Revulsion rolled through my body, threatening to make me vomit.
“If you have any respect for me, you’ll let me have some time to plan a wedding. Remember, I never asked for any of this. You and my brother made some kind of deal without asking what I wanted. I get it, we’re going to get married, but you can give me this one small thing,” I shot back, wanting to let him know I wasn’t going to be a doormat.
His grip tightened on my arm as he dragged me into the house, kicking the door shut behind us.
“Listen to me very closely, Michelle. You’re going to be my wife, and I will not put up with a mouthy woman. You’re mine. I’m sealing the deal. I said I’d give you until Friday. Keep pushing me and I’ll make it happen tomorrow,” he said, his mouth an inch from my face.
“I want a good marriage,” I whispered.
“I want a good wife. You learn some respect, I can be a good husband,” he growled.
He released my arm, gave me one last long stare, then pulled the door open and slammed it behind him.
I leaned my head back against the wall, drawing in deep breaths. I had bought a little time, but was going to be back. Liam would literally force me into marriage. It would be a shotgun wedding in every way, except it would probably be a handgun jabbed into my back.
It was all happening too fast. My head was spinning. I rubbed my arm, knowing there would be another bruise. I had to get out. I didn’t have the means to do it before Friday though. Hell, with the way Nick was acting, I may not even have until Friday. Once Liam found out I had rejected him, he was going to get involved and that was not going to end well for me.
I knew what I had to do. I ran back out to my car, grabbed my purse, and dug out my phone. I hit the button for Elijah.
“Hello? Michelle?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“No. I’m fine, but I need to talk to you. Can I meet you somewhere?”
He cleared his throat. “I’m not in town.”
“Oh,” I murmured, my heart twisting. He was gone. It hurt to know he had left me again even though I had kept pushing for him to do just that.
“No, not like that. I’ll be around tomorrow. Does that work?”
I released the breath I had been holding. “Yes. Yes, that works. I’ll drop Joey off at school. I can meet you after that.”
He quickly gave me an address. I committed it to memory, not risking the chance it would be found if I wrote it down.
I could make it another day. Making sure all my bases were covered, I called Rayne.
“Hey,” I said, infusing cheer I didn’t feel in my voice.
“What’s up? I thought you were still pissed at me.”
“I could never be pissed at you. I know why you called him, and I appreciate you looking out for me.”
“You’re welcome. You know I worry about you and Joey. How’s the wedding business?”
I groaned. “That’s why I’m calling.”
I quickly told her about Nick’s visit and threats.
“Damn. I’m sorry I ever told you to accept him. I didn’t realize how bad he is. What can I do to help?”
“You could pick up Joey from school for me tomorrow.”
“Sure, of course. What are you going to do?”
“I’m meeting Elijah.”
She cursed. “Michelle! That is dangerous! What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking he can help me get out of here.”
“If your brother or Nick finds out, you know what’ll happen. This is a huge risk,” she said.
“I know but I don’t have any other options. I have to do something. I can’t marry him,” I whispered.
“Fine. Watch your back, please.”
“Rayne?”
“Yeah?”
I cleared my throat, fighting back the sob that threatened to spill out. “Promise me you’ll take care of Joey if anything happens. Run away with him. Don’t let my baby fall into their hands.”
She didn’t answer and I heard her sniff. “I will. Don’t you dare do anything stupid. I will kill you if you get yourself killed.”
We both burst into laughter through our tears. I could act like it didn’t bother me, but deep inside, I was dying a slow death every day I stayed under Liam’s thumb.
18
Elijah
I nervously paced around the motel room. I wasn’t sure what Michelle wanted, but I knew how dangerous it was for her to show up at my motel. Yesterday, I had gone home for the day with Trevor. I had never intended to be gone for so long, but I’d had to take care of a few things. When she had called, I had fought the urge to race back.
I heard a knock on the door and prayed she wasn’t setting me up. It was a thought that was always in the back of my mind. I trusted her, but I knew she had a son to think about—our son. I knew she would do whatever it took to keep him safe. I appreciated that and was grateful to her for keeping him safe this long in a den of violence.
“Hi,” I said, pulling open the door, standing back and inviting her in.
Big dark sunglasses were over her eyes, and a pink baseball cap was pulled low with her hair tucked up inside it. Clearly, she was doing her best to disguise her appearance. It was a smart move.
“Hi,” she said, pulling off the hat and glasses once I shut the door and threw the lock. “Thank you for letting me come over. I know this is really dangerous for both of us.”
“I’m not worried about the danger to me,” I told her.
“You should be.”
I quickly walked over and pulled the blackout curtains closed, hoping to make her a little more relaxed. “You sounded stressed yesterday. Did something happen?”
I was doing my best to keep my distance from her. Every fiber of my being was demanding I touch her, kiss her, and protect her. She was acting skittish, though and I wouldn’t pressure her.
“No. I mean yes. I mean nothing happened, but I think something is going to happen.”
