by B. B. Hamel
I stare at him for another second longer. “Are you blackmailing me?”
He shakes his head. “Not at all. I’m asking for another bribe.”
I stand up and take a step back, completely blown away.
Ryan has never pushed his position before. He has been loyal, helpful, and kind. I’ve grown to really enjoy talking with him and even somewhat think of him as a friend.
Although it shouldn’t, this feels like a betrayal.
“What do you want?” I ask him.
“That’s offering five grand. I want you to match it.”
I laugh. “You just want money?”
“That’s right.”
“How about I give you ten?”
He pauses and then frowns, looking at the ground, “I’d take ten.”
“If this is just money for you, I’ll give you some fucking money,” I say. “But disappear. Leave this city.”
He looks at me, and for a second I see fear in his eyes. But that’s gone, replaced by a guilty conscience. “I’m so close,” he says. “I just need a little more, and then I can get my own place. Plus a little saved up, you know, until I can get a job.”
“Jesus, Ryan,” I say, crouching back down, the anger deflating a bit. “This is about getting back on your feet?”
He nods. “I got robbed a few months back, or else I’d be all set now.”
“Why didn’t you say so?”
“I don’t want pity.” He shakes his head and I sigh.
“Listen, I’ll give you ten grand. But you just threatened me, you know that?”
“I know.” He looks back at the ground.
“I never want to see you again. Don’t show up anywhere near my places. Leave the city if you can, but if you can’t, I better not hear about you.” I pause and stare at him, letting him understand that I’m serious. “Or I’ll hunt you down and disappear you like I’ve made so many other men disappear.”
He recoils from me. “Yeah, okay.”
“Good. I’ll drop cash in that trash can tomorrow at two.” I point at a nearby trashcan. “You better grab it before someone else does.”
“I will.”
I stand up. “Good luck. And remember.”
He nods as I turn and walk away, the police sketch clutched in my hand.
I don’t know how this week can get any fucking worse. Things with Amelia are falling apart, the hunt is much more dangerous than I could have guessed, and now Ryan is trying to fucking blackmail me. I just lost my best informant and all over some fucking money.
I wish he had just asked for the cash. I could have gladly given it to him. But now he’s one more thing that I have to worry about. I don’t want to kill him, but if he makes one wrong move, I’ll stab him through the heart and watch him bleed.
I can’t risk it. He knows way too much about me and can pin me to way too many murders. I never imagined he would be a liability, but now he is.
This city is getting dangerous for me. It’s all happening fast. Barely a few weeks ago I was the top predator in this damn city and nobody would ever think to cross me.
Now I feel like I’m bleeding from every hole in my body.
I’m in an awful mood when I get home. During the drive out of the city, my thoughts lingered on every negative aspect of my life at this moment, and I couldn’t see any positive light. The only nice thing was Amelia, but even she was turning against me.
I walk inside and go into the kitchen. It’s around five in the evening and I am supposed to watch the warehouse again, but I pour myself a drink anyway. Amelia is sitting outside near the fire again reading a Harry Potter book.
I can’t help myself. I walk toward her, looking at her through the glass.
She’s beautiful. It strikes me all over again how gorgeous she is. She’s reading the sixth Harry Potter, which is surprising. She tore through that series so quickly.
She’s wearing one of my crewneck sweatshirts and a pair of jeans with a blanket tossed over her feet. She doesn’t notice me standing there, and so I take the opportunity to watch her.
I can’t help but smile. Ever small motion she makes brings a feeling in my chest that I can’t deny. It’s the strongest attraction I’ve ever felt before. I love the way she screws her face up as she reads, turning the pages slowly then quickly so that she doesn’t have to pause between them. The memory of that night when she killed Sheer, and then the feeling of her tight cunt against my hard cock, makes my stomach do flips.
But I can’t get sucked into her. I have to remind myself what the stakes are and what could happen if I let her get her way.
I do want to make her happy. I truly, truly do. I want to give her everything imaginable. My smile fades as I look down at the piece of paper in my hand, the police sketch of her. The likeness isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. If the witness that made this sketch found her again, I am positive that he could ID her easily. I can’t risk that. I won’t risk losing her.
That’s what this is all about. I want to protect her. I want to keep her with me for a long, long time. I want her to learn my skills and to hunt with me. I want to feel the thrill of a kill and then the intense, unbridled passion as I fuck her over my victim’s dead body. I crave her so fucking badly that it’s almost impossible to ignore.
But I have to ignore it anyway. I can’t just give her what she wants. That’s not how this works. She must do as I say. Until then, I can’t fully trust her.
“What’s that?”
I look up, surprised from my thoughts. I pull the door all the way open. Amelia smiles at me, looking at the paper in my hand.
“Ryan gave this to me.” I carry it over and hand it to her.
She takes it and reads it, the smile disappearing slowly from her face.
“Is this me?” she asks.
“Supposed to be.”
She shakes her head. “This could be anyone.”
“Not anyone.”
“Do you think this looks like me?” She waves the paper at me, annoyed.
“Yes,” I admit. “I do. Not exactly, but enough to be worrying.”
She sighs and looks back at it. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe what?”
