by J. D. Sloane
“And what would that be, I wonder?” He asked his low voice, blinking at her slowly as she met his eyes across the desk.
“A monster,” she said, her voice coming out in a low, passionate rush. “Someone they can’t understand and won’t relate to. Someone that they can dismiss as one more lunatic is a city filled with them.”
Alicia raked her hands through her hair, following him with her eyes as he turned his chair until he was almost in profile, his face a smooth, unreadable blank.
“Half this city thinks you killed Brooke in some kind of blind rage and then butchered the office staff across the street to confuse the police. And the other half thinks that you really are nuts. That you’ve somehow convinced yourself that someone else did it, when all the facts in the case point to one conclusion- that you were the last person in this world to see your girlfriend alive…”
Ronan flinched as an image of Brooke’s delicate, too perfect face filled up every jagged corner of his mind in a sudden brilliant flash of agony and shoved back from the table with both hands as the metal chair screeched across the tile, his temper momentarily dancing just beyond the outside edge of his control. Alicia flinched as his face twisted with hatred and he grabbed her by the front of the throat as she stood up in a panic, his pulse escalating so quickly his vision seemed to swim behind a thin membrane of red. She let out a startled cry as he shoved her against the wall and swatted her arm away as she tried break his grip, shoving his forearm across her collarbone as he pinned her against the wall.
“Careful, Alicia,” he said, his low voice pulsing with a delighted sort of malice. “Know your customer. That’s working girl 101. And you should choose your next words very, very carefully. You think there’s a low premium placed on lunatics in this city? Try playing the pretty little victim. They’re a dime a dozen in this town.”
He watched Alicia’s expression change, something wild and unhealthy beginning to unfurl behind her mask of artificial brightness. He felt a pulse of sheer rage-laced hunger for her as she shoved back against him, her sweet, sorority girl’s face darkening with outrage.
“I want their names!” She spat as she rocked on her heels and Ronan shoved her back against the wall, a rush of delighted fury driving his hunger for her higher as she struggled to control the hatred in her face.
He tipped his chin down to meet her as she panted in his grasp and watched her eyes dart over his face as he leaned towards her, his words whispering over her lips like a kiss.
“I’m not really a pay in advance sort of guy,” he said, his voice smooth and vicious. “You want their names, Alicia? Hmm? Why don’t you tell me what you’re offering first?”
“This isn’t something I should have to ask you for!” Alicia said, jerking away from him. “You should want to help me break this story. Dula being discredited is just one step closer to your entire trial being called into question.”
Ronan leaned down to meet her gaze, his eyes wide and bright and closed his fingers around her jaw hard enough to make her wince.
“But it is something you have to ask me for,” he said against her cheek. “It really, really is. So go ahead. Tell me what I want for it. See if you can- guess.”
Alicia swallowed hard as he swept his eyes down the front of her blouse and he watched the smooth slide of calculation pass through her eyes so rapidly it was practically instinct, her expression cooling slightly as she blinked up at him.
“I’m not a prostitute,” she said, as his eyes darted up the length of her legs, the snide edge of contempt in her voice jolting through his veins like a blast of amphetamines.
“No?” He asked, tilting his head down to meet her gaze. “Because something tells me that’s an outfit you’ve worn before. And not a bad first guess, Alicia, considering your sources. I bet those boys down at the office could barely believe their luck when you wandered into the boardroom.”
Alicia ran her eyes run down the front of his pants and Ronan followed her gaze as her body relaxed slightly, her heavily lined eyes rolling up towards him as her long blond bangs fell away from her face.
“You want to know what I think you really want, Ronan?” Alicia said her eyes widening slightly as they drifted down to his mouth. “I think you want someone you can control.”
Ronan raised his brows at her, his pale, handsome face shifting with impatience.
“Well that seems a little obvious, doesn’t it?” He said, his voice rough with annoyance. “And you’re beginning to bore me, Alicia. Why don’t you go run back and get fucked politely by that generous benefactor of yours? Him and all of his friends with the golden parachutes.”