I studied her face, my eyes drifting over her body, looking for cuts or bruises that would indicate Liam had hit her again. My eyes landed on three black and purple splotch marks on her upper arm. She pulled her short sleeve down a little to try to hide it. I stepped forward, gently lifting the sleeve to inspect the damage, and saw what could only be fingertip bruises on her skin.
“I’ll kill him,” I seethed, truly seeing red. I wanted to jump on my bike and track Liam down. I wanted to make him bleed for hurting his sister. What kind of man hurt a woman? It took a special kind of evil to hurt your own little sister. Michelle was a tiny woman; she couldn’t weigh more than a hundred pounds. Liam doubled her weight, and Nick, he was a big guy as well.
“It wasn’t Liam,” she whispered.
My eyes jumped to hers. “Nick?”
Tears welled in her eyes. I immediately thought the worst. My hand lifted her other sleeve, checking for injuries. I was afraid of what my reaction would be if she told he raped her. I wouldn’t be able to stay in the room with her. That kind of violence required immediate retaliation. I would beat him until he stopped breathing.
“It’s okay. He grabbed my arm. It’s no big deal. He didn’t hit me.”
“It’s a big fucking deal!” I shouted, causing her to jump back a few inches. I immediately regretted my outburst. The woman was abused and here I was shouting in her face.
Stupid move, asshole.
She walked away, sitting at the foot of the bed. “It really isn’t. He grabbed my arm when I was walking away. I should have known better.”
“Why? Why did he grab your arm hard enough to leave bruises?”
She wrung her hands in her lap before finally looking up and meeting my eyes. “He says I have to marry him now or there will be consequences. I told him no and he got mad.”
I knew there was no way she would willingly marry that piece of shit. “What kind of consequences?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I’v
e been putting off marrying him. He says I have until Friday. He tried to get me to go yesterday, but I told him I couldn’t. I made up some stupid story he didn’t believe about wanting a big wedding. I can’t marry him, Elijah.” Her voice was so low, I almost didn’t hear her.
“Why are you marrying him? Have you two—” I hated even saying the words. I gestured with my hands. “Are you guys a thing?”
“No! Never! My brother came home one day and told me I was going out on a date with Nick. This was before you showed up. Nick is Liam’s best friend, if guys like them can truly have best friends. Liam is essentially giving me to Nick to assure his loyalty. Things are not always easy in the gang. Some of the guys have been giving Liam a hard time. Not all of them are okay with the things he’s been getting into,” she said. “He needs a strong ally, and Nick is about as ruthless as Liam.”
“Do you know why he wants to do it by Friday? What’s the rush?” I asked, wondering if there was something happening I didn’t know about, like maybe she was pregnant with the guy’s kid.
She looked down at her hands again. I sat down on the bed beside her, my much larger thigh pressing against hers.
“You can tell me,” I said in a soft voice. “I won’t judge you.”
She sucked in a big breath, her chest moving up and down with the action. “He wants to rush the wedding so he can take me to bed.”
It took a second for everything to register in my brain. “What? You haven’t slept with him?”
She whipped her head around, shooting daggers at me with her eyes. “No!”
I held up my hands. “Sorry. You said Liam had you two dating.”
“No, we haven’t been dating. I’ve been on two dates with him and I didn’t go willingly. You don’t understand what my life has been like since you left, Elijah. You have no idea!”
“Tell me. I’m here now.”
She shook her head. I could see the shame on her face and could only imagine the horror she had been living through. I had fucked up leaving all those years ago. I had thought I was doing her a favor, but now I could see I had done the wrong thing. That was okay. I was back, and I was going to make up for it.
“I don’t want to marry him. I don’t want Joey to live with him. At first I thought Nick was the lesser of two evils.”
“Two evils?” I asked, wanting to make sure I was following along.
“Liam. Liam and Nick. Nick tends to be a little nicer, a little more understanding, and he does try to be funny.”
I clenched my teeth together. I did not want to hear how nice and funny Nick was. I hated the guy. The marks on her arm told me everything I needed to know about good ol’ Nick.
“Nick has treated you well in the past?” I clarified.
She didn’t immediately answer. “I don’t know. It’s a strange world I live in. Liam is not a good person. He is violent and verbally abusive to me. He’s never laid a hand on Joey and he would kill any other man who touched me. It’s like only he can abuse me. If a man looks at me wrong, Liam will hit him. It is really hard to explain. Nick, before yesterday, has never been like that with me.”
“You don’t have to explain. I get it. He’s always been very protective of you. I’m sorry he’s become so abusive toward you. I never thought that would happen. I knew how serious he was about keeping you safe and innocent. It was my own lust and stupidity that got us into this mess.”
She smiled sadly. “If I remember right, I practically begged you to take my virginity.”
I thought back to the night, and she definitely remembered right. However, I’d been older. I’d had the experience and her brother had explicitly warned me about getting too close. I had tried to listen. I hadn’t wanted to fall in love with her. It had been one of those things where my heart knew what it wanted, and nothing was going to get in the way—similar to the situation we were in now.
“We’re so bad for each other,” I whispered.
