by Seton, Cora
“I could scream,” I whispered.
“Yes, you could,” he chuckled, the cool metal of the blade rested against my skin. “But you won’t. Because then I’ll have to kill you. And then I’ll have to move on to the next family you have in line. Maybe your new parents? Or maybe your little brother?”
I pushed on the wall that was his chest. “You stay away from him.” He responded by pressing harder against me, the coolness of the blade flat against my feverish skin. I couldn’t move, and that was terrifying.
“Oh, soft spot for the kid? He’s what, eleven? Twelve? Just about the age you were when they took you from your father, right?”
I wanted to hurt this man for even mentioning my brother. Slowly, I spoke low and deliberate, because I was afraid my voice would crack I spoke too loudly. “I don’t have that kind of money. Please.”
“Listen. I’m reasonable.” Smith stepped back, moving the blade away from my neck. “I know twenty thousand is tough for a girl of your means.” He shoved his hand into my apron and pulled out my neat little folded bills… my tips for the night. Friday nights around the holidays were generally really nice and he held mine in his hand. He unfolded them and started counting.
“That’s mine.”
He ignored me, continued counting until he was done. Then he folded them back and held them up in his free hand. “Three hundred. Good start.” He chuckled. “Tell you what. How about five hundred a week?”
“I don’t have that kind of money,” I shook my head. “Please, I need that money.”
Panic rose up bile in my throat, particularly when he leaned close. Fear churned my stomach in time with the race of my heartbeat. He slid that knife across my collarbone without breaking the skin. I couldn’t help the tremble that overcame me.
“So do I, sweetheart,” he whispered, his breath hot on my ear and the knife back at my throat. “It’s either the money, or I find other ways to take out my… disappointment. Five hundred a week.”
I didn’t have a choice. If I said no, he’d just kill me right there and go after someone else I loved. But if I said yes, he’d milk me dry for every tiny penny I had. I had to get more time, so maybe I could think of some way to get out of this. I swallowed. “Fine.”
“Good girl,” he said, lifting his arm from where he held me. His blade whispered down my neck, like it was an afterthought. My body shivered and then he put his knife away.
“Go away,” I snapped, suddenly feeling the onslaught of tears. I didn’t want him to see what he did to me. “Just go away.”
“I’ll need the next five hundred on Monday.”
“What? You just took three hundred!” So it started. He had to be desperate. He was already pushing.
“That’s the down payment, girl. I need your first payment on Monday.”
“But that’s only three days away.” My throat ached with the sob that wanted to break free. I wanted to scream and cry, but fear rooted me to the spot and stole my voice. There was no one around. He could have gutted me and walked away before anyone else even knew I was missing.
“Why wait?” He asked, tapping that blade against my collarbone.
A large hand closed on his wrist and then cool air replaced where Smith had been standing. I blinked, and then I saw why. Kyle’s friend stood towering over Smith, his fists clenched by his side. Smith was on his feet, but he looked disconcerted.
“Get out of here,” Jesse growled.
He looked much more massive standing up than he had sitting down, and the way his fists were clenched, it was like he was barely containing something powerful within him. Smith’s upper lip curled away from his teeth. He stepped around Jesse, but not far enough to trigger a reaction from him, and held out a white card. I took it numbly.
“Call me when you’re ready, Charlene.”
I didn’t like the familiarity with which he addressed me. Like he’d accomplished something, conquered me, even though Jesse had interrupted us. Like he now owned me. But it was in the swagger as he walked away, the confidence with which he’d so completely gotten me to agree. But really, he did own me. Either he got the money, or my family would pay the price. And considering I’d promised them years ago that I wouldn’t involve myself in Brent’s business anymore, they’d never even know what hit them.
I was going to kill Brent.
Right after I panicked. Because I had no idea how I was going to keep up a five hundred dollar a week payment without dipping into the savings account… the same savings account that my parents also had access to.
