Beyond Ransom (The Ransom Series)

by A. T. Douglas

  I lift my backside up just a little more to give him even better access, and he takes full advantage. The combination of his forceful thrusts into me and his hands moving my hips back and forth against him is enough to make me scream out from the overload of sensation overtaking my body.

  The pent-up sexual energy from the last two weeks is pouring out of Leo now. He’s giving it to me rough, fucking me with abandon, and I’m rendered speechless by it. This sex is raw and powerful. It’s possessive. Leo is showing me exactly what he intended: that I am his and no one else’s.

  When Leo reaches his peak and explodes inside me, I completely unwind, my body trembling through the waves of pleasure rolling through me. Leo takes us to the edge of insanity, to a place untouchable by the rest of the world where it’s only the two of us and nothing else matters. He holds us there as long as possible until there’s nowhere else to go and we must come back down.

  Leo slips out of me and helps turn me over onto my back. When I’m sprawled out underneath him, he leans forward on his arms and knees over the top of me and kisses the side of my forehead. He remains there, breathing hard against my own rapidly rising and falling chest. His hands overlap mine and intertwine with my fingers. It takes a few minutes before we can catch our breath.

  “You’re mine,” he finally declares. “You have been from the beginning, and I won’t lose you. I don’t know who you were before compared to who you are now, but I love every detail about this girl in front of me. You give me comfort and strength that no one else can. You make me laugh and smile when I’d all but given up on the thought of happiness. You give me a fucking purpose to my life, and I have so much to live for now. I never looked forward to tomorrow until I met you.”

  A tear rolls down my cheek, not of sadness, but of relief. In this moment we’re sharing, I know it was all worth it. The pain and heartache I’ve felt over the decision I made to be here with Leo instead of home with my parents will haunt me for the rest of my life, but to know that I’ve helped Leo in so many ways and that he reciprocates what I feel for him makes all of this worth it.

  “Thank you for giving me life,” I respond through the constriction in my throat. “All I have is you and tomorrow, and that’s enough.”

  “I will give you so much more. I promise you.” Leo kisses me softly on the lips before settling down on the bed next to me, holding me closely to him and raking his fingers over my chest and stomach.

  I could stay like this forever. I could be with Leo forever. It’s a precarious situation we find ourselves in. We can have it all just as easily as we can lose it all, and that decision is not currently in our hands. I wonder if it ever will be.

  28

  Complete

  In the three months since my arrival at this place, I’ve fallen into a comfortable routine. My worries about fitting into Mark and Leo’s world proved to be unfounded. When I found my place, I fit perfectly. Almost too perfectly, like I was made for this business and the criminals within it.

  When I finally came to this conclusion, I wondered if it was because I’d grown up in such a regimented and controlled environment. Perhaps the years of being sheltered and suppressed by my strict cop father in his structured and idealistic world made me naturally inclined to embrace my life in an opposite way. I may have turned nineteen during my time here, but I am still a teenager, inherently programmed to rebel.

  Everything about me has changed. I’m not Dad’s good girl anymore, and I’m rarely afraid. My skin has toughened significantly since the day I was originally taken, and I find myself facing fear and uncertainty with more confidence and resilience than ever before. I almost crave it, often throwing caution to the wind just for the rush of it. It’s the thrill of the creation of chaos and throwing myself in the mix to see what happens. By the end of it my heart is racing, but I feed off the adrenaline that fuels me to do more and to be more extreme. It scares the shit out of Leo, but he’s learned that this is just part of me. If I wanted a quiet life holed up in my room, I would have chosen to go back home when Mark gave me that option at the prison.

  When my shoulder fully healed, Leo persuaded me to join him in his morning exercises. This usually involves some amount of sexual activity in addition to actual pushups, crunches, and weightlifting. I’ve become quite strong, my muscles toned and my body conditioned to face whatever action it needs to in our daily dealings in the criminal world.

  I’ve embraced my crimson hair color in a sharp bob-style haircut. It not only represents the fire within me that I love to show burning on a daily basis, but it also highlights the contours and features of my now always done-up face. It makes me feel beautiful and sexy. It makes me feel treasured, and I like that feeling. It’s almost like a drug to me, to be wanted and desired, which plays in perfectly with my new role in Mark’s organization.

  In the time I spent in Mark’s office, he quickly learned that having a woman present did wonders to improve the moods and empty the wallets of his business associates during meetings. He used to have Leo send me out of the room when someone showed up to make a deal for weapons or drugs or for one of the crew’s many services like money laundering and murder-for-hire. When I caught the eye of one man who entered the room in an angry funk, Mark told me to stay, whispering in my ear that I should take my place at Leo’s side in the negotiation and continue to be a welcome distraction for the man.

  And so I did. I stood behind Leo and let my fingers caress his neck and wander down his chest. I made my breaths deliberately loud and deep, causing my cleavage to press up just slightly out of my shirt with each rise of my chest. I ran my fingers through my hair, messing it up just enough before combing it out slowly and twisting individual strands around my finger.

  By the end of the conversation, the man was willing to do whatever Mark asked, making it much less a negotiation and more like a one-sided business deal that Mark directed just the way he wanted.

