Lead Him Not Into Temptation (Redemption Book 2)

by Steinbrunn, M. L.

  I quickly bat his hand away. “Not interested, asshole. Do I look like the type who would fuck some random limp-dick roadie just for entrance into a small-time concert?”

  His breath is warm and acidic, breathing heavily on me as he considers his next chess move. I don’t back down though, not from this fuckwad who thinks he can push me around. However, he surprises the hell out of me when he grabs my hand and places it on his dick.

  “I think you look like a slut who’s pretending she wouldn’t fuck anyone who would get her want she wants. And, I would say, right now, you want entrance into this concert. I also think you’ll find there is nothing limp about this situation.”

  His other hand once again finds my ass, squeezing and rubbing it so hard that I realize I’m outmatched and I need to back away from the situation. I move my hand away from his less than impressive area, rear my knee back as much as I can in his grasp, and kick him in the junk hard enough to double him over and cause blunt force trauma to his little swimmers.

  “I said I wasn’t interested, dipshit,” I say, taking a step away from him as he catches his breath. I refuse to leave, if anything I’ll call one of the guys and have them meet me at the gate to let me in.

  When he finally gathers his bearings, he stands and the look on his face sends an uncomfortable chill up my back; rage is radiating off of him. “You bitch,” he roars as he raises his hand and slams it across my face, sending me flying to the unforgiving asphalt. An explosion of pain spreads throughout my cheek and the ground rips open the skin on my knee. I feel the blood begin to drip down my leg.

  I’m left on the ground, stunned. I’ve never been struck before and I don’t know how to respond. I don’t want to exacerbate the situation by verbally attacking him further, but I don’t want to run away and let this go as if I accept what he’s done as acceptable. I’m only on the ground for a few seconds, with no chance to make up my mind on my course of action, before he’s picking me up and pulling me by my hair toward a shadowed part of the gate.

  I let out as much of a scream as I can muster, recognizing this might be my only chance to call for help. “Shut the fuck up,” he huffs, as he throws me against the fence, pinning me between it and his chest. His fingers are twisted into my hair, holding me in place, my battered face being scraped further by the metal of the fence.

  “Please,” I plead. “Please stop.” I try to wiggle out of his grasp but he’s too strong. His acidic, beer breath is hot on my neck and it turns my stomach. I continue to struggle until I feel his free hand moving under my skirt ripping at my panties. My body tenses and panic overwhelms me.

  “Women like you need to be taken down a few notches,” I hear him whisper “I plan on teaching you a fucking lesson.”

  My brain begins to shut off to the present, making way for the images of the night that changed everything. It was an event I could never truly remember, but the scenes in the photographs are something I could never forget. They flood my head, taking over.

  Before his hands can violate my body further, the weight forcing me against the fence is gone and I slide down until I’m sitting on the ground, huddled against the jagged metal, gripping onto it for safety.

  My eyes are pinched shut, but somehow tears have managed to escape and are sliding down my face. I feel completely out of control as my body shakes with adrenaline, but still I refuse to release the safety of the chain-link. When I feel hands on my face and then smoothing through my hair, the sensation causes me to yell out and move closer to the fence, even though there is no possible way to get any closer without climbing it.

  “Shhh, sweetheart. You’re safe now,” a smooth, baritone voice that has become so familiar to me whispers…Casen. I know it’s him, but I can’t seem to let myself peel away from the fence.

  “I’m here, Jen. Let go, baby, I’m here,” Casen continues as he tries to pull me away from the gate.

  The blood rushes back to my fingers when I release my grip on the slick metal. My thumbs run along the indentations to soothe the throbbing sensation. Casen immediately slides me onto his lap and I burrow myself into his chest.

  “What the fuck happened here, man?” I hear Royce shout.

  “What the fuck do you think happened, Royce?” he replies as he begins to stand with me in his arms. “Call the police to get this piece of shit out of here. I’m taking her with me.” It’s only then I finally open my eyes and the sight before me causes a sob to break loose. My attacker is on the ground, unconscious and bleeding. I can’t see them, but I’m sure I would find large gashes on Casen’s knuckles, judging from the damage his hands caused.

