Keep Me

by Leah Holt

  My pussy was drenched, coating my inner thighs in liquid velvet, eager to devour every inch he had to offer. Slowly I bucked my hips up, forcing him in deeper and deeper until his balls hit my ass and the furry base tickled my mound.

  “Make love to me, Cole, show me what I mean to you.”

  Lowering his lips to mine, he kissed me gently as his eyes steadied on my face. We weren't two people right then, we were one. One heart, one body, one mind.

  “I could do—”

  Thump!

  His weight shifted and he fell full force onto my chest. He had gone silent as his muscles went limp and his voice dropped to nothing more than a gentle gasp.

  A warm sensation trickled down my throat as I shook Cole and tried to wake him up. “Cole, are you alright? What's wrong?” Touching my neck, it felt wet and hot. Lifting my fingers to my face, they were covered in red.

  Is this blood?

  Is he bleeding?

  Grabbing his shoulders, I shook him harder. “Cole! Cole!”

  Nothing.

  I could feel him still breathing as his chest rose and dropped against mine. Each breath was soft and delicate as if he had just fallen asleep.

  Using everything I had, I tried to push myself out from underneath him. Then I heard it; a voice, a dark, angry voice.

  “It's been a long time, Hanna.”

  My heart stopped as my body froze. I stayed still, hoping that I was just imagining the entire thing and was going to wake up any moment.

  But this wasn't a dream.

  I wasn't waking up.

  Dark eyes glistened as his face loomed over Cole's shoulder. His lips twisted in an evil smile as he lifted his foot and kicked Cole to the side.

  The air in my chest thickened, turning heavy breaths into labored gasps. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I was sealed in place by shock.

  Rubbing his hands back and forth, his tongue slipped like a slug over his teeth. “This is going to be fun, I've been waiting too long for this.”

  The room around me grew fuzzy, turning deep purple to charcoal gray. The bed became nonexistent, the walls and window wilted, melting away before my eyes.

  Hard hands wrapped my throat, yanking me off the bed. Our eyes met, his black and empty, sparkling in sick admiration.

  Scratching at his hands, the air became thinner and thinner as I struggled to breathe.

  His face began to fade as my muscles lost all feeling, turning into wet spaghetti. Opening my mouth, I tried to force out a scream. But there was nothing. . .

  Nothing but black space and soundless cries.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cole

  “Which one is it?” I asked, looking out the window at a row of houses.

  The neighborhood was a little different than the ones we usually staked out. It was lit brightly with tall, glowing streetlights. The sidewalk was perfect, not one crack or break in the cement.

  Every yard was cut pristine, with straight edges and neatly manicured bushes. Big, fancy houses all lined the street like they were hand picked for a Better Homes and Gardens cover.

  “That one on the left.” Dane shifted in his seat and leaned against the window, resting his temple on the glass. “Pretty, right?”

  Twisting my head over my shoulder, I squinted my eyes. “What the hell are we doing in a place like this?”

  “It's time to dream big, Cole. Bigger is always better, right?” Drumming his thumb against the steering wheel, he glared out into the darkness.

  “This isn't dreaming, Dane, this is something else, something worse. You and I both know that.” My palms became sweaty as I sat nervous and uncomfortable from being in a place we certainly didn't belong.

  We normally went into the west side, an area that people avoided, a place where you made sure to lock your doors and windows before you went to sleep at night.

  If you didn't, there was a good chance my brother would probably end up in your house while you had your head resting on the pillow, completely unaware that he was rifling through your shit.

  I had never actually gone with him inside before. In the past when he took me out all we did was watch the houses. We would sit outside a place he picked and just note who came and went, when they were home and when they weren't.

  Dane never actually came right out and told me what he was doing, but he didn't have to.

  Deep down I already knew, I knew what he did after he dropped me off, and I knew what he did when he went back out. And I never said a thing to anyone about it, I couldn't, it just didn't feel right. There was a level of loyalty between us that went without words.

  Blood was supposed to be thicker than water.

  He was my brother, I wanted to make him proud, I wanted him to like me. It wasn't that long ago I even thought that I wanted to be just like him.

  I wasn't him. I wasn't even close to ever being him. That reality hit hard, it hit hard and fast and took my world by storm.

  “Fuck man, we're just looking. Don't be a bitch.”

  Punching his arm, I snapped. “Don't be an asshole.” Turning my head back to the house, I saw a light flick on in one of the rooms.

  A shadow passed by the wall, it was thin and small. The transient figure moved from one side to the other, the dark mass fleeting between bursts in the curtains.

  “You don't recognize this one?” he asked, placing a finger against his lips as he smiled.

  Flicking my eyes to his, the light off the lamp glistened in his pupils. His eyes looked like they were on fire, like the devil himself had reached out and touched my brother so he could peer into the world of the living.

  I knew instantly whose home it was, and I wanted no part of it.

  “No. I told you no.”

  “Come on, Cole, we're not doing anything. We're just looking, that's it, just like we always do. Aren't you curious about her?”

  Her slender face pressed against the glass, hands coming up on either side of her head to try and see through the glare.

