Baller: A Bad Boy Romance

by Love,Amy

  “Gina here will make you feel better,” Ben said. “Ain’t that right, baby?”

  The girl nodded furiously and quickly fell to her knees. She moved like a robot as her palms flattened in smooth strokes about his thighs, and without looking up, she started to lower Kane’s fly.

  “You’ll love this,” Ben said. “Sweetness, here, gives fucking out-of-this-world head.”

  Gina’s mouth was barely around the tip of his cock when Kane felt like he was on the verge of betrayal. Standing fast and zipping up, he pushed Gina away.

  “Whoa, man!” Ben exclaimed. “Not cool!” The redhead was sucking the air, and it took her a second to realize that she had no cock in between her lips. Ben helped to her feet and started to guide her back to the party when he shot Kane a sharp glance over his shoulder and said, “I was only trying to help.”

  Gina murmured something along the same lines, but Kane tuned them out as he headed to the back and found his rack. Lying alone in the darkness, he touched his cock and knew that the cracked out girl could have led him to climax had he given her the chance. No doubt she thought that she have would score another set of pills if she did the job the right. Now, she was probably sucking every Blood Brother like mad in an attempt to get her reward. Maybe Kane should have just submitted and let her get on with the business of being high?

  And maybe it made him what Noel would call a total pussy, but he only wanted Angeline’s lips, her tongue.

  He kept his eyes open and his mouth shut for months. Then, months stretched into a year. Eventually, Noel decided that Kane was docile enough to meet up with Lillian Palmer and collect the goods. Kane had to hide his excitement as he mounted his bike for the office where Angeline had once worked. He knew that she wasn’t there anymore, but maybe he could get through to the doc and help her out. Crumbing Noel’s play would mean his death; but, if word ever reached Angeline, she would smile through her tears, and it would be another story that might give Theo something to hold onto in his absence.

  Lillian Palmer stepped from the back, her hair cropped, and her eyes icy. She hardly smiled, and then her jaw set like steel again. “Well, well, well,” she said. “The original Blood Brother.”

  Kane pressed his hands into his pockets and met her stare.

  “No flowers for me?” she asked.

  He remembered the time when Lillian had told him that he needed to stay close, that Angeline needed him more than ever. What had changed?

  “You’re late,” Lillian said. “Here.” She offered him a fresh stash and a pad full of pre-written scripts.

  She had changed, and Kane took the opportunity to ask, “Why are you doing this?”

  “Excuse me?” Lillian challenged, as she cocked her head to the side and folded her arms across her chest.

  It was barely an opening, but Kane took it. “Are you in some kind of trouble?” he asked in a ragged whisper. “Because…because if you are, I can get you away, and I’ll… I’ll take care of Noel.”

  For one moment, it seemed like Lillian’s eyes flashed with hope. Kane knew that he was signing his death sentence, but if the doc was in really in trouble, it was worth the risk.

  To his shock, she only laughed. “Tell that to Angeline,” Lillian scoffed. “You couldn’t just the do the time and disappear. And where is she now?”

  So, she was angry with him. Made sense. But he could still make this right. “I can help you,” Kane promised. “You don’t have to—”

  “Ever think that that maybe I wanted to do this, genius?” Lillian asked and then laughed as she pressed the pills and the pages into his hands. “All that money,” she continued, “just waiting. Angeline would have been smart to partner with your boy while you were still locked up. Bet she wouldn’t be hiding now.”

  Who was this woman? Not the noble doctor that Angeline had looked up to and spoken of in hushed tones. She was like Noel, an animal unable to control her appetite.

  “I’ve thought this out,” Lillian started. “This thing is a gold mine. And I’m not going to just walk away from it.”

  “You…you hurting for cash or something?” Kane asked.

  “Not really,” she said with a cold laugh. “But a person can always have more.”

  Standing toe-to-toe with her, he tried the last thing that he could think of. “And if you get caught?” he challenged.

  “Not happening,” she said. “I’m a lot smarter than your little lost girl. But who knows? Maybe you’ll do my time, too?”

  Lillian obviously meant it as a cruel joke, but would Noel make him go back to the joint until the coast was clear and they could start up again if the club slipped? Wanting to puke, feeling more and more like a dead man walking, Kane could do nothing but head back to the clubhouse, hand over the stash, and wonder if there was anything to hope for.

  ***

  “Ellen’s pregnant.”

  And there it was.

  He had dinner with his real family once a month, and even before Jeremy shared the good news, Kane knew that something was up. Ellen seemed too calm, and she was smiling too much to mean anything but happiness. He was used to her snorting, constantly checking her watch, and looking over her shoulder when he came over. The last few times had been different, and when they finally shared the good news, Kane hugged his brother tight and kissed Ellen’s hand. For the first time in forever, she didn’t seem to mind it.

  Alone on the porch, Kane congratulated his brother again, but a cloud fell over his face as he gazed into the distance. “I’m really happy for you,” Kane said. “But I miss my girl. I miss my son.”

  “I know,” Jeremy said. “But it’s better for you this way. For… for all of us.”

  “Is it really?” Kane asked.

