by Amber Lacie
“Okay,” I reluctantly agreed. The guilt of not being completely honest with her was eating away at me. I decided at that moment, When I get back from my meeting with August, I am going to come completely clean with her. I just pray the backlash from my lies won’t destroy us.
The corner of her mouth turned upwards into a satisfied smile. “Good. How long before you go?”
Fuck me. I love when she looks at me like that. Her hooded gaze matched the hidden smile in the corner of her perfectly pink lips. Leaning closer, I wrapped my hand around her neck, pulling her body to mine. “Plenty of time to eat you, my dear.” The way she let me move her and manipulate her was intoxicating. The taste of her skin on my tongue awoke the monster in me, and soon my teeth were nipping at her flesh.
Jim was out gathering Intel, so I had the entire apartment on lockdown. I tapped her legs and without so much as a word, she was following my command, stripping herself free of her clothes. She knew exactly what I wanted and when I wanted. God damn, she is fucking perfect. The only way to make it more perfect was to bury my cock in her until she begged for release, and that’s exactly what I did.
It was just after nine when Jim came slinking back into the apartment. As soon as he walked in, I could smell the booze on his breath. He looked as though he had gotten himself side-tracked on the way back. Piper and I were on the couch and she was sprawled out across my lap. Needing to talk to Jim, alone, I tapped her legs and motioned for her to sit up.
“You look so tired. Why don’t you go take a bath?” I suggested.
“Really? You’re being nice for a change.” Standing, she stretched her body out.
Grabbing my chest, I feigned a pained heart. “I’m always nice to you.”
“No, sometimes you’re rough. You like to control me,” she said with a wink.
“And you like it. Now go get ready,” I said, giving her a tap on the ass.
She blew me a kiss and headed to our room. Our room. God, I love the sound of that. Everything is ours now. She didn’t know it yet, but I was going to take care of her for the rest of my life.
Tossing his keys into the ceramic bowl sitting in the center of the coffee table, Jim proceeded to plop his large assed-self down in the chair across from me. “Bennyyyy––” The end of my name lingered longer than necessary on his lips.
“You’re drunk.”
“Nah. I ain’t that bad.”
“You fucking reek. Where the fuck were you?”
“Your good ole dad called for me while I was out. You and I both know there’s no turning him down.”
“You fucking went? What the fuck, Jim?”
Jim shook his finger in the air like a parent disciplining their child. “You…Yous can’t ask me no questions. I did this for you. Tate and I have an agreesments. He thinks Pipes is still hiding in Momence. I have three days to get her. The funny part is––I’s lied, ‘cause she’s right here with you. Ain’t she, Benny?”
“You made a deal? Are you fucking insane?” He had lost his god forsaken fucking mind. “And when you fail, what happens then?”
“Nothing you gots to do,” he slurred.
“Fuck you, Jim! This is my shit. I fucking run it. Sober the fuck up and answer me straight.” I couldn’t believe what was happening. After everything we had planned, he went and made a deal with Tate. That stupid son of a bitch. Tate wouldn’t hold good on his end, and I knew it. He had been trying to get his hands on Jim for years. A big guy like that, who didn’t ask questions, followed orders, and could get rid of bodies like they were fucking dust, was rare.
“You dumb son of a bitch. How much fucking time did you trade for?”
Jim shrugged his shoulders like it was nothing. “Ten years. It ain’t much.”
“Ten fucking years doing that pricks bidding? Jesus Christ, Jim. Was it worth it?”
“You tell me. I did it for you. For Pipes. You gotta get her out of here, Benny.” The end of my name slid off his tongue jumbling into his next sentence. “She’s not safe. A hundred grand,” he said, lost in his thoughts. “Can you imagine? He upped the price for you two––a hundred grand if you ain’t done the job. I got three days. That’s what Ox said. Three days and then he’s gonna come for you.”
I dropped my elbows to my knees and ran my hands through my hair. Why is it that whenever I thought I had control of a situation, life would come and strip me of it all? “But ten years, Jim? I ain’t worth that.”