  “No, no police,” I tell him. His strong stride instantly stops.

  “We have to call the police, he needs to go to jail for this,” he says soothingly, holding me close.

  I respond by shaking my head adamantly. I may not give a shit about my horrible parents, but I’m smart enough to know not to venture under their radar. “If there are police reports, there will be media attention. Please, I just want to leave.”

  Casen dips his head and sighs after an excruciatingly long pause. I know he’s going against his better judgment by respecting my wishes, and if he were calling the shots here there would be about a million police cars circling this back lot.

  “Okay,” he finally says before turning back around to face Royce. “Don’t call the police, Royce, just get this shit bag off the lot and see to it that he won’t be working any more venues. Whatever Deputy Dewey badge he has, I want it revoked.”

  “No fucking way, we need to call the authorities, and what in the hell am I supposed to do with this guy? What about the show, man?” Royce asks.

  Casen tightens his grip on me and takes a deep breath before letting out a bellow, which makes me startle in his arms. “Dammit, Royce, just fucking handle this!” he shouts, taking a step closer to him. “Tell Campbell I had some kind of emergency and she’ll find a standin for the night. Either way, I’m leaving and taking Jen with me.”

  Without giving Royce the opportunity to argue, he storms off in the direction of his truck. I don’t protest, I don’t request he take me to my car. I go willingly with him, handing over every bit of control I usually demand from a situation. Casen makes me feel safe and taken care of, a feeling I rarely have felt in my life. My parents couldn’t protect me, my friends have never known I needed protection, yet Casen has somehow stepped in and given me what I needed in the exact moment I needed it.

  Once in the passenger seat and on the road, the lights of the city begin to fade. As the dark landscape of the mountains envelops us, I allow my mind to finally process the events of the evening. Thankfully, Casen doesn’t bombard me with questions or pepper me with insistent probing into my well-being. He stays quiet, merely holding my hand to show his support; it’s like he knows that is all I need or even want right now.

  The darkness and lack of conversation forces my mind to be overtaken by the resurfaced memories of my tainted past and the terrifying events which occurred this evening. I’m conflicted by feelings of appreciation as well as embarrassment that Casen was there to see and save me in such a vulnerable moment. As much as I don’t want Casen to see me struggle, I can’t keep my tears at bay. They slowly run down my cheeks and when Casen hears my sniffles, he squeezes my hand, but continues to remain silent. I’m so emotionally exhausted it soon becomes a challenge to keep my eyes open. It isn’t long before I feel the calmness of sleep pull me under.

  Casen

  As soon as we get to the camper I keep parked at Mueller State Park, I carry a sleeping Jen to the back bedroom and make a bed for myself on the foldout couch. As much as I want to sleep, I’m unsuccessful, tossing and turning until I force myself out of bed to get things ready for Jen in the morning.

  I don’t know how I contained myself from killing that guy. Lord knows I fucking wanted to. Since that was off the table, I at least wanted him arrested. I was more than shocked when Jen wouldn’t let me call the authorities.
I really don’t know what to do for her; I don’t know how to fix any of this, fix her—but I want to. It’s apparent she’s been through some kind of shit in her life…haven’t we all? This is different though, she’s hiding something. I’ve always been able to tell when someone was running, when they’ve buried secrets, and Jen MacLauchlan has buried something vicious.

  All night I’ve wandered into the bedroom to watch her sleep, to smooth her hair when her sleep talking and rambles turn into frightened night terrors. My Great Dane, Hendrix, hasn’t left her side, alerting me of her terrors with whimpering. I think they upset him as much as they upset me to witness.