  Ducking down, I hide beneath the trim of the door. Dane chuckled beside me, laughing like he used to when we were younger and would play ding dong ditch on our neighbors.

  But something was different. He didn't look like my brother anymore, he didn't look like that young kid who used to find fun in jumping ramps on his dirt bike or building engines just for the hell of it.

  He had aged years in a matter of seconds. His skin was dull and had thin crinkles that creased his forehead. The fun playful smile had turned sinister and cold, lost in a time when innocence was abundant and the world was our playground.

  All of that was gone. None of it existed anymore. Time had altered him—the night had changed him.

  “Let's go, Dane, it's time to go.”

  “Shh, little bro, she can't see us.” Peeking his head up over the dashboard, he stared up at the house. “I honestly thought you already knew where she lived.”

  “Well, I didn't.” Sighing, I slipped deeper under the front seat. “Can we just go now?”

  Biting his thumb, he watched her through the window. “What is she thirteen, fourteen? A little young for you, don't you think?”

  “I don't know and it doesn't fucking matter. Let's go.”

  “She has a sister you know, maybe we can—”

  “Dane!” I barked, whipping my head in his direction. “I said let's go, I'm done, no more of this shit.”

  His cheeks hollowed as he clenched his teeth. “Well I'm not done. You can stay here like a fucking bitch or you can come with me. I said we're just looking, so fuck off.”

  He was out of the car and darting across the black shadows on the lawn before I could say another word.

  Fuck! Fuck!

  Dragging a hand through my hair, I punched the door and climbed out. Following the same path he took, I spotted Dane crouched in the darkness, a silhouette of his face lit up by the light from the window.

  Dropping to my knees beside him, he spoke softly without looking at me. “Have a cha
nge of heart?”

  “Just looking, right?” Dane nodded in silence. “I hope you're not screwing with me.”

  I felt his eyes as they shot daggers in my direction. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

  “Forget it.” Mumbling, I watched the girl as she skipped down the hall and into the room right beside where we were perched.

  I felt horrible and disgusting as my brother and I sat in the quiet of night and spied on this girl. She had no clue we were there, completely unaware of the eyes outside her window.

  The light came on in her room, exposing broken blinds and pink curtains. Her voice rang out, angrily yelling at someone else. . . Her sister.

  “Vanessa! Did you take my brush!?”

  “No!” the voice grew in volume as her older sister stalked down the same hallway and into the room. “Why would I do that? I have my own?”

  “It was here earlier today and now it's not. So you tell me where it went.”

  “Hanna, I didn't take your stupid brush.”

  Glancing at my brother, his eyes glazed over like a black pool. Breathing out, a cloud of gray rolled from his lips as the sickest smile I had ever seen crawled over his face.

  “Okay, let's go, enough of this.” Scooting out of the dim light, I let the night blanket my body. But he didn't move, he remained still and quiet like a lion in the tall grass. “Dane, I said lets go.” Grabbing his shoulder, I shook him hard. “I've seen enough, I want to get out of here.”

  Grumbling, he pushed back, slipping free of the trance he was in. “Fine, but this ain't done. I haven't even started yet.” Crawling away, he kept his eyes straight ahead.

  We didn't say another word to each other until we were back in the car. Dane stretched over, unlocking his glove box. “I got you something.” Rifling around inside, he pulled his hand out and dropped a bright purple brush on my lap.

  And for the first time ever. . . I was afraid of my brother.

  There was no more life, no more free spirit. Everything about him had darkened.

  I didn't see any of this coming.

  She never had a chance.

  Because I never said a damn thing.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cole

  Peeling my eyes open, I gripped my skull and groaned. It felt like I had been hit in the head by a fucking truck. The pain sliced around my face, throbbing and beating, making it feel like my skin was about to burst.

  “Fuck,” I moaned, rolling onto my side.

  Blinking slowly, I massaged the sore spot on the back of my head. It was sticky and wet with a huge bump protruding from beneath my hair.

  Lowering my fingers, I could see the blood that had stained them red. Pressing the tips of my fingers together, I pulled them apart and let the blood string between them.

  What the fuck happened?

  My mind was blank, I couldn't remember a fucking thing. Closing my eyes, I forced the scattered memories back in place.

  Locke and I were talking, I had come home form work and was about to tell her everything. I wanted her to know it all.

  I was ready for her to finally see me for the man I was. I was the brother of a monster, the kin to the devil. My hands played a part in what happened to her, I could never forgive myself for that.

  And Locke probably wouldn't either. It was selfish for me to keep that part of my life a secret from her, she deserved to know.

  But I didn't get the chance, she had stopped me, replacing my words with kisses and touches. That's when it all went black, that was where I needed to fill the gap.

  I had been on the verge of fucking her and now I was waking up bleeding with a raging headache. Laying on my back, I stared at the ceiling.

  “Locke?” I called, pausing for a response. “Locke!?” I yelled again, but she didn't call back.

  Throwing my body upright, my chest struggled to get air as my skull thrashed in pain like my brain was expanding and trying to break free. Throwing my hands to my head, I squeezed my temples.

  Did she do this? Did she gain my trust so she could get away?

