Pieces For You

by Rulon, Genna

  “You’re doing everything you can, babe. You’ll find the link,” Ev soothed.

  “My best hope is to trace the bribe payouts through their attorney. If I can link his parents to the bribes, then I can threaten charges and get them to talk.”

  I nodded, understanding the challenges Hunter faced. I knew better than anyone the influence money could wield. Hunter had an uphill battle before him. I was mildly reassured to hear that he appeared to be uninvolved. Somehow the prospect of someone killing me, quickly and without torture, generated less fear than what he had done, and would do again, if given the opportunity. As long as he was behind bars, I could pretend straightforward death was the worst that could happen. It was a consolation, but I had learned there were things far worse than death.

  I shook off my uneasiness—unwilling to let him ruin another night for me…for us. We were going to dinner and then I would watch Hunter find a way to beat Ev at pool while I flirted shamelessly with my man.

  “Enough. We made plans and we are keeping them. I don’t care if I’m dressed in work clothes and smell like Kona beans, we are going to dinner. Let’s move, people,” I ordered as if my chest was decorated with stars.

  All three exchanged a look, uncertain how to interpret my abrupt declaration. Huntleigh seemed to defer to Griffin, who eventually shrugged.

  “You heard the lady. Let’s go.”

  We all sat in the dining room at The Stop with menus in hand, and I began to meticulously scrutinize the options. I knew the food was consistently fresh and tasty, but as I reviewed the dishes I realized how limited the choices were. Other than traditional bar appetizers, there were only two types of salads, three sandwiches, burgers, and the grill basics. The daily special (a soup, sandwich, and main course) were the only variations. Griffin was right—The Stop would definitely benefit from a revamped menu with some new dishes. Cell phone in hand, I tapped away as ideas flooded from my mind onto my notepad. Holy cow, dessert! They weren’t offering any desserts, what a missed opportunity. I continued to plug away until I was confident I had a well-conceptualized menu to suggest—both lunch and dinner. I looked up to find three sets of eyes locked on me with varying degrees of curiosity, confusion, and mirth.

  “What?” I asked defensively.

  “Nothing, Lo-baby. You’re very cute when you get excited. After the third or fourth random one-word exclamation, people stopped turning to look.”

  “You didn’t even hear the waitress asking for your order. I decided for you,” Ev added.

  “Great. I hope I’m having salad and a grilled chicken sandwich.”

  Ev nodded; she knew me too well. After the crazy start to our night, I needed lean protein and veggies to fortify. I turned to Griffin and smiled. In return, he took my hand in his own.

  “I just emailed you my suggested changes for The Stop’s menu. Feel free to disregard it completely if you aren’t feeling the foodie vibe. I will work on a more detailed description with general recipes this week if you want to give it a try after talking with your chef.”

  He raised my hand to his lips, kissing the back of it and sucking lightly. The gesture was innocent—mostly—but the sensation, combined with the insinuation of what else he might do with his mouth, had me squirming in my chair with anticipation. I caught his quiet chuckle as he returned our hands to the table.

  “Evil,” I muttered. It wasn’t nice to rev the engines if you weren’t going to take her out for a spin.

  “I feel that way every time you’re in the room, and sometimes when you’re not—call it payback.”

  I huffed as if piqued, but secretly delighted in his candid disclosure. I could scarcely believe the tasty treat beside me was mine. Griffin was like the sun, bright and warm, giving strength and nourishing everything his light touched—and like the sun, he was becoming the center of my universe, a thought that scared and elated me in equal measure.

  Finished eating, we proceeded to the game room and claimed the only available pool table. I analyzed team options to maximize my chance at victory. I was not as obsessed as Huntleigh with topping their other half, but I was competitive, and really…who didn’t prefer winning? Surveying my potential partners, I identified their qualifications. Ev was a brilliant pool player and a sure bet. But if one thing had been proven law, it was that whatever Ev could do, Hunter could do better—much to her chagrin. He was a gamble since I had never seen him play, but the odds were good. Griffin was a proverbial dark horse. Having worked most of his life in a bar, he likely had ample practice and was the most familiar with any quirks of this particular table. Unfortunately, if Griffin was on my team, I couldn’t tease him to distraction. Hmm…decisions, decisions.