“No, probablies not––but Pipes is.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What was done was done, and there was no going back. No changing things. No way to fix it. Jim had sold his life for ours. Everything I had planned had gone to shit. I need to tell Piper. “You need to sleep that shit off. I’m going to let her know that things have changed. I’m headed out.”
“Wait––you’re still going to go meet with the rock star, after everything I told you?” Jim seemed to have sobered up slightly at the realization I was still following through with my plan tonight. You’re fucked in the head, Benny. Let the shit go.”
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”
“It’s a fucked up way to do it. Does she know where you’re going?”
“No, and we are going to keep it that way. Are you good enough to stay here and keep an eye on Piper?”
Jim slapped his cheek a couple of times, trying to shake himself from his stupor. “Yeah. Yeah. Ain’t no one going anywhere. Go do whatever dumbass shit it is you need to do. We’ll be good here.”
“Thanks, man.” As I stood, I could hear music softly playing in the distance. I followed it all the way into our bedroom where I found Piper, completely naked, bent over and digging through a drawer. “You should look like that every time I enter a room.” My voice was heavy with desire. I wanted her, but I needed to talk to her.
She screamed as she turned around. “Ben! You scared me. You’re such an asshole.”
“Never said I wasn’t. You ready for your bath?”
“Yeah.” Grabbing the towel she had laid on our bed, she followed me into the bathroom. The water was already running, so I turned the heat up a bit and sprinkled some of the lavender bath salts she liked in the water. “Let me help you.” Holding out my hand, I offered it to her as she eased into the water.
“Are we going to pretend you and Jim weren’t just fighting again? What was it about this time? Me?”
“No, baby, you’re perfect as always. Jim just had a little too much too drink. It happens sometimes. Don’t worry, I got him all settled. He just needs to sober up a bit.”
Piper closed her eyes, leaning back on the bath pillow at the edge of the tub. Until I brought her here, the large white tub had never been used. Jim, nor I, had ever felt the need for a soak, but Piper sure liked them.
“Don’t dodge the question.”
The tile floor was hard on my knees as I softly ran a sponge over her bare shoulders. “Everything’s changed. They upped the mark…on both of us. Tonight, I want you to relax in this bath and then head to bed. Tomorrow we will figure out where to go, but we are going to have to leave here.”
“By we, you mean Jim, you, and me?” She leaned up as I moved the sponge farther down the curve of her back, dipping my hand into the warm water.
“I give you my word, Piper, I won’t go back on it. You, me, and Jim––all three of us will leave together.”
“Promise?”
“Of course, I promise. Baby, there isn’t anything in this world that would make me break it. Now, I need to head out, I’ll see you in a few hours.” Pressing a kiss to the top of her head I headed back into the room to grab some things from the closet. There was a mark on my head. Whether my time was up or not, I wasn’t leaving without protection.
Knowing that if security spotted a gun on me, it would bring me more attention than I needed, I opted for two knives. The first blade was sleek, but sharp enough to easily slice through flesh. Its curved handle molded perfectly to my hand. The second one was light,
but just heavy enough at the end to make it balanced in my grip, excellent for throwing. Tucking one into each of my boots, I quickly tied up the laces. Giving myself a once-over in the mirror, I made sure neither blade was visible.
Making my way back out into the kitchen, I found Jim sitting in the chair nursing a glass of ice water. “Ben, you should stay, man.”
“Nah, Jim––I need to do this.”
“I’m tellin’ you, I don’t feel right about this.”
Looking back at Jim, I grabbed my keys and opened the door. “You never feel right about anything, Jim. What’s new? Keep an eye on her,” I said, nodding toward the bedroom.
“Yeah. Yeah.”
“I mean it––if anything happens to her, you won’t need worry about Tate. I’ll end your life myself.”
His only response was flipping me off as I grabbed my leather jacket and shut the door.
There has to be a way to get Jim out of his deal. From the looks of things, tomorrow wouldn’t just be a day skipping town, now I was going to have to reach out to the suits. I am officially in over my head.
