by Azure Boone
Dedication
To my husband who works so hard for the family. Thank you. We love you.
Acknowledgment
I’d like to give a special shout out and huge thanks to my awesome best friend, Gloria Esau. This woman has been such a constant and loyal support, a voice of solid reason, a heart of sincere compassion and encouragement, a patient ear, a sharp eye in edits, and just an all-around amazing woman. I’m super privileged Gloria to have you in my life and thank you from the bottom of my heart, just for being you.
Cover Art
Azure Boone
Author's Notes:
This book contains explicit scenes of sexual activity between a couple committed to
exclusive monogamous relationships.
Copyright Azure Boone 2013
Chapter One
“I don’t want to, man. Please, let’s just leave.”
Daniel shut his lights and car off, coasting in the dark driveway leading to his Uncle’s farm. He turned to Seth. “You have to do this. Please, I have to do this. For both of us or I won’t be able to sleep. I beg you, let me do this.”
Seth rocked back and forth, rubbing both legs, staring toward the old farm house.
Daniel put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “I’m here with you, he can’t hurt you, I promise you that. But if you’re going to get over your fear of that bastard, we need to do this. No more pretending, we’re getting your life back, or at least the money.”
“I don’t want it, I don’t need it,” he whimpered.
“Look at me. You like Dara?”
He met Daniel’s gaze, his brown eyes wide in the near complete darkness. “Yeah, I really do.”
“The only way you have a chance with her is to have a life. Let me get back what he stole. Please.”
“What if he moved the money?”
“Then we tried. We have to at least do that. Look, I’ll do everything, but I need you to help, I don’t know the house like you do. We’ll sneak in, we’ll get the money, and we’re gone.”
Seth nodded. “Plus we’re wearing masks so he won’t know.”
“That’s right. And gloves. No finger prints.”
Seth nodded then looked at him. “There was other kids you know.”
Daniel’s gut tightened. “Back then?”
He nodded and rocked then wiped the back of his hand on his nose. “All the time. Made us…”
“Shhh, you don’t need to say it.”
“Ahh, it don’t bother me.”
The casual lie reminded Daniel he had a long way to go with his brother. “If it did, I wouldn’t mind. Cause it sure bothers the fuck out of me lil bro. I love you, okay?”
He nodded, staring at the house still. “I should do this for Dara. I could get nice things for her.”
“You could get you a home, put some in savings. You owe it to the little boy that never had a life, the young man who missed out. You have to make it right, you’re the only one who can. But I’m here to help you. I have to help you.”
Seth finally looked at him, eyes glowing with unshed tears. “I’ma do it for you brother.”
Daniel was good enough with that. Seth could do it for all the wrong reasons, just so he did it, that’s what was important.
Not wasting another precious second, Daniel slipped on his ski mask then gloves and handed Seth his, watching him do the same.
They both got out of the car. “We shoulda’ brought a weapon man.”
Daniel felt the fear in his words. But it was all psychological, his uncle was merely a sick man with a lot of pervasive influence on him. But not on Daniel.
“No weapons, neither of us are going to prison for killing that fat fuck.”
“Okay, yeah.” They crept along the outer perimeter of the fence some three hundred feet from the house.”
A dog began barking up a storm and they both ran to the massive oak tree hulking near the house. The place was like something out of a horror movie. The tree’s diseased limbs reached toward the sickly white, story and a half house. Every window and door was a black abyss leading down into a grave so deep nobody would ever find you. And where you were never allowed to die.
Seth squatted down and whistled low. The mangy mutt ran over and literally jumped into Seth’s open arms. He embraced the animal and whispered happy greetings to him. The amount of affection he displayed nauseated Daniel. No doubt the only friend Seth had ever had.
“Let’s go,” Daniel whispered, ready to leave before they ever began.
Daniel followed Seth to where the hidden key was supposed to be, fully prepared for a plan B if it weren’t there still. But it was.