  When I can’t handle the restlessness and useless feelings I have any longer, I lay out a pair of sweats and a T-shirt on the bed for when she wakes up. I write her a note and leave her in the care of Hendrix. I hop into Nelly and head toward Woodland Park. It’s the nearest town to the campsite with a Walmart where I can at least pick her up a few toiletry items, some clothes, and medical supplies to clean up my knuckles and her scraped-up knees. Also, I have some food in the camper, but definitely not enough to serve her a proper breakfast and sustain us both for the entire weekend. She may not intend to stay with me longer than the hour to travel back to Colorado Springs where her car is parked, but if I have my way, she will stay the weekend.

  It’s still early by the time I return, and she’s still asleep. I don’t want to wake her by continuing my restless hovering, so I busy myself outside by bandaging my knuckles. I then set to work making a campfire and preparing bacon and eggs to make over the open flame. It isn’t long after getting everything on the griddle when a bloodcurdling scream from the inside of the camper pierces the morning silence.

  I move as quickly as I can, bursting through the front door and down the small hallway to the bedroom. The screams continue, and I prepare for the worst as I turn the door handle to enter the bedroom. The scene before me is not what I expect and I barely contain my laughter.

  “Get it off me!” Jen shouts. “I’m covered in slobber!” she continues as she struggles to find her way out of the blankets. Somehow, Hendrix has made his way under the covers with her, to snuggle no doubt…he never got the memo he’s too big to be a lap dog. Together they are rolling around, tangled in sheets, Jen frantically trying to get away, and Hendrix trying to lick her. When Jen finally falls out of the bed onto the floor and out of the grips of the flannel sheets, Hendrix halts his slobber attack and barks at her.

  “Henri, enough, boy. Outside,” I warn. He immediately jumps off the bed and trots past me to go outside by the fire. “Sorry, about that. He’s a snuggler; he was trying to tell you he likes you,” I explain.

  “Likes me? Are you stoned? That giant horse dog was trying to attack me. My hair is matted with dog drool. If I had exposed my neck, he probably would have punctured my jugular.” She’s being a tad overdramatic. I absolutely want to continue to laugh at her, but considering the events of the previous evening, I would prefer to not upset her.

  “He really is harmless. I left clothes on the bed for you. Go ahead and get dressed and come outside, I have breakfast cooking for us,” I say before leaving the room, closing the door behind me. Her morning wake-up call was a little unorthodox, and more than likely a little inappropriate considering the circumstances, but at least it broke up any awkwardness I thought there might be between us this morning.

  I’m taking everything off the fire and pouring her a cup of coffee when she finally emerges from the camper. My clothes completely swallow her; she has to hold up the sweats with one of her hands to prevent them from falling off. I’ve never seen Jen so tattered. She’s a person who prides herself on her appearance, and right now she is a matted mess. Besides the ridiculously large clothes, her makeup is smeared across her face from crying and sleeping, a bruised cheek matches the smudged makeup, and her hair looks similar to a nest we may find on a hike later today. She would find her appearance unacceptable, but to be honest, I rather like it. It makes her human…imperfectly perfect.

  Hendrix immediately perks up when he hears her, but she shoots him a crusty look. “I’m not speaking to you, Goliath,” she hisses. Henri whines and settles back down next to my chair.

  “I’m glad you’ve been introduced to Hendrix, he goes by Henri for short.” That earns me the crusty look she had reserved for Henri. “Here, I made you a cup,” I say, handing her a mug filled with enough caffeine to kill a small horse. “Take a seat and I’ll make you some breakfast.”

  She accepts the mug with her empty hand and slides into the nearest chair. “Thank you,” she says meekly with her eyes downcast, refusing to meet mine. The awkwardness I was worried about has invaded our campsite. She closes her eyes and takes a deep inhale of the coffee, letting the warmth of the steam filter around her cheeks. Bringing her knees up under her in the chair, she settles in and begins to stare into the hypnotizing flames of the campfire. I know her mind is everywhere except here, so I hastily fix her plate to provide a distraction from the thoughts overshadowing her.

  “Eat up,” I tell her as I hand her a plate filled with fried eggs and bacon. “You’re going to need energy for what we are doing today,” I add, taking a seat in the chair across the fire from her.

