Dead Man's Isle (Harlequin Crew #2)

by Caroline Peckham

  "I actually think a stab wound would have broken up the monotony of my life," I said casually. "Or better yet, ended it all together. Either way, hell can't be worse than this place, am I right?"

  Chase muttered some kind of insult or exasperated expression of my being an ungrateful little bitch and I flipped him off as he took a seat back on his lounger and sparked up a smoke.

  "You know I can't let you out of here while Shawn is still-"

  I reached up and placed a hand over Fox's mouth to silence those words because by fuck I couldn't hear them one more time without my head imploding.

  "I can't do this again," I said, looking into his green eyes and wondering if he even gave a fuck about that. What even was I to him? Just some little doll he could lock up in his castle and play with when he was home? Something to keep and use and look pretty for him?

  "Stop looking at me like that," Fox growled, peeling my hand from his mouth like he could read my mind and I shrugged, turning away from him.

  Of course he didn't just let me go, catching my wrist and whirling me around to face him again. His lips were parted but I got there first, sick of this shit and just wanting to own my fucking destiny for once.

  "When I was Shawn's girl," I began, shutting him up fast because I never spoke about this, and I knew he had a thousand questions burning through his head about it. Even Chase perked up, his glacial eyes on me as he waited for me to go on. "He used to like me looking nice for him, but not for other men. He used to get me all dressed up then keep me home so no one else could see me. He'd call me his good little slut and use my body before closing the doors and leaving me there all alone or sending me back to the apartment he leant me to be alone there instead. And sometimes I'd look out the window and wonder if I could have it better somewhere else. But the reality was that I knew I couldn't. So I stayed and I stayed and I'd probably still be there now if he hadn't decided I'd stayed too long. And that's what being trapped in here feels like all over again. Except here the doors aren't just closed, they're locked up tight too. I'm just someone else's dolly now, aren't I?"

  "Jesus, Rogue," Fox groaned, his grip on my wrist tightening and I jerked my hand back to make him release me. "You know I'm just doing this for your protection, right?"

  "Well in that case, would you like me to suck your cock now or save it until we don't have an audience?"

  "Stop it," he growled.

  "She's a brat, she won't stop," Chase added and I sneered at him.

  "I'm not a brat," I replied. "I'm a grown ass woman who has spent years doing whatever I fucking had to to survive. I was pinned down and almost raped by a man four times the size of me when I was sixteen and I managed to kill him myself. I lived on the streets and in all the shittiest kinds of places, escaped the cops more times than I could count and yeah, I fucked some seriously questionable men. But I'm still kicking, so I think I got it handled. I never asked for any of you to rescue me. The only thing I did ask for was the right to finish Shawn off myself because I'm the one he tried to murder and left buried in a shallow fucking grave wrapped in a potato sack. But that’s the one thing you refuse to give me. And yeah, I get the concept of it being safe for me here and maybe if you'd asked me to stay instead of locking the doors I would have agreed to that because I'm not a fucking moron. But all I want in return is a bit of fucking respect and for you to keep me in the loop about the shit that's going on with my ex-boyfriend."

  "It's not that simple," Fox sighed. "You're not a Harlequin. I can't just tell you whatever you want to know about the Crew."

  "You can actually. You and your stupid no girls allowed rules are just an example of the same kind of sexist bullshit you've let your daddy drum into you your whole life. When we were kids you never treated me like I couldn't do things because I was a girl. But now that you've figured out what my pussy is good for you've decided the rest of me has no further use. So excuse me if I'm unhappy locked up here and kept in the dark all the damn time. No doubt if this goes on long enough, I'll learn to shut my mouth and spread my legs like you want and it'll all be good."

  I shoulder checked him as I strode away but as his fucking body was built like a battering ram, that mostly just hurt like a bitch. But he was forced to move aside so I took the minor win and headed back into the house.

  I flinched as I found JJ there, lurking by the patio doors and hidden in the shadows. The look on his face said he'd heard all of that and I bit my lip against the desire to run from him too. He held out a hand to me where Fox couldn't see him and I moved to him, letting him pull me into his arms behind the curtain.

