by Zoey Parker
“Let her go,” I called to Axel’s two goons. “It’s over. You don’t have to keep doing this.”
“I’ve got a gun,” the driver called back to me, pointing a gun at Maggie’s head.
“It’s not loaded,” Maggie yelled.
“Shit,” yelled the passenger, turning to run from the car and the other two. I followed him with the gun in my hand and popped him right in the back of the head, sending him sprawling to the ground. He wasn’t getting up.
“Oh hell,” the driver said, turning around to see his buddy get shot and laid out right in front of him.
While he was distracted, Maggie thrust her elbow into his gut. He doubled over and let go of her. She ducked into the car to get out of the way. I aimed at him, but I waited. I wanted him to see it coming. He looked up, and I started walking towards him.
“Stay,” I barked, ordering him like a dog. “One wrong move, and you bite it just like your buddy over there.”
“You’re going to shoot me anyway,” he said.
I shrugged. “True, but I don’t want to do it right here by the car. Let’s go for a walk. Turn around.”
He slowly turned around and walked in front of me. I kept my gun pressed against the back of his skull, right about where I’d popped his buddy. I wanted to relish the moment. It had been such a pain in the ass to try to catch these two clowns, I felt like I had earned a little satisfaction. Nothing wrong with taking pleasure in my work, right?
“So, where were you taking her?” I asked.
“We didn’t know, man. We were trying to stay alive. That’s all. She was going to be our collateral.” He talked quickly, in a panicked voice.
“Calm down, all right. No need to wet yourself over this. You’re supposed to be a badass. Just a little over an hour ago, you had two people tied up in an old warehouse used for sex slave auctions, and a third guy had me so I couldn’t even break free. I’ll tell you, man, that’s no easy feat,” I said to try to boost his confidence. “You want to die with dignity, integrity, not whimpering and pissing yourself like a coward.”
“Right,” he said. He cleared his throat and held his head up.
“Yeah, there you go. So, if you didn’t know where you were going, are there any others out there?” I asked.
“Others?”
“More people who worked for Axel,” I clarified.
He hesitated, and I felt like he was trying to figure out exactly what he was going to tell me. If there were more of them and he didn’t want me to know, he could have said there weren’t any. But if he didn’t want me to know that he was the last one, he could have decided to tell me there were people looking for him, to intimidate me into letting him live. Either way, I didn’t like the hesitation.
“Be honest,” I told him, pressing the gun harder against his head.
“No, we were all,” he said, lowering his head.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“He kept saying there were more, but we never met anyone else. It was only the five of us. Me, Calvin over there, Beefcake the giant, Kyle in black, and Axel. I think the only other people he had were plants or informants, but I think he killed all of them earlier tonight, except for Maggie,” he confessed.
“Tell me something before I kill you,” I said.
“Sure.” There was a resolve in his voice, a finality to that single world that struck me as ominous. This job was about to be over, and I was going to be left picking up the pieces of something I hadn’t even admitted existed.
“Did you ever see Maggie with Axel?” I asked. It was important because his answer would tell me how involved she was with Axel. Or, it would at least give me an idea.
He didn’t answer immediately.
“Again with the hesitation,” I groaned. “I’m about to shoot you whether you tell me or not.”
“No, I never saw her. I know he met with her, but I never witnessed any of these meetings,” he said with a newfound calm in his voice.
“Are you sure?” I asked again.
“I am.”
I let him stand peacefully for a moment after giving me his last answer. He seemed like a nice guy. It was a shame he’d found himself in the wrong place, on the wrong side. He had no business getting mixed up with people like Axel.
I couldn’t let him live, not after he’d been present for Vlad’s death, the fight with the big guy, Axel’s attempt to rape Maggie, and after I’d killed everyone he’d worked with. I couldn’t let him live after trying to run off with Maggie.
Yet, I hesitated.
The night Vlad saved my life, we’d been involved in a shootout. I’d taken a hit to my gut, and I was on the ground, gushing. My life was leaving me fast, but he patched me up and got me the help I needed.
I had asked him why once I was able to hold a conversation again. It had taken a while to get me stable, and Vlad had used a lot of resources to make sure I stayed with him.
The old Russian looked at me, sitting beside my bed, and he said, “Blade, you are a very strong, very loyal man. You are good and true. We need more men like you. We can’t afford to lose you.”
Even after everything else that had happened, I still firmly believed when he said we he meant the world itself, not just his organization. It may have turned out that he needed me in his organization, but I liked to believe I had always been more than just an employee to him. More than just hired muscle.
