by Sierra Rose
She mumbled something, and I smiled, unable to help myself. Cute wouldn't be a word she would appreciate, but it described her perfectly as she lay here, her hair a hot mess and mind lost to the edge of a dream.
"I'm going to make some breakfast. You want bacon or sausage?" I ran my nose down her neck as she swatted at me and scooted away.
"Bacon. Get out." She pulled the covers over her head as I laughed as quietly as I could. She wasn't at all a morning person, and I was. I knew to tread carefully, though half of the fun was pissing her off and then reminding her that she loved me. She hated that shit.
"Alright. But you have to get up soon. You're going with me today." I popped her ass softly. "You should be cooking. You're the woman."
"Fuck you, Lucas Morrison. Get out before I eat you alive." She growled and kicked her feet under the sheets in a bit of a fit.
The smile on my lips lifted to the point of hurting my face. "Yeah, cause that makes me want to leave."
She jerked up and threw a pillow at me. "Get out!"
"I'm 'a getting. I'm 'a getting. Shit." I tugged at her foot and ran for the door, grabbing my jeans from the floor on the way. I tugged them over my hips and wrapped my arms around myself as I walked through the house. The occasional creaking of the floor was a comfort, and I could almost feel Lena's grandma in the room with me as I stopped in the kitchen and took a shaky breath.
"I don't believe in that shit, but either way... I love you."
I walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the various items we loved to have for breakfast. After whipping everything up, I walked back down the hall and knocked on the door.
"Breakfast is ready for the most beautiful, sweetest girl in the world." I smirked as she sat up, her hair a wild mess, her cheeks red.
"Then go find her. I'm going to fucking kill you if you don't let me get some sleep. Who gets up this early?" She gave me an aggressive stare as I lifted my eyebrow in challenge.
"Who do you think you're dealing with, woman? I'll spank your tight little ass." I moved toward the bed as she yelped and ducked back under the covers.
After ripping them from the bed, I pulled her by her feet to me and dropped down, hovering over her back and pressing my hips forward as my hands moved down her side. "Get up, or I'm dumping cold water on your grumpy ass."
"Alright. Shit. It's freezing." She shivered and I licked the top of her back before blowing cold air on her skin.
She jerked and twisted, knocking me off before she got out of the bed, her expression tense. "Bastard!"
"Your bastard. Get up." I winked and walked for the door. "Hurry up, sexy bear. Your breakfast is getting cold."
"Where are we going that you couldn't have made lunch in a few hours instead of breakfast? The animals in the woods are still asleep." She put her hands on her hips, and every part of my body woke up. Her heavy breasts drew my attention for a moment, but I couldn't help but let my eyes move south.
"Get dressed, or we're not going anywhere." I turned and walked down the hall, adjusting myself and feeling overwhelmingly blessed by not only the life we had coming, but the one we were living. So many bad things had happened lately, but just a few minutes with Lena and the world was all right again, even good.
She walked into the kitchen in nothing more than my old Alice in Chains t-shirt and a smile. "Where are we going?"
"To your daddy's place. I got your stuff yesterday and searched the house for drugs, but it was getting too dark to look out back in that big ass shed you guys have out back." I nodded to the table as she gave me a look of trepidation.
"I hate that building. That's where those sick fuckers tortured people and then finally shot them point blank." She sat down, pulling her legs up to her chest and forcing the t-shirt over her knees.
"You're going to stretch my shirt."
"Not your problem. This one is mine now." She smirked and picked up a piece of bacon. "If I wasn't in love with you because of the size of your dick, it would be because you make breakfast for me."
I chuckled. "That's the reason? I mean... I'm good with that. It's enough, but just making sure there's nothing else."
"Well..." she glanced down as if a little put off with having to give another reason. She was such a fucking tease. "I guess it's because you love me, you’re beautiful, and I want you to be my baby daddy."