  Jeremy had no answer.

  A few more family dinners, and Kane decided. He had to get back to Angeline. It was dangerous to even think of leaving, but he needed to kiss her, to touch her, to…

  ***

  “I’m sorry! Please don’t!”

  “You want more?” Noel bellowed. “Then take your poison, cunt!”

  Gina trembled wildly as she cowered on her knees, and Noel unzipped. The girl seemed ready to embrace his cock with her mouth, but Noel had something else in mind.

  “Open wide, junkie!”

  A stream of hot piss poured from his junk, and Gina wailed and moaned as the hot bitter splash coated her quivering face. Kane seethed at the sight, but when Gina started to do as she was told, to lick it up and swallow his piss, he knew that this was too much. This was not the old days when the Blood Brothers conducted themselves with honor, and Kane flew into a rage and charged forward. “Leave her the fuck alone!” Kane screamed.

  Plowing into Noel, Kane pushed him away from Gina’s quaking form and forced him to the ground. Every man screamed around him, but Kane didn’t hear, couldn’t hear, as he started to beat Noel raw. “You should be dead!” Kane yelled. “You fucking scum!”

  Kane landed blow after blow, and just when he thought that Noel would explode as he had always hoped, the boss whistled. Ben and Waldo grabbed his arms, and as Gina struggled to her feet, Noel kicked her once more for good measure then pointed the way to his office and yelled, “Where I can get him alone!”

  Kane was hauled through the streams of tape and dumped at the foot of the desk. Noel lit a cigarette, took a drag, and stamped it out on Kane’s hand.

  Kane bit his tongue and held back a scream as his flesh was singed.

  “Bitch!” Noel said. “Strip him.”

  Ben and Waldo seemed to hesitate; but, like Kane, they feared Noel’s wrath and ultimately did as they were told. Trying to fight, Kane could not stop their hands. Once his body was bare, Noel unspooled the rest of his belt and stood over Kane, his heels pressing into his thighs.

  “This is how we treat bitches here!” Noel said.

  The sharp buckle came down on his back, and Kane ground his fingers into the floor as the assault continued. The slap of the leather bruised him;
the cut of the buckle tore into his skin. Kane fought to lift his body away from the blows, but each slap weakened his resolve. Kane could feel the blood dripping from his skin, and he feared that he would not live to see tomorrow. He couldn’t get back to Angeline; Lillian Palmer was a lost cause. However, maybe Gina could get out even if he…

  “No! Stop!”

  Now, Kane had to scream as Noel fell to his knees and lowered his pants. This had to be a joke. There was no way that he really would—

  “So, I’ll treat you like a bitch!” Noel said. “Maybe you miss this from the joint.”

  In the showers, Kane had been spared at the last second. He never knew what it was to feel a cock invading him.

  Until now.

  Noel tore into his ass. Kane could feel the blood leaving his body when Noel thrust deeper. No. He wasn’t doing this. He couldn’t…

  “Let’s see how tight you are, kid!”

  Noel’s cock throbbed inside him, and Kane’s hands stretched into the air. But there was no escape, and every pulse brought Noel closer. Even as Kane screamed and tried to scratch at his face and arms in a futile effort to push him off, his thoughts turned to Angeline. This was how she must have felt when Noel forced her—terrified, weak, and wanting nothing more than for him to be dead. Kane wanted that too—to see Noel with his body bloated and his eyes glazed as Kane dumped him off a hot rock and cut out his tongue so that he’d have no hope of screaming for help.

  “Angel was better,” Noel said as he pumped into him. “But then we both know that. Right, kid?”

  And then the thought of killing him ceased. Because if Noel ever had the chance, he would do this to her again, and he couldn’t bear that. Falling like the bitch that Noel believed he was, Kane submitted to the rape, and when Noel released his wickedness into his ass, he panted against Kane’s back.

  “Now be a good boy,” Noel said, “or next time I’ll piss in your pussy mouth!”

  Kane walked on sore legs through the waves of Noel’s laughter. He made like he was too stunned to speak or think, but his mind was working overtime. Noel would be gone on Saturday night, and Kane was more than ready to be left behind. No need for a guard when his ass was so recently wrecked, and Kane clung to that as the bikes roared off and he was abandoned with a skeleton crew. This was the night that he would take his chance and get back to Angeline. It took some doing, but Jeremy handed over the address when Kane swore the he only wanted to write her and make sure that she was alright. And all Kane had to do was wait until it was quiet and start back to her side.

  When the moment felt right, Kane stepped out the back and started to mount his bike.

  “Where you think you’re going, fool?”

  Ben was back, and Kane started to absorb the lost cause when Ben pointed a gun in his direction.

  “Boss said that we had to keep an eye on you,” Ben said. “Was he right?”

  Kane thought of revving up his motor and taking his chances with speed, but then Ben would have to pay the price, and Kane didn’t want that for him.

  He dismounted and lifted his hands into the air.

  “So you gonna kill me now?” Kane asked. “Of does Noel get to have his way with me again?”

  Ben blanched and seemed ready to shoot before concealing his gun. Reaching into his other pocket, he revealed a wad of bills and pressed them into Kane’s hand.