I pulled the gun away from the guy’s head. I wasn’t going to shoot him. There was no way he could do me any harm. If anything, by saving him, I was going to earn an ally.
“What?” he asked, shocked. He started to turn around.
“Don’t turn around,” I told him.
“Oh, okay.”
“What’s your name?”
“Evan.”
“Evan, I’m not going to shoot you,” I stated plainly.
“Thank you, Blade,” he gushed.
“I’m not finished yet.”
“Sorry.” He straightened up, standing in front of me just as he had been when I’d held the gun to his head.
“You can run from here tonight and go home to whatever home you have if you promise to get off the street and find a real job where your gifts will be of value to people. Do you understand?”
“I do, sir.”
I laughed. “I’m not a sir. I’m not your boss, and I doubt I’m much older than you, if I even am.”
“Sorry,” he interjected.
“Don’t apologize. Do you promise to straighten up and keep your nose clean? Because if I find you out here working for someone else, I’m not going to be as nice next time,” I warned him.
“I do. I promise. And thank you, Blade.”
“If you ever need anything, find the Marauders,” I told him. “We’ll help you. Now go while I’m still feeling generous.”
He tripped and almost fell when he started to run off. I stood and watched as he ran away from me into the dark. I watched until I couldn’t see him.
Then, I turned around and saw the real reason I’d been out running all over the city all night. Maggie stood next to the car, waiting for me, wearing her jeans and the black jacket the little guy had given her. She stood with her legs pressed together and her arms wrapped around herself. Her breath made steam while she struggled to keep herself warm.
I walked to her, a smile spreading across my face as I closed the distance between us. Despite how cold she looked, she threw her arms around my neck when I got to her. We kissed, a long, tender kiss, our lips simply pressing against each other.
I put my arms around her and held her to me. I wasn’t going to let her out of my sight ever again, I decided. No more safehouses. No more putting her aside, whether trying to protect her or not.
“Come on, let’s get you home,” I said, putting my arm across her shoulders as I walked her back to my motorcycle.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
“I let him go,” I told her.
“I saw that.
Why?” She blinked those big beautiful eyes at me.
“Because once upon a time, a man saved my life. He could have walked away, left me to die, but he didn’t. He took me with him and patched me up, even though I belong to an organization that was trying to take him down. Then, tonight, when we all thought he was already dead, he mustered up enough strength to save both of us,” I explained as she climbed on the bike.
“You’re saying Vlad shot Axel,” she said, looking at me in disbelief.
“He was the only one holding a gun when it happened, believe it or not. And because of that, and because Evan seemed completely out of place working for someone like Axel, I decided to let him go,” I told her, climbing on in front of her.
“Yeah, Evan’s a good guy,” Maggie agreed.
I smiled as my motorcycle’s engine roared to life, knowing I did the right thing.
Chapter 33
Maggie
“How’s the water?” Blade asked as he squeezed the washcloth over my shoulder, letting hot water run down my back and chest. I had finally stopped shivering.
“It’s perfect,” I told him. I reached up and touched his hand. Our fingers intertwined briefly, but the touch sent intense waves of pleasure through my body. He was so gentle and caring, always trying to protect me. I felt horrible for going behind his back, but all of that was over. I let go of his hand and let him return to dripping hot water over me using the washcloth.
We sat in silence in his bathroom. He sat on the side of the tub and rubbed my cold body with the warm, wet cloth. I sat and listened to the water as he dipped his hand back into the tub. I was slowly warming up.
The heat was soothing to my sore, tired muscles. I felt them unknotting in my shoulders and my back. My legs had relaxed almost as soon as I had sat down in the scalding hot water. Blade had offered to let me bathe and soak alone, saying he understood if I didn’t want anyone around me naked for a little while. I didn’t want anyone around me naked, but Blade wasn’t just anyone. Blade had been there before, when my nudity had been used against me, just as it had been earlier in the evening by Axel.
“I’m really sorry,” I said, my voice splitting the silence suddenly.
“Sorry for what?” he asked, his voice as tender as his touch.
“For going behind your back with Axel and setting you up like that. I shouldn’t have done that,” I admitted.
“I get it. You were scared. If he treated you in your relationship the way he treated you tonight, I understand why anyone would have been scared of telling him no,” Blade assured me. His voice was deep with exhaustion and emotion.
“Would you be surprised if I told you he was actually a little nicer tonight?” I asked, speaking slowly, timidly. I didn’t want him to take my question lightly.
“I am so sorry, baby,” he said, rubbing the cloth gently across my shoulders. “I can’t imagine anyone treating you or anybody else like that.”
