by Riley Ashby
I pulled the trigger.
My left hand took the brunt of the force, but it didn’t stop the burning in my hand and the flashback in my brain as I willingly pulled the trigger of a gun once more. It certainly didn’t stop Alicia from crashing into me as she fell forward, tangling with my legs and bringing me to the ground with her. I scrambled backward as she screamed, grabbing my arm, cursing me for the rest of my days and threatening to destroy me if she ever got a chance.
Hands hooked under my arms and pulled me up to my feet, stealing the gun from my hands.
“You couldn’t stay still for ten minutes?”
“It was more than ten,” I whispered, grabbing onto him as he pulled me back to the front of the car and shoved me in the passenger seat. He handed the gun to Castel who was throwing Marcus to the ground and working on adding zip ties to Alicia’s hands, her demands for medical attention going unheard.
“You barely grazed her,” he said as Archer massaged my right hand gently, convincing my fingers to uncurl and straighten once more.
“Guess my aim still sucks,” I muttered.
Archer’s beard tickled my skin as he bent down to kiss my palm. “Thank God,” he whispered. “Now stay here.”
I didn’t care about the logistics of what came next. We were going home. I curled against the door and closed my eyes, blocking out their discussion until Archer climbed into the driver’s seat beside me and pulled away, leaving Castel to deal with my kidnappers on top of the mountain.
“What happens next?”
We were speeding down the road far faster than was safe, but Archer didn’t seem the least bit concerned. Castel had texted him the information for a plane waiting at the airport to take us back to LA while he dealt with Alicia and Marcus and the local police.
“He’s calling our old boss at the FBI as well,” Archer said. “You won’t be the only person they’ve done this to. That guy Marcus has been running scams for years under an assumed name. I recognized the name on that fake ID you showed me.”
He glanced at me quickly before putting his eyes back on the road. “Are you feeling okay, Josie? Did she hurt you?”
My hand smarted, but I was done with him taking care of me. He was in far worse shape. “I’m fine. Can you stop worrying about me? You’re the one who’s going to need reconstructive facial surgery.”
He scoffed. “I’ve looked worse.”
We rode in silence, my mind working too quickly and thinking of too many details to focus on just one thing. Nearly being taken again into an unknown world with people who only wanted to hurt me. My own family betraying me. And Archer ...
“You gave up your money,” I said softly when he finally pulled onto the highway.
“That was never my money to begin with, Josie. It never really belonged to me. The money your mom left you ... that’s yours, and you’re going to use it to build a new life. I couldn’t let her take that from you.” I swallowed and reached out for his hand. He reached forward without hesitation to take my fingers in his. “Josie, don’t think for one second I will ever regret doing this for you. I’d do it a thousand times over if it meant I could get your sister out of your face.”
I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against the back of his hand, sighing gently. “What’s going to happen to the money now?”
“The FBI will seize it. They’ll take it and put it to good use going after the guys I let get away.”
It seemed like a fair trade.
*
A private jet was waiting for us at the small regional airport, ready to take off the moment we boarded. No one looked twice at Archer’s bloody face. As soon as we were airborne, I pulled him to the bedroom in the back and into the attached bathroom. I sat him down and threatened to tie him up again if he didn’t let me help him. Then I wet a towel and cleaned every inch of his face. When the cut above his eyebrow opened again and started gushing blood, I held it together until an attendant could bring me butterfly bandages to seal it. I flaked away the dried blood around his eye and spread antibacterial cream on his wounds. I peeled off his shirt and bandaged his burns as well as I could, landing a kiss on each one. His fingers twined through my hair to rub the back of my head as I tended to him. Once every cut and every burn were anointed and bandaged, I put my forehead against his chest. I started shaking the longer we sat, my breath coming faster as the full weight of what we had endured settled on me.
“I can’t believe this keeps happening,” I whispered, tears finally spilling forth when I couldn’t contain myself anymore.
“Fuck, Josie." His voice was so soft as he pulled me against him, tight against his torso in this small room several thousand feet above the ground.
“My sister tried to kill me,” I whispered. His lips pressed against the crown of my head.
“She wouldn’t have hurt you,” he said. "Me, yes, she was all too happy to hurt. But she drew the line with you. I don’t know what went wrong inside her, but part of her is still your sister. A little bit of her still cares.”
I sniffled and wiped my nose. “I don’t think that part is enough.”
We were quiet for a long time. "I don’t think so either,” he said at last.
“Is this what my life is destined to be like? Used by strangers and family for whatever they can eke out of me, then left for dead on the side of the road?”
He tilted my chin up to face him. "Did you forget what I told you? I’ll always come for you. Your sister could try to take you a thousand times more, and I would come for you every time.”
I shook my head. “That’s not what things are like between us.”
He brushed his thumb across my lips, soft as a feather. "Isn’t it?”
My eyes filled with tears. Weeks of wanting something from him, anything more than what he was giving me. I didn’t think I could take it if he was playing with me now.
