Explicit Memory

by Scarlett Finn

‘I’ve heard that from you before,’ he grumbled.

  His forethought tortured him, and although he would never admit it, sometimes it weakened him. Rushe envisioned scenarios that led to him losing her, and it was avoiding that outcome that was his highest priority. Neither could deny the influence their wellbeing had on the other anymore. They were each other’s greatest asset and biggest burden.

  Less than an hour later, Rushe drove off the interstate and down a series of residential streets. The journey from her parents’ house in New Hampshire was a long one, but they were definitely back in New Jersey now, though she didn’t recognise this area.

  As she was about to ask where they were going, Rushe pulled up to the kerb in front of a brown stucco building, and yanked a pair of black gloves from the door, which he donned.

  ‘What are we—‘

  ‘Stay here,’ Rushe said, not turning off the engine.

  Ready to question him further, Flick’s words lodged in her throat when he reached under his seat and produced a gun. He checked the clip and chambered a round.

  ‘After this job you’re going to know exactly what I’m capable of, Kitten. It’s up to you if you stick around after or not.’

  ‘Rushe—‘

  ‘Stay.’

  He left the car so rapidly that Flick had no time to respond. After storming up the path, Rushe went directly into the house without knocking.

  Only a short while ago he was saying how he wanted her with him, except now she found herself abandoned out in the cold, alone.

  Two solid bangs preceded a distant roar, and on processing the startling sounds, she linked them to the obvious source. Rushe then came out of the building and strode down the path to re-enter the car and hide the gun away under his seat again.

  ‘I’m hungry,’ Rushe said. ‘We’ve got to be at Silver’s in an hour.’

  ‘Is he local?’ she asked, aware that her words were stunted. ‘Will we be late?’

  ‘I don’t give a fuck,’ Rushe said, driving on. ‘He can wait.’

  ‘Lover,’ she ventured a few streets later. ‘Who was that?’

  ‘A rapist,’ he answered, and though he said it without intonation, she was surprised by how his candour conveyed his anger.

  ‘You killed him?’

  ‘No, but you can guarantee that’s gonna sting.’

  ‘You did that for Silver? That’s part of the job?’

  ‘Antoine told me last night that we’d be working for Silver,’ Rushe said.

  ‘That was the job on the piece of paper?’

  His resolve remained on the road ahead of them, and he stayed quiet. Rushe didn’t miss a thing so there was no way he hadn’t heard her, he’d chosen not to respond. Flick wasn’t going to push, but she was finished with hiding her fears. Rushe had a right not to answer her questions, but she had an equal right to ask them anyway.

  After a drive-through meal, Rushe drove them into a wooded park and Flick expected them to pull into a secluded spot, because she assumed he wanted sex. An erotic interlude might be needed as a stress reliever after the job today. Except Rushe didn’t seem stressed, and as it turned out, they didn’t stop. The forested area grew thicker and the road got bumpy as the concrete wore out, but they didn’t park.

  Eventually a rolled-apart chain link fence offered an opening at the edge of the trees and they trundled over worn-out grass toward the back of a house. Other homes flanked the detached timber structure, and three other cars were parked in this shabby yard. Rushe pulled in behind the vehicles and shut off the engine.

  ‘How do you know the back way?’

  From their position now, Flick could see this was a residential street that backed onto the forest area they’d emerged from.

  ‘I’ve been here before,’ Rushe said.

  ‘What should I expect?’

  ‘Stay close to me,’ he said, and she nodded. ‘There will be things—‘

  ‘Save it for the bedroom when we’re alone,’ she said. ‘Say whatever you have to. Touch me wherever you need to. I trust you.’

  With a single nod, Rushe released his seatbelt and turned to exit, but she caught hold of his arm.

  ‘What?’ he asked.

  ‘I love you... no matter what, ok?’

  ‘Out.’

  After he blasted away from the vehicle, Flick inhaled and closed her eyes. This was going to be the toughest job yet, for both of them. The slam of the trunk bounced the whole car, and Flick knew Rushe’s patience was strained.