  "I'll talk to him," he murmured. "See about getting him to let you come to the club with me sometimes. The girls have been asking about you nonstop and I can tell you need some time out of this place."

  "I'm not an idiot, JJ," I said. "I know I have to be careful with Shawn hanging around, but this is fucking insane."

  JJ's hand pushed into my freshly dyed hair and I sighed as a little of the tension escaped me. The one and only time I'd seen anyone aside from the three Harlequin boys and the members of the Crew who were on watch around this place was a few days ago when Lucy had come over here to do my hair for me. I knew I had JJ to thank for that little slice of normal, but it hadn't come close to being free.

  "I miss the surf," I groaned. "And the sand in my toes and a breeze that's not blocked off by stupid walls. I miss my trailer and my bed and my friends. And partying. I miss my fucking life, J. I made a decision not to be the girl Shawn had been turning me into ever again and now I'm not getting any kind of choice in that."

  JJ started to say something, but he stiffened and I knew instantly that there was a fucking badger at my back.

  "Get your hands off of her," Fox growled and my heart lurched because I was so sick of sneaking around him and tiptoeing past his fucking feelings all the damn time. I wasn’t his girl which meant I hadn’t agreed to any of the terms and conditions he’d decided to place upon my goddamn body.

  I gritted my teeth, whirling around in JJ's arms, the truth of what he was to me sitting primed and ready on my tongue because fuck knew he was the only bit of freedom I could claim at the moment. But before I could do anything stupid like tell Fox that I was addicted to JJ’s cock and he was gonna have to learn to live with it, the sound of the front door opening interrupted us.

  "Hello?" Luther called and my heart leapt up into my chest. It was always the damn same. Any time he came over here, I was shoved in a room, up the stairs, into a fucking closet, anywhere they could put me quick enough to keep me out of sight and then I was stuck there until the motherfucker left.

  JJ wrapped an arm around my waist and herded me back out of the patio doors while Fox threw me a panicked look before striding away to meet his dad.

  "I'll talk to Fox for you, I promise, pretty girl," JJ whispered as we hurried across the patio and I was directed behind the privacy screen to my sun lounger and table - which meant I was stuck here until further notice.

  JJ turned to leave already and I caught a fistful of his shirt, yanking him back around and kissing him hard. He caught my face between his hands, kissing me frantically before groaning in frustration as he forced himself to pull away and I watched him leave with my heart sinking, wondering how long I'd be left waiting out here now.

  I peeked out between the little gap in the hinges of my privacy screen and watched as Chase and JJ headed inside. Luther was right fucking there, my dog in his arms and licking his freaking face in greeting. What the fuck was that about, Mutt?

  JJ closed the patio doors behind them and I scowled. Well wasn't this just peachy?

  I huffed out a breath and looked at my sun lounger, but it was late in the day and the sun had already moved so that it was sat in the shade. They hadn't even left me with a phone or something to listen to some music on.

  Fuck this.

  I glanced at the table beside me and up at the wall beyond it. Yeah, it was time to make like the Green Power Ranger and
disappear. Not that I'd be coming back all dressed in white or any of that shit, but I was gonna spend the rest of my day doing something much better than hiding behind a fucking screen in the corner.

  My heart leapt as an even better idea occurred to me and I thought about calling Maverick. I had his number memorised, but I knew Fox was still monitoring my phone and I just hadn't been able to risk calling him while I was locked up here. I hoped he hadn't given up on me and knew I hadn't abandoned him.

  I climbed up onto the table then jumped for the top of the white wall, heaving myself up and onto it before dropping down on the other side in the bushes. I hated leaving Mutt behind, but I knew I'd have to come back eventually anyway. I still hadn't made any progress getting those damn keys and my life was too entangled with the assholes inside that house for me to just cut and run now.

  But for today, I was gonna claim back my freedom. I wouldn't be a dumbass about it. I knew Shawn was still hanging around. But realistically I would have to be damn unlucky to run into him at random when the Harlequins hadn't been able to find so much as a sniff of him in weeks.