  She gives me a confused, suspicious look and then laughs, sitting up straight in her chair. “Look, I appreciate what you did for me and giving me the night to regroup, but I’m not going to spend the day doing some counseling session with you filled with outdoorsy activities. If I need a little cardio, I have a gym for that. If I need a group pity party, I have friends for that. All I need right now from you is a ride back to the Springs to get my car so I can drive home.”

  I pretend to ignore her, taking a large bite of food, and throwing a piece of bacon to Henri. “No can do, Jen,” I tell her, focusing my attention on my dog and not her. “I have some things I need to do up here this weekend which you could help with. Besides, your phone has been blowing up since we left last night. I wouldn’t think you would be in any hurry to get back to be hit with a million questions.” I finally look at her as I shove another mouthful in and talk around the massive amount of food. “I figure, by you staying, you’re helping us both out.”

  Jen sits quietly, contemplating my proposition and what is waiting for her back home. “Fine,” she relents. “But I need to call the girls and let them know where I am and that I’m okay. Fuck, I would never hear the end of it, or worse, they’ll show up here.”

  “I took care of it,” I say, throwing another piece of bacon to Henri.

  “What do you mean, you took care of it?” she asks. “Jesus, quit feeding that dog bacon, he’s already the size of a fucking elephant. I thought you weren’t supposed to feed animals human food anyways.”

  “I called Campbell this morning while you were sleeping and filled her in on how you were okay and with me. Told her we would be back Sunday and everyone needed to give you a little space until then. And no, you aren’t supposed to feed animals human food. But Hendrix isn’t like other dogs; he’s a part-human part-elephant, gorilla dog with super strength. He can have something special every now and then.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re going to give him a heart attack,” she adds, taking another bite of her food. “So, Campbell was okay with your little plan?”

  “She seemed to be. The other women in the background, not so much. There was a lot of shouting and demands to see you, but Campbell smoothed it out.”

  “Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me about Vivian and Carly. They were probably already packed and in the car. I’ll be sure to call or text them.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re camped out at your apartment when you get back to Denver on Sunday night,” I laugh. I can only imagine what Campbell had to do or say to calm those women down, but I knew it was a bag full of drama Jen didn’t need right now. The air needed to settle before the mother hens were allowed to hover.

  “Well, they care about me, even if it can be a little sm
othering. We’re each other’s family. I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Besides, did I hear you say Sunday night? What in the hell do you need help with that we can’t take care of this morning and be back by tonight?” Jen places her mug and plate on the ground and settles in for an argument. I stuff the remainder of my breakfast in my mouth and stand to gather the dishes, ignoring her confrontational posture. “I have things I need to get back to, and I have no clothes. I can’t exactly wear your nasty sweats for the next day and a half,” she huffs.

  She watches as I pick up her dishes and move toward the camper. “It’s taken care of, Jen. I went to Walmart this morning and picked you up some things,” I say over my shoulder and then whistle for Henri to follow me.

  “What?” she shouts.

  I hear her stumbling out of her chair in an attempt to chase after me, and Henri immediately begins to bark at her. I struggle to maintain a straight face, picturing the scene unfolding behind my back. When I look back, she’s picking herself off the ground and attempting to hold onto the sweats which are falling off her while at the same time ward off Henri who is trying to lick her.

  “Do I look like the type of girl who has ever stepped foot in a Walmart? Do they even have clothes?” she asks, as she bats Henri away and finds her footing to stand up.

  “Hendrix, come here,” I command. He whimpers, but reluctantly leaves her side and goes inside the camper. “No, princess, you certainly don’t look like someone who would ever step foot in a Walmart. Maybe you should spend a little more time learning how the other half lives so the fall off your high horse wouldn’t hurt so badly.”

  I immediately turn and enter the camper, closing the door behind me. I know I’m provoking her a tad, but I figure feisty Jen needs to return. If I take the white gloves off and treat her like I always do, maybe her fire will ignite once again. My guess is spot on when I hear the camper door slam as I’m placing the dishes in the sink.