The Hate Vow: A Dark Enemies to Lovers Romance

by C. Hallman

  “I’m a friend of Ryder’s,” he explains, not surprised that I’m here. He takes a stack of folded papers from his pocket and throws them on the table before turning his full attention back to me.

  Then it dawns on me. Did Ryder call this guy to pick me up? Oh my god, he is getting rid of me, passing me over to them. I stupidly look to the bedroom door, wishing Ryder would come out now, even though I know he wouldn’t help me. He wouldn’t protect me from this guy, or anyone else for that matter. Not anymore.

  “Don’t look so scared. I’m Tucker,” he tells me, a grin tugging on his lips. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

  For some reason, I don’t want to tell him my name, I really don’t want to tell him, but I end up doing so anyway, “P-Penny.”

  “Don’t be so tense, Penny,” Tucker says, stepping closer. “I’ll pay you whatever Ryder is paying you. I want a taste of that sweet pussy.”

  “No…” I take a few steps back until I hit the shelf in the living room.

  He cocks his head to the side. “No?” His eyes darken, glaring daggers at me. “This ain’t pick and choose, bitch. You’re working off club money, so everyone in the club has a right to fuck you.”

  Fear grabs me and holds me in place. Unable to move a muscle, I just stand there shaking like a leaf. He raises his hand and grips a handful of my shirt, ripping it. Then he grabs my breast, kneading painfully hard, and that’s when I snap out of it. The pain he causes is enough to get me moving.

  I shove him away from me, covering my breasts with one arm while trying to move past him. Unfortunately, I’m not fast enough. He grabs my arm and pushes me back against the shelf.

  “Bitch, I didn’t say we were done,” he growls. Before I can make another attempt to get away, his fist connects with my face. My head snaps back, hitting the corner of the shelf. All too familiar pain spreads across my face and the back of my skull. I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for more to come.

  An ear-piercing warning growl booms through the room. My eyes pop open just in time to see Mojo’s large body come up from the side and snap at Tucker’s leg.

  “What the fuck?” Tucker backs up, shock and anger written all over his face. I take this opportunity to make a run for the back door. Thanking Mojo in my head for saving me from this asshole, I fly out the door, running as fast as my legs can carry me. I don’t know where I’m going or what I’m doing. Right now, I just have one thing on my mind.

  Get away.

  8

  Ryder

  As soon as I turn the water off, I hear Mojo’s loud bark coming from the other room. I pull on my shorts without bothering to dry off before I run out. Tucker is on the floor, trying to protect his face. Mojo is looming over him, still in attack mode, and Penny is nowhere to be found.

  “Get your fucking dog away from me!” he yells and kicks his leg out, almost hitting Mojo. His dark jeans have a huge rip, exposing bloody bite marks underneath.

  What the fuck? I look around the room. Where did Penny go?

  “Mojo, come here!” My dog snarls at Tucker but listens to my command and sits down next to my foot. “What the fuck just happened?”

  Tucker gets on his feet. “That fucking slut of yours told your stupid mutt to attack me. That’s what fucking happened!”

  I go from confused to furious, bypassing irritation and anger. Only I get to call Penny names, and nobody calls my dog a mutt. But what really gets to me is that he just lied to my face. I know Penny, and I know Mojo. I’m not sure what happened yet, but I know Tucker is lying about it.

  “You better go and clean that up, maybe even get some stitches,” I say casually.

  Letting him know how I really feel right now is a bad move. So, I play it smart and pretend that this is not concerning me. Grabbing a beer from the fridge, I notice that the back door is open. I sit down on the couch and prop my legs up on the coffee table while watching Tucker inspecting his leg. When he finally gets up with a grunt, he doesn’t even look at me.

  “Papers are on the table,” he growls before limping out.

  I listen, waiting for his bike to leave my driveway before jumping up and running out the back door. My next-door neighbor comes out his back door giving me a dirty look. Probably because I’m wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, but I couldn’t care less.