  “I love this table, it’s always been lucky for me,” Hunter said with a shit-eating grin plastered across his face.

  “Me, too,” Ev chirped. “Really good memories… spectacular, in fact.”

  Okay, they were clearly talking about more than billiards. I could only speculate, but I suspected this table had played a pivotal role in “the make-up” Hunter sprung on Ev at The Stop. Those dirty birds.

  “Don’t worry, I had the table re-covered shortly after their slate-top reconciliation. I even replaced the drop light over the table that was cracked—I don’t even want to know.”

  “Couples?” Ev asked, apparently feeling nostalgic when suggesting teams.

  We all agreed and Hunter began to rack. Ev broke, commencing our game with finesse. I leaned back against Griffin’s hard body and tilted my head up, waiting until he lowered his ear to my mouth.

  “Please tell me we are going to destroy them, and by ‘we’ I mean you.”

  His only response was a devious smile. Uh-oh, someone was going to dish out a SmackDown tonight. Ev was going to be crushed if her skills failed to garner a victory.

  She cleared a third of the balls in her first turn and was rewarded with a pat on the butt and a kiss on the lips from Hunter. Griffin gestured for me to proceed so I positioned myself to take the easiest shot, straight-line into the left corner pocket. I was sliding the cue between my fingers about to strike when my movement was halted. Griff came from behind and wrapped his body around mine, engulfing me. He slid his hands from my shoulders down my arms slowly until he reached my hands, where he gloved mine. The length of my body was pressed against him and I shivered, my body remembering the pleasure of his.

  “You’d have more control if you slid your hand a little further up the shaft,” he said as he glided our hands an inch toward the tip, “and you need to tighten your grip a little in the back. Take command of it,” he finished his instruction with a kiss on my neck behind my ear, allowing his lips to drag across my skin as he moved away.

  Damn, I knew pool could be a fun opportunity to flirt and lean over to flash the goods, but I didn’t know it was a full-contact sport that could lead to internal combustion. Pool had just become my new favorite game outside the bedroom. I heard someone clear their throat and looked up to find Ev smirking at me.

  “It’s been a couple of minutes…do you intend to pull yourself out of the lust-induced fog anytime tonight?” she teased.

  “Just give me another minute. My fine motor skills are still stuck on Griffin whispering ‘shaft’ in my ear. That is some potent imagery and I’m in no hurry to wipe it away.”

  They all burst into laughter. I finally took my shot and sunk the ball, but unfortunately missed the next one. Hunter stepped up and cleared several more balls for their team before finally missing. Griff positioned himself for the next shot and I couldn’t resist—I caressed his ass, so perfectly presented when he bent over, nearly causing him to miss the shot. He spun to me before the ball even settled in the pocket and kissed me, hard and brief, but I tasted the promise.

  The game ended with our victory on Griff’s final turn. We debated another game but elected to forgo the competition, since there really was none. I was still tingling with anticipation thanks to his impromptu lesson and all I could think abou
t was getting home, but when Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” played, it beckoned me to the dance floor. Griffin followed me, happy to be the recipient of my moves. I circled him like a tiger, dragging my fingers along his body as I went. I considered making him sit so I could dance for him, a newly discovered fantasy, but the promise of feeling his granite body against mine was a temptation I couldn’t resist. He reached out and snagged my waist, winding me into him, my back against his front. His legs were shoulder-width apart and he flexed his knees enough so that my butt pressed against his groin. I reached my arms behind me and wrapped them around his neck, pulling his mouth to mine as I swayed my hips to the beat of the song. His tongue explored my mouth aggressively, hot and insistent. The pulsing of drums guided my body as he pressed against me, shadowing my movement. He danced like I imagined he’d make love, purposeful and commanding with no hesitancy or self-consciousness—it was enthralling. Unable to resist, I spun in his arms without breaking our kiss, allowing his leg to press between mine, stimulating me. I was practically riding his leg as we danced, both of us clinging to the other as if we were alone. It was indecent, I knew, but I couldn’t get enough of him—his taste, his scent, the texture and planes of his body. This was my man and I was enjoying my rights. And when the song ended, the intensity of our connection and craving did not.