  “What’s this?” Kane asked.

  “It’s reparations,” Ben said. “Think you’ve earned that and then some.”

  Kane hesitated, thinking that it was a trick, but Ben forced the money into his hand as he spoke.

  “You need to go,” Ben said. “Find the girl and her kid if you can.”

  Kane’s fingers curled around the bills. He could snatch them and speed off on a wave of hope. But why was Ben doing this? He was fast becoming Noel’s new right hand and letting Kane go would place him right in the line of fire.

  “Why the change of heart, Ben?” Kane had to ask.

  “Gina’s a good kid,” Ben said. “Only wish that I had the stones to stop it.”

  Ben took hold of his arms and hung his head.

  “Find your girl,” Ben said. “I’ll put him off the scent for as long as I can.”

  Not needing to hear anything else, Kane hopped on his bike. The motor purred, and Ben offered a final piece of advice before Kane sped away. “Don’t look back, Kane.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

  “Come on.”

  Kane smiled as she held his hand tightly and brought him into the house. He heard snoring from one of the other rooms—had to be her father. A part of Kane was glad that he was there when Kane couldn’t be. He started to open the door, wanting only to shake the man’s hand when Angeline tugged him away from the sound and nuzzled his neck.

  “This way,” Angeline said. “He’s been waiting for you.”

  Angeline opened another door to a small room with yellow drapes and an army of stuffed animals. At the center of it all, there was a crib. Kane hesitated at the threshold, but Angeline clutched his hand and kissed his cheek.

  “Come on,” Angeline said. “You’ve come this far.”

  Kane let her lead him towards the crib, and as they hovered above the railing, Kane peered down.

  There he was, bathed in blankets, his tiny, chubby hand clinging to a stuffed cow, a small smile peeking through his sleep. So much bigger than Kane had remembered, Theo already had Angeline’s soft curls, and for that Kane was grateful.

  “Soon, he’ll need a big boy bed,” Angeline whispered. “But I’m glad you’re here in time to see him like this.”

  “Can he talk?” Kane asked.

  “A few words,” she said with a sigh. “Like milk. Mommy. Dad—”

  She stopped herself, but Kane quickly put two and two together. Brent was there when he wasn’t, and Kane knew that he had to love the heck out of the little guy. He probably heard Angeline refer to Brent as her father and followed suit. At least he wasn’t using the word to address Noel. If Kane never did any other thing with his life, he would fight and die to keep Theo out of that bastard’s clutches.

  Kane gingerly touched Theo’s cheek. It was still soft, and the boy smiled under his fingers. He stretched and yawned. If the kid woke up, would he have any memory of Kane? Would he smile and reach for him, or would he simply look at him with confusion or even fear? He didn’t want that and started to pull his hand away.

  “Maybe we should leave him be,” Kane said. “I don’t want to bother—”

  “You’re not.”

  Taking his hand, Angeline helped his hand find its way back to Theo’s face, and their fingers rested together around the boy’s sleeping cheeks. Theo murmured happily, and when his eyes fluttered open, Kane trembled slightly. Holding his breath, he saw the boy’s eyes grow wide.

  Theo first looked at his mother, Angeline glowing under the warm aura of the night-light. Kane watched as Angeline gave his cheek a tender pinch, and then both sets of green eyes gazed up at Kane. Theo scrunched his face, but then he clapped his hands together. His words came out like garbled nonsense, but he spoke with a smile and pointed at Kane.

  “See?” she said as she nudged his ribs. “He already likes you all over again.”

  Kane couldn’t argue with her, and when he tickled Theo’s belly, the boy erupted into a series of giggles.

  “Do you want to hold him?” she asked in a low whisper.

  It had been so long, and Kane’s yearning for his family was on the point of bubbling over. Nodding slowly, Angeline parted the blankets and brought the boy into Kane’s waiting arms. Holding him close to his chest, Kane was surprised for a second, half expecting to still feel the nearly weightless infant. But Theo was sturdy and strong. No son of Angeline’s could be anything but.

  “He’s…he’s…” Kane was suddenly at a loss for words, and Theo also fell silent. His tiny brow furrowed as if in deep thought, and his pudgy fingers caught hold of Kane’s nose. Parting his lips to draw i
n a deep breath, Theo finally laughed again, and Kane relaxed against him. “Bring it in, little man,” Kane said.

  Easing Theo into a hug, the boy rested happily against Kane’s shoulder, and as he glanced over at Angeline, he saw her smiling as her eyes glistened with tears.

  “Remember when I used to walk him around the room to put him to sleep?” Kane asked.

  “Of course,” she said with a light laugh.

  On cue, Kane’s hold intensified, and he started to pace, gently bouncing Theo with each step. Kane was careful to navigate around the toys and the rocking chair. He pictured Angeline sitting there for hours on end, the picture of perfect motherhood. Hours, days, and years—time that he would never be able to get back—were lost. However, fleeing the club was all about moving forward, and even if he couldn’t reclaim the past, he could grab the future with both hands, hang on tight, and never let go.