“Sick son-of-a-bitch never changed, of course the key would still be here.”
Apparently Seth was thinking the same thing about finding the key. Daniel reached for it and Seth jerked it away. “I’ll do this. I know my way around better than you do.”
“I’m right behind you brother.” Daniel called him that every chance he got to remind him who they were to each other, family. Together.
After checking at every window and confident the uncle was asleep, they crept inside the demon’s lair. Seth led him down wobbly stairs to the basement in utter darkness and Daniel kept a hand on his shoulder the entire time, wanting to be sure he didn’t somehow lose him. Well, and to offer comfort. The air was thick with silent evil and if Daniel could feel it, he knew Seth must’ve been nearly crippled by it. Every step felt like they were becoming more embedded in a sticky web.
Seth’s steps were extremely slow as he felt his way. They cleared the stairs and walked on what seemed like wood planks given the angry groans beneath their feet. Seth stopped. “There should be a flashlight here.” He stretched his arm up with a grunt and a few moments later, a jittery beam of light lit the dark space.
“Ah fuck I hate this place Danny.”
Daniel squeezed his shoulder hard. “I know. Let’s hurry and get the fuck out of here.”
Seth aimed the light at the near gray planks and fear seized Daniel at seeing the wide black cracks between each board. He hated cracks in floors. Seth went to a board with a knot. He handed the light to Daniel. “Keep the beam right here.”
Daniel shined it and watched as Seth removed several planks. “Ah fuck, it’s there,” Seth whispered sounding sorry. He hesitantly reached for the combination lock on the old army safe’s rusted face. “Ffffffuck,” he cried, fisting his hand before reaching for the dial again. He jerked his hand back and shook his head. “I can’t, I can’t open that safe, I can’t touch it and say those numbers.” The final word strained out on turmoil.
“Hold the light, I’ll do it. You tell me.”
He shook his head. He couldn’t even do that, couldn’t speak the numbers. Daniel understood. There were some things he still couldn’t do either. Like sleep on his stomach. And there was a time when he couldn’t sleep unless he’d checked his house, often three times to make triple sure all things were shut tight and locked. No cracks.
“It’s okay, I’ll figure it out, you just nod if I get it right?”
He nodded.
“Is the first number to the right?” He shook his head. “Okay, first number to the left, is it one?”
Head shake.
“Two?”
Head shake.
Daniel went through the numbers quickly until Seth nodded on eight. Twenty headshakes and three nods later he had it open. Just like Seth said, an army duffle bag was stuffed in it. Daniel opened it up and found it full of money, wondering for the fifty-ninth time, why in the fuck he kept it there and for what?
Didn’t matter, it was Seth’s now. Daniel lifted the bag and shut the safe, only it slipped from his grasp and slammed shut with a loud clonk. They both froze. Listening
in silence for an entire minute, they finally returned the flashlight to its hiding spot and crept back up the stairs. Daniel half expected them to turn into a slide at any second and suck them both into that grave he sensed beneath those planks of wood.
They made it to the landing and listened at the door.
Seth opened it very slowly and the stupid thing erupted with monster groans. Daniel grit his teeth, back to squeezing his brother’s shoulder. They crept toward the exit and froze at the sound of a door opening somewhere behind them. They both hid in the dark against the nearest wall.
“And bring the rolling pin back when you come,” a deep voice with a twang ordered. A door shut and a few moments later a light came on to the right of them. Seth leaned his head and Daniel put his hand on his chest, pushing him back.
“Sarah,” he whispered. “God she’s still here.”
Daniel pressed his hand hard into his chest to silence him. A glass shattered and a few seconds later, soft sobbing followed. Daniel pulled Seth toward the exit but he refused to budge.
“What the hell you doin’ in here.”
Oh fuck. Bastard came out his room!
Daniel could feel Seth heaving with adrenalin as he kept his hand bearing down on his body. He fisted his hand in Seth’s jacket and jerked with a leave now force.
