“It’s classy and doesn’t show too much boob for a first date. And it makes your bum look smaller,” Liam added with a firm nod.
“Always a bonus, shaving a layer off the ass,” I mumbled as I stepped back into the changing room and left him browsing the small display of cheap costume jewellery towards the back of the store. Still, I had to agree with him about his choice, even if I didn’t tell him that.
A very faint noise came from a cubicle towards the end of the row, making me stiffen and frown. I hadn’t been aware of anyone else in the small room. I’d been in and out various times as I’d changed into different outfits and then stepped just outside the door for Liam’s opinion. I hadn’t seen anyone come in, or out for that matter, for a full half an hour. For some unknown reason, my senses went into overdrive and a shiver raced up my spine. Goosebumps prickled every inch of my skin as I stood still and listened more vigilantly.
Nothing but silence spoke to me, and I rolled my eyes, exasperated with the way I overreacted towards everything lately.
Pulling the curtain across the changing cubicle, I peeled myself out of the outfit and reached up for its hanger from where I’d placed it on the small hook.
The scream that forced its way up my throat remained trapped in my mouth when a large hand covered the whole bottom half of my face.
He was huge, his sinister frame towering over me as he leered down at me with a malevolent grin.
“Be a good girl and this will be so much easier… and quicker, for the both of us.”
Fear froze every fragment of my body as I stared up at him, my eyes already bulging with the pressure building in my lungs. I didn’t recognise him; I would remember the evil exhibited in his eyes in a heartbeat. His hand stank of sweat and oil, making me gag on the bile that rushed to spill past the lump of terror in my throat. I was going to drown in my own puke.
I whimpered when he lifted his other hand and gave my breast a harsh squeeze. “Mmm, I’m almost tempted to fuck you before I kill you.” His grin darkened. “Or maybe I’ll fuck you after I’ve forced the last breath out of you. Either is good with me. I’m not picky.”
I couldn’t move under the strength of him, my body squashed between him and the wall. My lungs squealed when the air trapped in them slowly started to suffocate me.
“You’ve really upset some people, Lily Cooper. But I guess by now you’ve already figured that out.”
I shook my head as much as was possible beneath his hand, fighting to free my nose and hunt for even the tiniest molecule of air. His face started to blur when he slid his hand down my neck and firmly compressed my throat under his strict hold.
My knees buckled when my legs became numb, but his grasp and the wall at my back continued to hold me up. The tears that ran down my cheeks were warm, and I wondered if the wetness they left behind on my skin would be the last thing I ever felt.
“I must say, I expected there to be more of a struggle in you. He said you’d put up a fight, that you were a feisty little thing, but you seem almost eager for death.”
He was wrong. Of course he was. I needed to live. For my parents, for my friends, for the band…
“Naturally, I can oblige with that.”
My throat ached, the pain becoming as unbearable as the heavy thrum of my pulse in my head. I was sure my brain was going to explode under the pressure. My veins seemed to swell in my body, the intolerable burden on my heart becoming too much for it to cope with as it started to die within me.
I didn’t even have the strength to be repulsed when he ran his tongue up the edge of my neck. “Nearly there, sweetheart. Just let go.”
Just let go.
It would be so easy. To take the gift he was giving me and obey his command. No more nightmares. No more shame. No more hatred. Just grab hold of what he offered me.
Just let go.
My mind submitted to death. My body followed, my eyes slowly closing as I shed the pain and embraced the peace that had gradually become all-consuming.
I wanted to taste serenity, it was sweet like nectar on my tongue, and I craved it. I hungered for the harmony that my mind pleaded for.
And I let go.
Twenty
Harrison
“You’re being ridiculous, Harry!”
Tammy had never lost that unique ability to see things so differently to me. In the beginning, it had been refreshing. Unlike most other women that had, in one way or another, been a part of my life, Tammy had never once bowed down to me. Most would somewhat agree with me than face me off in an argument. But Tammy refused that. And that’s why we had become friends from an early age. I admired her grit and determination, and the self-confidence that had luckily never retreated. Now, though, it got on my goddam tits.