  I crept away from Harlequin House on silent feet, being careful not to alert any of their guys who were watching the house before I managed to slip off of the property and was running down the street.

  It didn't take me long to find a car to boost - some silly duck had left their front door wide open to combat the heat and the keys had been right freaking there on a little hook. So within no time I was dumping the car a few blocks from Rejects Park and jogging back to my trailer.

  "Rogue! Where have you been, dude?" Lyla hollered as I ran up the path with my bare feet and wild hair. It was hot as a clam's asshole today and I was sweating from my jog down here, but the sun was starting its descent towards the horizon so I was looking forward to it cooling down a little.

  I turned to grin at my blonde friend as she swung out of her trailer door, completely topless with her impressive tits bouncing as she shooed some random guy out the door and beckoned me closer.

  "Oh my god, you have no idea how much I've missed your face," I groaned as I bounded up the steps to her trailer and she threw her arms around me.

  "Don't worry, he jizzed on his own chest - he only wanted to pay for a private lap dance while he got off. Dude is clearly building up to paying for the full deal, but I think he somehow convinces himself its more innocent if he's just staring at me and jerking himself off. Plus he tipped big - easiest fifty bucks I've made all week."

  I laughed as she released me and we headed into her trailer.

  "Tell me your lives have been boring as fuck while I was locked away," I pleaded. "Tell me it's just not the same without me and maybe I can deal."

  "Well we haven't had much time for partying if that makes you feel any better? JJ has had everyone pulling extra shifts and he's run a bunch of events too. He said he needs to get the place earning bigger and if I'm honest most of us are all for it. More waitressing and stripping gigs means I can at least be fussy about which Ds I allow to buy entrance to my body. I turned down janky Joel the other night and it felt awesome."

  I snorted and she tossed me a beer.

  "Sounds like we all need a night out," I said. "But I will let it be known that I am likely to be hunted by Harlequins the moment they realise I'm missing. In fact, this is probably the first place they'll look. So we need to head out fast and we need to go somewhere they won't be able to follow...like maybe The Dungeon?"

  Lyla let out a low whistle, sank her beer in four huge gulps then slammed the bottle down on the counter. "Okay. I'm in. Let's go over to Di's trailer to get ready - it's on the far side of the site so even if they show up here before we head out they might not find us."

  "Sounds like a plan," I agreed. "Let me head to my trailer and grab some clothes-"

  "Wait!" Lyla turned and ran for her bedroom and I followed her, intrigued as she squealed with excitement. "One of my johns bought me this the other week, and don't worry because it's still brand new, not a cum stain in sight, but the second I saw it I just knew you needed to wear it."

  "Okay, but I've been locked up in that house for weeks so I wanna go all out tonight. That means slutty as fuck, I'm up for nipple holes, transparency, the whole shebang," I teased and Lyla laughed.

  "Unfortunately there won't be any nip on show, but I think I got you covered." She whirled around, holding out a dress on a hanger and I looked it over. It was covered in white sequins which glimmered with a range of pastel rainbow colours to match my hair. It was strappy, low cut, tight and looked like it would barely cover my ass.

  "Hell yes," I agreed, grinning big.

  "You'll look like an all out unicorn wet dream," Lyla sighed. "I read this book once called Zodiac Academy where a dude had a unicorn fetish...or, well he tried to hump an inflatable unicorn sex toy and then a bunch of people saw him and he was all 'I'm not horny for the horn!' but he totally would have been if he saw you, in fact everyone will be horny for you in this."

  "Okay, give me three minutes to get changed and we can head over to Di's to figure out hair and makeup then get the fuck out of here before the badger comes looking for me."

  "Sounds good."

  I made a move to leave as Lyla started rummaging for her own outfit then paused as I thought of something else.

  "Hey, could I actually borrow your phone? Long story short, Fox is monitoring mine plus I left it back at his house and the person I wanna call wouldn't exactly make it onto his friends list, so I'd prefer he didn't know I was calling him..."

