Deserter

by Myers, Shannon

  * * *

  The paint didn’t reach the baseboard beside our bed.

  It was an odd thing to notice. I wondered if Jamie had done it or if it had been someone else. Maybe it was his father. It seemed like something he would’ve done.

  “That’s a good girl. So fuckin’ tight,” Cobra growled against my ear as he rutted into me from behind. His hand briefly moved to rest against my throat before moving back down to my hip. “You’re doin’ great, sweetheart. Absolutely fuckin’ perfect.”

  Each thrust tore me open more; the pain worse than anything I’d ever experienced.

  Still, I stayed quiet.

  I disconnected from my body again and focused on the blank patch of wall space; deciding that Jamie had done it. He’d been in such a hurry to move me in when he found out I was pregnant that he hadn’t taken the time to tape off the baseboards or get the paint down to them.

  Pregnant.

  I sucked in a silent sob. I couldn’t think about that now. I had to be good and quiet.

  “You gonna finish sometime before dawn,” Hawk complained.

  Cobra paused and adjusted his hands on my hips. “Of course.” He pulled himself from my body. “Be my guest.”

  Hawk grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head off the carpet, and as I tried to inhale, I realized that at least one of my ribs had been broken while I was unconscious.

  “Every man in that club jacked off to the idea of fuckin’ your cunt like it was made of gold.” With a twist of his hips, he impaled me and I slumped forward with a muffled cry.

  Cobra had been rough, but Hawk pushed into me with hatred; each thrust was like the stab of a knife. My body grew slick and my cheeks burned with shame.

  He forced my face back onto the carpet and slammed into me until stars danced in front of my eyes and I shakily reached out a hand to touch one. A boot came down, pinning it back to the floor and I began weeping.

  “Lift her up,” Cobra demanded. Hawk didn’t slow down as he yanked me toward his body, ripping the hair from my scalp with his fists.

  Cobra cupped my chin and tilted my face up. “Celia, sweetheart, where’s your old man?”

  I coughed up more blood, spattering his face and the carpet beneath me. “I don’t know,” I admitted weakly.

  Hawk pulled out, only to slam into me roughly again, pushing my face up against Cobra’s. He leaned in and sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, biting down to keep me in place. “So fuckin’ good,” he mumbled through clenched teeth.

  He tasted wrong—like cigars and mint—nothing like Jamie.

  I closed my eyes and thought of the missing paint. At some point, I’d turned off the rational part of my brain that had urged me to fight back. I shut down anything related to what was being done to my body. My only instinct was to survive and keep my girls safe.

  For a minute or two, I lost consciousness, only to come to as Cobra moved beneath me, guiding himself back into my body with a low groan. “Fuck me, doll. I’d be inside this cunt everyday if I could. Hell, I might just take you with me.” He ran a finger over my C-section scar, and it jarred me from the oblivion I’d created in my mind.

  That scar was sacred.

  What lay under that scar had been sacred.

  And they’d ripped it from me.

  Hawk spit on me and moved away, only for Manny to take his place against my backside. “Scream, Ma,” he hissed. “Get those girls awake and we’ll show them a good time.”

  The urge to cry out was overwhelming and I bit down on my lower lip until I felt the blood running down my chin.

  Time bent and snapped, raining down reminders in the form of fists. The part of a man’s body that I’d only known for pleasure was now being used to tear me apart from the inside.

  Cobra rammed into my body from beneath. Manny stabbed into me from behind. Hawk crouched in front of my face, forcing my mouth open until I began to gag around him.

  I was theirs for as long as they wanted.

  My body, which had only ever belonged to Jamie, was being broken to destroy him.

  I didn’t fight back.

  I took it.

  I took it to save them.

  All of them.

  Cobra had been right. I wasn’t going to die tonight, but I was going to wish I had. I made the mistake of looking up at Hawk as he shoved himself down my throat. In response, I received another blow to the side of my head and then everything went dark.

  I fought against consciousness, digging my fingernails into the darkness, trying to anchor myself. Fear kept my eyes squeezed shut and I listened, waiting to hear their grunts of pleasure, but the room was silent again.

  My belly cramped violently, and I forced myself up onto my forearms to vomit onto the carpet.

  I’d clean it up in a minute, I just needed to gather my bearings.

  Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and searched the dim room for my attackers. The clock on the nightstand read five forty-three and my chest heaved with a sob.