“I’m not being ridiculous, I’m being realistic.”
Philly occasionally glanced up from where she sat colouring at the other end of the table. She was only half interested in us. Her face was down, and her tiny tongue poked through her sealed lips while she concentrated on the picture of a giant elephant she had partially filled with a mass of grey crayon.
“We all have pasts, Harry. I’m positive Lily has. Why should yours be the reason neither of you should be happy?” She quirked an eyebrow and stared straight at me. “And, besides, it’s never usually bothered you before where women are concerned.”
“This is different. For one, she’s my client. I can’t go there. And, two, Lily’s already been through too much. She would never handle me. You and I both know that I’d eventually chew her up until she’s unrecognisable as the woman she is now.”
I was already halfway to fucking her up. The image of Lily’s crestfallen face as I’d left her stood naked and shamed had plagued my dreams, and I’d woken like a bear with a sore head. It had been my shift to detail Lily, but I just couldn’t face her. Or, rather, I hadn’t wanted to put her through more humiliation by having to face me. So, I left her with Liam – again.
Anger poured through me again when, for the hundredth time, I pictured a very different conclusion to Lily’s come-on. I’d had to restrain myself like I never had before. All I had wanted to do was lift her in my arms, take her to bed, and spend hours exploring her incredible little body. Her tits were perky, her nipples full and swollen with desire. I had so wanted to run my tongue over the expanse of her soft stomach until my lips met the sweet flesh between her legs. I’d wanted to hear her come apart while my greedy mouth devoured every drop of her orgasm.
“Harry!”
I blinked, Tammy’s voice breaking into my daydream.
“Your phone!”
Shaking myself, I pulled my phone from my pocket and stared down at Liam’s name on the screen. I knew before I’d even accepted his call that I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
Little did I know then that his short but rushed sentence would kill the promise I had made to stay away from Lily Cooper. The resolve to leave her alone disintegrated alongside my heart.
The bear with a sore head became a bull in a china shop as I tore out of Tammy’s house with a wide-eyed Philly the last thing I saw in the rear-view.
***
“How is she?” I asked quietly when I entered the hospital room. I was pleased to see Lily had been placed in a private side room and a guard put on sentry duty outside her door.
I didn’t need Liam to answer my question. I could see from the bruising around her mouth and neck that Lily was far from okay. Her face was pale, and large bags hung below her eyes.
“She’ll survive.”
I turned on him, the vitriol simmering away inside me aimed directly at him. “What the hell happened? You were supposed to be fucking glued to her!”
“In the frigging changing room? Yeah, sure she’d have appreciated that, Harry!”
Shit, he had a point!
“We’re lucky the shop assistant went in at that moment, or…” He didn’t need to finish that sentence.
“Where is he?”
&n
bsp; Liam sighed and rose from the chair beside Lily’s bed, gesturing for me to take his place. Cracking his knuckles, he groaned and then stretched his long arms in the air. “Duty officer took him. The police were informed as soon as I called for an ambulance. Couldn’t do it any other way, mate.”
Disappointment and rage blistered my veins, but I bit my lip and forced my temper back. “I’ll ring my mate at The Yard and see if he can get me an in.” I needed that fucker’s life in my hands, his airway restricted under my fist. Turn the tables on the bastard.
He nodded, focussing back on Lily. “Wanted to snap the prick’s neck but I knew we’d need him if we’re ever gonna get to the real fucker.”
“You think he was just an ordered hit?”
“No doubt,” he confirmed with another nod. “Fucker was too complacent. Sloppy. And with minimal regard. This cunt who is after Lily is much cleverer than to risk himself out in the open like that.”
