "Don't you ever put yourself in danger for me or Marcus again. Do you understand me?"
"Don't tell me what to do." She ran her hands up his exposed back, leaving pleasure in the wake of her touch. "You don't own me. No one does."
"No, I don't, but I love you. I can't lose you too. Hear me in this... I have to find a way out of this life, and if you're not with me, then I don't know that I can stand by and watch you be dragged in deeper. I need us more than you know." He brushed his nose by hers. "Promise me that we can try to move past this. Just lie if you have to."
Her hands moved up his sides, over his chest and locked around his neck as he leaned down and kissed her hard. The sound of her groaning against his lips drove him to grip her ass and force her to wrap herself around him. He stopped by the nearest wall and pressed her against it as his fingers dug into the soft flesh of her ass.
"I need you," she whispered roughly.
"Promise me." He licked the long column of her neck as he ground into her. "Now, Kate. If I'm your man, then promise me. If not... get out."
"I promise." She trapped his face in her hands as tears filled her eyes. "Help me finish this and then I promise."
"Good answer." He pulled away from the wall and walked to the bedroom as they worked themselves into a frenzy with the hunger in their kiss, the deep emotion in their intertwined moans.
Jon dropped her on the bed and worked on the front of her jeans as he looked her in the eye.
"I'm proud of you for taking out Victor, but I'm pissed about it too." He tugged her pants and panties down roughly and leaned down to kiss her center. “You know my mother’s funeral is today, right?”
She rolled from him and crawled up the bed, looking back with a look of determination on her face. "Be pissed and proud. I don't care what anyone thinks about it. It's done, and we're one step closer to freedom. I read about the funeral in the paper yesterday. Come lay down and let me fuck you before we have to get ready."
He nodded and walked around the bed, tugging off his shorts and reaching for her as he laid down.
She pulled her shirt off of her in one long pull before straddling him. Her fingers dug into the flesh of his abs and chest. The slick warmth of her softness gliding along his cock left him dizzy and hungry for far more than they had time for.
"Stop playing with me and fuck me, Kate." He gripped her hips and lifted her a little as she dug her nails into his chest and pushed back, taking him inside of her warmth. A deep groan left him as she continued to rock backwards until he was lost to her.
"So fucking good." She sat up fully and reached back, gripping his thighs as he watched in awe of how damn good she looked taking charge of him. Her black bra was d
elicious and showed hints of the creamy flesh below the silky lace.
Some part of him wanted to reach up and tear it off of her, but they had things to do and too little time to do them in. He'd remind her who she belonged to later that night, but for now... it was about release and reconnecting.
"Yeah you are, baby." He reached up and ran his hands up her sides, over her breasts and to the base of her throat. "Lean forward and I'll hold you up. Press that clit against me, Katie."
"Fuck," she mumbled and leaned forward, hovering above him as he fucked her deeply from below. The sound of her scream left him racing toward the edge of release too.
"Hold on, baby." He groaned loudly as pleasure ripped from the center of his stomach and danced along his dulled senses, bringing him to life and leaving him wanting so much more. He slowed his thrusts as the high dimmed, but only for a minute.
"More." She reached down and brushed her lips by his. "I want more."
Jon glanced at the clock and nodded. "Yeah. We got time."
He had his pretty girl turned over and pressed to the bed within a matter of seconds, drilling into her with all the force he had. It was a fuck they both needed. Love making was their middle ground, but in that moment, he wanted so badly to erase her need for the high Marcus provided. He could do the same for her.
He would - no matter what it meant.
Chapter 4
Marcus
Marcus pulled up to the funeral a few minutes before it started. There was nothing worse than having to go into a church. People pretended to be accepting and loving, but nothing could be further from the truth. If his looks didn't call attention to himself, then his size would.
He got out of the mustang and glanced around, spotting Kate at the door to the large church, standing beside Jon, who looked a little better. Marcus nodded and walked toward them, grateful for Kate breaking away from Jon's side and heading his way.