  Before she could follow through on her plan not to show Theo Silver any fear, Flick had to first prove her mettle to herself and to Rushe. So breezing out of the car, Flick rounded it to where Rushe tossed their new duffel over his shoulder. She didn’t say a word, only hooked her hand into his back pocket and gathered herself close.

  Rushe had told her once that he didn’t trust her, because he couldn’t predict her actions. It made sense to her now. If she was erratic or disobedient, then he couldn’t anticipate her position. Rushe relied on his forethought being accurate, and she was an anomaly.

  Intent on his path, he took them toward the house, up the narrow back stairs, through the screen and across the wide kitchen. A rabble of jeering voices dulled when she and Rushe came into the living room.

  A pool table dominated the centre of the area. Couches lined the perimeter of the room, all angled to view the ongoing game. The front window was covered with grey gauze that let in light but prevented them from seeing what was beyond.

  Rushe remained just inside the room, zoned in on the black man folded into a barca-lounger in the corner. Well dressed and cool, the man had no muscle mass, but his knees were raised so high he had to be all height.

  ‘You made it,’ he said.

  ‘Silver,’ Rushe replied.

  ‘What’s that? You brought me a present?’

  ‘You want me to stay, so I brought my shit.’

  ‘Your property?’ Silver said. ‘Is that right?’

  ‘Problem?’

  ‘She’s smoking,’ a male voice mumbled, and Flick didn’t want to identify the body it went with.

  ‘You know we’ve got supplies here,’ Silver said.

  ‘Brought my own.’

  ‘Cody, take him up,’ Silver said. ‘Five minutes, we gotta talk.’

  A young guy in maybe his early twenties gave his pool cue to another guy and crossed to the corner where there was an internal door, perpendicular to the main entrance, which Flick noticed on trailing Rushe had nine different locks.

  The man, Cody, took them through the door and up a set of enclosed stairs to a hallway with various rooms leading off it. He stopped at the second door on the left and shoved it aside.

  ‘Bathroom’s next along,’ Cody said, and sloped off.

  Rushe took them into the bedroom and tossed the duffel to the bed. Flick kept hold of the denim until he unlatched her and attached her fingers to the metal of the footboard.

  ‘What now?’ she asked, when Rushe closed the bedroom door. ‘You have to talk to him? Work for him? Rushe—‘

  ‘We’re staying here. It’s the price we pay.’

  ‘For my freedom, or our lives? How does this help Serendipity?’

  ‘Kitten,’ he said, with a tone of warning. ‘Settle in. This will be just like before, but you’re gonna do what you’re told this time.’

  Flick saw the tension radiate from him, his anger was infuriation. Rushe wasn’t the type to run errands for others. The only time he’d be caught doing so was when it was absolutely necessary. Right now, it was the price for their lives.

  Jansen had assured her safety; he’d rescued her and helped her rescue Rushe. Now he lay in a hospital bed, unconscious, with a chance he may never wake again.

  Serendipity was Jansen’s woman, out there alone and defenceless. Rushe had too much honour to let that slide, to tuck tail and run to save himself. So he’d go after Serendipity, and only Flick’s life would be a price too high to pay for her liberation.
r />   He viewed it as his responsibility to ensure Flick’s safety above all else, and she saw it as her responsibility to ensure his sanity. Slinking toward him, Flick put her hands to his biceps and let them glide up his arms to his shoulders.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he grumbled.

  ‘Doesn’t this feel nice,’ she whispered, reminiscent of a time they’d shared in the shack.

  Carrying on their journey, Flick linked her fingers at the back of his neck, and with no assistance from him, she levered her weight up until she was off her feet. Winding her legs around his torso, she let the cushion of her lips meet his. He didn’t respond, but his inaction didn’t deter her. Insinuating the tip of her tongue between the seam of his mouth, he opened before she touched his teeth.

  Rushe’s mouth seized hers, and he coiled his tongue around hers. Charging forward with his long gait they suddenly crashed against the wall. Robbing her hands from the back of his neck, he smacked them to the wall, far above her head.

  ‘Are you trying to tempt me, Kitten?’

  ‘If I was doing that I’d be on my knees,’ she purred.