Agreeing with a snort, I made myself look back to Lily. The sight of such severe bruising made my fists clench. The force of the pressure he’d used to strangle her was blindly visible. I was surprised he hadn’t snapped her neck or dislocated her jaw for that matter.
Slowly, Lily’s eyes fluttered open, and when she focussed on me, she frowned. “Harrison?” Her voice was husky, her throat understandably sore.
“How are you feeling?”
She blinked and stretched, assessing her body. “I’m okay. Just a little bruised, I think.”
The calm she radiated didn’t shock me. Lily was one tough little cookie and I knew she wouldn’t let this faze her in any way. Lily Cooper wouldn’t allow anyone to intimidate her. She would bounce back from this.
“Did he say anything?”
Twisting her lips in thought, she nodded. “He said that he said I’d put up a fight.”
Liam looked at me with his brows elevated. “So, it’s definitely a guy then,” he mused.
“And someone who knows how gutsy you are,” I added with a proud smile.
Lily narrowed her eyes at me but held back what she was thinking. Whether that was because her throat was too sore or that she was confused by my compliment, I wasn’t sure.
The door opened and we all turned to look when a policewoman entered the room. She smiled openly at Lily, but, strangely, she completely blanked Liam and me. “Good afternoon, Lily. I’m Superintendent Sally Greaves. Are you up to answering a few questions?” She quickly flashed her badge at Lily, who wisely made sure she took it from her and made a show of inspecting it thoroughly.
This kind of incident was typically attended to initially by a standard Police Constable. So why send such a high-ranking officer out for a routine first statement?
As if she sensed the change in my demeanour, Lily squeezed my hand twice. I wasn’t even aware I had her hand clasped tightly in mine. I didn’t markedly acknowledge Lily’s indication that she had also noticed Sally’s weird behaviour, but I returned her tight grasp to let her know I had understood.
Finally, the Superintendent had no other choice than to address Liam and me when she asked us for some privacy.
“I’d like them both to stay,” Lily tried but was shot down almost immediately.
“I’m afraid the line of questioning is sensitive. I’ll try not to keep you longer than is necessary.”
“How is it sensitive?” I asked, more sceptical now.
Once again, I was completely ignored. I may as well have been dressed as a chair and hidden in a shaded corner for all the notice Sally took of me.
Liam frowned and twisted his lips, as aware as I was that something wasn’t quite right.
However, Lily gave my hand another squeeze when she said, “It’s fine. I’ll be ready for home when I’ve finished with WPC Reeves.”
I wanted to hug her when Sally visibly stiffened at Lily’s incorrect name and ranking title.
Trying to contain his laughter, Liam failed miserably and snorted loudly. “We’ll be right outside the door, Lily.”
Lily nodded, giving us both a smile as she slid up the bed and settled back against the headboard, adjusting her covers as if to make herself comfortable. I shouldn’t have been worried about leaving Lily alone with the Superintendent; she was more than capable of putting the bitch in her place.
“What the fuck is going on?” Liam grumbled when we shut the door behind us.
“I think it’s safe to say this goes way above what we originally thought.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
Liam was angry, that much was obvious. But what wasn’t so clear was just how much Lily meant to him. Liam had taken this personally, and I had to wonder why. I’d noticed their association had gone beyond that of bodyguard and client, the laidback rapport they shared one I couldn’t help but be envious of. They had a relationship. What kind of relationship that was wasn’t so discernible yet.
But it would be. I’d make sure to find out just how Liam felt about Lily. And whether or not I would need to terminate our friendship.
Twenty-one
Lily
“You see, the problem I have, Lily.” Superintendent Sally Greaves leisurely stalked the length of the room and paused, and I almost rolled my eyes at the way she overemphasised each syllable.
We’d been sat, a mutual dislike of one another palpable in the air between us, for nearly an hour, and I swore if I ever saw her again it would be way too soon.