“Who says they fuck me politely?”
He felt a strange shudder of surprise jolt through him as Alicia tilted her head, looking over his face carefully as if searching for something she couldn’t quite decipher.
“You want to know what I think you really want?” Alicia said, watching him trace her slim, girlish curves greedily as she shifted her hand forward. “I think you want someone you can use. I think you miss that. Don’t you?”
He felt a violent tremor of hunger pulse through him as she leaned back against the wall, rolling her eyes up to meet him as she tugged at the waist of his pants.
Ronan relaxed his arm slightly as she leaned closer sliding her hand inside his boxers and closed his eyes as she dragged the tips of her nails up the length of his cock, tilting her head at him as he blinked down at her.
“How’s this, Ronan?” Alicia said, looking up at him through her long black lashes as she leaned her back against the wall, curling her fist around the head of his cock as she began to pump him slowly.
“Brooke may have wanted you, but I need you. I do. This is all that I have. It’s the only thing I’m good at. And If I don’t prove it somehow then you’re right. I’ll spend the rest of my life on my knees in front of men like my boss. And they don’t play fair, do they? They just never play fair.”
Ronan looked down at her with half lidded eyes as he stepped closer, his entire body giving off a quick unhealthy shudder as he felt her fingers slide to the base of his cock and looked over her hair carefully, the sudden frantic hunger in her face moving him in spite of himself.
“And what makes you think that I will?” Ronan said, brushing her painted red lips with his fingertips as her eyes closed slowly, her face becoming soft and flushed as he pulled his arm away from her collarbone.
“Because you need me too,” Alicia whispered against his neck, brushing her breasts against him so gently he gritted his teeth. “Don’t you? You want to use me Ronan? Go ahead. Help me and I’ll be anything you want. I promise. You need to forget, don’t you? I can tell that you do. I’m very, very good at that. Help me and I’ll help you. You want me to, don’t you? I know what you need. I know what you need…”
Ronan made a low noise in the back of his throat as Alicia stroked him quickly, the soft urgent slap of her hand so primal and insistent that he leaned against her without thinking, his lips brushing the top of her head as he pumped against her hand with rough, thoughtless violence. He felt her shift her hand lower, cupping his balls gently before dragging her hand up the length of his cock and then froze as she leaned up to kiss him, his face twitching with annoyance as he shoved her back against the wall with the flat of his palm.
Alicia’s eyes flew open as he looked her over and then dragged his thumb over the boney ridge of her throat.
“Kiss me,” she said, closing her eyes as she leaned towards him and Ronan snapped her back with sudden irritation, his dark eyes beginning to pulse with a delighted sort of malice. He tilted her chin up as he slid his thick cock out of his pants, watching her eyes dart towards it as he pumped himself slowly and then rolled his jaw slightly as he pushed her towards the floor.
“That’s better, Alicia,” he said slowly, his low voice almost a caress as she dropped to her knees in front of him. “Knees apart. That’s right. Show me what you�
��re good at.”
Ronan rolled his eyes down to watch her as Alicia twitched her knees apart and then looked up at him from the floor, the soft diffused light of the overhead making her irises seem to glow. He pumped his cock in her face for a moment, holding her cheek with his other hand and felt a shock of savage hunger rip through him as she opened her mouth instantly, reaching for him with both hands as he shoved himself between her lips.
Ronan let out a low moan as felt her fingers close around the front of his thighs and pumped himself in and out of her mouth quickly, twisting his fist into the back of her hair as he jerked her over his cock in smooth, brutal bursts. He closed his eyes as she gagged lightly, a shock of savage hunger ripping through him as she tried to control the urgent pulse of his rhythm with a shove of her hands and gripped her hair tighter, rocking in and out of her mouth without restraint before dragging his cock slowly out of her mouth.