  My nasal passages were swollen from my tears and probable broken nose, creating a whistle with each inhale. Hot tears cascaded down my cheeks and I pushed past the overwhelming dizziness to reach the phone on my nightstand.

  I winced as I punched in the number with my index finger; adding a broken finger to my catalog of injuries.

  Please let him answer the phone.

  Please.

  “Hello?” a sleepy voice answered, and I sighed in relief.

  “Daddy?” My voice was nothing more than a whisper.

  “Celia?” He was instantly awake. “What’s wrong?”

  “I—I need you to come get the girls for school. I’m—I’m not feeling well.”

  “Sweetheart, what’s wrong? What happened?”

  I dropped the handset back onto the base with a whimper and began dragging my body toward the bathroom. After resting for a minute, I reached up and flipped the lock.

  No one could see me like this.

  Jamie had witnessed his mother losing a baby when he was ten and it scarred him for life. My girls could never know.

  I gripped the edge of the countertop and pushed myself up onto my knees with a cry. Nausea made another reappearance and I got sick in the sink before lifting my head toward the mirror.

  I immediately shrank back in fear.

  That wasn’t me.

  I lowered myself back to the tile floor and wept as I slowly crawled over to the shower, leaving a bloody trail in my wake.

  I was Icarus and Jamie was the sun. I’d known what it would cost me, yet I’d chased after him anyway. I’d flown too high, convinced that he’d never let anything happen to me; certain that I’d never come back down to earth.

  But I had.

  The wax that had held my wings now ran down my body and pooled on the cold floor beneath me. I imagined letting myself drown in it; convinced it was better than the alternative of living with the knowledge of tonight.

  How ignorant it had been to assume I was bulletproof.

  My bladder released, feeling like alcohol against my skin. It stung and burned its way down my legs to mix with the blood underneath. I didn’t even have the strength to clean it up.

  These men had stolen something from me—something I’d never get back. I wanted to slip into oblivion, but they’d threatened to harm my daughters. That fact alone had me clawing my way back to the surface.

  I sucked in lungfuls of air and finally let myself fall apart, comforted by only one thought.

  Jamie was going to kill every last one of them.

  To be continued…

  * * *

  Jamie and Celia’s story continues in Protector: Coming June 2019

  Also by Shannon Myers

  From This Day Forward Duet

  (David & Elizabeth’s Story)

  From This Day Forward

  Forsaking All Others

  Standalone Novels

  (Travis & Katya’s Story)

  You Save Me

  Operation Seri
es

  (Dakota & Zane’s Story)

  Operation Fit-ish

  (Kate and Nate’s Story)

  Operation Annulment

  Silent Phoenix MC Series

  (Mike & Lauren’s Story)

  Renegade (Book One)

  Traitor (Book Two)

  (Grey & Celia’s Story)

  Deserter (Book Three)

  Protector (Book Four) COMING 6/2019

  Savior (Book Five) COMING 7/2019

  Fairest Series

  (Charm & Neve’s Story)

  Through The Woods

  Fictioned Series

  (Hayden & Jake’s Story)

  Protagonized

  About the Author

  Shannon is a born and raised Texan. She grew up inventing clever stories, usually to get herself out of trouble. Her mother was not amused. In junior high, she began writing fractured fairy tales from the villain's point of view and that was the moment she knew that she was going to use her powers for evil instead of good.

  In 2003, she moved to Denver and met the love of her life. After some relentless stalking and a few well-timed sarcastic remarks, the man eventually gave in to her charms and wifed her so hard. They welcomed a son in 2007 that they named after their favorite Marvel superhero, Spiderman.

  Sick of seeing beautiful mountains through their window every day, the three escaped back to the desolate landscape of the west Texas desert in 2009. She welcomed her second son not long after and soon realized that being surrounded by three men was nothing at all like she'd imagined in her fantasies.

  After an unplanned surgery in 2014 and a long pity party, she decided to pen a novel about the worst thing that could happen to a person in order to cheer herself up. She's twisted like that. Thus, From This Day Forward was born and the rest, as they say, is history. Not only does Shannon enjoy stalking people, she also has a fondness for being stalked.

  Find her online at: http://shannonshaemyers.com

  Or in her reader group, The Forsaken: https://www.facebook.com/groups/630229377127363/