Screwed. Yup. That was me. Totally, completely screwed.
Chapter Three
Jesse
‡
Fury slid off me like molten lava. I had only intended to come talk to Charlie, but seeing her, and that guy had flipped a switch inside my head. I’d grabbed him and pushed him back, away from her. He held out a white card, watching me as Charlie leaned forward and took it from him. His fingers brushed over her hand, and I trembled trying to restrain myself from dropping him.
“Call me when you’re ready, Charlene.”
He inclined his head slightly toward me and walked away. Her face had turned ridiculously pale.
Long moments of silence followed, neither of us wanting to speak the first word. I’d hoped that she would explain what had happened first, but Charlie hadn’t moved since the guy had walked away. She was still plastered against the wall, her breathing rapid and shallow. Her hand was over her stomach, her other by her side. Her eyes were closed now, chest heaving with each rapid breath.
“You okay?” I asked. “Are you hurt?”
A long silence followed and then she took a breath and her dark eyes opened. “I’m fine. Thank you.” Yet she didn’t move. Her face was expressionless, yet I could read the tumultuous emotion within her directly from her eyes. Those she couldn’t hide. She swallowed, and slowly, I could see her stitching back her control, gaining the upper hand on the rush of adrenaline.
I stepped slowly toward her before I realized what I was doing. Her body tensed, but she didn’t move or look at me. I stopped inches from her, trying not to crowd her, but everything inside me was suddenly screaming to pull her into my arms and tell her everything would be okay.
She cleared her throat. “I should probably get back to work.”
She hadn’t moved yet.
“Who is that guy?”
“Um… I’m not entirely sure.” She still avoided my eyes. Maybe she didn’t know for sure, but she knew enough.
“He had a knife on you.” I growled.
“Yeah, I didn’t miss that,” she snapped, pushing off the brick.
“You should call the police.”
“No,” she pushed past me and walked back toward the bar’s door. She paused, and looked back at me, her face softening. “Thanks, by the way. I… appreciate your help.”
“Hey, listen…” I turned to face her. She didn’t move from the doorway as I walked over to her. This time I stepped closer than I had, the scent of strawberry vanilla wafting from her. I needed her. Wanted her. More than I’d ever wanted a girl before. She was so real, and right there, and I ignored the idea that she might be a world of trouble. “Um… I’d like to help you.”
She cleared her throat, looking away from me to gaze out at the alley beyond us. “Look, uh…”
“Jesse,” I told her. “My name is Jesse.”
“Right, Jesse. I remember now.” I liked the sound of my name on her lips. It was lyrical and light. “Thanks for intervening with that guy. Um, but I don’t need help and I don’t need the police.”
“It sure looked like you needed help.”
“I’m not looking for a knight in shining armor. I had a situation and you walked out at the right time. I’m glad you did, but that’s all. Thank you.”
“I didn’t say—”
“Yeah, but I know your kind. I’m just trying to head off the inevitable.”
“My kind?” I had a kind? The inevitab
le? What did that even mean? “God, you’re a barrel of laughs.”
“Don’t take it personally.”
“Don’t? Personally? Seriously? That’s what you’re trying to shovel at me?” She flinched, which in hindsight, I didn’t like that I caused. I sighed. “What’s my kind, Chuckles?” I stressed the endearment heavy in sarcasm.
“Chuckles?”
“Because you’re so funny,” I replied.
“Do you know what you are?” She pulled herself up to her full height and jutted out her jaw in determined fashion.
“Nope. Waiting on you to tell me.”
“You’re the wanna-be hero. The military man returned home who can’t wait to save the damsel in distress.” She shook her head, her dark eyes narrowing, complete with suspicion and anger. “I’m extremely appreciative that you came to my aid, that you got him away from me like that, but I also could have handled that on my own.”
“So, next time you’re in a dark alley with a guy who has a knife and about fifty pounds on you, I should walk away?”