She grins at me. “Only five grand? I’m worth more.”
I can’t help but laugh a little. She hands the paper back to me and stretches.
“Ryan threatened me,” I blurt out, not sure why.”
“He what?” she asks, pausing, a surprised look on her face.
“Threatened me. Said he’d turn me in for this prize money unless I matched it.”
“That bastard,” she said softly.
“I’m going to give him ten. He’s just desperate.”
“You’re paying him?”
“I am,” I say. “It’s easier than killing him.”
“Dead men don’t talk.”
“I worked with him for a long time, Amelia. I’m not an animal.”
She leans forward, elbows on her knees, and puts her head in her hands. “God, this is a mess.”
“You’re right.” I sit down next to her and put my arm over her shoulders. “It’ll be okay. He won’t talk.”
“It’s just one thing after another.”
“We’ll get through it.”
She looks up at me. “Will we? You’ll keep going out there, doing your thing, and I’ll do, what? Nothing. I’ll sit here and rot.”
I sigh but she pulls away from me, standing.
“Amelia,” I say.
“No, it’s fine. I know this isn’t all about me, Noah.” She walks back into the house and shuts the sliding door behind her.
I lean back and groan. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but I don’t have the energy to try and fix it. I just need her to hold on for a little bit longer.
Because I have a plan. Something that I think will fix everything for us. I can do it soon, but I just need a little bit more time. I just need her to hold on for a little bit longer, and then I think I know how to fix th
ings.
26
Amelia
I feel bad about storming away from him on the deck. He meant well and was trying to console me, but I had to turn it into a dramatic fight. That way, he’d believe it when I locked my bedroom door and didn’t answer him. He’d think I was just stewing there alone.
Instead, I ran up into my room, changed my clothes, and packed a bag. By the time he was back inside, I was already out front, climbing into the trunk of his car with his spare keys clutched in my hand.
Which is how I find out that riding in the trunk of a car is very, very uncomfortable. There’s nothing to protect you from every single little bump in the road. There’s no padding back there. And so every time the car hit a little bump, I was jostled around. It feels like forever, riding in the trunk of a car, although I know it only takes forty minutes at most to get into the city. Eventually, the car stops and the engine cuts off. I stay perfectly still, counting to two hundred in my head, waiting for him to get far enough away.
Finally, I use the release latch to pop the hatch and I climb out as fast as I can. My heart is hammering, terrified that he’s still in the car, but as soon as my feet hit the pavement I know I’m in the clear.
I shut the trunk and get my bearings. The car is empty and there’s nothing in the back. I recognize the neighborhood I’m in, and I know it’s maybe a five-minute walk to the warehouse.
He must be somewhere around there. I know how he stakes these places out, more or less. I start heading in that direction, nervous but determined.
I don’t have a plan. Not exactly, anyway. I have a general idea of what to do, which is find him and prove to him that I can be trusted. Maybe it’s stupid and naïve of me, but I can’t sit around anymore. We can go back and forth about this all day long, or I can take some action and prove to him that I’m worth trusting.
It’s probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. But I can’t help myself. Noah is handsome, gorgeous really, and brilliant. He’s skilled and sexual and everything I want. But I need this. I can’t just keep sitting inside like a good, demure little girl anymore. That’s not who I am.
I approach the block that the warehouse is on and turn left. I cut down an alleyway and head toward the buildings which face it. My plan is to scout out the area, keeping away from the warehouse itself, while also keeping an eye out for Noah. I assume he’s around here somewhere, and I’m guessing I’ll just stumble on him eventually. I know he likes to hide in plain sight, so I keep an eye on every stoop and gathering of people that I can find.
I do a single circuit of the area, keeping half a block between me and the warehouse at all times. There aren’t many other people out, and the ones that are out just ignore me. I keep my hair up under a hat that I have pulled low over my eyes so that I’m not easily recognizable. The sweatshirt I’m wearing underneath a dark jacket makes me look bulky and heavier than I actually am. I doubt that anyone could recognize me in this little disguise.
I do two laps around the warehouse, but I can’t spot him. I’m frustrated and I’ve wasted nearly an hour already with no sign of Noah. I don’t understand where he could possibly be. I know he’s in this area somewhere, but I don’t dare get any closer to the warehouse itself. He’d spot me that way for sure. I just need to come up with a better plan.
I walk down a short alleyway to the south of the warehouse, planning on cutting across the main street and heading around for another pass, when a shadow suddenly drops down to the ground in front of me.
I stumble backwards, my heart hammering. And I choke back a scream. The shadow unfolds itself into the shape of a man and it steps toward me.
I have half a second before the man reaches out and grabs me. I start to thrash but he shoves me up against the wall of the alleyway. I can’t see him clearly in the darkness, and the brim of my hat fell over my eyes in my surprise.
For a second, I think it’s a man from the warehouse. Maybe it’s a security guy that spotted me. If they have me, then I’m finished. I don’t know how I can explain my disguise, why I’m stalking them, everything. I’m screwed, I’m totally screwed, and I might bring Noah down with me.
That’s the worst part. I might bring Noah down with me.
“What are you doing here?” he whispers.
Chills run down my spine.