  That meeting ended extremely well, and since then I’ve been present at all of Mark’s meetings, both at headquarters and even offsite. As long as Mark is there with us, Leo even gets to go on these road trips. Even though they still keep me blindfolded for the ride, I at least get to hold Leo’s hand in the back seat and enjoy being in the outside world with him in some way.

  Early on I dreamed of living with Leo outside the walls of our apartment and the building that contains it, but I’ve since come to accept that this is my life now. I’ve been fully integrated into Mark and Leo’s world, and I’m not in a huge rush to escape it. I like my role as the wildcard in their business dealings and negotiations. It’s amazing how easily a man can be thrown off his game and brought to his knees by a gorgeous woman coming on to him or pulling a gun to his head or a knife to his throat. I’ve done all these things and more, and almost always with positive results.

  Leo worries that I take it too far, but in the end he’s just as pleased as Mark about my contributions to the business. I’ve found a purpose for myself here and have earned the respect of those around me, even Mark. I often catch him watching me with Leo, smiling proudly at the two of us. He looks at us with an almost fatherly appreciation of what we’ve built out of the pieces that he gave us.

  Though Mark’s intentions were nefarious from the beginning in bringing the two of us together, he was spot-on that we would connect and fall in love, though I don’t think he ever saw our relationship progressing as far as it has. Leo is the only family he has left, his unofficial adopted son. After everything he did to Leo when he was growing up, he’s finally making up for some of it now. I know he sees the life in Leo more and more each day just as I do.

  Despite my new comfort level around Mark and among his crew, it’s still hard for me to look at him and not remember the horrible things he did to me at the prison. He occasionally visits me in my nightmares when I relive each painful and vivid detail of the ways he tortured me and violated my mind and body, but when I wake up screaming in a frantic sweat, Leo is always there to com
fort me.

  I’ve found myself waking up to comfort Leo during his own occasional nightmares, too.

  Mark hasn’t laid a finger on me since the prison, just as Leo demanded. I have yet to understand if he keeps his hands off me out of respect for his agreement with Leo or because he doesn’t want to risk ruining the face and body that have become so integral in his business dealings. What I do know is I’m an asset to him now. It would be bad business for him to mess with what we have going, and he knows it.

  In these three months I’ve never asked Mark for anything, until yesterday. I wanted to do something to connect me with Leo, to show him my commitment to him and what we share. Mark seemed surprised by my request but more than willing to help. This morning he made up an excuse to get me out of the building without Leo and took me himself to the place I requested.

  It didn’t take long before we were back and found Leo pacing anxiously in Mark’s office. I knew he would be waiting for me after my unusual disappearance alone with Mark. He’s trying to look calm, but I can sense the concern bubbling underneath his skin when he pulls me into his arms and runs his hands over my back.

  “I missed you,” he says quietly.

  I can’t help smiling within our embrace. “I was barely gone a couple hours.”

  “I still missed you.” Leo pulls back and observes me from head to toe, clearly looking for any sign that something bad happened while I was out of his sight. “Is everything okay? I really wish you’d tell me where you went.”

  “Everything’s fine. I’ll show you where I went, but let’s go upstairs first.”

  Some of the worry leaves Leo’s face, and he gives me a sly smirk. “I like where this is going.”

  I stick my tongue out at his tease and lead the way up the stairs to our apartment.

  Once inside I take a seat on the bed and motion for Leo to join me. Usually when I’m on the bed like this I’m luring him to come make love to me, but not this time. I want both our heads to remain clear for this, at least until I can get out what I want to say. After that, all bets are off.

  Leo sits next to me, so close that his entire body is pressed up against mine. I’m nervous for this even though there’s no reason for me to be. I know there’s a slight chance that he’ll take this the wrong way, that he’ll close off from me and let his suppressed concern and doubt consume him, but I press forward with optimism instead.

  “I know your life was difficult before my dad put Mark in prison. You never talk about it, but the stories of it are written all over your body.”

  I run my fingers over a faint scar, the line expertly hidden by the tattoo of the half-thriving, half-decimated tree on the top of his forearm. My touch works its way to his wrist. I flip his arm over to reveal the tattoo of the circle with the notch missing, the symbol of the endless cycle that Leo intends to break for his family line. I trace the outline of the circle slowly, stopping when I reach the small portion that makes the circle unfinished.

  “I think it’s time we complete this circle and change the meaning of this tattoo,” I continue. “You deserve to have a full life and the happiness of having a family whether you’re still in this business or not. I know you didn’t expect someone like me to join you in this life, but I’m here, and I have no plans to go anywhere. I know that being with me goes against everything you feel inside about working for Mark while having people you care about around you, but it can’t be what keeps us apart. I’ve accepted this life and what it means for us. Even if we’re never able to break free of it to live normal lives in the outside world, I will always be here with you.”

  Leo remains speechless and motionless as I turn my wrist over. The skin is still red and raw, but the black circular tattoo that is a perfect mirror image of his is unmistakable. I place my wrist next to his, lining up the break in each circle with the black outline of the other to visually show him just how much I feel we complete each other.