"Baby daddy? Back to the dick again, hm?" I took a sip of my coffee and almost spit it across the room as she got up and tackled me, knocking the chair back as she tickled me frantically and pressed her lips to mine.
There would never be a dull moment. I was the luckiest mother fucker in the world. She was mine.
"You okay?" I reached for her hand as we walked toward her dad's club house. Dane was going to meet us out there, but he hadn't yet arrived. I figured it would be good to have a few minutes for Lena to look around and bleed out some memories that she might not even realize she had.
"Yeah. Just a lot to process, I guess." She released my hand and jogged up the stairs, stopping and turning around to survey the front yard. "So that flower shop over there was actually a DEA hot spot?"
"Yep. Crazy, right?" I moved up to the front door, knocked once and opened the door. "Anyone home?"
"Do you expect anyone to be?" She moved in beside me as a grimace moved onto her face. "Good God. It smells like shit in here."
"Rotting food in the kitchen, I'm sure. It's been a few days since they'd been here." I walked in and waited for her to pass me before closing the door.
She bounded up the stairs to her room, and I chased after her.
"Lena. Wait up, baby. There might be someone here. You have to be careful. Shit." I reached her as she gave me a sideways glance.
"Don't make me into a girly-girl that needs your protection, or anyone else’s. I got out of that car just fine myself last week." She growled, and I lifted my hands as if trying to protect myself.
The door on the bottom floor opened, and I turned. "That's Dane. I'll catch up with you in a minute, Warrior Princess."
"I'm gonna get you again." She turned toward me aggressively.
"I wish you would. I always wanted to deflower you in your daddy's big house." I winked and jogged down the stairs as she started for me. "Go do what you wanna do, shit."
A smile lifted my lips, but faded as I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and stared at the man who was supposed to be my closest friend. I wasn't sure how long I was going be angry at him, but it wouldn't seem to dissipate.
"Hey. Sorry I'm late. I got caught up at the station." He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced up toward the stairs. "Lena here?"
"Yeah, but she's in a mood. Let's get out to the warehouse out back." I walked toward the kitchen and pinched my nose to avoid the smell. I considered telling Dane to do the same, but being a dick seemed the more appropriate thing to do.
"Awww... fuck. What's that smell?" He pushed at my back as I reached the back door and worked to get it open. "Hurry up. Shit. I'm gonna be sick."
I turned and smiled as he pushed again. "Sucks to be you."
"Open the door before I punch you in your cocky ass face." He shoved me out of the way and opened the door, jogging out into the yard and gagging a little. "Goddamn, that was disgusting."
"Yeah. Sorry. I couldn't help myself." I walked toward the dark grey building as a sense of foreboding rushed across me. I paused and glanced back toward the house, wondering if I should get Lena and make her stay beside me. She wouldn't like it, but I didn't care. She was my future, and I wasn't willing to let anything else happen to her. She didn't like being protected, but that was my number one focus from here on out. She'd get over it.
"Fuck you, Morrison." Dane walked past me, hitting his shoulder against mine and almost knocking me down.
"No need. I have a beautiful woman that does that quite often." I jogged past him and pushed hard against his shoulder before taking off. "Last one to the building has to stand in the kitchen for five minutes."
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"Fuck that." Dane jogged past me as I picked up my jog to a run. It was childish, but we needed it. At least I did.
Chapter 5
Selene
Being back at the house was hard. Harder than I thought it would be.
I walked into my bedroom and closed the door behind me, just taking a much-needed minute to pull myself together. My life needed to change directions, but the causes behind the current change was painful--horrible--the stuff of nightmares.
The image of my father standing in the middle of the church blind-sided me, and I let out a soft moan, kicked off my shoes and crawled into my bed, snuggling down into the covers. Tears blurred my vision at the whole night replayed itself. Every minute of it rushed past the backs of my eyes as I closed them tightly.