I recognize that voice. I dream about that voice.
Slowly, I reach up and tip my hat back. Noah stares back at me, eyes dark.
“Hi,” I say.
“Don’t,” he answered, shoving me harder against the wall. “Why did you follow me?”
“I was just looking for you,” I say, looking away.
“I know that. You’ve been stumbling around here for an hour. I thought you’d give up and go home, but apparently you’re more stubborn than I realized.”
I gape at him, shocked. He knew I was here? “Why did you let me walk around, looking for you?”
“Because the disguise is pretty good, and you’re not getting too close to the warehouse. But god damnit, Amelia. How can you do this?”
I glare at him suddenly. “I’m proving that I’m not useless.”
He goes silent. “I don’t think you’re useless,” he says softly. “But you are a very, very bad girl.”
He kisses me hard, and a surprised thrill runs down my spine.
This isn’t what I expected from him. I knew he’d be angry, maybe even yell at me, but I was prepared for that. I knew what I was going to say.
This is completely out of nowhere. He kisses me hard and presses me back against the brick well behind me. At the far end of the alley, we’re blocked by a large dumpster. Close to us, we’re blocked by a chain-link fence with a tarp draped over top of it. I realize with excitement that we’re very much alone.
And his kiss feels good, so damn good. Whenever I’m about to forget what it feels like to be touched by him, he quickly reminds me.
“You’ve been very bad, Amelia,” he says softly, his hands unbuttoning my jeans. “Very fucking bad.”
“So what?” I ask, gasping as he pushed his hand into my panties. I know I’m dripping wet. I can feel the pulsing need between my legs, deep in my pussy.
“You disobeyed me. Made a bad decision. Coming out here was very, very wrong,” he says, kissing my neck.
“You just want, ah, to keep me locked up.”
I can feel his smirk against my skin as he presses his fingers deep inside of me. “Part of me wants to keep you locked up, that’s right,” he says. “I’d keep you down in my basement, chained to the floor. I’d fuck you when I want, make you suck my cock when I want. You’d be my prize, Amelia. My little slut.”
“Noah,” I moan, trying to stifle it as he slides his fingers in and out. His words send shivers down my spine, and I realize that there’s a part of me that loves the image of being a fuck toy for him. I want to be his little pet, dripping wet and spread wide open for his thick cock.
I want to be controlled and destroyed. I want freedom and destruction at the same time, and those two parts of me are constantly at war.
Noah can give me all of it. I can see that now, in this moment, his body pinning me back against the alley wall. I feel so exposed and yet so taken. He can do whatever he wants to and we both know it.
“This is why you followed me,” he says. “You wanted me to punish you. You knew I was going to have to. I’d never hurt you, Amelia, not without your consent. So this is how I’ll punish you.”
A wave of pleasure rolls through me as his fingers find my clit.
“I’ll make you moan,” he whispers. “I’ll fuck your tight cunt and come deep inside of you. I’ll make your legs weak with pleasure. I’ll make you mine.”
He grabs my hips and turns me around suddenly, yanking my pants down over my hips. I gasp as he takes my throat with one hand, the other one pulling down his own jeans. I put my hands up against the wall and let him do what he wants with me. Pleasure rocks through my body as he presses himself again
st me, his other hand firmly wrapped around my hips, touching my clit, as his cock rubs against my gaping and soaked pussy.
“Go ahead,” he whispers in my ear. “Ask me.”
“Ask what?”
“Ask me to fuck you.”
“Noah.”
“Ask me.” His hand tightens as he rubs vicious circles around my clit.
“Please,” I whisper.
He presses his cock deep inside of me.
I tip my head back and gasp. He moves his hand from my throat and covers my mouth with it, stifling my moans. His thick cock tears me apart, fills me to the brim, makes me feel so fucking good. Pleasure rocks through my body as he fucks me from behind, pinning me to the alleyway wall.
I gasp and bite his hand but he doesn’t stop. I hear him grunt behind me. He reaches up and grabs my hand with his other hand, tipping my head back, laying closer into me with his body. I’m trapped there, controlled, dominated. I keep my hands up above my head, hard brick against my soft palms.
His cock slides deep inside of me, rocking in and out. I don’t know if people can see us, but the thought only heightens the pleasure. I love that we could get caught at any moment. People might not understand what they’re seeing, might get upset. I love that thought, love the idea of Noah fucking me in public in a dark alley, taking my tight pussy, making me his dirty girl.
I want to be his. I want to be that dirty girl laying wet in his basement begging for him to come down and fuck me. I want to be his little pet. I want to be all of those things and so much more. I can’t think of anything else but his thick cock inside of me, as he fucks me rough.
His free hand releases my head and slides back down my body. He teases my nipples underneath my sweatshirt then slides down my stomach and into my panties. As he fucks me, he finds my clit, using his finger to work my spot as his cock slides deep in and out of me.
I rock my hips back, rolling with him. I can’t help myself. His hand over my mouth quiets my moans but I can’t quiet my body. I keep pushing back, needing his cock deep inside of me, rocking back, bucking my hips into him. He keeps me pinned firmly against the wall but uses my momentum to fuck me sharp and deep, rough and firm.