  With a huff, Rushe tilted his head to kiss her again. The potency of this blending of their mouths had her knees trying to ascend, but the weight of him immobilised her.

  ‘You gonna ride my cock good?’ he asked. ‘Speak.’

  ‘Yes,’ she breathed. ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘How deep can you take me?’

  ‘Lover,’ she whimpered, and tried to lift her hands but he slammed them back.

  ‘When I want it, you spread your legs and take it,’ he growled. ‘When I want it.’

  ‘I want to ease your burden,’ she said, and his feral focus on her mouth drifted upward. ‘Make you feel good.’

  ‘Fuck out the frustration?’

  ‘Yeah,’ she exhaled, and tipped forward to kiss his jaw.

  His forehead landed on hers, bumping her head back against the wall. ‘Kit...’ he murmured, but didn’t elaborate.

  ‘What? What is it, Lover?’

  Straightening his form, she saw the torture in his eyes that usually came when she cried. But she wasn’t crying now.

  ‘Stay,’ he barked, and drawing the shutters up over his expression, he backed away.

  Flick stumbled to her feet, and while using the wall to catch her balance, she watched him turn and exit the bedroom. On a ragged inhale, she wondered at what was in his mind. Something else had been on his lips, but he’d chosen not to say it. Pushing him wouldn’t necessarily help, and she was used to living her life in wonder where Rushe was concerned.

  Chapter Four

  For the rest of the day Flick was alone in this chamber. The bedroom, with its double bed, was a decent size and it had a small window overlooking the same back yard where Rushe had parked the car. So overall, the environment was more comfortable than the one they’d existed in at the shack.

  Occasional movement outside the door kept Flick on alert, in part in case of trouble, though she didn’t predict any because Rushe was on the premises, and he’d never leave her in danger. What she most anticipated was her lover’s return to her.

  Downstairs had been alive with noise of conversations and the odd shouted command. But she hadn’t been able to distinguish Rushe’s voice.

  Darkness began to descend outside, and she wondered if she should prepare herself for bed. Rushe could be down there all night. The noise level had increased, indicating more people had arrived. Music started and gradually it got louder, the traffic certainly grew, and she realised there was a party going on.

  Given their history, Flick wasn’t inclined to go down and investigate for nosiness sake. But she did want to see Rushe; she wanted to know that he was ok. He had brought her here to protect her, as he’d said the risk was greater for her to be out in the world alone than to be here surrounded by these crooks. But she felt alone here, and as much as she hated herself for it, Flick was anxious about the number of people here. A party meant alcohol, and she knew this man Silver was a pimp.

  Rushe could be down there, and he could need help but he wouldn’t flee the building without her if there was trouble, so he could be stuck. She lay back and propped her feet up on the duffel that was still at the foot of the bed.

  Just as she settled on the decision to stay here and trust that Rushe had everything under control, the bedroom door opened. Bracing up onto her elbows, she expected to see her lover. But he hadn’t been the one to enter. Three men of varying heights and ethnicity bundled into the room. Seeking out a weapon hadn’t been a priority, though Flick realised now that it probably should have been.

  ‘See,’ the shortest one said. ‘He brought us a present.’

  ‘I’m nobody’s present,’ Flick said.

  All three came closer, and the one at the rear flung the door closed. ‘What’s your rate, honey?’

  ‘Too high for you,’ Flick said, getting onto her knees.

  ‘I say we get ourselves a free sample.’

  ‘You don’t wanna do that,’ the one who hadn’t spoken yet said, showing a gold tooth in place of an upper canine. ‘Rushe say you could?’

  ‘Rushe doesn’t say nothing,’ the short one said.

  ‘That’s ‘cause he doesn’t have to,’ Flick said. ‘He’ll rip your dick off for even thinking about bringing it near me.’

  Luckily, her lingering consideration of leaving this space to go downstairs meant that she hadn’t yet removed her shoes. So when the cocky one grinned and pounced toward the bed, Flick snatched one off her toes and held it aloft, while setting her kneeling stance higher.

  ‘Hey, man, I’d listen to her,’ the one with the gold tooth said. ‘You heard about what he did to Barney.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, I heard that too,’ the short one said.