Everything from getting slapped in front of everyone by the man my father wanted me to marry, to being shoved against the wall and beaten by him. The showdown at the front of the house. Elec hitting me and throwing me in the truck, to me fighting like a mother fucker to get out of the back of the car.
A loud sob left me as my body shook with hard emotion.
The ride over there shouldn't have been as traumatic as it was, but in the moments of fighting in the darkened truck to regain my freedom, I realized that my father was a villainous monster. I'd known it all these years, and yet I'd ignored it. Hoping like hell that some of the good that was once in him would return. Without any brothers or sisters to turn to, and with momma dead... he and Grandma were all I had in the way of close family.
My cousins were greedy assholes with more agendas than time in the day.
"But I didn't have you. I never did," I mumbled through my tears and pressed my face into my pillow, breathing in the scent of my childhood. Staying there forever seemed like a grand idea, but I knew it wasn't possible.
I'd forced myself to stop reliving the horrible night after the moment I found freedom from the truck. I couldn't watch Grandma die again. I'd done it a thousand times over the last week, and I couldn’t put myself through it again.
After catching my breath and drying my tears, I got up and worked my long hair into a messy bun and checked the room for anything that Lucky might have left behind unknowingly. All of my clothes were cleaned out, some of my books, my journals and my jewelry.
I walked across the wall to the old office that Dante was assigned and closed the door behind me. There had to be evidence of their crimes somewhere in the house. My father was a smart man, but even he didn't know about some of the nooks and crannies that the idiots on his goon squad would use to tuck things away.
I stomped on the floor, tapping my foot as hard as I could and listening for the hollow spot as I moved around the room. Dante had a safe somewhere in the house. He'd gotten fucking wasted one night with me a while back and told me all about it. His contract with my father was in it. It detailed every small provision that my father expected him to adhere to.
It was stupid to have anything that could be used as evidence against you handed out to men that could turn on you, but my father believed himself to be god. He wasn't concerned with the law. Hell, he owed a handful of lawmakers. The thought of his grip on some of the men at the police force caused a shiver to run down my spine. Dane wasn't one of the ones he had on his side, but it scared me to think about what his loyal subjects might due to Lucky's best friend if he didn't back off soon. He'd been after my father since he entered the force, and even before that.
Back in the blissfully ignorant days of high school, he and Lucky worked on plan after plan to take out my father and his moderately large organization. They just had no funding, nor balls, from what I remember. I smiled at the thought. They'd both grown into strong, aggressive, focused men. It had only been a few years since we graduated, but life forced them into adulthood fast. It had done the same to me, too.
A hollow sound rose up as I tapped on the floor just behind the large oak desk in the room, and I dropped to my knees, sighing in relief. It might not be much, and Dante had possibly already cleaned it out, but we were grasping at straws. Anything would help.
I pressed my shoulder against the desk and pushed as hard as I could, moving it only a little, but it was enough. The carpet was cut in an even pattern, the design making it hard to tell if it was an opening or not. Running my fingers around the edges, I found a frayed piece and pulled.
It pulled back, but not without me using both hands and most of my strength. The bastard had re-nailed the carpet back into the floor. There had to be something in the safe that he didn't want anyone finding. I had no doubt that I wasn't going to be able to actually crack into the safe, but the back part of the warehouse out back was filled with tools for doing all sorts of sick shit to people, their homes, and their property.
"I'm getting into the safe." I tugged one more good time and moved up, pressing my knees to the carpet flap to keep it open. A small handle sat at the far end of the wood near the wall. I pulled and it groaned in protest, but opened.
The little silver safe sitting underneath it was like finding a treasure. I whooped and hollered like I'd won the lottery for a minute, and then stood to pull it out of the floor.
The door opened behind me, but I ignored it and reached down into the dark hole.
"I got Dante's safe. He's got to have something in here that will help us. You don't think he got it cleaned out before they disappeared, right?" I heaved, not realizing how heavy the fucker was.
The door closed, and the voice behind me was enough to make my blood run cold.