  “We need to find Ev and Hunter and say goodbye, then you need to take me home…STAT. You just made a whole lot of promises I expect you to deliver on.”

  “I didn’t say a word,” he said, his voice coarse with desire.

  “Your mouth may have been silent but your body was speaking loud and clear. You find Huntleigh while I use the restroom. I’ll meet you near the bar in three minutes and then we are out of here.”

  He pulled me in for a quick kiss, whispering “bossy little thing” against my lips before releasing me with a nod. I hurried to the bathroom, grateful to find it empty. He had worked me into such a frenzy I could barely contain my impulse to jump on him and take what I hungered for with reckless abandon. I finished my potty break in record time and headed for the bar.

  I was fifteen feet from my destination when someone grabbed my arm on a backswing. With a quick jerk, they forced my body to turn, and before I could react or process what was happening, I was imprisoned in unfamiliar arms as a mouth took unwelcome possession of mine. No wait, these weren’t unfamiliar…I knew the feel of this body, his taste. My panic was skyrocketing, but I gathered enough of my wits to bite his lip. When he pulled back I swung to hit him, but he caught my arm before I could make impact. Standing before me, looking exactly as he did when I last saw him six months ago, was my ex-boyfriend, Robbie—the coward. Apparently, he had no qualms about taking what he wanted from an unwilling woman—lie with pigs and you’ll smell like shit…the adage never made more sense to me.

  “Let me go, asshole,” I said forcefully.

  “Sam, we need to talk. I made a huge mistake.”

  “What you did was more than a huge mistake. Now let me go.”

  “Baby, let me explain—”

  “Don’t you dare fucking call me that! You are a sniveling, weak, sorry excuse for a man who sat quietly by while girls were beaten, raped, and murdered. You knew what he was doing and never spoke up. I can smell your guilt and see the blood on your hands and I want nothing to do with you. ”

  He continued to keep my body locked against his, so tightly I couldn’t escape. My attempts to wiggle free proved futile.

  “I understand why you are so mad. You have every right to be, but I promise I’ve changed. We can be together again. We can move past everything that happened and rebuild our lives. We need each other…we won’t ever be able to survive this alone; too many people in our circle know what happened. No woman will want to be with a man branded a coward, especially if my father pulls his financial backing, and no man is going to want a used woman.”

  I gasped at his cruel comment but he continued, completely unaware, “But I still want you. I don’t care what Heath did to you, I still see how beautiful and special you are. Can’t you feel how much I want you?” He ground an unimpressive erection against my stomach to emphasize his point.

  Oh god, I was going to be sick. My head was spinning—the past and the present converging—stealing all rational thought.

  “Let me go, let me go, let me go…” I screeched, “please, no…please—” I finished with an anguished whimper.

  His body disappeared so abruptly I would have face-planted if another set of arms had not grabbed me from behind. I struggled initially before I heard the voice in my ear.

  “Sam, it’s me. I’ve got you, you’re okay. Just breathe,” Ev said, the words flowing from her in one breath, spoken with conviction.

  I relaxed into her support and fought to separate from the besieging memories. As my grasp on reality returned, I became aware of angry shouting and grunts. I turned my head, unprepared for the violence that greeted me.

  “No,” I whispered, praying my eyes deceived me.

  Griffin was perched on top of Robbie, his fists landing punch after punch on a defenseless Robbie’s body and face.