“I know. Do you ever think about how different our lives would be if we’d had normal parents and lived in a different part of town when we were younger?”
I laughed, slapping my hand on her thigh. “Every damn day!”
“It isn’t fair. How do some people get born into the right families?”
“I don’t know. Where is your mom?”
She threw her head back. “Ugh, that is another tale of woe.”
“Tell me.”
“Shortly after Joey was born, she started feeling sick a lot. She couldn’t walk very well. Liam accused her of being a drunk. I was so busy trying to take care of Joey, I didn’t really pay that much attention to her. One day I came home and she was on the floor in the living room, moaning in pain. She had fallen and broken her hip. She was in the hospital for a while. The doctor realized something was wrong and did some tests. She has multiple sclerosis.”
I groaned, shaking my head. “I’m sorry. I’ve always liked your mom. Where is she now?”
“She’s in a care facility. After the hip healed, she didn’t want to come home. Liam wasn’t going to take care of her, and she said I had my hands full with Joey. I think she was afraid of him. I’m not entirely sure he isn’t the one who caused her to fall and break her hip in the first place.”
“That’s why Liam has been allowed to spin out of control,” I said, finally understanding what I had been struggling to piece together.
“Yep. He got the house and me with it. I’m glad my mom is out of there. She wouldn’t be able to handle living with Liam. He’s evil.”
We sat there for a few seconds, me staring at the same stupid painting I had grown to hate, her looking down at her hands. I was beginning to understand the situation better and knew, without a doubt, I had to get her away from Liam. That was why she had called me yesterday. She hadn’t said it yet, but I knew.
“I’m here. I can take care of Nick and Liam. I won’t let them hurt you.”
She looked at me and smiled. “That’s sweet, but how? You know Liam. You know the guys he is tight with. I’m afraid he’s always going to find me. I may be safe for a little while, but eventually, he will find me.”
I shook my head, taking her hand in mine. “No, he won’t. I’m going to make it so he can’t find you. He won’t want to find you.”
Her eyes looked sad and I could see the defeat in her. “I don’t think that is truly possible.”
“It is. I’m going to show you. What time do you have to be back?”
“Rayne is picking Joey up from school. I have a few hours.”
I grinned. “A few hours. I think I know how to pass the time.”
Her cheeks blushed, and her eyes dropped to my mouth. “I don’t know.”
“I do. Let me make you forget all about Nick and Liam and all that other drama. It’s just me and you right now.”
I slid the back of my knuckles up her arm, gently caressing her before reaching up to cup her face with my hand.
“Can I make you forget?” I breathed, hovering over her mouth.
“Yes,” she whispered.
19
Michelle
His full lips pressed against mine. I sighed into his mouth, longing for his touch, and deepened the kiss. I wanted him to make me forget about everything, just like he had promised.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” He whispered the words, stirring up memories of that first night together when he had been so gentle and patient with me.
“You can’t hurt me.”
His mouth covered mine, his hand moving up to touch my breast as his tongue pushed my lips apart. I opened my mouth wide, sucking on his bottom lip, eager for more. I could feel him holding back. I wanted that hot and fiery sex Rayne had told me about. I wanted to know what it felt like to be ravished by a man without fear of him hurting you.
“More,” I whispered. “Don’t hold back.”
He slowly shook his head against my mouth. “You don’t know what you’re asking. I’m so fucking hot for you. I want to rip your clothes off and
fuck you hard.”
The words stirred up the little embers that were slowly burning in my belly. “Okay. Do it then.”
He pulled away from me, looking into my eyes. I saw a hint of doubt there. I stood up, pulling my shirt over my head before shimmying out of the jeans I had on and kicking my ballet flats to the corner of the room.
“I’m serious, Elijah. I want to feel wanted, desired by you. Make me forget everything.”
He rocketed off the bed, shucking his clothes with record speed before reaching out and grabbing my body, pulling me against his hard chest.
“If I’m too rough, you tell me. You are the most beautiful woman in the world.”
I licked my lips, tasting him and wanting more. I stood up on my tiptoes and grabbed his face, showing him how badly I wanted him. He spun us around and backed me against the bed before pushing me backward.
I laughed as my back hit the mattress. “A bed!”
He growled, yanking my panties down my legs. My laugh turned into a moan, followed by a yelp as his mouth closed over my pussy. It was amazing and frightening at the same time.
My hips bucked forward as his tongue ran up my slit, nearly sending me into an orgasm at the slightest touch. I clenched the bedspread as he used his tongue to spread my lips, running over the sensitive nub that was throbbing with intense need. His tongue was gentle and then hard as he lapped at me before pushing it inside me. The foreign sensation made me crazy with need.
I moved my hand to fist his hair, trying to pull his head from between my legs while simultaneously wanting more. His hand moved over my thigh, his fingers finding my entrance and spreading my lips wide while his tongue danced in and out, lapping over my clit.
“Elijah!” I screamed his name as he found the spot, applying the right amount of pressure to send me flying into the stars. My body convulsed and I could feel my own juices pooling beneath me as he slowly circled my pussy with his tongue.
Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Page 32