“Stop looking like that,” he whispered. "You really don’t think after going through all this that I only care about you for the sex? Which, by the way, is amazing, but not worth this ...” He drew a circle around his face with one finger. “... on its own.”
I pressed my face back into his chest, but he pulled me up again, his beard scratching along my cheeks as he brought our lips together. The coppery tang of his blood still permeated my lips, but I whimpered at having him like this. Confessing. Vulnerable. Pure.
“Castel’s going to fuck me up even more for this, but you’re mine for real, Josie. I will protect you from anyone who would do you harm; not because it’s my job but because I care about you for who you are. For who you make me want to be.”
I pressed my damaged hand over his sunburst, bandaged now due to the shock burns. He held my hair tight as we sat together, breathing our own breath.
“We can use my mom’s money to help your mom,” I said, suddenly filled with purpose. How come I hadn’t thought about it before? It was the perfect solution. We would only need a little bit more—
“No,” he said, cutting off my train of thought. “I could never allow you to do that.”
“It’s my money,” I protested. “I can use it however I want.”
He sighed. “Josie, my mom is not going to make it. Even if a heart became available tomorrow, it would be too late. The doctors won’t let her accept a heart at this point.”
My heart broke with pain for him. “Archer, I’m so sorry.”
He pressed his forehead against mine. “Will you go with me to see her? When it’s time?”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him tighter than I ever had. “Of course, I will. You know I will.”
A knock sounded on the door. “We’re landing soon. You’ll need to come to the main cabin and fasten your seat belts.”
Archer scoffed but pulled on his sweat- and blood-covered shirt once more. “Let’s join the masses. We can talk more later.”
Before I let him sweep me out of the room, I jumped up once more to kiss him. Just to stretch out the moment a little
while longer.
Everyone tried to fawn over Josie the moment we got back to the house, but I took her straight into the bedroom. She hadn’t had any real rest for days, and she was emotionally and physically exhausted. I couldn’t let her waste any more energy trying to reassure Sophie and Tori and Vail, well-meaning though they were. I told everyone we would speak to them later and firmly closed her bedroom door behind us.
The moment we were alone, she reached for my clothes, but I held her wrists back.
“Let me thank you,” she breathed, and it broke my heart so badly I brought her fingertips to my lips. Still in that mindset. Still the well-trained slave. But that wasn’t what I wanted from her, least of all right now.
“I’m saying no right now, and you’re not going to sway me,” I warned as she opened her mouth to argue. “You need to rest, and I’m in charge.”
She pouted. “We should shower.”
I had to grin. “You’re right on that account.”
It was difficult to see her naked and not fuck her right there against the wall of the shower. She arched her back as she rinsed her hair and lathered her breasts with suds, purposely tempting me. I was in awe of her body, the beauty of it, and the fact it was mine. I could let myself look at her now without shame. The world had tried to take her from me multiple times, even keep us from meeting in the first place, and when we finally met, I spent weeks trying to push down what I felt for her. And in a strange way, having her taken had been what I needed to slap some sense into me.
“At first, I thought you’d run off on purpose,” I confessed. I ran one finger down her spine, the only touch I allowed myself.
Her shoulders shook with mirthless laughter. “I knew you’d think that. But you’d sucked me in too deep for me to run from you, Archer. Separating myself from you purposely would be another kind of death.”
I didn’t want to think about what this ordeal had done to her psyche. She’d already lived through more than any one person should have to endure. It was a cruel fate that sent her sister after her all for a little bit of money. I thought about the people who had been hurt by my sins, my desire to help my mom over keeping the public safe. The humiliation kept me from going to visit her even now, despite the fact she had no idea what I’d done in the name of her healthcare. I was still employed at the FBI for all she knew. But I couldn’t keep running from my shame anymore. My mom needed me by her side as she slipped away. I didn’t know yet if I would tell her the truth—I wasn’t quite sure I could bear that trial—but running from her was anathema to the reason I had taken that money in the first place.
Josie hadn’t gotten the opportunity to say goodbye to her mom. I wouldn’t let the same injustice happen to me.
Somehow, I kept my libido in check until we were both wrapped in clothing again. Josie curled up on the bed as I ordered food for us. By the time we’d finished eating, she was already sleepy and barely able to keep her eyes open.
“I’m tired,” she yawned, rolling onto her side to snuggle against my chest as I settled into the mattress next to her. I pulled the blankets up around her neck, wrapping her up so she could feel the safety of the house pressed in around us.
“See what I mean?” I kissed her forehead, running my hands down her back. “You need to rest and let yourself sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
I fought off my own exhaustion for as long as I could. I counted the individual hairs on her head and noted the freckles on her shoulder as her T-shirt slipped and exposed her skin. The scars on her hand from her surgery were still angry and red, but thinner than they had ever been. She’d practiced her exercises enough to strengthen her broken fingers, even the index one that was so mangled and misshapen it was hard to believe she could even still bend it properly. Checking her breath to make sure she was still properly asleep, I brought it to my mouth and kissed it gently. She’d come back from so much, and I didn’t deserve her. But I wasn’t about to let her go, not anytime soon.