  Mojo is on my heels when I search the backyard and around the house. “Find her!” I order him, and he sniffs around the yard.

  It doesn’t take him long to catch her scent and follow a trail. Leading me through the neighbor’s yards, he brings me to a small park at the end of the road. Penny is sitting under a large oak tree with legs pulled up to her body, hugging her knees. I can’t see her face because her head hangs down, and her forehead is pressed to her knees. Her hair falls to the side like a curtain, making it impossible to see her eyes. Still, I know she is crying by the audible sobs and how her body trembles with each sound.

  I watch Mojo nudging her legs with his head, and she unclenches one of her arms to reach out to him. She buries her fingers into his thick fur and moves her hand around a bit. Mojo sees that as an invite and lays his large body next to hers. It’s weird watching her with my dog like that. Mojo has always been attached to me, only listening to my commands, and he has never been protective of someone else. I don’t know how I feel about this new development yet.

  I take a seat next to Penny on the ground. “You going to tell me what happened?”

  No answer.

  We sit here for a few minutes, and I just let her cry. When she seems to calm down a little, I ask her again, “What happened?”

  Instead of giving me an explanation, she raises even more questions by saying, “I don’t want to sleep with him or your friends. Please, I can’t.” Then she lifts her head and looks at me. “Please, don’t make me do that. I’ll be better. I’m sorry about last night. I’ll get over it. I won’t stop you again. I promise, I’ll do whatever you want.”

  I can feel my blood pumping at double speed and turning two degrees hotter when I see her face.

  That motherfucker.

  Her bottom lip is swollen and split open, and the side of her jaw is already turning a bluish shade. She wipes the tears out of her eyes with the back of her hand. I have the irrational urge to hug her right now, but just like with Tucker, it is best not to show her how I really feel.

  Keeping my voice even, I ask, “Did you tell Mojo to attack Tucker?”

  She shakes her head furiously, strands of her dark blonde hair falling in her face. “No, I swear! That’s not what happened.”

  That’s what I thought, but I still wanted her to confirm. I give her a small nod, letting her know that I believe her. She seems to relax a little after that, but tears won’t stop falling down her face. I’ve had enough of this sulking around.

  “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” I stand, and thank fuck, she follows my lead. Yet another surge of fury runs through my veins when I see her shirt ripped from the collar down to her breasts. Her bra is peeking out, and if I was wearing a shirt right now, I would probably give it to her.

  She walks with me, only her legs seem much more unstable than usual. Her steps remind me of a newborn fawn taking its first steps. I put my arm around her and tug her to my side to make sure she doesn’t fall on the way back home. She seems a bit out of it, doesn’t even stiffen when I pull her close.

  Back in the house, I deposit her on the couch before making sure all the doors and windows are locked. I rarely do this, Mojo is the best alarm system there is, but I feel like I should now.

  After I’m done with that, I go to the bathroom and turn the shower on. I return to the couch to undress a now lethargic Penny. When she is completely naked, I step out of my shorts and pick her up. Carrying her through the house, I see Mojo looking at me funny, and I shake my head at him.

  I step under the shower, still cradling her against my chest longer than necessary. Her cheek presses against my skin, and when the water hits us, she turn
s her face to bury it in my chest.

  After a few minutes, I set her down. “Can you stand?”

  She nods so slightly that I almost didn’t catch it. I set her down and wash her hair first. She doesn’t move or say anything, only closes her eyes when I rinse out the shampoo. With a soapy rag, I wash her body, paying special attention to the sensitive part in between her legs. I thought that might drag her out of this trance she is in right now. It doesn’t.

  Her eyes are open, but I don’t think she can actually see or feel anything. It’s like she is numb inside and out.