"No. He didn't get it cleaned out. He was coming back to do that today." The door locked, scared the shit out of me.
I dropped the safe and jerked around to see Dante standing by the door, his skin pale, his eyes darkened.
"Hi, baby. Miss me?" He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
I couldn't remember ever experiencing terror like I did in that moment. Every part of me screamed to run or fight, but I couldn't force even a blink. I was locked in place.
"Thanks for opening the floor up." He ran his hands down his chest. "I'm a little upset with you, you know. The wire was a bitch move, but not coming to make sure I was okay after everything was over?" He clicked his teeth and tilted his head as his eyes moved down me. "We'll figure some way for you to make it up to me."
"Lucky's here. You need to go." My voice was no more than a choked whisper.
"Thanks for the warning." He lifted his shirt to show me three ugly cuts with thick black stitches running all over each of them. "I owe him for this."
"Oh fuck." I glanced away, sickened by the sight of his wounds. For being a Delgado, I was pathetic when it came to gore. The rest of the family seemed to thrive on, but I got weak in the knees, sick to the stomach.
"Yeah. It was pretty messed up." He chuckled, but the sound was dark, angry, and violent. "Come here. I want to see you. I need you."
"Please don't touch me." I lifted my hands and tried to think through how I was going to get myself out of the shit I had currently stepped in. Dante hadn't killed me the night in my father's office, but it was a whole new ballgame now. Something told me I was about to have to play to the fact that the sick fuck believed we were meant to be. He'd been subtle about it over the last two years, only getting aggressive and touchy when he was drunk, high or angry.
"Don't touch you?" The color drained from his face and I realized that probably was the opposite of what I should have said.
"I don't to hurt you, Dante." I glanced around. I mentally kicked myself for not packing heat. Why the fuck couldn't I remember to take one of my three guns with me everywhere? If I made it out of the situation with Dante, I was sure gonna remember the next time I left the house.
Please let me make it through this. Help me get out of here alive.
"How could you hurt me, Selene?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife, flicking the blade up and smiling.
"Put that away. There's no need for it." I pressed my back
to the wall behind me, trying hard not to fall, thanks to the hole in the floor.
He moved toward me, and I screamed. His hand pressed to my mouth as he shoved me against the wall under the weight of his thick muscles and strong build.
"Hush. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm pissed at you, scarred by you, but you're mine. I like my women with claws, and you have long ones that keep seeming to sink deep inside of me." He slid down a little, pressing his forehead to mine as I stifled a tremor.
I could only hope that Lucky would quick dicking around out back and come back into the house. Without a weapon or nearly enough strength to fight Dante off of me, I was a sitting duck. I only had the weapons of my womanhood and the cunningness of being a Delgado to save my life.
"You keep attacking me. What else would you expect me to do?" I slid my hands over his hips and brushed my nose my his, forcing the bile back down my throat and promising myself that I would do anything I needed to just to get the upper hand.
"I was good to you until you fucked that boy. That trash." His eyes darkened again and he moved back, gripping the front of my shirt and tugging me up into the air, my feel dangling below me. The pain of my shirt digging into my underarms caused me to react, kicking and slapping at him.
"Put me down, goddammit. I'm not a toy." I slapped him in the face again, which wasn't at all my intent. Fuck him and his hostile nature.
With a wicked grin, he threw me against the wall and pinned me to it tightly once more. He glided the knife gently across my lips, hard enough to feel the blade, but not deep enough to cut me. He was trying to frighten me, to prove that he could end my life at any second if he chose to.
"I'm not scared of you," I whispered, lying like a mother fucker. The soft panting that left me whispered of my true feelings, and though he was a sick bastard, he would know I was terrified. Monsters always did. They could smell it. Taste it. They thrived on it.
I tried not to think about it, but both of us knew he was in control and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. I kept his gaze as he moved the blade upward to my cheek. The cold sensation sent a shiver down my spine. My heartbeat spiked, echoing in my ears.