  "Shit, you're gonna get me killed by the Harlequin Crew," Lyla chastised, but she tossed me her phone and didn't ask me anything else, clearly realising she was better off not knowing.

  I grinned at her and jogged out of the room, skipping down the steps of her trailer before hurrying over to mine.

  I located my key then let myself in, knocking the door closed with my ass before draping the dress over the little table then dialling Maverick.

  I headed through into my little bathroom as I listened to it ringing, peeling off my dress and dropping it in a heap as I set some cool water running in the shower.

  "Yeah?" Maverick's deep growl sent a shiver down my spine and I bit on my bottom lip as that one word got me all hot for a whole new reason.

  "Hey, baby," I purred, teasing him and wondering if he'd been as anxious to talk to me as I had been to talk to him.

  "Where are you?" he asked, no fucking about and I smirked to myself as I answered.

  "I escaped for a bit. Me and some friends are gonna go out partying at The Dungeon tonight and I was thinking that maybe I'd see you there?"

  "I'm there tonight anyway. Got some business that needs dealing with."

  I pouted at his lack of enthusiasm and licked my lips as I decided to play him at his own game.

  "Maybe I'll see you there then. Some of the boys are talking about hitting somewhere cooler though, so I guess we'll see."

  There was silence for a beat then he spoke in a voice that made the hairs stand on end along the back of my neck and my nipples harden.

  "Nah, beautiful. That's not gonna work for me. I'll tell you what you're gonna do. You're gonna get that fine ass of yours all dolled up for me in the hottest fucking thing you own. You're gonna wear a nice, bright shade of lipstick that'll look damn good smeared all over my cock if I decide to feed you it and you're not gonna bother with the panties. Because when I get to you, my hello will be given from my fingers as they push right into that wet cunt of yours."

  "Christ," I muttered, my toes curling as I fought the flood of desire his deep voice was sending through my damn body.

  "And I'll give you fair warning now - don't bring a single fucking dude with you when you come. You wanna show up with some girlfriends, that's fine by me. But if I see some asshole panting all over my girl, I'm gonna snap his fucking neck. You got that?"

  "I got it," I replied, some snarky, witty reply building on the tip of my tongue even though it
seemed like I'd lost track of it on account of my entire freaking body melting into a puddle at his words.

  "Good. Then hurry the fuck up. I've been waiting too damn long for you already." Maverick cut the call.

  I stared at Lyla's phone for several heartbeats before pulling myself together and stripping my underwear off so that I could have that cold shower because now I needed it more than ever and I really did have to hurry the fuck up.

  I moaned as I washed between my thighs for several minutes, biting down on my bottom lip for no reason at all as my pussy gave in to my demands all too fucking quickly thanks to Maverick's motivation and pleasure tumbled through me in a blissful wave.

  I frowned as I thought about JJ, wondering what the fuck I was doing. I’d literally been fucking him this morning, stealing time in his arms while Fox was out running, and gasping his name like he gave me breath and now my skin was prickling in anticipation of seeing Rick.

  But we’d talked about this exact thing. The weird bond the five of us had and the way it defied all logic. Even the anger and hatred, the hurts and betrayal that marred our relationships hadn’t done anything to dampen the bonds we all held for one another. So maybe it was insane, but somehow I couldn’t believe it was wrong. And I was done living my life to standards laid out by other people. I’d made a vow to be free and steal happiness wherever I could claim it, so I wasn’t going to overthink any of this. I was embracing life and living for the good stuff and all I could do was hope that if I stole enough of it, I might be able to start filling up some of the empty pieces of my soul along the way.

  I stumbled out of the shower again, a little less hot and not really any less worked up as I made quick work of pulling on the sparkling dress with the pair of chunky white heels JJ had bought me and following that up with my Green Power Ranger panties. I was well aware that Maverick had told me not to wear any, but I was also not gonna be a good little sub for him, so he was gonna have to deal with it, because fuck him. But also fuck him in the good way because I was fairly certain that the night was headed that way and I was just a dick blinded girl stumbling down cock alley to destination orgasm.