  This must be her survival mechanism. When she can’t handle something and life gets too much, she just checks out. Somehow, she can numb herself. I’m no psychotherapist, but I can’t imagine this is good for her. She needs to let it out. Kick the shit out of something or take a bat to a beat-up car. Instead of letting go of her anger and fright, she keeps it locked away somewhere deep inside her mind. I just need to find that key and unlock that part of her, let the old Penny out. And if I can’t find the key, I’ll just have to kick in the door.

  When we finish in the shower, I wrap her up in a large towel and carry her to the couch. As soon as I cover her with the blanket, she curls up in a ball and closes her eyes. “I guess you don’t want to eat lunch then?”

  No reaction.

  I open the fridge and take out a steak we got from the store yesterday. I throw one at Mojo, watching him catch it midair.

  “Good boy.” I pat him on the head while he devours the mountain of meat in two large bites. “You deserve that.”

  Penny stays curled up on the couch for the rest of the day, only getting up a few times to go to the bathroom. I couldn’t get her to eat anything, but she won’t wither away from skipping a meal, so I let it go.

  She freaked out a little when I left to go to the gas station, but I assured her no one is coming back, and she settled down. She still looked relieved when I got back, though, which is an odd concept to think about.

  When it’s almost midnight, I finally get into my bed, even though I know I won’t be able to sleep right now. I stare at the ceiling for a while, trying to figure out what to do with that bundle of joy on my couch. This has turned out to be way more work than I had expected. That’s the last time I let my dick make decisions. Yeah, right.

  Ten minutes later, when I’m almost asleep, my bedroom door creaks open, and Penny’s silhouette appears in the doorway. The low light coming from the living room highlights every curve of her body, making my dick twitch.

  “What?” I bark, not letting her know that I’m actually glad to see her.

  She walks up to me, stopping next to my bed. I can’t make out her face with the light coming from behind her, but the tone of her voice tells me she is scared and uncomfortable. Well, at least she is walking and talking.

  Timidly, she asks, “Can I sleep with you in your bed?”

  A huge grin spread across my face. “Why?” God, I’m such a prick.

  She shifts her weight from one leg to the other nervously. “I… I’m scared.”

  “Sounds like a personal problem to me.”

  “Please.”

  There is something about her begging that has the stupid thing in my chest aching. Something that makes me want to protect her.

  “Fine, lie down.”

  She crawls into the bed and settles next to me under my blanket. This is too close, too intimate. Before I know what I’m doing, I say, “Of course, I’m going to have to tie you up.”

  She gasps. “What? Why?”

  “I don’t trust you to sleep next to me. You could stab me in my sleep.” Highly unlikely since she walked in naked with no way to hide a knife. But that’s not the point of this.

  “I would never!”

  “Yeah… well, you lost my trust a long time ago. So, either I’ll handcuff you to the bed, or you can go back to the couch.”

  She considers my offer for a moment before agreeing to the handcuffs. I flip on the light on my nightstand and grab the handcuffs from the drawer. I fasten them around her wrists and loop them around one railing on the headboard. I look down at her slender body, naked and tied down. My dick is so hard, I could knock someone out with it.

  I run my hand down her body, starting at her neck. My fingers trail over her collarbone, her breasts, and her flat stomach until I end up between her legs. She parts them slightly for me, and I take the invitation and slide two fingers between her folds, finding them wet for me.

  “Ryder, I don’t want to sleep with your friends,” she repeats her earlier statement with a shaky voice.

  I consider what I can tell her. Not the truth. I can’t let her know how much I want her, and I need something to hold over her head.

  “You might have to. I’m getting bored with you, and you have to pay off your debt somehow,” I lie. I don’t think I’ll ever get bored with her body.

  “Please, I’ll pay you back another way. Please, don’t let them,” she keeps begging me. She is scared, I think more scared than she has ever been of me, and I can’t help but wonder if I just found the key. Maybe if I push her a little harder, she will break, and the old Penny will come out to play.