  “Alone our tattoos are missing that small piece and are not truly whole. Together those holes go away and we make infinity. We create forever, and that’s what I want with you.”

  Rare tears fall down Leo’s cheeks, his typically hard exterior crumbling before me. I cry with him, sharing his pain and lifting some of the burden I know he feels on a daily basis when he worries about me and what’s coming next for the two of us.

  We’re quiet for a long moment before Leo finally speaks. “I’ve wanted this for so long but never thought I could have it.” He takes my hand between both of his and softly caresses my skin. “I hate how we found each other, but I’m so glad we did. I hate that you’re not with your family, but I wouldn’t want you anywhere else right now.” He turns my wrist over and kisses the inflamed skin around my tattoo lightly. “I don’t know what the future holds for us, but I look forward to finding out.”

  “I love you,” I whisper to him, feeling each word with more force in my heart than any previous time I’ve said that phrase to him.

  “I love you, Morgan. So damn much.”

  Leo works his hand into my hair, pulling me to him in a subtle kiss that becomes exponentially more intense the longer our lips are connected. His hands are all over me in their desperation to touch my bare skin. He pulls at my clothes, not possibly able to get them off me fast enough.

  By the time we’re both naked in bed, I’m ready for him to connect us in that other physical way. We show each other our love over and over again. Together we are complete, and no one can take that away from us.

  29

  Warning

  It’s the first real day off we’ve had in a while. Most of the men, including Mark, are gone for the rest of the day, enjoying a night out at a nearby strip club as Mark’s treat for their loyalty and hard work. He left only a skeleton crew behind to stand watch at headquarters. I don’t doubt that the majority of their purpose here is to make sure that Leo doesn’t try to run off with me while Mark’s gone.

  The mess hall is quiet today. Christophe, the chef, has even taken the day off, so Leo and I attempt to make dinner with what’s available in the pantry. We decide to embrace Leo’s Italian heritage by making spaghetti with marinara sauce. It sounded simple enough, but it turns out to be an interesting endeavor, made even more so by the bottle of wine that Leo procured for us.

  We laugh and joke around with each other the entire time. Leo takes advantage of the opportunity to stand behind me with his hand over mine, grasping the spoon we’re using to stir the sauce as it heats up on the stove. He hugs my back to his chest and sways us back and forth to the stirring motion of our hands. His touch and comforting hold transport me elsewhere, perhaps in our own house enjoying a nice weekend meal together. I experience pure and simple happiness unlike I have ever known before.

  By the time we’re sitting down to eat, I’m already halfway through my second glass of wine. The alcohol in my system has warmed me from the inside out. I feel the blush in my cheeks and the tingling all the way out to my fingers and toes. Everything Leo says makes me laugh and smile twice as much as usual. We’re both looser than we’ve ever been together, and I wish we could stay this way. Alcohol and this rare moment of absolute contentment leave us ignorant of the reality of our situation. I could get used to this feeling, but even through the effects of the alcohol I know it’s only temporary.

  When Jack walks in the room halfway through our meal, I feel the slight disappointment of our private time coming to an end. He’s not an unwelcome sight. Leo and I both adore Jack. We don’t see him often enough, which in reality is a good thing as he is the exclusive doctor who treats the injuries and sicknesses in Mark’s crew that are beyond Leo’s limited medical abilities.

  “Hey, Jack,” Leo greets him cheerfully, raising his wineglass to him as he walks in and shuts the door behind him.

  Jack smiles at us, though there’s a tinge of concern in his face that I haven’t seen before. It’s only then that I realize his gray hair is more frazzled than usual.

  “Good to see
you two. You have the entire mess hall to yourselves tonight?”

  Leo stands to pull an extra chair to our table. “Not anymore. Join us. We have extra food in the kitchen.”

  Leo turns in that direction, but Jack catches him by the arm. “I appreciate the offer, but I can’t stay.” His face turns serious, his voice quieting to a whisper. “I need to talk to you. Both of you.”

  The concern in Jack’s voice puts me on edge, the adrenaline in my veins overpowering the effects of the alcohol almost instantly. Leo takes his seat again, and Jack joins us in the extra chair.

  Leo looks my way to check on me before turning back to Jack. “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

  “Sort of.” Jack seems hesitant to continue, as if having trouble finding the right words. “Leo, you have to promise me you’ll stay calm about this.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Leo’s getting angry now.

  “You need to keep your cool, now more than ever, and Mark cannot know that you know what I’m about to tell you. It will only mean bad things for you and Morgan if he has even a clue that you know, but I need to tell you. I have to warn you and put a stop to this.”

  I appreciate Jack’s warning, but I almost don’t want to hear it. We were so happy. Minutes ago it was just me and Leo and we were carefree and normal and all of this other bullshit seemed to leave our world for a short period of time. Now we’re being thrown directly into the fire again, and I know from experience that it’s impossible to escape unscathed.

  “Okay. I’ll be calm,” Leo says unconvincingly. “Now tell me what the hell is going on.”

  “It’s Mark.” Jack sighs deeply. “A couple weeks ago we met for dinner. Mark drank that night. A lot. He was so drunk by the end of the meal that he became very emotional, bringing up his family and how much he missed Stella and Elise.”