“I didn’t need you to rescue me. I’m not some damn princess locked in a tower. Go save people who need rescuing, soldier boy.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I’d come out to talk, but ended up stopping something that I wasn’t even sure of what it was yet, and she was getting mad at me?
I could have gotten angry. If it had been my teammate Dylan, he’d have probably snapped and lost his temper. But that wasn’t my style. Dylan was the hot head. Me, I preferred to take the chill way. But damn, if she didn’t tempt me to let loose the volcano.
I took a breath, and calmly stepped to the door, passing close enough to catch her sweet scent again. “All right, then. See ya ’round, Chuckles.”
*
Charlene
He was far too close, the masculinity of his body overwhelming me. Heat radiated from him, the spicy cologne just tunneling its way through my nose. I couldn’t deny that he was attractive, hot even. I mean, really hot.
“Stop calling me that.”
One corner of his mouth lifting in outright defiance. “I’m just stating the obvious.”
I’d taken Jesse to be one of those shy, quiet types. When his friends had been talking inside, he hadn’t said much. In fact, he’d seemed embarrassed by his friends’ behavior. But here, he wasn’t shy. Here, he looked downright dangerous, but not in the same way Smith had. Smith had been dangerous in a hurty way, where Jesse… Jesse had the ability to make my pants disappear.
“You’re kind of a dick.” The words left my mouth before I really knew that they had. And instantly I regretted it, because he leaned in closer, his scent wrapping around me like a warm blanket. His arms caged me on either side of the door I was leaning against. My body yearned for him to come closer while my mind told it to push him away.
“Am I?”
Goddammit. He was killing me. Every part of my body came alive the closer he came to me. I needed him, wanted him, desired him. It was strange. He was so new, we just met. And yet here he was, standing so close that all I had to do was tilt my chin up and our lips would be touching. It was so damn tempting. I couldn’t stand it.
“I have to get back to work.”
“Tell me to move, then.” The demand was spoken quietly, but the order was clear. God, I hated orders.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t think I can do it on my own.” God, he was so damn close. I felt the anger just melting away, like someone had poured ice over my head. But at the same time, my body was burning up, with need, with desire. And he smelled so good. I wanted to laugh in his face that he expected me to be the one that stopped this. I didn’t want to push him away, and that pissed me off even more.
He leaned down when I didn’t say anything, and I lost all sense of our surroundings or of why I wanted him to go away. All I could see or smell or touch or hear was him. He was so close.
“Last chance.” The whispered warning preceded silence that made me feel like I was on fire.
Say something, I told myself, but nothing left my lips.
“Time’s up,” he replied. The second our lips touched, electricity shot through my body. Someone moaned. I think it was me. And before I realized it, I was kissing him back, reveling in the beautiful taste of him, and the desire he evoked in me, the desire I’d never felt before.
A cat screeched not too far from us. I broke the kiss, inhaling sharply because he’d stolen all the air. And then I pushed him away, reclaiming my sense. I ducked under his arms, and faced him. My lips were hot and tingling like they’d never been kissed before. Jesse leaned his shoulder against the door frame, blocking my only escape.
“You kissed me.” I touched my mouth. “Why did you kiss me?”
“That’s what knights in shining armor do to princesses locked in the tower.”
“You say the geekiest things,” I whispered. “Why is it attractive?” Shit. Did I really ask that out loud? By the smile on his face, I had. I clamped my hand over my mouth. Because apparently that was how I stopped flowing stupidity out of my mouth.
“It’s a mystery. About like the one where I find you incredibly irresistible when I don’t want to be attracted to anyone.” He almost seemed puzzled, like he couldn’t fathom having found anyone attractive. “I shouldn’t… I’m not supposed to…”
“I meant what I said, Jesse.” At the mention of his name, his attention snapped to me. “I don’t need a hero in my life.”