  “Why wouldn’t I let someone else fuck you? Apparently, Tucker really wants some of this,” I say while pushing my finger all the way in. “Two more guys at the club have been asking about you. You could fuck them all at the same time.”

  Her eyes go impossibly wide. “No…” Her voice is stern. Strength and resolve taking over her fright.

  “You could pay off your debt faster. They’ll give you extra money if you let them fuck you together. I think you would enjoy getting double stuffed.”

  I have no plans to share or let anyone else touch her, not even the guys, but I think I’m finally getting through to her. She is struggling, tugging on her restraints lightly.

  “Please, Ryder, stop.” Her voice is strained, and I know she is close to the breaking point. I can see her anger winning over her fear. I just need to push her a little further. I hover over her, putting none of my body weight on her because I know that calms her down.

  I whisper in her ear, “Matter of fact, I think I’m going to call them right now since you are wet and ready. The guys are going to enjoy you like this, all tied up and helpless. Plus, they can easily flip you around. Use your tight little asshole. You would like that, wouldn’t you? Being used like that. Being treated like you are nothing more than a cheap whore.”

  That threat finally drives her over the edge. Her eyes look crazed, her face contorts into pure anger, and she turns into a wild fury underneath me.

  “Get the fuck off of me!”

  There she is.

  She yanks on the handcuffs like a madwoman. Knowing that she is going to hurt herself by pulling on the metal cuffs, I straddle her torso and take the key out of the drawer. I’m barely able to hold her still enough to unlock them. I’m not sure if she even knows she is free, or knows anything for that matter. Her eyes are wild, like those of a lioness about to go in for the kill.

  As soon as I’m off of her, she comes for me. Pouncing on me like a feral animal, hitting, kicking, and scratching me. Whatever comes out of her mouth aren’t words, more like primal grunts and screams.

  I let her take everything out on me for a while; most of it doesn’t even hurt. A few times, she scratches me pretty good in the face. Turning my head up, I cover my face with my arm, so she can’t get me like that again.

  In between her kicks and punches, one of her knees comes up and hits me on my upper thigh, a few inches away from my balls. Okay, that’s it. Too close to the jewels.

  I throw my arms around her, lift her up, and let us both fall onto the bed. I flatten her out under me and have her completely immobilized in seconds. I can feel her heart beating like a jackhammer against my chest. She is trying to push me away, but she is so weak.

  After a while, her wild lion roars turn into the low whimpers of a defeated house cat. Shortly after that
, she goes completely quiet.

  “You done?”

  “Yes,” she answers, her voice raw and raspy.

  I slowly get off of her. My chest is wet from her tears, and her face is red and puffy for the same reason. We stay like that, looking at each other for what seems like forever. I can’t read her expression; I just know I’ve never seen her like this, and part of me wonders if I’m going to regret antagonizing her like I did. I have this sinking feeling that whatever she just went through is going to change her state of mind.

  The only question now is, will it be for the better or worse?

  9

  Penny

  I look up at his face and see the bright red scratches across his cheek. Scratches that I put there. Any moment now, he is going to attack me. He’ll grab me and beat the shit out of me. And there is nothing I can do. Tommy is much smaller than Ryder, and I didn’t have a chance with him. I’ll be lucky if I survive a beating from Ryder, so I’m not going to risk struggling anymore.

  The few times I tried to fight back with Tommy, he just beat me up twice as bad. So, I stopped fighting him altogether, and instead, I became the weak person I am now. A doormat, that’s what I am. Letting people do whatever they want to me just because they can. I’ve given up on every single one of my hopes and dreams and let other people dictate my life.

  Sitting with this revelation, I wait, counting down the seconds and mentally preparing my body for what’s coming. Time stretches on, but he still doesn’t move. He just stands there, looking down at me with a blank expression.

  When he finally moves, I flinch, scooting back on the mattress a few inches, but all he does is walk around the bed and slide in on the other side.

  “Lie down and go to sleep,” he mumbles and turns off the bedside lamp.