“You’re sweet, but you met me at a sex slave auction. You can’t tell me it’s foreign to you for someone to treat women the way Axel treated me,” I reminded him.
“I know.” His hand paused on my back.
I turned and grabbed his hand, letting him drop the washcloth in the tub. I held his hand and stared up into his eyes. He looked lost in thought. I wondered where he’d trailed off to.
“Hey,” I said, urging him back softly.
His eyes focused on me and he smiled. “I’m sorry, I was just thinking about all those girls who were sold through those auctions over the years.”
“There’s nothing you can do about that now, Blade. And there probably wasn’t anything you could have done then. Your hands were tied,” I told him.
“Yeah, I guess. I guess it’s like you and Axel. You didn’t feel like you had any other choice. I understand that. I felt like I owed Vlad my life and any service I could provide, without question,” he explained.
“Exactly, but you’ve done a great job protecting me and looking out for me,” I said to encourage him.
He sighed and reached down into the water for the washcloth. He was being careful not to touch me intimately. I understood why he was being careful, and I appreciated it. I wasn’t quite ready for sexual intimacy. He ran the washcloth across my shoulders again, letting the water run down my arms and back.
“I didn’t do such a great job,” he said after a moment.
“How do you figure? You fought off the guys at the auction house, and you chased after the two guys who were trying to kidnap me and take me God-knows-where after Axel was shot,” I argued, laughing.
“For one, I never should have let you out of my sight. And I certainly shouldn’t have left you in one of our safehouses, even with a prospect,” he refuted my argument.
I didn’t have the nerve yet to tell him what happened at the safehouse. I didn’t know if he knew, but it didn’t seem like he did. He hadn’t said anything about what had happened.
“You did what you thought was right at the time.”
“I could have done better. And going forward, I will do better,” he said, his tone turning serious. “No more safehouses, Maggie. From here on out, you’re with me, if you want to be,” he said.
I didn’t know what to say. I looked at him and opened my mouth to try to accept his offer, but I couldn’t say it. I stared at him blankly, stunned that he would even offer, but I figured we’d avoided the topic for so long, it was high time to discuss it. Just not while I was in the bathtub recovering from the night we’d just had. Any other time would have been better.
“You don’t have to answer now. I know, tonight’s been rough.” He dipped the washcloth back in the water and ran it up along my arms. “Your water is starting to get cold. Do you want to go ahead and bathe?” he asked. He didn’t sound put-off by my lack of a response. He simply sounded the way he always did, like he was trying to take care of me.
“I probably should,” I answered.
“Okay. I suppose you want to do that yourself.” He smirked.
“Yeah, probably not a bad idea. I’m not helpless.” I winked.
“Okay, I’ll get scarce,” he said, getting up from the tub.
“No, wait,” I said, grabbing his arm to stop him.
He turned back and looked down at me.
“I’m flattered by your offer, but I think that’s something we should talk about after I’ve had a chance to recover from tonight. Maybe after you have, too. Tonight was hard on both of us, I think,” I told him.
“No, you’re right. You’re absolutely right,” he responded. “I’ll let you get a bath now. I’ll be in bed.” He flashed his warm, caring smile and started to turn away again.
“There’s something else,” I said in hurry to keep him from leaving.
He turned, still smiling at me.
“I’m sorry about Vlad. I know he meant a lot to you despite everything else.”
“It’s the life we live, baby. Even on the side I try to stay on, the risks are the same. He knew that. I know that. It’s fine. Thank you, though.”
“But I feel responsible in some way.” I gripped his arm tighter.
“Don’t blame yourself. Axel was gunning for us anyway. That’s why he put you in the auction. That’s why he put that young girl in the auction. That’s what started the whole thing. If you hadn’t agreed to help him, he would have found another way, and it probably would have ended the same, if not worse. So, don’t worry yourself over it.” He leaned down and kissed me on the top of my head. “Take your bath before the water gets cold,” he urged me, walking out of the bathroom.
I sighed. The real reason I didn’t want him to leave wasn’t because I had so much to say. It was because I didn’t want to be left alone. The day had been so hectic, I didn’t trust being alone anymore.
I grabbed the washcloth and Blade’s bath gel. I opened it and poured a little onto the cloth, and the delicious smell of the man who’d been slowly winning my heart filled the room. I felt less alone surrounded by
his scent.
I scrubbed my whole body with the cooling water, taking the time to care for myself. The heat, the cloth, and the touch of my own hand across my tired flesh comforted me and gave me a renewed sense of security. This body in the tub was mine. I owned it. It belonged to me. I was not a piece of meat. I gave myself to the person I chose. No one got to say when, where, and how, unless I allowed them to.