Clocks. I fucking hated this bar. It had some bullshit modern hippie vibe to it, while still trying to be retro. I didn’t understand it, but it obviously worked. The place was always packed. Terri, the chick that ran it was cool. She owed me a couple favors from the year prior, after I cleaned out some of her employees that were taking cash from the tip till and were using it to score some shit in the back alley. Rumor had it, some girl that used to work here was hiding from the Russian mafia. Apparently, they showed up and she took off. The thing about rumors is that there was never any proof. All I found was some douche, who was a little too full of himself, doing lines off a hooker’s tits in the back by the dumpster. I sent him and his friends that had just been hired to the curb.
Parking my bike up against the building, I left my helmet on the seat and brushed some mud off the edges of my boots. The band was already playing by the time I rang the door in the back. There was no way in hell I was going through the front door. The place was crawling with people––people that could have been working for my father. Lucky for me, Terri was keeping an eye on things on the monitors in the office.
“Ben Oxley, you’re looking fine as ever,” she said, opening the back door for me to enter. Winking at me, she led me down the hallway, through a storage area that led to a back room where the bands hung out before and after gigs. “I figured the boys knew you were coming, but I checked with them just in case.”
“And?” I waited for the preverbal foot to drop.
“And––imagine my surprise when the lead singer almost choked to death on one of my drinks. If you came here to start some shit, I don’t give a fuck who your father is, I will cut you. That ain’t a threat either. I’ll do it.” She wasn’t bluffing. Terri was just crazy enough to do it.
“Terri, you know me. I wouldn’t do anything to fuck up what you have going on here. August and I go way back, you just kind of ruined my surprise. That’s all.”
“Mmhmm. Don’t bullshit me, Benjamin. Every person who walks in this room is leaving just the way they came in. No bruises, no cuts, no drugs. You hear me?”
“Anything for you.” I waggled by eyebrows for added effect.
Terri’s nose crinkled. “Nah, don’t you be trying to come in here like you got it over on me. My girlfriend will be here shortly, and I don’t need any extra drama with her ass.”
“Girlfriend? Here I thought you were hitting on me.”
“Oh, I was. I accept applications from all parties interested. I just don’t have time for drama right now, hence my threat. You fuck anything up and I will fuck you up. Now, I gotta bar to run and money to make. I’ll send someone back here to check on you in a bit. Want a drink?” she asked, faking a smile.
I knew she wasn’t thrilled with me being there, but she didn’t need to worry. I wasn’t going to be there long. “A bottle of water?”
“There’s some in the mini fridge. If that’s all you need, I’m going back up front.”
“I’m set here. Thanks, Terri.”
“Don’t mention it. At all. To anyone. You’re not here, and as far as I’m concerned, we’re even.” She turned quickly on her heel and left me standing in the large space behind the stage.
It wasn’t so much a room as an open area. There were a couple of leather couches set off to one-side, with a table and a mini fridge in the corner next to it. Thick black wires were running across the cement floor in a chaotic mess, with black electrical tape securing them sporadically. Old flyers and posters were hung from the walls. Some had faded so badly the only part left visible was the heavy black ink in the center depicting an image of a guitar or drums. Down the hallway, off to the right, there was a small bathroom. Directly across from me were two doors. One was clearly marked ‘Stage’. The other was simply left blank.
Time slowly passed as I sat alone, waiting for August to finish with his set. With every minute that ticked by, the further my stomach sank into the floor. I passed the time by texting Jim a few times to make sure everything was running smoothly at home. The last text I had from him said Piper had gone to bed. I was enjoying picturing her lying in our bed, the sheets loosely clinging to her hips, when a large group of men walked in. The only one I recognized was August. I quickly jumped to my feet. Two men flanked him on each side, gripping his shoulders, holding him back.
I wasn’t sure how he would react to me just showing up out of the blue. I mean, it’s not like I expected open arms, but I should’ve been prepared for his reaction. Once again, my focus was solely on me and I had missed the bigger picture.
“Whoa. I’m not here to fight with you.” I waved my hand in front of me signaling a white flag of peace.