  I didn't want to believe that everything I felt between us was just in my imagination. I wasn't ready to accept the idea that she had worked me over and found her opening to run.

  Locke wouldn't do that. . . Would she?

  From the corner of my eye, I saw something move on my desk. Pushing myself up, a wave of fear swept through my body, hitting my bones and causing my legs to shake.

  Frito was curled up on a stack of papers, all tucked into himself and sleeping. Instantly my legs gave out, dropping me onto my knees.

  She didn't leave on her own.

  Every single inch of my muscles started to shake violently as the worst fear scaled down my neck and hit my toes.

  Fuck!

  Fuck!

  He took her. . .

  Adrenaline kicked in, feeding the rage and hatred as I shoved myself off the floor. This wasn't going to happen, he wasn't going to take her from me.

  Locke needed me and I was going to find her before he hurt her. There wasn't a doubt in my mind who had come in and stolen her from me.

  My fucking brother.

  Grabbing a shirt, I threw it on and raced into my living room. The front door was wide open, wedges of wood scattered my carpet like shards of glass.

  The same guilt I had felt for years pressed down on my shoulders. I didn't know he was here, I had no clue that he had found us at all.

  I fucking did it again.

  I knew he was out, the message on her machine had made that clear. The instant I heard the detective say his name, my heart had crumbled into pieces. Dane had been the one stalking her, Dane had been the man who had created such carnage and fear in those last moments of all the girls he had hurt.

  It was my brother, my flesh and blood that I had been chasing all this time. And again, I said nothing. I didn't tell anyone about him, I didn't let his name slip off my tongue to my boss.

  My voice stayed with me, what I knew stayed with me.

  This is all my fault. . . Again.

  Heaving in hot gulps of air, my fists clenched by my sides. Dane wasn't going to do this. I wasn't going to allow him to touch her, rape her. . . Kill her.

  The dreams I had flooded my mind with fresh images of her tortured face.

  I knew where he was taking Locke. I could feel it in my gut, in my lungs, in my heart. He was going to the same place he had taken all the girls.

  And I was going to get her back.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Locke

  He kept talking to himself as I laid in the back seat. His voice drifted between anger and a rationalization that made it sound like he had done nothing wrong. He was putting the blame on me.

  Me.

  “You did this, yeah you. You know it's your fault, it's all your fault.” His head jerked from side to side, ticking towards his shoulder and snapping straight. “It wasn't true, none of it was true. She wanted it, I know she did. If she didn't, she wouldn't have looked at me the way she did.” Hissing through his teeth, he shook his head. “Fuck she was pretty. Those eyes, damn those curves. . . She knew exactly what she was doing to me.”

  The tires squealed as he took a sharp right, tossing me into the panel of the door. I didn't say a word, not one fucking thing. I knew who he was, I remembered his face, his voice, his eyes, all of it. Every single time I closed my eyes he was there, I would never forget that man.

  The police had promised me he'd never see the light of day again. But here he was, Dane Sterling, the man who created my nightmares and constant fear.

  “But you had to tell them, you had to point me out. You know as well as I do that she wanted it.” The car skidded around another corner, engine revving like thunder as he pushed the gas harder. “I told you I'd come back for you if you ever opened your mouth, I warned you, and you didn't listen.”

  Fuck you! Fuck you!

  I hate you!

  My voice stayed inside, it stayed silent
and safe where I could control it. I couldn't control him, I couldn't control what he was doing, and there was no way I was going to chance making it worse.

  “All those girls, all of them are your fault too. You made me do this, they died and it's because of you.” Pavement turned into dirt as the tires crunched rocks and sand between the tread like teeth chewing on eggshells.

  I felt his eyes burn my skin as he looked over his shoulder at me. “Nothing to say? You don't want to plead for your life or tell me you're sorry for everything you've done?”

  Everything I've done?

  You think this is my fault? You can't blame me for any of this!!

  Nothing. I gave him nothing.

  My lids turned to slits as I glared at the back of his head. He was the reason my sister was dead, he was the reason my mother would never be the same. My entire world had crashed down and turned to rubble, and it was all because of him.

  He didn't deserve an apology, he deserved a knife to the fucking throat.

  “Maybe you should apologize to the girls you got killed, I'm sure they'll never forgive you.” Tipping his head back, Dane laughed a laugh that was crazed and out of control.

  The deep baritone clawed through my chest and curled like barbwire around my heart. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think, I couldn't move. His voice weighed me down, it held me suspended over an open void, just waiting to drop me inside.

  No! He can't have me, he won't have me.

  I'm stronger than this.

  Taking in a long breath, I tried to pull my hands free from the plastic ties cutting into my skin. I couldn't let him do this, I couldn't let him storm into my life again and take away what I was finally able to get back.

  Me.

  He didn't have the right to deliver a punishment that wasn't mine to take. He didn't have the right to steal what wasn't his to own.

  Dane had already taken so much from me, I couldn't sit back and wait for him to take the rest.

  I would never allow that.

  The car rolled to a stop, and he sat quiet, staring out into the blackness before us. The headlights cast shadows against thick trees, giant crawling arms swayed and stretched outward, eager to snatch me up.