“I like dark hair better,” Ronan said, turning her chin up towards him with the tip of his fingers. “Red, Alicia. I want it red. Like it was before you changed it.”
His face softened slightly as Alicia nodded up at him, her eyes snapping shut as she closed her fist around his cock.
“Red,” she said, pumping her hand over his cock with an excitement that was almost painfully adolescent. “You want it red. I’ll change it.”
“That’s right,” he said, knocking her hand away gently as he pressed his fingers between her lips, watching her lipstick smear beneath his touch with sudden fascination. “You’re going to change a lot of things for me, Alicia. A lot of things. You won’t believe how much you’re going to change. Now open your mouth and don’t move until I tell you to. That’s it. Just like that.”
Ronan moaned under his breath as he felt Alicia close her mouth around his fingers and stepped forward smoothly as he jerked her mouth open, the quick, instinctive submission in her eyes escalating his excitement in one sudden frantic leap. He watched her expression as he held her jaw tightly, stroking his cock against her lips and blinked quickly as she dragged her fingers down the dark lace of her underwear, looking up at him through her lashes as she pressed her hand between her open knees.
Ronan followed her hand with sudden fascination as Alicia let her lips whisper apart and watched her drag her tongue around the head of his cock, his face darkening with hunger as she rubbed herself slowly. He spread his legs slightly, the hunger to crawl over her on the floor and fuck her like an animal hovering just outside the softest perimeters of his control and then felt her jerk her neck backwards as someone knocked at the door, her entire body freezing with panic.
Alicia tried to pull away as the low buzz of an internal lock sounded behind them and Ronan yanked her head back around, holding her hair tightly as he looked down at her with lowered eyes.
“No,” he said, his hungry expression hardening with warning. “We’re not finished yet. Open your mouth. That’s a good girl. Show me that you can.”
Ronan felt a thrill of malicious pleasure as Alicia cringed and then closed her eyes, opening her mouth wider as he coiled his hands into the back of her hair. He rocked in and out of her mouth smoothly as Alicia struggled to match him and fisted her hair without turning as he heard someone step into the room, forcing himself deeper as the door slammed shut. He closed his eyes, his entire body pulsing with excitement as he felt Alicia wince in embarrassment and moaned under his breath as her body quaked beneath him, the gentle shudder of movement enough to bring him to a sudden, urgent orgasm.
Ronan came into her open mouth, holding his body against her tightly, and then pulled away as he saw Alicia lean forward, opening her mouth to keep from gagging. Ronan slid back into his loose gray pants in one careless motion as he crouched down in front of her and then tapped her under the chin, closing her mouth with his fingertips. He raised his brows as Alicia twitched her fingers against the floor and searched his face before swallowing hard, her gold eyes darting to the doorway almost against her will. Ronan followed her gaze, and then nodded towards the door lightly, his dark eyes leaping with dim amusement as he stood up.
“Oh, Morlan,” he said his face suddenly smooth and relaxed as he held out his hand. “Don’t worry about him. I pay him a whole lot better than Dula does, believe me.”
Alicia blinked up at him, her legs wavering, and Ronan’s expression dropped as he steadied her with one hand, his gaze sliding down her slender body as she shrugged him off. His eyes narrowed as she brushed her long bangs behind one ear, something about her sudden cool demeanor stirring him despite himself and tipped his head towards her as she pulled a cigarette out of her purse, holding it between her lips as she snapped open her lighter.
“Your sources, Ronan,” Alicia said, smoothing her skirt with an impatient brush of her fingertips. “I need names and places.”
Ronan’s eyes danced with a moment of annoyed amusement as Alicia turned her head in his direction and then passed behind her casually as his fingers brushed the clasp of her lace choker.
“What?” He said, his low voice curling with laughter as he spoke against the back of her neck. “No pillow talk?”
Alicia turned to look at him, her brow furrowing as he breezed through her files on the table and cleared her throat as she picked one of her barrettes up off the floor, tucking it into her hair neatly as she turned on her heels.