She was tall and lithe, her long, slender legs pacing the room as if each meticulous step she took were meant to intimidate me – they probably were, but it wasn’t working. Her short blonde hair was slicked back tight on her scalp, and the few wrinkles around her eyes were pulled taut on her face. She wore a garish shade of crimson on her lips and her high cheekbones, and her long eyelashes were plastered in at least three layers of black mascara. She would be almost comical if she weren’t so fucking austere.
Clicking her tongue before continuing, she spun back on her high heels and faced me once again. “Carl Brixsom, the man you alleged...”
“Alleged?” I scoffed.
“The man you alleged…” she snapped with a curl of her thin lips, “…attacked you in the changing rooms has quite a different story to yours.”
“Of course he does.” I sighed, bored with the way my account of what had happened was being twisted into a typhoon of lies and innuendos.
I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on, but I knew at the end of this that Carl Brixsom was once again going to be left to disturb the British population.
“And what about Liam’s account?” I asked, already prepared for the utter bullshit that my question would encounter.
I sighed in defeat when that said bullshit spewed from her mouth. “Well, Liam Barnett is lucky that Carl has decided to drop all charges against him.”
“Uh-huh.”
Tilting her head, one of her spindly eyebrows elevated sharply, Sally glared at me. “Assault is a very serious charge, Lily.”
“It is!” I bit out angrily, unable to control myself any longer. “It’s just a shame it’s not being brought against the correct person! Carl Brixsom assaulted me. The bruises on my neck are proof of that.”
Sighing, Sally lowered herself onto the edge of my bed. It took every ounce of self-restraint not to kick her off. “Look, Lily.” The kindness in her voice, as if she was suddenly sympathetic had a scurry of alarm bells ringing in my head. I had very little doubt there was absolutely no compassion at all in the woman. “We all like to play at times, especially in the bedroom. You shouldn’t feel ashamed of your sexual preferences…”
“Are you shitting me?” I scoffed, my mouth falling wide open in shock. I was struggling to breathe, rage turning each breath into glue until my throat was clogged with fury. Clinging to the smidgeon of sanity I had left, I shook my head in frustration. “You really are going there? Have you no shame?”
Her lips twisted, and I knew she had me. She knew it too. “I mean,” she continued, the sickening drone
of her voice making my stomach revolt, “a woman in your position, constantly in the limelight. I can understand why you wouldn’t want the ruin this could bring to you. Some of your fans are teenage girls. I wouldn’t like to be your agent when your penchant for kinky sex is splattered all over every tabloid in the country.”
I couldn’t speak. I was furious. Clasping my lips tightly closed, I looked away and nodded.
“I think that’s wise, Lily.”
Instinctively, my hand came to my throat and I blinked back the tears.
Quiet taps of Sally’s heels on the floor and the soft click of the door closing was followed by loud footfalls and the door slamming closed.
“What happened?” Harrison’s voice was soft. His touch on my chin was even more delicate when he directed my face around until I was looking at him.
“It doesn’t matter.”
He frowned, the usual bright blue of his eyes muted with worry. “Lily?”
“It doesn’t matter, Harrison!” I yelled at him, his presence the scapegoat for my anger. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted him to be the outlet for all the shit in my life. I wanted it to stop. Every bit of the heartache and pain I’d felt since I was a little girl. I wanted it all to stop. “It’s never mattered! I’ve never mattered. It’s all bullshit. All of it!”
Finally, unable to hold it back, I buried my face in my hands, and I wept. Every fibre of me howled until I couldn’t hear anything but the hum of despair in my ears. Every fragment of my soul cried until I couldn’t feel anything but rage and hatred. I wanted to hurt everyone around me, but most of all, I wanted to destroy every element of myself.
“I don’t know what’s happening, Harrison,” I sobbed into his chest when he pulled me close and held me tight. “What the hell is going on?”
He sighed, his breath over my ear calming me almost instantly. The strength of his firm hold gave me the comfort I hadn’t felt for a very long time. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” he promised with a whisper. “I swear it.”
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