  “You do not fucking touch her. You. Never. Fucking. Touch. Her,” he punctuated each word with a blow that would incapacitate a man far larger than Robbie. “You sick fucking fuck—you did this to her…your fucking fault.” He continued to shout as he landed blow after blow.

  The Griffin I knew was gone, replaced by a brutal man I didn’t recognize—a man who terrified me. Blood splattered the floor, the sprays marring both of their shirts. Robbie’s face was unrecognizable and he was no longer conscious, but the punches continued, accompanied by a sickening wet thud followed immediately by a harsh, cracking sound. I knew that sound…I had heard it before, only the last time I was the one laying in Robbie’s place and the psychopath, Heath, was delivering the face-shattering blows. I watched mindlessly as Hunter and a bouncer tried to intervene, but even their combined strength was not enough to deter Griffin.

  A piercing sound rang in my ears and all I could think was that they needed to shut off the damn fire alarm before my brain exploded. The deafening racket finally penetrated Griffin’s homicidal rage and he turned toward me, looking dazed. When he gestured to me as if intending to rise, I hurled my body away from him, taking Ev with me. I was crab-walking backward as soon as I hit the ground, desperate to put distance between myself and the blood-soaked monster. The last thing I saw before Ev clutched me to her chest was Griffin surveying the carnage, a look of abject horror on his face before he returned his eyes to me.

  With my face buried in Ev’s ample chest, I realized that the earsplitting sound was muffled. Fuck! I was making that ghastly noise. I shut my mouth abruptly and dragged a shuddering breath past my burning throat.

  I distantly heard Hunter ordering someone to call an ambulance, then instructing the bouncers to take Griffin to the office to clean him up. I never lifted my head from Ev’s chest. I heard grunts and shuffling, but fortunately no sounds of him putting up a fight. The movement stopped and I heard his voice softly calling to me from a distance.

  “Lo…baby,” he said, his voice oozing despair.

  I shook my head, never looking up.

  “I’m sorry. I never…I wouldn’t—I’m so damn sorry,” he whispered, barely audible. The shuffling resumed and I knew he was gone.

  “Go get the car,” Ev said to Hunter quietly and without room for question.

  We sat mutely while we waited; Ev stroked my hair and soothed me once again, like a mother would do for her damaged child. How fitting, because that is exactly how I felt: damaged and brokenhearted. I may never have spoken the words, but I had fallen in love with Griffin. And now it turned out he wasn’t who I thought he was…he had hidden a monster inside of him and betrayed me with his omission.

  “Can I touch you, Sam?” Hunter was already back.

  I nodded, too drained to do much else.

  Hunter lifted me, carried me o
utside, and positioned me in the back of his Yukon. Before I even processed my relocation, Ev sat next to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. In another flash, I was in Hunter’s arms again, entering his apartment.

  He set me gently on the couch, which Ev had unfolded into a bed the minute we arrived.

  “I’m going to check on him. You got her?” Hunter asked quietly.

  “Of course, take your time. Make sure he gets home safely…I can’t imagine what he must be feeling…don’t let him do anything stupid.”

  Hunter nodded and was gone after a quick kiss. I slumped back and rested my head against Ev’s shoulder; I needed the human contact to remind me I wasn’t completely alone in the world. Tears flooded my eyes and the weight of losing Griffin, or at least the man I thought he was, settled heavily on my chest.

  I wasn’t upset he had hit Robbie; the asshole deserved it for what he had done both tonight and in the past. He was partially responsible for the deaths of three girls and the heinous rapes of more than 25 others—a thorough beat-down was exactly what he deserved.

  No, it wasn’t the punches that terrified me; it was Griffin’s absolute and unmitigated loss of control. His fury consumed him and he lost all restraint, pounding Robbie as if possessed. I had no doubt he would have killed him had Hunter not intervened. I trusted Griffin, but I also knew he could snap me like a twig beneath the sole of his size fifteen boots. So what would have happened if I ever pushed him too far? How could I protect myself if I didn’t know where his landmines were buried?