“The man who took my things,” Ronan said without turning. “The one with all the stories. I want his name.”
“You want a lot of things today, don’t you?”
Ronan felt that strange stirring of desire of again as Alicia drummed her long nails against her thigh and dragged his eyes up the length of her body slowly as he gave her an unpleasant smirk.
“Their names, Ronan,” Alicia said her voice smooth and clipped as she took a drag off her cigarette. “And I want to know who you got them from. Otherwise you can consider this meeting our last fond farewell.”
“Oh, I’m not sure that’s a threat you can follow through on, Miss Gale. Try it and see.”
“It’s my story, Ronan,” she said walking over to the table as she flicked her ashes to the floor. “And I’ll do whatever I want with it.”
Ronan blinked down at her as Alicia’s eyes darted towards the doorway and reached to grab her wrist as she jerked away from him, clucking under his tongue as she dropped her cigarette.
“And how do you think your boyfriend will feel about that, hmm?”
He felt a rush of thoughtless, rage-laced hunger as he watched Alicia’s round gold eyes narrow, her face flushing with anger as he turned her wrist in her direction.
“Sooner or later he may actually begin to wonder about a mark like this. No matter how carefully you try to hide it.”
Alicia jerked her wrist away from him and he leaned over to meet her gaze, his dark eyes twirling wildly above his expression of casual disinterest.
“The collector, Alicia,” he said, enunciating each word carefully as she froze beneath his stare. “I’m not going to ask you again.”
“It was, I think it was Douglas. I didn’t ask his last name. He…”
“I know him,” Ronan said, his face becoming smooth and careless as he cut her off with a curt wave of his hand.
Ronan tipped his eyes towards the door as the sudden echo of footsteps sounded down the hall, his face filling with a bored sort of amusement, and then paced back around to the opposite side of the table, yanking his chair closer as he sat down behind the desk.
Alicia turned to watch him as she heard the voices grow louder and glanced towards the door, her fingers flitting down the short hem on her skirt as Ronan snapped his left cuff on with a casual slap.
“You should try the Jackson Correctional Facility in Kansas City,” he said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes. “They should have at least a couple of interesting antidotes to add about our celebrated new warden. And you may want to check the employee roster while you’re at it. I hear
reciprocity is the religion of choice among all those big ten elites.”
Alicia whipped her head around as the smooth hammer of an internal lock sounded from outside the door and took a quick step forward as he winked at her, reaching for her recorder as she took a step closer.
“What’s his name?” She asked, and Ronan leaned his head towards the microphone as his face shifted with a delighted sort of malice.
“Now why would I pay full price for a job half. Finished?” He asked, snapping the recorder off before sliding it across the table. “Get me the interview, Alicia. Then I’ll give you the rest of it.”
Alicia stepped forward as she saw the recorder slide towards the edge of the table and caught it in one hand as she heard the door swing open, two guards walking into the room swiftly as Ronan held her gaze with an expression too dark to be amusement.
“Miss Gale?” The younger one said, stepping up to her side as Ronan drummed his fingers on the table. “Everything all right in here?”
Alicia held up her hand as the other guard moved towards the edge of the table and felt her heart leap in her chest as Ronan looked over her mouth carefully, giving her a wide feral grin as both guards flanked them on either side. She shook her head as she turned to face the younger guard and then pocketed her recorder as she picked up her bag.
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice suddenly crisp and collected as she slung her satchel over one arm. “We were just talking. Fifth estate, boys. You should look into it.”
Chapter Five
He was dreaming. Ronan knew he was dreaming because it was the same dream he had had many times before and very little changed in it. The music in the restaurant maybe. The bodies that glided past. He stood in the doorway of what looked like a private room with only a handful of tables in it and felt that fleeting, knee-jerk rush of happiness when he saw Brooke sitting at the bar at the end of the room, wearing the same white dress she had worn the night they had killed Connor together, the hem of it still splattered with long upward slashes of his blood.