The sound of flesh hitting flesh preceded the girl’s scream. Seth flew out of Daniel’s grasp and barreled toward the lit room. Daniel dropped the bag and ran after him.
“What the hell—” The bastard’s words ended in oomph and Daniel rounded the corner to see him fall, his head slamming into an old fashioned metal kitchen table before his fat body boomed on the floor. Seth kicked him in his ballooning fleshy stomach as fast and hard as he could.
“Enough, let’s go.” Daniel yanked his arm.
Seth stopped and looked at the foreign girl. He held a trembling hand out to her and she looked at it before shaking her head.
“It’s me, Seth.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Daniel hissed.
He took his mask off. “See? It’s me. Come with me, I’ll take care of you.”
The girl’s eyes widened in fear and she shrank closer to the wall, shaking her head. “Cannot cannot.”
“Let’s go man, now.”
“Please Sarah, come with me,” Seth begged, desperate.
Daniel dragged his brother toward the door and Seth called out, “Call the cops Sarah. Get out of here. Do you hear me?” They ran out and Seth continued to yell, “Call them! Find me. I’m in town! I’ll help you!”
“Motherfuck,” Daniel said, running toward their car. So much for masks.
They made it to the vehicle and got in. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
“What! That bastard was hurting her.”
The rage in his brother’s voice silenced Daniel. He knew that sound all too well. The sound of breaking, of coming undone. “You’re right, you’re right. Don’t worry, she’ll call the cops.”
“No she fucking wont. She’s too scared!”
“Then we’ll call, from a payphone, anonymous. Okay?”
He put his hands over his face. “I can’t believe she’s still there.” His voice was frail. “She’s barely a woman. That fucking bastard is fucking her, he’s hurting her, God I want to kill him, I want to kill him so bad.”
“I know. We’ll call the police and she’ll be found, she’ll escape. We’ll check to make sure in a few days, okay? Let the smoke settle. Please Seth. Please.”
“Okay, okay.” He nodded. “Okay. In a few days. I’ll check on her in a few days.”
Daniel drove into town and did just as he said, stopped at a payphone, called the police, gave the address, and then hung up.
Getting back in the car, he assured Seth the cops were going. By the way Seth acted, Daniel would’ve thought he had an attachment to Sarah that went beyond cell mates in the same nightmare jail. “Nobody knows about this, got it?”
Seth raked his hand through his hair. “No shit, I think I know that much.” He flicked his gaze over Daniel. “What are you going to do with that money?”
“I’ve got a place to hide it. We’ll syphon it into a bank account in your name until it’s all safe.”
“What about you, how much you taking?”
“Me?” He looked at his brother. “Not a damn penny, why?”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want it.”
“And you think I want that shit?”
“I think you need it. Use it to change your life Seth. Please. For me if not for yourself. And if not for me then for Sofia. And Dara.” He was tempted to say Sarah since she seemed to mean a lot to him.
He pshhed lightly. “You could’ve stopped at you.”
Daniel sighed, heading home. “I wouldn’t blame you for hating—”
“I don’t blame you or hate you, how could I? Your life was just as bad as mine.”
Daniel couldn’t argue with that.
“You’re all the family I got,” Seth muttered, “I’d do anything for you.”
Daniel took a deep breath and released it. “I’m glad you’re here. Glad you’re safe.”
“Yeah me too brother.”
Chapter Two
“What?”
Sofia stroked Daniel’s arm. She figured the topic wouldn’t go well. “I’m not saying cancel the wedding, I’m just saying—”
“Cancel the wedding.”
“No, I said maybe we should—”
“Why? Why in the world would you think maybe we should cancel? Do you want to cancel? Is this getting to be too much for you? Me and my brother’s shit?” Daniel sat on the edge of the bed with his back to her.
“Stop it.” Sofia grabbed his arm. “Don’t be stupid, you know I love you. I just don’t want to do this while you’re upset, I want this to be a happy time. I was simply just thinking maybe postponing until—”
“Hell no!” He shot up off the bed.