He snapped out of his reverie and chuckled, which surprised me. “Oh, you’re hilarious, Chuckles.” He stood up straight. “I said I could be a knight. I never said I was a hero.” He disappeared inside the bar.
In the course of about ten minutes, I’d been robbed, threatened, and kissed. And now I had to get back to work like nothing had happened? It didn’t seem right at all. I shut the back door behind me, and stepped out of the hallway, avoiding a couple girls who were stumbling their way toward the bathroom.
I glanced past the bar top when I entered the main bar area, my eyes falling on their table. The guys were laughing and talking, but not one of them—not even Jesse—turned toward my direction. Not that they should have. None of them knew what had just happened outside between Jesse and me. At least, I hoped they didn’t. What if they were talking and laughing about me? About how Jesse had managed to slither his way right into my arms? About… that kiss?
I couldn’t think about that now. I shoved my hand in my now empty apron pocket. I had two more nights of tips to try and make that five hundred Smith wanted. I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if I didn’t make his deadline.
Chapter Four
Charlene
‡
It was just after three in the morning by the time that we’d managed to get the bar cleaned for the night. I went home and crashed pretty quickly. My body was sluggish, and I felt overtired and isolated. All I could think of was Nick Smith. He was out there somewhere, and he expected me to pay him.
If I didn’t pay him, he’d come after my family, and then they’d know that I lied, they’d be disappointed that I screwed up my last chance with them. When I’d gotten arrested before, they made me promise that I was done with that life, that I was done with Brent.
Saying goodbye to Brent, even though he’d given me up, wasn’t that easy.
All night, I tossed and turned, wondering what the best course of action should be. Logically, I should have told my dad. Curtis Morgan pretty much owned the town. He had been the Chief of Police for years before I’d come, and now, he was the mayor. But I didn’t want to risk seeing that look of disappointment, or that they’d turn me out now. I was legally an adult, but I wasn’t ready to be on my own yet. Not when I’d just found my family.
After hours of unsuccessful sleep, I finally just pulled myself out of bed around eight. I stretched, and grabbed my robe from where I dropped it the night before. Shrugging it over my shoulders, I stepped over to the window.
> Was that—Oh, shit. It was.
Jesse was outside my house. What the hell was he doing there?
He came up to my house, carrying a plastic bin. I couldn’t see the front door from where I was at. But when I heard the doorbell ring, there was no mistaking who it could be. I tossed off the robe, grabbed a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt, and ran for the door.
I couldn’t let Jesse tell Dad about last night. I was still working on an actual plan, and that would be ruined if I had to explain to my dad how this guy had found me and why he wanted me. But from the voices downstairs, I was too late. Dad had already let him in. I heard voices in the living room, so I steered my way there. And then stopped, because Jesse was sitting with my dad, him on the couch, and my dad in his usual armchair.
My foster dad smiled at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Oh, Charlie, you’re up! Come, sit down.” He passed the empty spot on the couch, between him and Jesse… oh, so close—too close—to Jesse. He didn’t look mad—my dad, that is. Maybe I’d gotten here fast enough that Jesse hadn’t had time to spread his poison. Of course, maybe I was being unfair. Maybe he didn’t have any intention of doing so.
I glanced at Jesse, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He looked even hotter this morning, slightly stubbly across his jaw line. Unlike the night before, he didn’t appear to have gel in his hair. It was flat instead of spiked like the night before. Instead of a collared black shirt, he had a Captain America t-shirt on. It was form-fitting too, tight across his chest and arms and suddenly, I saw a lot more of the military in him. He sat with his back straight, his body constantly tensed and aware, yet he managed to be relaxed and put out this easy-going air around him.
I put all those thoughts away. Nope, I was not going to have Captain America fantasies about Jesse right here in my living room. Not gonna happen.
I sat down between them. I didn’t know what to say, or what Jesse had told my dad so far. How did he even know where I lived? Was he stalking me? Nah, he didn’t seem like the type.