I studied her until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.
*
The authorities were at our door the next morning, along with Castel, to question Josie and me about what had happened in the mountains. Castel still had enough clout, and enough people knew his name, that we could do the questioning at the King house instead of going to an official location. As badly as I wanted to be there with her, I had to let her go with them alone to speak about the experience. I didn’t trust her in a room alone with other men, even if they were fellow lawmen.
“We recovered the money from their account,” the agent told us as I fidgeted in the hallway outside the room where they questioned her. “It’ll be considered asset forfeiture, but I’m sure you can petition to get it back.”
Castel looked at me, awaiting my response. Waiting to see if I would selfishly demand the return of money that never belonged to me to begin with, or if I could do the decent thing and let it go.
I shook my head. “Use it to help catch more assholes like this or worse people. It was never my money to begin with.”
The agent nodded. I had no idea if he knew my name, knew that I was the one who had let human traffickers and drug lords get away with murder in exchange for money, but he seemed neither surprised nor impressed by my statement. He made a note and left us be.
“This doesn’t make up for what you did.” Castel stared out the window at the side of the room, no doubt keeping an eye out for Vail.
He liked to play it casual around me, but he was as obsessed with her as I was with Josie. He hated having strangers in their home, and he hated her being away from him even for everyday tasks and responsibilities. The relief on his face when she ran out of the house to meet him this morning had resonated within my soul; it was the same response I had whenever Josie entered the room I was in after being gone with her friends. These women were crazy for letting themselves fall for us, but they couldn’t get away from us if they wanted to.
“I know.” I was quiet for a long time. “I’m sorry, Castel. I don’t know if I ever really apologized to you, but I am. I know I let you down, not just as a colleague but also as a friend.”
He didn’t say anything for a long time. I didn’t expect absolution from him, not that I deserved it in the first place. For now, it was enough to know I had been honest with him—and he wasn’t trying to take my head off anymore.
I paced the floor, growing more anxious with every passing moment Josie wasn’t by my side.
“You know you can’t remain her bodyguard. Ellery was only planning on paying you until she got settled, anyway. He could probably be convinced to extend it, now that this has happened, but I don’t know how long it can go on.”
I shook my head. “I need to look into something new sooner rather than later. Something that will let us get an apartment I can pay for myself. Get her on some health insurance and off the government’s dime so she can keep up her therapy. And she doesn’t need any additional custodian since I’m going to be sticking around.” I frowned at the thought of some other man being charged with watching her as closely as I did. How could anyone not fall for her when put in my position? “I already spoke to the boss the night we came here. He told me I couldn’t come back, so I need to find something new. Maybe I can get a security guard posting.”
Being a rent-a-cop watching a skyscraper at night wasn’t my ideal posting, but it would let me stay local and give me a decent paycheck. I could probably work my way up from there, maybe to daytime security, then a higher posting within the company. I had the leadership experience for sure.
Castel stroked his chin and finally turned to face me. “I think I know something that might work.”
How many times have you had to sit down in front of complete strangers and explain in detail how your sister betrayed you? Not just once, but the pattern of abuse over your entire childhood and adolescence. Admit she thought you lied about being kidnapped and held captive; that she held you in contempt because you blew off your hand
instead of your head when trying to publicly commit suicide. That she kidnapped you in order to try to extort money instead of having a normal adult conversation and probably planned to leave you dead in the woods.
For their part, the agents I spoke with were entirely too gentle with me. Everything was spoken in low tones; they sat about as far away from me as they could while still being able to hear me when I spoke. I had no doubt that had a lot to do with whatever I heard Archer growl at them before they brought me into this room. Still, I was restless, keeping the door in the corner of my eye where I knew Archer waited for me. I wanted him in here with me while I recounted my tale, but I knew I couldn’t ask for that and keep any kind of credibility with Castel and the others. He needed the space too, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Sometimes, you have to do things alone.
They had my sister and Marcus in custody after Castel dumped them unceremoniously on the steps of the local police station. The small-town cops were glad for the arrest—Marcus was already wanted in several states for his part in these types of coercions and other various insurance scams; he’d started dating my sister before she knew that about him and then had been all too happy to offer to “help” him when it turned out my mom had left me the money instead of her. It was a big win for the law to have them both in custody.
Ellery ushered out the agents politely but firmly the moment they finished with me. Archer came into the room and closed the doors behind him, holding me quietly while I focused on my breathing and tried to release the knot in the middle of my chest. Only when I was sure I could speak without crying did we rejoin the rest of the world.
The seven of us spent the afternoon together after they left. I was grateful; I didn’t want to lock myself away, but I wanted to spend time with Archer. Before long, those of us who weren’t pregnant were sipping wine and dark liquor while eating fruit and cheese off plates on the floor of a room with floor-to-ceiling windows. I lounged on the floor between Archer’s legs, my back against his chest, running my broken fingers across his whole ones. He touched me constantly when we were alone, but I had to instigate the contact when we were around others. I was grateful he could let down that wall a little bit around these people.