His jaw ticked as his eyes narrowed. “No? The last time I checked, you were slinking around in a jail cell. Now you just show up, expecting us to welcome you into our lives. You’re fucking insane. If you even attempt to contact Arlo or Jack, my lawyers will bury you into the ground.”
Jack. For a split second, I wondered what he looked like up close and if he knew of me. I had so many questions I wanted answers to, but I didn’t have the rights to any of them. The life I had with him was forfeited when I took the hit for my father. “I’m not here for them.”
August gave me a once over and shook himself free of the men’s grip. “I’m confused then. What do you want with me, and why now?”
“I’m not a good man, we both know that. What I did to her, to Jack,” My heart broke as I felt my son’s name roll across my tongue. “What I did to the two of them is unforgiveable. She deserves you, not me. I knew that then, but I was selfish, and I couldn’t walk away from her. My reasons won’t make much sense to you, but I needed to reach out. I needed to right some wrongs and in doing so, I’m putting my life on the line.”
“Hold on––” August circled his hand in the air and motioned for the others to give us some room.
A tall man with gray eyes and long, thick wavy hair stood up and grabbed onto August’s shoulders. “You good?” August nodded. “You sure? Looks iffy as fuck to me, man.”
“I’m good, Walker. Just keep an eye on Blake. You know drinks make his hands roam.”
“Got it. Mission Cock Block Blake is in full effect.”
Once the other guys were gone, August sank down into one of the leather sofas. “I’ve been standing all night. Sit.” I nervously took a seat on the other sofa. “You hurt my family. I can’t forgive you for that. And I don’t get why you think I would.”
“When I was with Arlo, all I thought about was giving her the best of everything. The only way I knew how to do that was with money. I was running some small ops for my father when we started dating. As soon as I found out she was pregnant, I went to see him. I needed to be done with it all. I needed to be free. Naïvely, I thought he’d just let me walk away. That was my mistake and sadly, Arlo was the one to pay for it.” I watched his forehead crease as I tried to
explain everything in the easiest way possible. “Walking away was never going to happen. My father held her against me. He told me that if I turned my back on the family, he was going to end them both.”
His jaw went slack. “End them? As in, what exactly?”
My shoulders fell as I took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t want to hash out every detail with you, I just needed you to know, that at the time, I thought I was protecting them. I lost grip on reality. The day I got busted, I was tipped off about being raided. In an effort to make sure she wasn’t home, I sent her away with as much cash as I could. I’m not a good man. Never said I was.”
“Ben, be honest with me––does that threat still hold? Is he coming for my family?” A sadness fell over him, covering his features in a dark cloud. At that moment he looked less like the rock star I had built up in my mind, and more like how I felt. Fragile.
Looking at him, it reminded me of the reason I was there. I kept telling myself it was to clear a slate, to right my wrongs, to apologize for everything I had caused, knowing forgiveness wouldn’t be an option, but it was just a front. No, it was so much more than that. It was also the reason I kept myself from admitting how I truly felt about Piper. I loved her and I was so afraid of losing her. Meeting August had nothing to do with an apology. I was there because I knew the chances of me escaping that life were impossible. I knew going after my father would almost guarantee my death. Walking away with my life was never a concern––until Piper.
“No, he only wanted me. Once you were back in the picture, he knew I would never get them back. He wants me dead.”
“This is so fucked up. Like some kind of warped movie.”
“Yeah. Look, I just needed you to know what happened.”
“Still doesn’t explain why you’re here telling me this now.”
“You’re his father, not me, but I still love him. I constantly think of him, and I thank God everyday that you’re in his life. I’m poisonous. I would only ruin things for him. If I don’t make it, if I die, I want him to know that I loved him. That I stayed away because I loved him. I want Arlo to know that I’m sorry I ever got her involved with any of this.” In my mind, this was me letting go of everything I once had with them. This was my final goodbye to them. The only thing that mattered anymore was Piper. And I needed to make sure she would be taken care of. Arlo and Jack didn’t need me anymore––they had August.