  Flick didn’t know who Barney was, but the cocky one was discouraged enough to turn to his friends. ‘That ain’t true.’

  ‘It is, it is,’ Gold Canine said. ‘I heard his girl paid Rushe, paid him to gut Barney like a fish.’

  ‘He didn’t gut him,’ the short one said, and peered at Flick. ‘He tied him up and slit him open, just enough to let the rats burrow in and eat him from the inside out... took him hours to die.’

  ‘He’s not gonna do shit like that in Silver’s place, no way,’ the cocky one said, and whisked around. ‘I say we test her out.’

  Flick didn’t wait for him to advance; she sprang to her feet on the bed knowing that the added height gave her a better vantage point. Raising her shoe high, she smacked it down on the cocky one’s head. He howled and bowed down for half a second, but then he reared up and grabbed her wrist. Flick kicked out to try to free herself, but she lost her shoes in the melee.

  While he wrestled her off the bed, Flick made as much noise and ruckus as she could, but she stumbled to the floor and only just managed to get out of the path of his vicious kick aimed at her head.

  The other guys were jabbering, and one of them was shouting something about Silver, while the other wasn’t as lucid. Flick concentrated on returning to a fighting stance, except without her shoes on, she had no height and she’d lost her weapons. The cocky one brought his hand across her face, sending her to the floor again. But this gave her the chance to scramble for her shoe, which lay on the floor under the end of the bed.

  Using the frame to support herself, she thrashed around, swiping at his kneecap with enough force to send him crashing to the floor beside her. He yelped and cursed out, and then when he stole a handful of her hair, she smacked him in the head with her shoe again.

  The fucker fell back onto his rump but Flick’s triumph was short-lived. He cursed at her again and then went for the buckle of his belt. Whipping it free of its loops, he balanced his weight on one leg, and clambered to his feet.

  Flick wasn’t waiting for the flogging. She leapt up, knowing that she could move quicker than the man she’d injured. But he seized a fistful of her hair, and though she tried to pull his hand away, the burning pai
n brought her back down to her knees where he wanted her.

  The joy of retribution clamped her attacker’s teeth, and Flick sneered when she met his eye. He could do his worst and she would never let him see her tremble. He brought the belt up, and she gritted her own teeth behind her lips.

  The belt began to descend and then it was gone, barely glancing off her. The hand was wrenched from her hair, and she blinked to see Rushe with the guy flat on the wall. Her love landed one punch, and then another, until blood poured from the cocky bastard’s mouth, but Rushe hit him again.

  The short one and Gold Canine had fled, leaving their buddy alone to fight the battle that he’d started. Flick wasn’t going to stop Rushe yet, she wanted that bastard to think twice before he went after any woman in the future.

  ‘I’m sorry!’ the guy screamed out, and though he tried to fight, Rushe had him by the throat, his arm pressed into the guy’s chest, pinning him to the same wall she had been against earlier.

  Rushe growled and punched again, and then on letting the guy fall to the ground, he backed off. ‘Apologise to her,’ Rushe snarled.

  ‘I’m sorry! I’m sorry!’ the guy whimpered, and tried to crawl toward the exit, but Rushe kicked him to the side and secured him under his boot.

  ‘I haven’t heard her accept; you’re not going anywhere.’

  Rushe’s boot moved higher, and toeing the assailant’s chin out of the way, he increased the pressure of his stance on the guy’s throat. The cocky bastard wasn’t so cocky now, as he choked and coughed while clawing at the footwear in charge of his fate.

  Flick got to her feet and took a slow breath. ‘I accept, let him go.’

  Rushe growled when he twisted his attention to her, without releasing the pressure on his prey. He didn’t want to free this guy, because Rushe wanted him to suffer for hurting her. When her love huffed out and his pupils dilated, Flick knew he was more animal in this second than human.

  ‘Lover,’ she whispered.

  With another grumble, he kicked the guy loose. ‘No second chances,’ Rushe barked, and kicked the guy again as he crawled out the ajar door and scrambled to close it, presumably to prevent the predator from attacking again.