“Fine! Great, don’t postpone, I’m glad but I don’t want to walk down the aisle with the man I love just because he’s worried I might disappear at the next…bad news.”
He turned with brows raised. “Bad news?”
“God Daniel!” Sofia sat up with an annoyed huff. “Don’t play word games with me, you know what I mean, bad as in makes you feel bad, Jesus.”
Daniel turned away and scrubbed his face, making the muscles in his back stand out. Sofia sat at the edge of the bed, ready to go to him, comfort him. Her gaze lowered to his tight perfect butt and her anger went zoom out the damn window.
Daniel turned and Sofia couldn’t jerk her gaze up fast enough. She tried not to feel guilty for thinking of doing him again, while he was upset, but failed. “Sorry.”
His eyes slowly hooded until he looked sedated. “Sorry?”
Sofia swallowed, trying to focus past her sudden roiling and rude hormones that seemed unable to do anything other than fuck fuck fuck the gorgeous man lately. No, more like since the day she met him.
Sorry. What was she sorry for again? “I…it was…I mean I…” Sofia’s mouth stopped working as Daniel slowly walked toward her until she had to look up to hold his intense blue gaze or stare at his cock that was suddenly hard and right in her face now. But he was more than just aroused, he was…something else too.
“Do you know I fantasize about hurting you?”
She let out a light gasp at that bit of info. How did she say that she fantasized about him doing that? She wanted to explore that side of him. Know all of him. And prove to him that he wouldn’t really really hurt her.
She could only barely nod.
“You’re so sure I won’t hurt you.”
Geeze, was she that transparent, or was he that intuitive? She nodded again, more firmly.
“Are you ready to test that theory? Sofia? Because I’m pretty sure that when you see who I really am…” he stroked his finger along her jaw, “you won’t want to walk down the aisle.”
Her
heart hammered at those impossible words. “I’ll take my chances.”
His jaw ticked at the corner and he gripped her chin between his fingers.
“In fact…” Sofia, swallowed, fighting for courage, “I don’t want to marry you…until I know that side of you…and prove there is no part of you that I don’t love.”
She watched as so many things stormed his eyes, none she could quite pinpoint. Anger, fear, desire, all mixed into one maybe. The wheel spinning in his mind seemed to stop somewhere between fear and anger. His jaw worked slowly side to side and he glanced right, barely nodding.
He finally met her gaze and Sofia’s heart skipped a beat at seeing his expression all cold and calculated. “Pack a suitcase and bathe well. I’m taking you on a short excursion.” He turned and headed into the bathroom.
“What…sort of clothes should I pack?”
He paused briefly in the bathroom doorway, not turning. “It doesn’t matter.” Then he shut the door.
****
Daniel splashed cold water on his face, avoiding his reflection in the mirror. She wanted to know the monster. Who was he to deny her? He wanted her to know nearly as much as he didn’t want her to. Part of him knew it was only right and fair that she know. Part of him needed to know the extent of her…love? Disillusion? Confusion? He wasn’t sure what it was because he couldn’t fathom to begin with how or why she could feel that way about him. And judging by the way things were going, especially after discovering that shit about his brother Seth, he wasn’t getting better, but worse. More anger, more fucked up sexual frustration. The wound had been prodded and now it oozed with perversion. He wanted her bound in vulnerable positions, he wanted her scared.
He wanted her broken. And that terrified him.
But he also knew that she wouldn’t stop. She wouldn’t stop until she reached the bottom of the bad boy barrel, stubborn woman. Sweet, stubborn woman. She was raw desire, hope, freedom, all encased in delicate glass. He needed to get at it in the worst possible way but what if he hurt her beyond repair?
Doing this before they were married seemed right. Maybe she’d finally realize she’d gotten more than she bargained for and could save herself a lot of heart ache. He owed her that chance. Because more than ever, he knew, he could not guarantee his mental health.